Fork - twisted? [Archive] - Kiwi Biker forums

horch

21st October 2008, 15:05

binned for the first time a few weeks back.

stoopid as, was just about to do a u-turn in a drive and the front wheel slipped on some muck on the drive and down i went - hard!

both L side indicators (of course), twisted the clutch lever, bent the gear selector and bend the handle bar back about 10mm.

The handbar is still bent - but i plan to force that back using a pole as leverage.

My question is - my mud guard is now slightly offset to the front wheel - I assume from binning it. Does this mean the fork has twisted in the triple clamp?? I didn't notice it for a while, as i was more concerned with the handle bar and the bike seems to ride fine - was out on the motorway on the weekend and didn't notice anything unusal. Should my bike be riding straight if a fork is twisted??

I see from another post that loosening the lower fork clamp and twisting it straight might be the answer. - tho this won't affect the handbar issue - ie its hard to tell if its riding straight when my arms are not straight to begin with. ... agh.

Edit - pic added. It maybe a little hard to tell, especially getting the camera directly over the centre. But you can notice the tip of the mud guard is off centre and and the left handle bar is a little skewed.

steelestring

21st October 2008, 15:13

'clipon' handle bar has moved? Triple clamp is tweaked a bit maybe? You have to hit hard and in the right place to bend a fork. Get some photos up so we can get an idea. I am no pro but I have bent a few bikes up before:second:

Conquiztador

21st October 2008, 23:08

Normally you can see it from the side if you look at if the legs are parallel. If legs are twisted you need only, as you mentioned, open the lower triple clamp and then hold on to the wheel while you twist the top clamp straiht.

slimjim

28th October 2008, 19:20

and was the guard in that postion prior..?..as some times you'll find things ..when it was like that before the spill...and it may be the top clamp thats shifted due to full handlebar...as its got shift something when it took must of the force..

horch

3rd November 2008, 14:43

im sure the bike (& guard) were straight before I dropped it.

i tried loosening the lower clamp, then upper clamp (only on the left side - as the mud guard is skewed to the left) and bounced up and down on the suspension. but nothing happened.

so still no joy ...

if the front wheel/axle was out of alignment surely the handling would be affected??

Pussy

3rd November 2008, 15:09

Try leaving the lower clamp bolts tight, and loosen the clamps on to the legs AND the top nut of the top triple clamp. It will more than likely find it's own centre

crazybigal

3rd November 2008, 15:26

to do it right your going to have to jack the bike up on something, I had one of these vtr's and its a pain without a centre stand.
if you undo both top and bottom clamps just remember the bike will sink down the fork tubes under its own weight and the forks may fall out of the clamps if you undo them while the front wheel is off the ground, so be careful.
alignment can be off by only a few mm and you will wear out your front tyre on one side more than the other without feeling it.
If you need to replace the handlebar, dont get a honda one, get a copy from forbes and davies or a ventura one for a fraction of the price.
(you may need to drill locator holes for the controlls though if you get a copy)
I would undo the front guard as well while your playing with the fork alignment.
When your happy with it use 2 string lines on the ground running from the rear and measure were the centre of the front wheel sits.

horch

11th November 2008, 19:03

update -
straightened up the fork by loosening the lower clamp and standing in front of the bike and applied a little force. The mudguard is now aligned with the wheel once more. confidence in bike restored.

the handlebar is still bent - and a replacement maybe the best option there.

cheers

Buddha#81

13th November 2008, 06:12

Have a read of this to get your front end aligned..... http://www.visordown.co.nz/go/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=595

hayd3n

13th November 2008, 06:29