I hate wildlife.

[Craftylilalien]

So today, for the second time in 9 months, I managed to collect a kangaroo on my 09 gs. Unfortunately, unlike the last time, the bike didn't just slide and crack a fairing; it bounced, and hard. Left fairings are destroyed, clutch lever snapped, handlebars bent, bar ends wrecked, grip torn to pieces, indicator and mirror snapped, shifter bent, headlight mounts smashed, and my left footpeg bent the frame slightly rather than folding or snapping  . All of that, especially the fairings, is cosmetic enough to be able to deal with, I was planning on turning it into a naked when I got back to uni anyway. But the forks are bent pretty horribly. 





So, are the forks going to be crazy expensive to replace? My mechanic friend thinks it'd be worth my while looking for and buying a bike where somebody has blown the engine and transplant mine in. Thoughts? Good idea, or better to just get a set of forks from a wreckers, and ebay the rest of the parts?

Ps I'm in Australia, so parts seem to be a bit more expensive.

[twocool]

How is the kangaroo?

Cookie

So today, for the second time in 9 months, I managed to collect a kangaroo on my 09 gs. Unfortunately, unlike the last time, the bike didn't just slide and crack a fairing; it bounced, and hard. Left fairings are destroyed, clutch lever snapped, handlebars bent, bar ends wrecked, grip torn to pieces, indicator and mirror snapped, shifter bent, headlight mounts smashed, and my left footpeg bent the frame slightly rather than folding or snapping  . All of that, especially the fairings, is cosmetic enough to be able to deal with, I was planning on turning it into a naked when I got back to uni anyway. But the forks are bent pretty horribly. 





So, are the forks going to be crazy expensive to replace? My mechanic friend thinks it'd be worth my while looking for and buying a bike where somebody has blown the engine and transplant mine in. Thoughts? Good idea, or better to just get a set of forks from a wreckers, and ebay the rest of the parts?

Ps I'm in Australia, so parts seem to be a bit more expensive.

[Craftylilalien]

How is the kangaroo?

Cookie

Miserable bastard seemed perfectly fine. Wouldn't surprise me if it's the same one as last time... He's evil I tell you. Being huge also helps his cause.

[marcusk]

Hey sorry to see your bike like that. And glad your not broken. 

With the forks I have just been through all this.  Not hitting wildlife but replacing the front bits of my bike also an 07. 

With the forks it's hard to get a set in Australia only a few good sets a year come up on ebay but they work out between 400 to 500 for a perfect set that don't need any work such as new seals or have any damage. It costs about the same to import a set from the states   Saying that I picked up a bargain and got an A grade set for 250 delivered but you need to be quick on ebay to get them.

Also if you bent the forks check the front axel and the lower triple clamp.  Mine was only bent a couple of degrees but made it almost impossible to get the new forks in so I replaced it also that was about $50 on ebay and the axel for about 30.  I also replaced the wheel bearings and they where about $22 for the pair. I paid a man to put those in for me. 

I bought my bike with all this damage after the previous owner did a doge repair and was kind enough to sell me the bike and me not knowing enough to see it was not quite right. 

I have my old forks here one leaks and I can't fix it I have tried new seals but it still leaks but I think they are straight you can have them for the cost of freight and a little waiting time because I will be away for the next 2'weeks.  Just shoot me a PM if you want them just remember I replaced them. 

Also you can do the fork replacement yourself with a workshop manual socket set and a torque wrench and a few spanners

Where are you it looks Very Dry.

Marc

[yamahonkawazuki]

NVM the bike my friend glad YOU are okay.  its cheaper to fix a bike than yourself Eh?, I  have about 16 white tailed deer that calls myproperty home.  and rabbuits and  polecats. ive hit a rabbit on my goped.  I broke its back. well only thing to do is put it out of its misery. 22 style. its little ones were taken by myself to a shelter. afaik theyre fine these days. do roos go out of their way to avoid confrontation or are they semi kamikaze style?

[adidasguy]

If forks leak after seal replacement, 2 possibilities:
1. assembled wrong. There is a flat washer that goes on the tube and sits under the seal
2. Top bushings. If that is worn, the top of the fork can move around and will cause oil to leak out of new seals as it wiggles.

Another possibility is reassembling the bike in the wrong order causing stress on the forks.
The LAST things that get tightened are and in this order:

(Preface: insure the bushing on the lower right fork can freely slide left & right)
1. Axle bolt
2. Bolt on bottom of right fork that keeps that floating bushing from moving
3. Fork brace

The forks need to be straight and be where they want to be. That's why the right fork has that floating bushing. The bushing allow the bottoms of the forks to line up where they want to be. Remember there can be slight differences in the total width of the front wheel bearings, spacer and speedo fitting. The floating bushing allows for that variance. Otherwise, you could be forcing the bottoms in or out when you tighten the axle, which will stress the seals and cause them to leak.

[marcusk]

Huh so my old forks may not be as bad off as I thought.  The offer still stands for the forks if you need them they are all yours.

Once my new axel arrives I will follow your procedure Adidas thanks for the heads up

M

[Blueknyt]

granted i cant tell from the picture very well, but are you sure the forks are bent and not just twisted in the tree? this happens when you roll a bike bending the hell out of handle bars.  where as cartwheeling the bike end over end will damn near always screw the forks and front wheel.  get 2 wooden yard sticks (or would it be wooden meter ruler?!?!? or anything really you can use as a pair of straight edges) with the front of the bike proped up  the clocks removed, headlight cage and front wheel removed tape one wooden rule centered across the fork tubes just under the top plate, and the other centered just under the bottom of the triple tree.  you should be able to look and tell if there is diff angles between upper and lower and correct it by loosening the top plate clamps and stem nut. retwist till angles match.  then move the lower straight edge to the bottom of the fork legs and compare the angles of the straight edges again.  if you still suspect a fork leg is alittle bent, loosen one fork leg in the clamps (top and bottom) without letting the leg fall out, twist the chrome tube 1/4-1/2 turn, you should see the angle between the 2 edges change. tighten the clamps and repeat for the other leg, if there is only the SLIGHTEST of difference and they dont bind when compressed with spring tension removed, then chances are pretty good you can use em again. if they bind up  even alittle or dont make a smooth complete compression stroke and rebound stroke (with spring removed) then i would not chance useing them.  the left fork on my 89 is alittle tweaked from its days as a track bike. but it moves freely, does not leak oil.  i just keep things lined up as close as possible.

[the mole]

If its just a case of the forks looking twisted, ie. handle bar is not at right angles to the front wheel, just loosen the bottom triple clamp bolts and pump the forks up and down, give the bars a wiggle and see if it all lines up.
If not, take the front wheel off, remove both fork legs and have a look along them, should be clear if they're bent. If you want to check more scientifically (I would), then take the legs out of the sliders (easier to remove the springs while the forks are still in the triple clamps) and roll them across a flat surface, like a glass top table or similar. A slight bend can be pressed straight by a suitably experienced person with a hydraulic press.

[Craftylilalien]

Housemate spilled coke on my laptop and fried the ram, so I haven't been on in a while. I'm not having a good run. Luckily it's just the one stick of ram, $40 fix woo!

Hey sorry to see your bike like that. And glad your not broken. 

With the forks I have just been through all this.  Not hitting wildlife but replacing the front bits of my bike also an 07. 

With the forks it's hard to get a set in Australia only a few good sets a year come up on ebay but they work out between 400 to 500 for a perfect set that don't need any work such as new seals or have any damage. It costs about the same to import a set from the states   Saying that I picked up a bargain and got an A grade set for 250 delivered but you need to be quick on ebay to get them.

Also if you bent the forks check the front axel and the lower triple clamp.  Mine was only bent a couple of degrees but made it almost impossible to get the new forks in so I replaced it also that was about $50 on ebay and the axel for about 30.  I also replaced the wheel bearings and they where about $22 for the pair. I paid a man to put those in for me. 

I bought my bike with all this damage after the previous owner did a doge repair and was kind enough to sell me the bike and me not knowing enough to see it was not quite right. 

I have my old forks here one leaks and I can't fix it I have tried new seals but it still leaks but I think they are straight you can have them for the cost of freight and a little waiting time because I will be away for the next 2'weeks.  Just shoot me a PM if you want them just remember I replaced them. 

Also you can do the fork replacement yourself with a workshop manual socket set and a torque wrench and a few spanners

Where are you it looks Very Dry.

Marc

Thanks for all the info Marc, very informative. If you don't mind I'll probably end up grabbing those forks off you, I'll let you know soon once I've sorted some stuff out here.

This is in Ararat, just outside the Grampians. Worst part about all that dryness? It literally hailed on me as I was taking the broken fairings off, crazy weather happening.

NVM the bike my friend glad YOU are okay.  its cheaper to fix a bike than yourself Eh?, I  have about 16 white tailed deer that calls myproperty home.  and rabbuits and  polecats. ive hit a rabbit on my goped.  I broke its back. well only thing to do is put it out of its misery. 22 style. its little ones were taken by myself to a shelter. afaik theyre fine these days. do roos go out of their way to avoid confrontation or are they semi kamikaze style?

Truth, could have been a lot worse for me. I've been bikeless for for 8 days now and I'm going insane! Kangaroos seem to be suicidal. I've been a magnet for the buggers all my life, they seem to get out of the way then come straight back at me.

**Fork info**

Thanks adidasguy, I'll keep this all in mind when I get up to reassembling the bike (hopefully goes this direction!)

Forks bent?

Forks bent?

Thanks for checking guys, I know the photo is a bit hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure they're bent. They are twisted as well. They don't leak at all, and seem to move decently enough, so would this mean the bend is ok to ride on, once they've been straightened properly? I'm a bad judge of these things, but the left fork seems about 5 degrees bent, and the right about 7.

My mechanic friend came and had a look for me and agrees that they're bent. Then again, I haven't had them out yet, so I'll cross my fingers!

After the crash I did manage to limp the bike back home, stayed in first gear. The engine/transmission SEEMED to be pretty happy, just leaking a bit of oil from in front of the clutch cover. On this trip home (1.5-2km's) The forks didn't make any noise, or leak the tiniest bit of oil. They felt normal too, but that could very easily be a lie, as I wasn't in the best state of mind. Would this point towards the forks being rideable? I'm itching to head back home and dismantle more!

Thanks for all the suggestions and help guys, really appreciate it!