Front Axle spacing / Brake binding

Hey guys, I have an '06 FZ1 that I recently pulled apart to service the front suspension. No issues there but when putting the wheels and brakes back on I discovered that the caliper was actually binding/contacting the rotor. After looking into it I found that the RH leg where the axle passes through is not pulled all the way into the wheel bearings. It is just hanging out about 1/4" away. The axle doesn't have and boss or recess to pull that leg in so I'm really confused as to how this is supposed to be secure.

I ended up clamping the leg until it contacts the wheels spacers and torquing the pinch bolts but this seems like some redneck b.s. It is all good now but I feel like this can't be correct. Anyone else experienced this?
 
Hey guys, I have an '06 FZ1 that I recently pulled apart to service the front suspension. No issues there but when putting the wheels and brakes back on I discovered that the caliper was actually binding/contacting the rotor. After looking into it I found that the RH leg where the axle passes through is not pulled all the way into the wheel bearings. It is just hanging out about 1/4" away. The axle doesn't have and boss or recess to pull that leg in so I'm really confused as to how this is supposed to be secure.

I ended up clamping the leg until it contacts the wheels spacers and torquing the pinch bolts but this seems like some redneck b.s. It is all good now but I feel like this can't be correct. Anyone else experienced this?

pictures? may help explain what you're talkin about
 
First the caliper and rotor binding might be this. On one side of the front wheel there are letters and numbers cast into the spokes. These need to be on the left side of the bike. If the wheel is put on the incorrect way this can cause the binding issue. Been there done that. You would think it would be symmetric and not matter which way the wheel is installed. I figured it out and didn't delve any deeper into it.

The space you are seeing on the RH leg is not a problem. When the axle is installed and tightened the axle, bearings, wheel and LH fork leg all become all "one solid unit". I cant think of anything else to call it when they are all tightened together. In a perfect world the RH fork leg would/should then come right next to the bearings on that side. That gap is that the fork legs are parallel but with the tolerance of mass produced parts things are not always perfect. When you tighten the pinch bolts at the bottom of the RH fork leg it now becomes part of that "one solid unit".

Clamping the fork legs will cause them to bind and not work properly. You really don't want to do that. Also it will cause heavy wear on the fork bushings.

I have 2 Gen 1 FZ1s and both have a gap, although less than 1/4", that sounds similar to yours. My original 2002 has over 150,000 miles and is my track play bike. My other is a 2003 with just over 50,000 miles and my daily driver. It has never caused any issues with either bike.

Assuming the forks and triple clamps are not damaged and were correctly reassembled you may only be looking at a front wheel that on backwards. And that might be contributing to the gap you see.
 
Now that it’s been 4 years and the bike was stolen, recovered, repaired, and finally getting to mess with this again.

I loosened the RH fork leg and rotated it 180deg. Turns out the previous owner had smacked something just hard enough to bend the leg. It’s perfect now with no rub and no binding seals/bushings
 
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