Bent frame????????? :( :( :(

Meighan · July 23, 2004, 06:30:29 PM

So, last night I got my bike up and running, rode home, everything was fine. I called the local suzuki dealership this morning and made an appointment to come in and have it checked out, since I did the repairs myself and I've never done that before, I wanted to make sure I did things properly.

They checked it out, said the repairs I did were great, blah blah blah... and then they tell me my frame is bent.

?? I'm so upset.. when I first crashed I took the bike to my mechanic, and he said the frame was not bent, and to get the pieces and we'd fix it.. then he closed up shop for the summer to spend time with his kids, and I just decided to do the repairs myself. Anyway... I'm going to be seeing him on Sunday at the track, and I'm going to ask him how he knew the frame wasn't bent, and ask him if what the suzuki dealership is saying is true.

I'm just so upset because I wouldn't have gone to all the time, effort and money of fixing the bike if it had a bent frame............

I've been told it costs a lot of money to get frames straightened, how much approximately? Also how much do used straight frames cost? The guy at the dealership said that it might be possible to switch the frame and keep the title on my bike with the new frame... I don't know about that... guess first I should get a second opinion and make sure the frame IS actually bent... I don't think they are trying to rip me off, because they can't do frame straightening at their shop, there's only like 2 people in Vancouver who do it. And also, they didn't charge me anything for the "check up" I think they felt sorry for me.

They said I shouldn't ride it home, but I did anyway... they said to be careful, so I guess I just won't ride hard, or very much, until I can get this all sorted out...

The Buddha · July 23, 2004, 06:44:33 PM

OK should have asked them where its bent... I carried around a frame for years and never knew it was bent, werase saw it and a week later said its bent... Might be hard to spot.
Cool.
Srinath.

Blueknyt · July 23, 2004, 07:00:06 PM

if the frame has a dent in it, most shops will call it bent. Insurence Companies will call it bent and total the bike out. is the bike tracking funny? does it seem to want to fall into a turn really easy in one direction and need to push it abit to turn the other? does the bike track straight if you let go of the bars or do you need to shift your center of ballence.

is it posible, yes. is it still very ridable? only you can judge that. the softest part of the frame would be the tail section and the bendy areas wouldnt effect its handling, comfort perhaps if severe enough. my tail section is alittle tweaked, but eventhing still bolts right up.

ride it, if your that worried, grab another frame with title, swap the parts over, and ill take your "bent " frame/title no problem. then all i will need to build another GS would be carbs and gauges.

perfdrug · July 24, 2004, 06:37:58 PM

damn meighan, sorry to hear that. i know you were looking forward to getting your bike back together. finally today i was able to start my bike without jamming a screwdriver anywhere or worrying about stalling out. felt good. keep at it tho, and you'll be very satisfied.

Meighan · July 24, 2004, 09:27:46 PM

So, an update...

I spoke with my mechanic John, the guy who originally told me the frame was fine, and he said that the frame frame is fine, it's just the sub frame is squished a bit on the left side, but we knew about that. It's not major as the seat still fits on perfectly. Also though, that thing at the front of the frame between the forks, that nub thing - I don't know what it's called - but that piece is a bit bent, but nothing major. He says it should be fine to ride for now, and no big deal to eventually fix.

I'm going to take it to a place that straightens frames, just to get it checked out and get a quote on the work, but I'm feeling better now, I was worried all the work I had done was for nothing!!!!!!!!!!

In any case, it feels damn good to be riding again.

The Buddha · July 24, 2004, 09:34:59 PM

The steering stop... yea that's a useless POS that is made of cheese... my eliminator... had it bent literally 90 degrees... I took 1 hour grinding and bending a 1 inch hex rod into the right shape so I can get it on the bent part, and I bashed it into place in 5 mins with a 20lb sledge hammer.
Cool.
Srinath.

Meighan · July 24, 2004, 09:41:20 PM

Quote from: seshadri_srinathThe steering stop... yea that's a useless POS that is made of cheese... my eliminator... had it bent literally 90 degrees... I took 1 hour grinding and bending a 1 inch hex rod into the right shape so I can get it on the bent part, and I bashed it into place in 5 mins with a 20lb sledge hammer.
Cool.
Srinath.

Steering stop! That's it, stupid thing. :guns:

dgyver · July 25, 2004, 03:23:09 AM

Glad to hear it is nothing major. Depended on how it is damaged, a piece of metal can be welded to the stop to fix it. I have had to do this on several bikes that had different front ends installed where a stop had to be fabricated.

nl_carey · July 25, 2004, 04:54:38 PM

Yep, when my steering stop needed to be fixed they simply welded a new chunk of metal on it. However, this can damage the steering stem head bearings if not done right. Get someone who knows what they are doing to do it, it's a bit expensive to replace those bearings I've been told.

dgyver · July 25, 2004, 05:18:06 PM

There are plastic carriers for the roller bearings that can get damaged. Best to remove the triples and bearing to be safe before welding. A plate could be bolted on instead of welded.

GT Eye · July 25, 2004, 10:33:20 PM

What does it take to bend a frame anyways?

wasabi_peas · July 25, 2004, 11:31:30 PM

My steering stop was bent out of alignment from one of the previous owners. For a while, I just figured the lock and park positions of the ignition were non-functional.

In one of my clean-the-whole-freeking-bike sessions, I found the cause. I ground the offending side of the stop with a Dremel cutoff wheel, and voila! My lock and park positions now work.

In my case, the stop was bent only enough for the handlebar to just touch the tank at full lock. If it was really a problem, I probably would have built up the offending side with JBWeld or something. As it is, I was able to move the handlebar slightly to the right, and it now clears the tank completely.

Thought I'd mention it in case you hadn't checked the Lock position yet.

The Buddha · July 26, 2004, 07:17:05 AM

Quote from: dgyverThere are plastic carriers for the roller bearings that can get damaged. Best to remove the triples and bearing to be safe before welding. A plate could be bolted on instead of welded.

A head on hit - hard ebough to bend the forks and the triples and the wheel.
Cool.
Srinath.

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Bent frame????????? :( :( :(