Another wreck
 

Okay so now I can add to the ranks of wrecked superhawks. I rear ended a car this morning. The damage is mostly cosmetic, but The front wheel doesn't line up with the clip ons anymore. The forks don't look to be bent, so I'm thinking if I loosen up the clamps I can maybe just pull it all back into alignment. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this.

Hmmm, I think something got bent.:cry: Those clip-ons are bolted to the triple so if it's not lined up.... Make sure you look over evrything carefully, sorry about your crash.

Thanks, I'll have to look harded. Worst case scenario this will become an excuse to upgrade.

RC frontend

http://cgi.ebay.ca/RC51-RC-51-VTR-HO...QQcmdZViewItem

The triples are probably twisted. You'll need to loosen the upper triple clamp bolts and probably also the clip-on bolts. Bounce the front end up and down as hard as you can. This usually straightens them out. I've also had to whack the front tire against the side of the garage door opening when the first procedure doesn't work. Don't forget to tighten everything when you are done!

That's the spirit! Doesn't sound like you got hurt so THAT'S a good thing.

Good luck getting it back in order! Glad to know you weren't hurt. I have had a lot of close calls lately with the horrible cold weather traction/frost/dewpoint.

Loosen axle, axle pinch bolts, and lower triple bolts. Roll bike several times forward while quickly grabbing the front brake. This will "shock" the front end straight. Gently place on sidestand and tighten everything up. If it still doesn't line up then something's bent. Good to hear your little incident wasn't worse.

It's not just the cold weather but the time of year as well. The days are shorter, the shadows longer, the social pressures greater - all these things come into play. This is the time of year that we really need to be on our toes. Don't push it - there's more time later.

As always thanks for the input from all. I'm hoping to get around to loosen everything up today. I'm not hurt but a little sore to say the least this morning. The problem with sportbikes is the way the gas tank rises in front of the seat. An important part of one's anatomy tends to hit this on the way off the bike.

Okay I loosened up the bolts on the lower triple and bounced it and pushed it and hit the brakes until it looked straight. Tightened everything back up and I think I'm good. Is there a better or more accurate way to see if it is truly straight than just looking down the forks, or as long as it looks straight and doesn't pull to one side or anything is that good enough?

Kendrick

get a nice flat surface...a mirror will do...and pull your forks off and roll the the stiction tube on the flat surface, if it rolls nice then its straight and you can roll nice...if not...new forks are in your future...

Stiction tube? I think you mean stanchion tube. A steel ruler will also do. I don't like mirrors or glass because I'm bound to break them at the worst possible time. As mentioned, you have to remove the forks to know for sure. They can't be checked visually when installed on the bike.

Two lengths of wood aligned with the back wheel and a mate to hold the bike is a good way to check alignment... with the bars in a 90 degree angle the two wheels should line up with the same clearence on both sides in the front... (migth need two clamps on the back wheel to make it easier)

Oh... you obviuosly need to check that the planks are flat to start with, and measure the gap front and back...

Another thought on my wreck. The top lug for the fairing stay/instrument bracket broke off in the process. My thought was just to JB weld bond it back on. It doesn't seem to support too much force when not used to absorb impact, and the fact that it is part of the frame doesn't leave me many options. Anyone elses input is always appreciated.

Well, I thought I had everything sorted on the bike finally. I did just JB weld the top lug for the fairing stay back onto the frame, and it seemed pretty solid. The bike came out for it's first ride of the year last night, and sure enough the lug broke off again. I hadn't anticipated it taking as much shock over bumps as it does. I'm trying to find a solution short of taking the whole thing apart and having it brazed or welded back on. I'm tempted to just zip tie the fairing bracket around the steering head, but I'd like to do better than that. Does anyone have any experience with this part breaking or with any good epoxys that will put it back on permanently? I want to ride this spring, not deal with down time for repairs. The seasons too short here already.

I know it's not cheap but if the fairing stay is bent or broken the best thing to do is to just buy a new one. Yeah, it sucks, by why half-ass it?

Unfortunately the fairing stay is good. Its that top tab on the steering head that is broken off (the mount for the top bolt on the fairing stay). So it seems I either need to work with it or buy a whole new frame.

Oooooh, that sucks. Okay, now I see where you're coming from. Do you have the old piece, and if so why not consider having it welded back on.

Oh, shit. It took a minute but once I visualized it I understood the pickle you're in! Is there any way to rig up a halter of sorts back through the frame? You mentioned cable ties in one of your last posts - same idea just use very long SS fine gauge clamps - maybe a couple. Man that sucks! I do think the cable tie route is the best but the material could be better.

Is there a "cold" weld available through some specialty welding shop that could reattach the piece? Lots of shit would prob have to come off the bike to do it and I'll bet they wouldn't do it cheap if you could even find it.

Good luck and keep us posted. That is a really unique problem and a real weak point of the Superhawk. My stay took the full impact in my crash but I went in nearly straight. Nothing back of the front joint was messed up.

I probably attempt a combination of the two. I'll clean up the whole thing again, put more JB weld on and then strap the fairing stay around the steering head somehow.

I know it should be welded, but I don't see it as a safety issue, and I don't want to waste my riding season.

Damn I hate having unique problems.

I found a frame on ebay, but it has the exact same break as mine. For the sake of clarity here's what mine looks like. At least it wasn't just me.

That's like lightning striking twice. After I wrote my reply to your post I was surfing ebay looking for some parts and ran across this very ad! About the only thing that frame on ebay is good for is a street fighter - maybe not even that! Best of luck! Maybe in the mean time you can run across a welder that can help you out next winter. The bikes are out today. After days of rain today is 71F and sunny - perfect!

Mine cracked too in my crash a few months ago...:cry: I'll probably have it welded later when I get around to it... glad you're okay and hope you didn't smash up that car too much!

I hope the son-of-a-bitch sees that big Red Bird coming at him every night when he goes to sleep. :twisted:

So it seems that my front forks were twisted also from my downing. It seemed strange when the front Fender didn't allign with the front wheel. I loosened the upper triple clamps, and the bars and rolled and stopped it and it did the trick!

Well, in the ongoing saga of geting my bike back to normal I called tha mechanic that does the stuff I don't want to. He suggested I take it to a guy down by the airport that does welding for planes. He said he's the guy to go to, but all he does is welding. I'd like to ride it down there and take off a bare minimum of parts for him to weld it up.

What does anyone think is suffcient? Do the forks and everything have to be removed, or just the fairing and stay?

Either way I need a day off to deal with it, so it won't be for a while. It will be zip tied or whatever until then.

Don't remove anything, weld very hot but in small spots, then cool it down with water, then start over until it's done. I assume that the bearings are at the top and bottom of this part ?? Just avoid to overheat the whole spot. It can be MIG or TIG welded but not brazed because it induce too much heat and is not strong enough. Stabilize the part in it's original location and bevel (cut a V groove) around the crack. It's easy stuff, just clear the way free of wires, hoses for the guy that will weld it.
Good luck with this.

I wrecked mine recently as well. my fairing has to go headlight an gear shift,windscreen too. I ended up with a partially collapsed lung, fractured rib, and a couple spots of road rash.