Damn and F*ck it all - Help needed

[Str8 Jacket]

So I get up this morning and go down to my bike to ride it to work . . . This is when I notice that the bike is lying on its left side (regretfully i have to leave it outside on the street), now I know the stand was up when I left it last nite and it was parked next to a brick wall so I don't believe that it just fell over . . . if ya get my drift. Anyway I have a quick look, it was dark so couldn't see much but the gear change lever and respective peg was a what I thought a "wee" bit bent. So I start the bike up changed into 1st and it all seemed good. However once I started riding it felt a bit funny, so when I get to work I have a look in the light and the f*cken lever and peg are quite bent - but working. What do I do now?! Can I "bang" the peg and lever back into place? Or should I just leave well alone and take it to the shop??

[riffer]

FWIW, when I binned my FZR last year I was able to straighten the gear lever by using a ring spanner with a pipe around it.

Placed the ring spanner over the gear lever and sloooooowly pulled back on the pipe.

Luckily it didn't break...

[Str8 Jacket]

FWIW, when I binned my FZR last year I was able to straighten the gear lever by using a ring spanner with a pipe around it.

Placed the ring spanner over the gear lever and sloooooowly pulled back on the pipe.

Luckily it didn't break...

Cheers mate, will give that a go. I am pretty stoked that nothing was broken of, and everything still seems to be working! I almost cried when I saw it just lying there this morning . . . .

[placidfemme]

Maybe you should park the bike inside from now on... if there is no concrete to park it on, park it on the grass close to your house... use a plank of wood to stop the stand from sinking into the soil/mud/grass. At least if it falls over there (less chance because it's off the road) it'll be falling on a softer surface...

Hope its not too hard for you to fix, or doesn't cost too much if you are going to send it in...

[ajturbo]

sorry str8... but i hear the wind is strong down that way ... some times....

the ONLY way out i see for you is to... sell it to me for 1k and all your troubles will be gone!!! no more worring about your bike .. it will be safe up here in TGA..

no really matey.. it must have pissed you off no end and i'm sorry to hear about it.. can you park it in side your house???
i had a mate that had a bike he parked in the lounge.... he knew where it was at all times...... and who was touching it....

andy

[FROSTY]

the mighty GNU is a solid beast. -the gearlever is made of metan and will straighten just as Riffer described. The peg bracket might be a bit more difficult-just cos its so much heavier metal. You might need a bit of heat applied to coax it back into place. It may also have just bent the mounting bolts. My strong suggestion is before you try -do it at home where you have alternative transport.
Id also suggest--park the mighty bike on its main stand at night

[Str8 Jacket]

Thanks for all the advice guy's. However Wellys being Wellys, where I live there is no alternative but to park the bike on the footpath. I live up about 25 odd steep stairs, and have no alternative. I had thought about wheeling my bike up the stairs, BUT my bike weighs 150+ kilos and I weigh about 50.
FROSTY - thanks, I will be putting it on its main stand from now on.

My mate from work who rides himself just went and had another look at it with me. THIS IS WEIRD . . . there are no scratches on the bike anywhere, so I don't quite understand whats hapenned! :no:

[FROSTY]

If you can put up with it till monday/tuesday Ill be down there and happy to look at it for ya

[Str8 Jacket]

If you can put up with it till monday/tuesday Ill be down there and happy to look at it for ya

Cheers for the offer mate, I should be able to get someone to do it tonite. My workmate reckons it's fixable, hope he's right!!

[Paul in NZ]

Bad luck....

At least I hopes it's bad luck 'cos I'd hate to think someone pushed it over (sorry - the world is full of haters and joy suckers.)

Let us know if you need a hand, I live up the coast but happy to help out if possible..

Cheers

[unhingedlizard]

I agree with riffer, have done this numious times, most of the time it works, sometimes they break, but if they break doing this they are shaffed anyway.

Just remember to pull, not hit or tap. If it wont work, grab a bigger pipe.

[scumdog]

How about a bike-cover, you know, the old 'out of sight-out of mind' thing.

If your area is windy it might not be such a good thing as it would give the wind something to 'catch' on.



Windy?? what was I thinking!! You're in Wellington!

[Str8 Jacket]

How about a bike-cover, you know, the old 'out of sight-out of mind' thing.

If your area is windy it might not be such a good thing as it would give the wind something to 'catch' on.



Windy?? what was I thinking!! You're in Wellington!

Yep, I thought about getting a cover a while back, now i'm definately gonna get one. Because my stand isn't damaged it looks like it was put up by someone and there wasn't really much wind last night lots and lotsa rain but not wind. So im at a loss to explain - maybe ive pissed someone of! . . .
Im soo angry though the bike is BRAND NEW.

[ManDownUnder]

Cheers mate, will give that a go. I am pretty stoked that nothing was broken of, and everything still seems to be working! I almost cried when I saw it just lying there this morning . . . .

Also.. heat is your friend. If yuou can them up to nice and warm, then bend them, then let 'em cool slowly it'll be MUCH less likely to fracture (invisibly or visibly).

Being Aluminium (I guess) it's hard to tell when it's hot enough though - no colour change so talk to a welding shop and ask them to draw on it with a thermal crayon (I think that's what they're called)... it'll change colour when at the right temp. They'll have the heating gear too...

Keep flames away from chain oil and fuel of course...
MDU

[sels1]

Jeez thats bad luck Str8 - not a fair thing to happen to a new bike. Good luck getting it sorted - others have posted what I was gonna say.

[TygerTung]

Thanks for all the advice guy's. However Wellys being Wellys, where I live there is no alternative but to park the bike on the footpath. I live up about 25 odd steep stairs, and have no alternative. I had thought about wheeling my bike up the stairs, BUT my bike weighs 150+ kilos and I weigh about 50.
FROSTY - thanks, I will be putting it on its main stand from now on.

My mate from work who rides himself just went and had another look at it with me. THIS IS WEIRD . . . there are no scratches on the bike anywhere, so I don't quite understand whats hapenned! :no:

Why not ride it up the stairs like the liquid terminator does on terminator 2!

[vifferman]

Also.. heat is your friend. If yuou can them up to nice and warm, then bend them, then let 'em cool slowly it'll be MUCH less likely to fracture (invisibly or visibly).
I did this with my brake pedal and footpeg bracket, using a hot-air gun and a BIG spanner. It worked well, within the limitations of how much / which directions I could bend it with it in place. But then again, if I'd taken it off (not an easy job), it would've been hard to estimate when it was about right. I figured that the hot-air gun was unlikely to get it too hot, but would make the alloy malleable enough to co-operate. Turned out I was right.

[Str8 Jacket]

Why not ride it up the stairs like the liquid terminator does on terminator 2!

:rofl: Cheers for that mate, when I get home i'll give it a go and let ya'll know how it went . . . . On second thoughts maybe not!

[Ixion]

Sorry to hear the nice GN is hurt.

Myself I'd probably just kick the footpeg straight. But that's cos I'm rough as. Probably work OK though. The gear levers a bit trickier, cos (in theory anyrate) you could risk bending the shaft, which would be a Bad Thing. If it's steel, then a bit of heat will help (though if it's chromed it may bugger up the finish). Ally is trickier - aluminum is hot short, so heating it there's a risk it might break. Usually best worked cold.

Got any guy types mates, father, brothers etc who are handy with spanners ? (carefully avoiding any reference to tools here , go away you rude people) - they should be able to straighten it out easily enough, can't be too much bent if it's still usable.

[Ixion]

:rofl: Cheers for that mate, when I get home i'll give it a go and let ya'll know how it went . . . . On second thoughts maybe not!

Not silly. I used to ride bikes up stairs. It's not as hard as it sounds PROVIDED the step distance isn't an even divisor of the wheelbase! (ie you don't want both front and back wheel hitting a riser at the same time.)

Used to ride a Velo up steps, so a GN would be pretty easy, they're good at that sort of thing.

Actually coming down again is the harder bit.

[Str8 Jacket]

Got any guy type mates, who are handy with spanners ? - they should be able to straighten it out easily enough, can't be too much bent if it's still usable.

:rofl: :rofl: :devil2:

Aww, sorry mate couldn't resist, I AM one of those rude types. Started pissing myself laughing at my desk, now Im getting some very strange looks!!

[Str8 Jacket]

Actually coming down again is the harder bit.

Hmm me suspects you should stop taking so many drugs . . . (p/t)

But in all seriouness, thankyou for all your advice I do appreciate it!

[Sparky Bills]

Be carefull straightening it.
It helps to heat it before bending it. That helps it from not breaking.

Trust me, ive straightened a few bars etc :whistle:

Slowly and surely is what you need. Dont try to bend it back too fast.

Good luck.

[Sparky Bills]

Opps,
Just read that the heat thing has already been said.
Sorry,
Dont mind me. Carry on with what your doing. :weird:

[Eurygnomes]

Aw no!!! You poor thing. I know what you mean about leaving it in the street - I would have thought it safe in Brooklyn though! Have purchased a mbike cover from trademe. How long do you reckon it's gonna last in the wind? Will have to make holes in it so it doesn't parachute my bike into flatmates Rav, so what's the point!? :(

[unhingedlizard]

Be carefull straightening it.
It helps to heat it before bending it. That helps it from not breaking.

Trust me, ive straightened a few
Good luck.


Ho Hum.....

[Str8 Jacket]

Aw no!!! You poor thing. I know what you mean about leaving it in the street - I would have thought it safe in Brooklyn though! Have purchased a mbike cover from trademe. How long do you reckon it's gonna last in the wind? Will have to make holes in it so it doesn't parachute my bike into flatmates Rav, so what's the point!? :(

Yep, it totally sux big time, but at least it's fixable and no scratches etc. That and if i have too I can still ride it.

Arrgh, don't worry bout your flatties Rav, they should have insurance, that and your GN will rust alot faster than a Rav ever would . . . anyway would it really be so bad if it did "take out the Rav", then you could convince your flattie to gat a bike too - there problem solved! :yes:

[Wolf]

If you've got a flat, sheltered area near your house and your steps aren't too insane (I am remembering we're talking about Wellington region, here), riding the bike up the steps would not be too stupid an idea. Getting it down again you could back it down, controlling its descent with the front brake. Walk down the steps backwards on the right hand side of the bike holding the handlebars, gravity will move it downwards with no effort on your part and a gentle squeeze on the brakes is all that's required to slow it down.

Or just hop on, turn on the ignition, point the frontwheel downhill and let go of the brakes - just as you're about to hit the road, pull in the clutch, kick it up into second, scream "Tally-ho" and drop the clutch - save wear and tear on the starter motor every morning...

Last bike I took forwards down a flight of steps was the TS125 and they were pretty shallow steps. Being of the Trail bike persuasion it handled them well.

[Ixion]

If you've got a flat, sheltered area near your house and your steps aren't too insane (I am remembering we're talking about Wellington region, here), riding the bike up the steps would not be too stupid an idea. Getting it down again you could back it down, controlling its descent with the front brake. Walk down the steps backwards on the right hand side of the bike holding the handlebars, gravity will move it downwards with no effort on your part and a gentle squeeze on the brakes is all that's required to slow it down.

Or just hop on, turn on the ignition, point the frontwheel downhill and let go of the brakes - just as you're about to hit the road, pull in the clutch, kick it up into second, scream "Tally-ho" and drop the clutch - save wear and tear on the starter motor every morning...

Last bike I took forwards down a flight of steps was the TS125 and they were pretty shallow steps. Being of the Trail bike persuasion it handled them well.

I've only ever gone down facing forward. Not too sure about going down backward. I always leaned well back and put all the weight over the rear wheel . Backwards I'd be a bit worried about flipping it. Could be interesting to try though. C'mon Li'L Ratty, I've a job for you. Bugger. No steps. Except the stairs in the house. Hmmm. Nope much too dangerous. The riding part would be fine, but Mrs Ixion....... No, don't want to go there. The fuss she made when I rode through the entrance lobby and out the front door, I've still got the mental scars (was ALLI was getting for a while too !)

[Str8 Jacket]

Cheers for all your advice guy's. My b\f has removed the clutch lever and is going to get his mate to straighten it tomorrow morning,
The best thing is that my neighbour has agreed to let me ride the mighty GN up there driveway up the side of their house, and right up to my entrance way, which is awesome! The only catch is that their driveway is insanely slippery . . .

[unhingedlizard]

winge, winge, bitch, bitch, whine. :msn-wink:

[ajturbo]

Cheers for all your advice guy's. My b\f has removed the clutch lever and is going to get his mate to straighten it tomorrow morning,
The best thing is that my neighbour has agreed to let me ride the mighty GN up there driveway up the side of their house, and right up to my entrance way, which is awesome! The only catch is that their driveway is insanely slippery . . .

wellll you DO know the rules!!???

if it is slippery... just give it heaps, fall off,

then sue em... and your land lord, they get a new drive, you get a new bike, :devil2:

[Str8 Jacket]

wellll you DO know the rules!!???

if it is slippery... just give it heaps, fall off,

then sue em... and your land lord, they get a new drive, you get a new bike, :devil2:

:rofl:
Now if only we were in America! :whistle:

[danb]

I bent my back break leaver on SH22 - Like someone said, I got a pipe over it, a piece of wood behind it (Which got burnt :whistle:) and heated the arm with a powerful heat gun. Seemed to do the trick.

[saul]

hi mate.

Make sure you warm the lever up. :yes:

I have done this a few times succesfully.

I used my wifes hairdryer and got it nice and toasty and applied gentle pressure.

Works a treat :yes:

[Patch]

Hi Str8, thats gotta suck havin' ya bike dinged. Don't worry too much, I doubt it will be your last one.

If you get stuck, I have a garage full of tools and a hand if ya need it. Keep us informed as to how you go. Also when you can, fit an alarm. Too many bikes go missing. :no:

Cheers :spudwave:

[Maximus]

Cheers for all your advice guy's. My b\f has removed the clutch lever and is going to get his mate to straighten it tomorrow morning,
The best thing is that my neighbour has agreed to let me ride the mighty GN up there driveway up the side of their house, and right up to my entrance way, which is awesome! The only catch is that their driveway is insanely slippery . . .

Damn Hell's that's got to be gutting. :no: But if you'd come down south like you were 'sposed to, it may never have happened :whistle: