Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

I recently removed a bent center stand from my 2001 Elite after noticing that it was rubbing on the front pulley cover. I had previously noticed that the tires seemed to be angled differently, and because the stand was bent had assumed that the rear tire/motor hanger/frame was the culprit. But after removing the motor hanger and inspecting both it and the frame carefully, it seems it is the front tire that is off.

The front tire is aligned with the handlebars, but is tilted so that the top of the tire is closer to the left fork, looking at the bike from the front. The forks themselves do not appear bent, and the shocks are the same length. The only (possible) anomaly I noticed is that when assembling the front axle, there was a small (maybe 3-4mm) gap between the outer edge of the brake assembly and the pivot arm. It closes when the axle nut is torqued to spec. I checked the exploded view in the service manual, and I am not missing any parts of the assembly. Is this normal?

Any ideas on how I might correct the tilt, or what parts might need to be repaired or replaced? Thank you!

Check to see if the spacer is flushly mounted in the hole on the rim. Also, the forks *could* be bent at the neck where the forks meet the top of the tree. Taking it off is a * (if you're talking about a Spree), but you could do it by splitting the top/bottom of the headlight plastics when the screws are removed and accessing the large nut after dropping the lower half of the headlight plastics. Be careful not to lose the bearings. Those are loose, individual bearings that will spill onto your floor if you aren't careful.

Ah, I should have noted it’s an elite. Thanks!

Maybe the spacer is too short (or long?) and when you torqued the axle nut...the forks got pigeon toed? Ive “misplaced” a spacer before and tried to use one of many others I had in the junk box. None of the 6 I had were right and I had to shave a longer one down to be just right. This could also happen if someone had swapped in a foreign wheel (non-Elite) and didnt adjust spacer length to compensate for new wheel/brake hub thickness.

Edit: you need not worry about losing loose ball bearings if you pull the stem in the Elite since they are in a plastic cage. Brad makes a good point about the Spree balls bouncing around the ground to be lost forever. Also, his proper use of “lose” and “loose” is certainly a breath of fresh air and keeps my OCD tendencies at bay. Bravo, Brad.

So then, it is not normal to have this gap?

The spacer is the only one I have, so I’d imagine it’s got to be the right one. Then again, no clue what the PO had done.

Would it be advisable (or at the very least, safe) to try to find some washers with the correct ID/OD as the spacer to shore up the gap and see if it straightens out the wheel? I suppose I should also check the axle for straightness and the condition of the bearings while I’ve got it apart.

Assuming the forks are not bent, anything else it might be?

No gaps at ALL before axle is tightened. The wheel, brake hub and spacer should slide between the forks like butter before the axle goes in. Is it a stock Elite wheel? And Brake hub? What year? How long is the spacer that youre using? (use caliper in mm)

This is a good time to try to get some pics of this situation. Almost a guessing game otherwise. You would have to re-size the pics to be able to post them here. Thanks man, I know it's something you want to fix right away.

I'm betting it's a bent fork. That bent stand was from an accident and it bent fork at same time.

Thanks for all the help guys. As far as I know, it’s a stock elite wheel and brake hub. 2001 Elite S (derestricted). Not sure of spacer length, when I take the axle apart to get some pics I’ll measure the best I can. I was looking it over again. Today and it may not actually be tilted, just off center. Still have the motor/rear end off atm so tough to compare.

It’s dark now but I will try to get some pics tomorrow if I get home early enough, if not then definitely Friday!

I just remembered I took one of the gap yesterday, if it’s of any use. That’s the fork in the foreground; this is on the right side if you’re looking at the scoot from the front.

Not sure of spacer length, when I take the axle apart to get some pics I’ll measure the best I can.

Check to see if you have 1" of the spacer exposed.

I have an Elite wheel kicking around and took measurements:
Edit: Add - re-attach photo, original was too large

It’s a hair shy of an inch, maybe 31/32” or 63/64”, as best I can tell with a tape measure. Here’s some more pics of the wheel/forks with the axle torqued to spec. Could it possibly be a bent pivot arm?

Does the rim spin true? Any wobble?

I found the photo makes it appear there is a large error - too large to be believe. I will show what I did with your photo.

Some other member will have more ideas

So it looks off but really its not? Maybe just a frame of reference thing then.