1st crash - damage report

[mixelpix]

Hi,

Just rode home from a head on collision with the front quarter panel of a mark iv. was well under 30mph and I am much better off than the bike: windsheild snapped, fairing is scuffed and the trims are off, the front fender is completely bent up... Oddly though, the tachometer started working again after the hit. . .

Mainly I am concerned with the alignment. If I let go of the handle bars for a couple of seconds they now start to wobble ridiculously (and were smooth and straight before.) Maybe the dampers?

If the alignment is screwed, what's involved in straightening it out, or should I start looking for a new pair of forks? There's a pair of forks from an 80 on eBay... Should I be worried about the frame and how does one check the alignment? I've seen postings about hanging weighted strings off various points of the bike. If it rides straight w/o me holding the steering, am I safe to assume the alignment is still good?

AAAAAARG!!!!!!!!

Any suggestions or commiseration would be appreciated. Thanks,

-Patrick Kennedy

[newmaac]

Patrick, it sounds like your incident could have been much worse. I am glad to hear that it is just front suspension that you are worried about, and not a busted-up body.
Which bike were you on? I checked your profile and saw that you have both a Special and a Standard.
Hopefully you will be able to just re-align everything, but if you find that you need parts to get back on the road, let me know.
I live in San Jose, and I have extra forks for both models.

If you want to make the 45 minute drive I will give you a set.
You can leave a PM if you need anything.

[mixelpix]

Mike, thank you, that is an incredibly gracious offer. I am currently still a little frazzled, but yes, counting my lucky stars!

I'm gonna deal with the legalities tomorrow and give the bike a once over this weekend. I will let you know how the front forks are. I was able to ride home, but the bars are wobbling and it felt like it was pulling to the left (but that might just be my muscles untwisting...)

Honestly, though, I am more bummed about the front fairing - cracked with a hole where the drivers mirror stabbed it just under the right turn signal. I guess it's prolly fiberglass and can be patched.

The standard I have listed in my profile is probably the '79 xs 400 I own (my first bike - made me realize I wanted a touring bike). The 1100 is a special, and is very special to me. Bummer there's no bluebook for sentimental value.

If the forks look like they're f##k'd I'll send you a PM and see about heading South. Thank you again!

[Pat Kelly]

What kind of fairing, Pacifico or Vetter? I have one here in Modesto (an hour away) with the round headlight and turn signals.
Another thing is this is from an XS750 but should work just fine. You may need your own mounting brackets.
let me know... p-lkelly@sbcglobal.net

[andreashweiss]

You will need to take a VERY good look at your bike. Triple tree may be damaged from impact.Look carefully for cracks in frame all the way back.I would NOT use the old forks or rim find some that have not been stressed. Fix it and get back on it right away. Cages will always do stupid things in front of bikes you were lucky.Hope you are not feeling to bad.

[DiverRay]

The Rim and forks need to be checked. The rim should be good, as they are steel and don't bend much! When you look at the bike this weekend, thr to loosen the front axle, and the triple clamp bolts, tweak the bars and all, then tighten the bolts down.
Most of the time the stress will push things out, and if you relax the bolts it will realign itself. You DO need to look for fractures, and look at the fork tubes.( the skinny upper ones) They can be bent, and even a little is too much.
If in doubt, give mike a call and pick up the forks from him. He is a great guy, and he does have usable parts. I can help with the inspection/wrenching, as I was a Yamaha mechanic in a previous life. I live about 1 1/2 hours away, in the Santa Cruz area.

Ray

[randy]

Steel rims? It's a 1100 special, right? Methinks they are aluminum. And a wobble probably indicates a bent rim. An out-of-whack fork would pull to one side, but not wobble.

More likely than not, you have both a bent rim and a tweeked fork.

Randy

[DiverRay]

If you look at the rims, they will say nodular steel on one of the spokes if they are the steel ones. I know for my F, and the E I had, they are steel. The rim off the 80 I'm using now is also steel.

[randy]

I was under the impression that all of the rims supplied with the XS's were aluminum.

Randy

[DiverRay]

No, they just look like they are. pick one up, they are heavy!!

Ray

[randy]

I have an F that came with aluminum rims, I had an SH that came with aluminum rims, and I'm looking at my issue of Cycle from Jan 78 and the Yamaha supplement touts aluminum rims as standard on the E model.

Randy

[DiverRay]

I know what the ad said, and I had serial #000254 E. The easy thing is read the spokes, see what they say.

Ray

[Pat Kelly]

Try the magnet test .

[randy]

Try the aluminum magnets!

Randy

[Pat Kelly]

All I have is wood magnets.