I thought she was safe at home!

[Jambo]

My grandmother passed away this summer. So the family decided to congregate on her birthday which was yesterday, the 28th. Actually, she was born on the 29th.

I had been working on the bike, mounting new turn signals and oiling the chain and general cleaning. I had it parked on the central stand behind my mothers polo, and since I was going to take the bike, I did not re-parked it, which is side-by-side with the car.

Well, my mother got in her car and simply reversed it and draged the bike 5 feet. It did not fell down, a miracule. Front end which recived the blow, got twisted to one side. On the road, my left arm is more stretched than the right one and I can see that the dash is pointing right and so is the head light.

I was still inside the house and heard the sound of destruction. I ran to the door and the bike was still up, but the most disturbing thing was the look in my mothers face, she had that look we all know, that motorists make when they know they mess up, but haven't got a clue what they did wrong. We all know that look.

My question now is how will I ride without a motorcycle. I am completly hooked. Been dosing myself since february 7, the day I bought it, every day at least one hour. Actually I wasn't going to ride this weekend since it pouring rain outside. It was expected and arrived through the night.

I am going to take some measurements, pics and shed a tear while holding her hand!

Cheers

[gsxbarmy]

Not good - poor you, poor bike and I bet your mother feels terrible.

Ok, it may not be too bad. Some pictures may help, but what I would do first is re-align the front end, hopefully with a low speed push, things have just twisted rather than bent.

Put on mainstand and loosen of the mudguard bolts, then the top and bottom yoke bolts - enough that the fork legs will move but not loose. Then holding the front wheel between your legs twist the bars back straight. You can check when the fork legs are aligned as if you use a small square of (say) steel - or similar - all for corners should touch the leg in the area between the top of the wheel and the bottom yoke.

[Jambo]

I got some pics.

Nothing obvious with this pic. Some lens dirtortion is possible. Looking at it, seems preety much strait.



On these, it is clear we have an issue.

Cheers

[DP1400]

Jambo, thats a real shame. Luckily it doesn`t seem that there is any impact damage as such, i`m guessing that the combination of the shove and the weight of the bike was enough to twist the front end slightly out of shape. A lighter bike would have gone over and real damage would have been done!

gsxbarmy is spot on, slightly slacken the key bolts on the front end and give the entire assembly a twist. It shouldn`t take much. Tighten back up and check it all over again before you take it down the road.

Unfortunately, the reason for your spill is more common than you think - its why i never squeeze into a parking space between parked cars. A disaster waiting to happen! Park your bike where it can be clearly seen, or if your`re out in a town, a designated bike parking area.

Good luck with it. Let us know how it goes.

[Jambo]

Not good - poor you, poor bike and I bet your mother feels terrible.

Ok, it may not be too bad. Some pictures may help, but what I would do first is re-align the front end, hopefully with a low speed push, things have just twisted rather than bent.

Put on mainstand and loosen of the mudguard bolts, then the top and bottom yoke bolts - enough that the fork legs will move but not loose. Then holding the front wheel between your legs twist the bars back straight. You can check when the fork legs are aligned as if you use a small square of (say) steel - or similar - all for corners should touch the leg in the area between the top of the wheel and the bottom yoke.

Without any hesitation, I tried your suggestion. Re-aligned the front end. It looks preety good now. I am torquing it to specs and give it a try.

Cheers

[Jambo]

Jambo, thats a real shame. Luckily it doesn`t seem that there is any impact damage as such, i`m guessing that the combination of the shove and the weight of the bike was enough to twist the front end slightly out of shape. A lighter bike would have gone over and real damage would have been done!

gsxbarmy is spot on, slightly slacken the key bolts on the front end and give the entire assembly a twist. It shouldn`t take much. Tighten back up and check it all over again before you take it down the road.

Unfortunately, the reason for your spill is more common than you think - its why i never squeeze into a parking space between parked cars. A disaster waiting to happen! Park your bike where it can be clearly seen, or if your`re out in a town, a designated bike parking area.

Good luck with it. Let us know how it goes.

In Portugal bikers do not park amoung cars. We park over the side walks, and it is tolerated by authorities, althought it is not legal. Assuming the bike isn't blocking pedestrians. And some places have parking for bikes like beaches town centers. We all seen what cars can do to bikes. Thankfuly the bike hadn't a wall or some kind of blocking, although the terrain surface isn't smooth. we'll see. I did what gsxbarmy recommended. Will report back.
cheers

[Andre]

I feel sorry for your mother. Sure she feels really bad. Everything else can be fixed.

[gsxbarmy]

Not good - poor you, poor bike and I bet your mother feels terrible.

Ok, it may not be too bad. Some pictures may help, but what I would do first is re-align the front end, hopefully with a low speed push, things have just twisted rather than bent.

Put on mainstand and loosen of the mudguard bolts, then the top and bottom yoke bolts - enough that the fork legs will move but not loose. Then holding the front wheel between your legs twist the bars back straight. You can check when the fork legs are aligned as if you use a small square of (say) steel - or similar - all for corners should touch the leg in the area between the top of the wheel and the bottom yoke.

Without any hesitation, I tried your suggestion. Re-aligned the front end. It looks preety good now. I am torquing it to specs and give it a try.

Cheers

Fingers and everything else crossed @Jambo  that all is good

[Jambo]

I went for a test ride. And it was still off slightly, because I eye balled it. I did not use any perks! I re-ajusted and went for another test ride. It feels the same like it was before.

On a down hill I took several times my hands from the gripes and everything looked ok!

Then I went on the motorway and gradually increased speed and it held on just fine.

If it looks and feels ok, can I assume it is done? or should I be more thorough?

I guess becoming a member in this forum is and will remain the best choice I make this year!

Can't thank enough for the support!

Cheers

[Jambo]

Not good - poor you, poor bike and I bet your mother feels terrible.

Ok, it may not be too bad. Some pictures may help, but what I would do first is re-align the front end, hopefully with a low speed push, things have just twisted rather than bent.

Put on mainstand and loosen of the mudguard bolts, then the top and bottom yoke bolts - enough that the fork legs will move but not loose. Then holding the front wheel between your legs twist the bars back straight. You can check when the fork legs are aligned as if you use a small square of (say) steel - or similar - all for corners should touch the leg in the area between the top of the wheel and the bottom yoke.

Without any hesitation, I tried your suggestion. Re-aligned the front end. It looks preety good now. I am torquing it to specs and give it a try.

Cheers

Fingers and everything else crossed @Jambo  that all is good

Thank you. 

[Mick_J]

I went for a test ride. And it was still off slightly, because I eye balled it. I did not use any perks! I re-ajusted and went for another test ride. It feels the same like it was before.

On a down hill I took several times my hands from the gripes and everything looked ok!

Then I went on the motorway and gradually increased speed and it held on just fine.

If it looks and feels ok, can I assume it is done? or should I be more thorough?

I guess becoming a member in this forum is and will remain the best choice I make this year!

Can't thank enough for the support!

Cheers

If it feels fine and everything is torqued up correctly you will be okay to just ride it.

[Jambo]

I went for a test ride. And it was still off slightly, because I eye balled it. I did not use any perks! I re-ajusted and went for another test ride. It feels the same like it was before.

On a down hill I took several times my hands from the gripes and everything looked ok!

Then I went on the motorway and gradually increased speed and it held on just fine.

If it looks and feels ok, can I assume it is done? or should I be more thorough?

I guess becoming a member in this forum is and will remain the best choice I make this year!

Can't thank enough for the support!

Cheers

If it feels fine and everything is torqued up correctly you will be okay to just ride it.

That is good news. I have since re-torque the lower bolts. All six bolts torqued to spec. We can move on.

Cheers

[gsxbarmy]

I agree. If when you take your hands off the bars she runs straight and true with no wobbles then It seems all is good, and you can put this nightmare to bed.

After you've covered about 150Km just go around and check the torques and bolts again, just to be sure all is settled and as it should be.

And don't park behind your mother again!!!!!!

[Jambo]

I agree. If when you take your hands off the bars she runs straight and true with no wobbles then It seems all is good, and you can put this nightmare to bed.

After you've covered about 150Km just go around and check the torques and bolts again, just to be sure all is settled and as it should be.

And don't park behind your mother again!!!!!!

Won't park again behind my dear mother on top of parking checklist.

Mud guard sustained damage.

It is still usable. Maybe some plastic guru can fixe it. But I can't join the gap by hand.

Cheers

[Hooli]

Fill it with some sort of glue, it'll be fine. Mine cracked like that about 120-130k miles ago, I glued it with something & it's still on the bike.