crashed tonight - damage assessment

[tab1324]

Thanks for the support - repair ideas

I appreciate all the nice comments about getting on it and riding... Ultimately, I know this is what I'll have to do. I know because I can't make a descision without first seeing if I feel comfortable with it again. So - I will fix the bike and try getting on for a ride - and I'll do it soon.

For those that offered to take a look at the bike and help assess the damage, I could use the help. If anyone can give me a step by step on realigning the front end, I'd appreciate it.

Tonight I discovered that the left handlebar wasn't bent but it had turned slightly. There are some sheet metal tabs below the handlbar and the one on the left seems loose... not sure what it's for. So, I was able to turn the handlebar back so that it is straight. Now it appears as you look at the front of the bike, when the handlebars are straigt, the wheel is pointed about 3-5 degrees right. When looking at the bars when sitting on it, the left bar seems to be about 1/8" further back (towards the tank). Any ideas how to fix???

Thanks again guys. I'll heal - the bike will get fixed, and soon I hope to tell you about my 2000th mile for the summer.

Oh, I checked out the intersection where I ate pavement - there's a manhole cover right where I started to turn. A little residual rain on that thing could be like ice. A foot or 2 past the manhole cover are gouges in the pavement my bike left. Guess I missed that one.

Tom B.

[tfm3]

I did exactly the same thing- went back to the evil intersection-[no way after 25 years of all weather riding that could'a been MY fault, dammit] and analyzed the road condition-little sand dunes of dirt and gravel everywhere.Should've known better- this is 2 miles from our house and in the middle of a new hi-way bypass project.Walked away from said intersection looking for my lost left side battery cover knowing I'll never look at that familiar stretch of road the same way again- found the shredded piece of plastic in a tall patch of grass about 100 feet up the street. Don't know why I was so obsessed with finding it-musta been calling me or something- but it's definitely going to end up hanging on my garage wall next to the growing collection old horseshoes, license plates and trashed bike parts with a story.

[buickyouth]

my favorite first layin it down story

When I was living in LA and had decided to move to Chicago a friend of mine wanted to buy my XS850SG. He'd never ridden so I took him to a beautiful enormous cemetary somewhere around Silverlake to teach him some stuff.

He was doing well on the straigt aways and some curves. Then some U-turns. He was doing well, until he took a U-turn too wide and hit the brakes instead of throttling up to right himself.

It was so slow and the bike just went chunk. He was fine of course. There was little damage to the bike. But the best part was when I ran up and asked him if he was okay. He had a highway peg in his hand and said that he was but... and held it up for me to see. And then he followed up with, I guess it's mine now so it doesn't really matter anyhow. I told him I didn't care and it wasn't a big deal but he bought the bike and hasn't dumped since.

[Robert Haller]

Glad to hear you weren't seriously hurt. Don't feel too bad, most of the riders I know have been down at least once. I've been down three times on previous bikes. But riding is still one of the main joys in my life. Actually a slighty wet road can be the most hazardous because it's enough to mix with the oils present to make it more slick but not enough to wash off the road.

[Bob Falter]

The first bike I crashed was an 500cc Aerial, on wet pavement (wish I still had that bike). It was close enough to being a dirt bike that I got hooked and started to ride and race dirt bikes. Practice was to go out and ride the course faster and faster until you crashed. I crashed a lot. I would learn how fast I could go and what not to do. Taught me a lot. Luckily I wasn’t killed.

I used to tweak the front end a little all the time. If it was bent to the right I would run the bike up to where a tree was just on the right front of the front wheel and push the handle bars to right until the front wheel was straight again. Don’t know if it will work with the bigger heavier street bike forks but it don’t cost any thing to find out.

[Pain]

As many other people have said, I am glad you weren't hurt. Bikes can be repaired much more easily than people.

You have the handlebars straight, and the front wheel is turned? Are the forks bent, or the handlebars still not true?

Brooklyn park? near St Paul?

-Pain

[tab1324]

forks bent?

I don't think the fork is bent but maybe it's shifted in the triple clamp???? I need someone who's familiar with it mechanically to check it out. As you sit on the bike and hold the bars to where they look like you're straight, the front wheel looks as if it's turned to the right. The forks as you look from the seated position, look like the left side is 1/8" closer to the tank than the other side.


Brooklyn Park is about 1/2 hour from St. Paul.

Tom B.

[2fast]

Hey Tom,
I should be free to run by sometime tomorrow and have a look.

[tab1324]

Tomorrow after about 5:30??? Otherwise I'll be at work unfortunately. PM me now if you want to chitchat.

Tom B.

[ratbyk]

Align Front Forks

tab1324, to align the front forks twisted in the triple clamp.
1. Put bike on center stand.
2 Place a small jack under the engine and lift front so tire is just barely touching the ground. Not free in air or carrying any weight.
3. Loosen front axle, front fender mount bolts, fork brace if you have one, both upper and lower triple clamp pinch bolts. Do not remove any, just barely loosen so things can be shifted a bit but stay where you shift them to.
4. Stand at the front of the bike facing it. Clamp the front tire/wheel between your lags.
5. Grab the handle bars and with out to much effort you should be able to twist things back in line.
6. To check and do final alignment get a piece of "FLAT" wood. Approximately 10" X 5.5"( steel plate is better but not to many people have a perfectly flat piece os 10 X 5.5 steel). Lay the wood against the fork tubes just above the dust seal covering the fork seals. Place it across the front of the tubes. Try and rock it corner to corner. EG. Top left corner to bottom right. Try again, top right to bottom left. If there is any "rock" in the plate/wood you are still not in alignment. Try twisting a bit again. After a couple-of tries you will be able to determine which way to twist to reduce/eliminate any "rock".
7. When all rock is gone or it is as good as it is going to get, tighten the axle first! This will hold the tubes in line. Recheck for rock. If still OK then tighten the lower triple clamp pinch bolts to torque recommendation. Recheck for rock. Next the top triple clamp bolts. Again recheck for rock. If OK tighten the fork brace back up then the fender. Put the cotter pin back in the front axle.
You should be good to go. Handle bars should now in alignment with the forks.
If the handle bars are not straight but the forks are in alignment then the handle bars are bent. I will let you solve that one on your own. (if they are not bent badly if it was me) I would ignore or clamp in a vice and put a solid steel bar up inside or a piece of pipe on the outside and tweek them back in line as well.
Have fun, lots of luck, then get back on and ride the sucker. I hit a deer a year ago June. Rode it home bent, straightened it and climbed back on and rode. I'm not letting a little accident stop me.
Every body falls off sooner or later. Some get back on, some don't, some can't.
It is not as intimidating as you are imagining.
Ken/Sooke
78E Ratbyk
82 FT500 "lilRat"

[dragxs11]

Or, just do what I do.....Find a pole or a tree, and smack the tire against it until it looks straight again....Just kidding, thats what you do on a dirtbike when your miles from home and have wrecked. Ratbyk's way is best. Glad to hear your alright.

[John]

That method worked on my XS750SF. Went 'Urban Surfing' in some rain, and when the front wheel smacked the curb, everything got knocked around. I was able to whack the wheel against a steel pole in a parking lot a few times, and that did it. I never had any problem with the front end after that. I know that I just got lucky doing that, but it did work.