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Can-Am Headquarters ...Aurora Wheelers ATV Forum > ATVs > Can-Am / BRP > Can-Am - How To Topics > Easiest ways to align front wheels |
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| Easiest ways to align front wheels - Can-Am - How To Topics - ATVs - Can-Am Headquarters ...Aurora Wheelers ATV Forum | ||||||||||||||||
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outlandish Admin 
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This might make a good How To.....If someone had to replace tie rods or whatever, what would be the easiest way to realign the front end?
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lar69 
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I used to count the rotations it takes to remove old tie rod, then turn new one on the same amount. If the parts are from the same manufacturer it should be fine. You can also use a tape measure to measure front and rear distances of front tire spacing. Not sure if outties are to be toed in or not.
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icanamcanyou Member 
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I've done this a few times on my 500 & 800. Here's what I've done and it seems to work fairly well. 1.) Wrap a length of string all the way around the quad, i start and end at the rear hitch. Make sure the string is the same height from the ground on all 4 wheels. 2.) Jack the front of the quad up just enough so the front tire don't touch the ground. This makes it easy to turn the tie-rods during adjustment. 3.) Center up (Eyeball It) the handle bars and lock them into place with 2 ratchet straps, one on each side of handle bars. This of course prevents them from moving when your adjusting the tie-rods. 4.) Break lose the inner and outer tie-rod nuts. NOTE! Make sure you use 2 wrenches, one on the nut and one on the ball joint. The first time I did this I used 1 wrench and popped the nuckle on the ball joint. I had to replace the whole ball joint then, not too expensive but could have been prevented. 5.) Now that you have the string wrapped, front jacked, handle bars locked and tie-rod nuts loose. You can look at the string on both front tires. If the tires are correctly aligned there will be no gap on the front edge and back edge of tire, between the string and tire. If they are not aligned you'll seen a gap between the string and tire, either on the front edge or back edge of the tire. This will tell you if it is in a toe-in or toe-out position. From that point just make your adjustments to the tie-rods until your happy with the string positioning on the front & back edges of both front tires. After adjustments, look at handle bars to make sure they are still centered. 6.) Tighten up the inner & outter tie-rod nuts on both sides. AGAIN...make sure to use 2 wrenches. 7.) Lower the front end off the jack and re-check the string positioning on front tires then remove the string. Then take it for a spin to test your adjustments. If it still pulls one way or the other, just repeat the above steps to tweek the adjustments again utill your happy. The whole process only takes me about 15-20 min. Maybe longer if I have to repeat to get it dialed in perfect. Last edited on Thu Mar 27th, 2008 03:24 pm by icanamcanyou ____________________ 2007 Outty 800 Max XT, MODS: Full Set Ricochet Skids, BRP Fender Extentions, Sylvania Silverstar bulbs, Renegade Clutch Weights, Dalton G/Y Primary Clutch Spring, EPI Secondary Clutch Spring, K&N Air Filter, 27" SuperGrip SuperLight Tires. 2007 Outty 500 Max XT, MODS: Full Set Ricochet Skids, BRP Fender Extentions, Sylvania Silverstar bulbs. |
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outlandish Admin
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good post....but...what if the front end is wider than the rear by an inch or so?
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icanamcanyou Member
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outlandish wrote: good post....but...what if the front end is wider than the rear by an inch or so? Hmmm...good thought. Might have to re-think that one, but the above will for sure work for a stock setup.
____________________ 2007 Outty 800 Max XT, MODS: Full Set Ricochet Skids, BRP Fender Extentions, Sylvania Silverstar bulbs, Renegade Clutch Weights, Dalton G/Y Primary Clutch Spring, EPI Secondary Clutch Spring, K&N Air Filter, 27" SuperGrip SuperLight Tires. 2007 Outty 500 Max XT, MODS: Full Set Ricochet Skids, BRP Fender Extentions, Sylvania Silverstar bulbs. |
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OUTWHEELER 800 Member
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Ratchet strap your handle bars as mentioned. Use a piece of square stock and hold it across center of front wheel. Have someone measure in on center of back wheel. Repeat on other side using same side of square stock. You should be able to figure your toe in and out with this method. Pre loosen set nuts if adjustment is needed. Usually you know which side got hit and adjust the hit side to the good side. Measuring in to any symetrical point on each side will work.
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outlandish Admin
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Good stuff guys....
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Safecracker Member 
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I have used a 6' level. On the 400's the front tires stick out alittle more than the rears. I used 2 flat magnets as spacers(spacer, 1/4") to bring the level out flush on the rear wheel. Then I set the level against rear wheel and clamp it. The level goes past the front tire. I then measure sidewall distances on the front and back of the front tire. Adjust as needed. Real simple. Hope this helps!!!! Last edited on Thu Mar 27th, 2008 11:41 pm by Safecracker ____________________ 05, Outy max(red) wifes, windshield 04, Outy XT, cargo box, brush guards, windshield, 25" Mud Lite XL's 03 V 1,000 Legend mine 03 600 Legend wifes 91 440 Safari kids |
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turboman 
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Even if you set one side slightly different than the other side, when you drive it the front wheels will self-center by themselvs (path of least resistance) and you still won't have a "pull" in either direction. The only sign will be your handlebars won't be centered. The handlebars are why you'd like to set both tie rod threads the same. Question is, what is the setting for the wheels on an 800? I like toe-in, as much as 1/4" total, because the tire rubber and tread and low pressures are very squirmy and they are ridden on dirt most of the time. So premature wear is not a problem. Especially with the low amount of miles per year most atv-ers travel. Toe out makes the front end follow every contour in the ground. But it does make it easier to steer, effortwise. This "wandering" (toe out) is what you want to reduce..
____________________ 800 MaxXT,25"XTR's.RAM GPS,Twin-Air, Ricochet,ELKA fronts,EBC pads,Kevlar cable,PIAA bulbs,grip-reinf's,Leeds hitch,Precision damper,1" Rr spacers,Iridium plugs,Rene'wgts,OEM w/shield,OURY grips,WestCo coated muffler,Saeng mirrors,flares,AGM bat |
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kraked
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turboman wrote: Question is, what is the setting for the wheels on an 800? '06 service manual says "perfect toe-out measurement is 0 mm (+/- 4mm)" Last edited on Sat Mar 29th, 2008 10:51 am by kraked |
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snw629 Member
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your castor setting is what affects your steering feel the most. to little castor like the suzuki king quad at 1.6 degree gives you easy low speed trail steering and twitchy steering at high speed or rutted terrain. a 1/4 toe out helps this on the suzuki but the best fix is to cut and shim the upper control arms as i did. now i do not no the castor spec on our outys but it feels to me in the 3 to 4 degree range, where it needs to be. i set my toe at 1/4 in. most quads do best with 0 to 1/4 toe in. tie down your bars and adjust both sides for toe. a simple tape measure works just fine for a quad. measure in the center tire in rear and in front and the same height from the floor.
____________________ 06 outy 800, hmf pipe,twin air filter can-am h/d front springs,can-am windshield 36 gram clutch weights,dalton spring 26" xtr on itp type 7 wheels can-am h/d front bumper,can-am fender extensions fasst vibration bar inserts,oury grips,reverse limiter bypassed,renegade foot pegs. |
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OSOKILL The Enforcer 
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I put my Outty up on a jack or jack stands. Take an ink pen and mark a vertical mark across one of the lugs in the center of the two front tires. then I measure the distance between the marks in the front. then I spin the tires 180 degrees and measure the distance between the two again. it should read the same on both sides. as you stand in front of the outty you have the do 4 o'clock/10 o'clock on the right and 8 o'clock/2 o'clock on the left 
____________________ Team Outty 800 Member #24 |
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sweeper 
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String it! If there is a difference in the wheel offset then measure that diff. and add a spacer to the front tires approx the width of the offset. OR http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7388 Try this, it is a little more cumbersome but works good. Don't forget any changes to toe +/- is a relative measurement, not absolute. I could write this up, b ut it'll take a while to explain the set-up. See link  Can-Am says, (as someone has mentioned) toe is 0 degrees. I add a little toe in, total toe of around 1/8" ( that's 1/16th each side) for the high speed stability, but not enough to effect tire wear and slow steering. Castor, does help with steering effort, but makes it too darty and numb feel for me. Good luck Toe measurment, must be done at the wheel not the tires. Centering the steering, and locking it in place is critical. If any toe changes are made then don't forget to roll the quad around before re-measuring to release any bind in suspension. Last edited on Sun Mar 30th, 2008 01:48 pm by sweeper ____________________ 2007 Can-Am 650 Max XT,scratched green,crutchfields,alumatech,BRP stuff. 2007 Polaris Sporty 450 Browning Ed. ALL "Insured By Smith&Wesson" |
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outlandish Admin
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Thats some great info guys. I going to move this to the How Tos...
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| Can-Am Headquarters ...Aurora Wheelers ATV Forum > ATVs > Can-Am / BRP > Can-Am - How To Topics > Easiest ways to align front wheels | |
