Front wheel

[spike123]

Hi guys
I have two 1971 oif a65 the front wheel is over to the left side when sitting on the bike so it's not central to the forks is this normal , I've fitted new spindle and space so I don't know what's going on , the brake hub has a small gap as well and I've tried to push the wheel over to close this gap to no avail
Any suggestions or is this how they were

[ChrisG]

I had a similar problem. My wheel was central then I had a new rim laced on by a local 'expert' and it was out by approx. 1/8" even though I had measured from the brake drum and gave him a drawing.
He gave me a pathetic excuse something like, " they left the factory like that" and refused to correct it. I fitted it anyway and the bike handled as well as before.
So, maybe they did leave the factory with that offset, we'll never know. I therefore wouldn't worry about yours being like that.

The only thing to watch out for is if you fit an Avon Roadrider tyre, make sure it doesnt catch on the mudguard wire stay. (A Dunlop TT100 most likely will) 

[idie]

I don't have much dealings with the oil in frame BSAs but two things I seem to remember reading somewhere. The BSAs and Triumph used the same front wheel but different wheel spindles, I think the Triumph one will bring the wheel over. Also something about the forks or the caps bring made to tilt the wheel slightly in the forks to line up. I sure some one will come along with the right answer.

[Spaceman]

This is an issue I've never really understood but it seems that to compensate for the rear wheel not being on the centre line (why??), BSA tilted the front wheel to the left to compensate for the effect on the bike's handling. Not sure which years this applied to but my A65 has these features.

It's a long time ago but I think CWC might have rebuilt the wheels on my A65 but I vaguely remember having to adjust the offsets afterwards because the front wheel in particular was not centred. Given what BSA did to both the rear and front wheel geometry, it's possible the front wheel did not originally come centred between the forks. If it is out by 1/8" this is probably not much to worry about. If 1/4" out, I would definitely consider adjusting the offset.

[JulianS]

The oil in frame workshop manual gives some wheel building information which you could use to check your wheel. See below.

[spike123]

Yes that what's happening the tyre is rubbing on the left hand side mudguard stay

[Pete Gill]

Are you rebuilding the front end or has this bike had a front wheel that fitted okay until you respoked ?
The reason i ask is that some of the shuttle valve fork legs are longer than others! The ones with a round dimple at the bottom are about 5mm longer than the ones without. If you have one of these it will apparently cause the front wheel to skew. You need a matching pair. I'm told that BSA did go through a phase of offsetting their front wheels so allow for the camber on American roads. Apparently the Americans complained that the bikes drifted too easily to the right then driving along straight roads. BSA offset the front wheel slightly to compensate! (Strange but true).
I'm aware that from 1971 they adopted the newer alloy dampers so this might not apply to you, but still I thought others might find it of interest. The photos are from my 1969 T120.

[spike123]

I'll check it out tomorrow
Thanks