dumped the bike... help finding parts..

[Mbarna]

Young, dumb, inexperience and panic all played a part in me dumping my bike last night.. my left forearm is a little beat up, but the bike looks repairable.

i'm going to post some pictures tonight.. if anyone has any parts laying around that they'd like to sell me, let me know.. i wanted to make this thread some time in advance just so you guys might be able to take some stock and see what you have...

so far i know i need:

the headlight
left front blinker assembly
left rear blinker assembly
left-side crank cover (yikes)

that's all we spotted thus far... but i haven't taken a look at the bike since i limped it home last night.

the only thing wrong with the bike that isn't cosmetic is that though the handlebars aren't bent at all (i have no idea how), it's not steering correctly.. like, when the wheel is straight, the bars are to the right.. is there any way to fix/adjust this, or am i screwed?

like i said, i'll be back with pictures tonight. i'm grieving pretty hard over it, especially since the bike was a gift from my father.

the road rash will heal; just want my baby back on the road.

[DiverRay]

The steering MAY just be an adjustment, and you will NOT be able to verify the bars until that is done. Ebay will probably be a good start for the engine cover, unless Tod has one from a "parts" engine. headlight will depend on what you need, the complete assembly or just the bulb. Signals I MAY be able to help with, and I would also look for the engine case savers. I know it's a little late now, but just for next time. And we ALL know there WILL be a next time, no matter how many hours and miles we have.

[Mbarna]

yeah, i wanted them asap but when i finally found a set i was a wee bit too broke. :/ let me know about the blinkers though! i'll check ebay and all that stuff... i just called my job and told them that i needed to pick up more hours it's gonna be a long month lol.

[DiverRay]

The good news is you have a job! Good luck, and it will be a day or two for me to get over to my "storage" unit to look and see what is there.

[fredintoon]

Hi Mbarna,
falling off when you are young and foolish beats falling off when you are old and stupid because young folks heal quicker.
Try loosening all the fasteners on the front forks, holding the front wheel between your knees and twisting the bars back to where they should be.
If all that's happened to the forks is that the impact shifted the fork tubes in the triple trees, the tweaking will fix it.
OTOH, had a buddy's Suzi in my garage with tweaked forks, turned out one of the fork tubes had been bent when the bike fell.
Luckily, buddy had a smooth bend in the fork tube AND a "Bro with hydraulic press" otherwise he'd be spending the big bucks at Forking by Frank for new tubes.
Checking tubes for being straight? Roll both tubes together (sorry, you gotta tear the forks right down for this) on a flat table. If they touch each other all the way whichever way they are turned they are straight. If they don't, they ain't.

[CatatonicBug]

For doing the allignment, try a piece of string and a fishing weight (or a handy washer).

Tie one end of the string to one handlebar, loop it around the grab bar in the back, and tie the other end to the other handlebar. Then, remove the string, and mark the center of it with a small knot. Tie a second string to the knot, and allow enough length to go from the grab bar, up and over the front of the bike, and down to the ground.

Tie the fishing weight to the end that's on the ground. Then, put the ends back on the handlebars, making sure that the knot always rests dead center of the grab bar by moving the handlebars. Bring the center string up and over the headlight, and pull it tight with your fingers, but let the last few feet of it hang. Drape the hanging end over the tight portion to create a bit of a plumb bob, and center it over the center of your tire tread.

Loosen and adjust the forks as needed, until everything lines up, then tighten it all down. Perform one last alignment test with the string, just to be sure.

[DGXSER]

Sorry to hear of your incident. Sounds like all you hurt was your pride which is great! Little scraping will always heal up.

Not sure what the XJ uses, bu I had a bent up headlight bucket that I used some wood cut to match the arch or the round special bucket and a clamp to reform it.

As to the forks, mine got twisted in the trees once.... Like Fred stated, start at the bottom loosening up the axle, the fender bolts, then the lower trees with the front end off the ground. You may well be able to twist the wheel back to straight with the trees from there. May need to loosen the upper trees as well, but watch as the tubes may slide out then.

One way to check for bent tubes is to take a piece of plate steel or glass (something known to be very very flat) that is about 12" tall and as wide as the forks. Lay it over the forks and see that it does not rock.

HTH

[trbig]

When I put my fairing on, I removed my front turn signals and the headlight.. but I did this over at a buddy's and left them there. I can check to see if they can be found still. I believe the XJ uses the same turn signal and stems for the front and back. I don't know how close they are to stock, but Partsnmore has the turn signals and stems for the XJ for $15 for one signal and a stem.

As for the pickup coil cover... I only have the one spare at the moment .. (I think) and would like to keep it but will check later this evening.


Tod

[Mbarna]

i really appreciate it, guys... i went to bike bandit and JUST the stem for the left blinker was 40 bucks..is there any reason why partsnmore would be so much cheaper?

[CatatonicBug]

i really appreciate it, guys... i went to bike bandit and JUST the stem for the left blinker was 40 bucks..is there any reason why partsnmore would be so much cheaper?

Yeah - because BikeBandit is exactly that - A Bandit! Their prices are often higher than other places you can find parts. They are more of a last resort for me, if I can't find the parts elsewhere.