I'm certain, that if the bend is not that notable, then straightening would not be a bad solution. And, certainly less expensive than a new tube.
As far as danger, just don't dive the fork with a lot of hard braking, that will wear out the seal faster.
Thanks scratch for the advice!
I will try not to brake hard... usually I don't go to fast anyway so this I can do easy.
Anyone else some other advice or point of view on the issue?
There was a little tension on my fork tubes when I bought my GS. But they were just twisted a little in the triple clamps.
Inspect the tops of the tubes, where they come out of the top triple: are they even? If so, loosen the lower pinch bolts on both sides, and loosen the fork brace bolts, and bounce the front end up and down a few times. Then tighten the pinch bolts and fork brace.
I had thought of the triple clamps being out of alignment, but I figured the mechanic was trustworthy.
I was thinking that the mechanics were just trying to get the wheel out/in, and had trouble, so were muttering "!@#$ fork" under their breath. I thought that perhaps it was an offhand comment by the mech, overheard by Wurci, rather than a diagnosis (or an attempt to get extra business).
I agree that if they diagnosed a bent fork tube, and the mechanic is trustworthy, then it's probably bent.
Then again, I know absolutely nothing about the trustworthiness of bike mechanics in Budapest, so I wanted to mention the possibility of misalignment, since that could save Wurci some money.
The trustworthiness of mechanics here in budapest is awful... from what I can see so far.
And yes rema1000 you are right, it happened exactly the way you thought. They didnt care about anything else but getting the wheel in and out, and I overheard them cussing at it. They even told me that this bike is a POS. They said I should get rid of it, because I bought the bike for 3000$ and fixing the front forks will cost me another 1000$ so I should get rid of it as fast as I can. But on my lunchbreak I have checked it with my local dealer (who I dont trust either) and they said there is no way this repair would go over 500$. So now Im stuck with a bunch of mechanics I cant trust. But one of my friends recomended me a guy who has his own shop and does hones work for reasonable money, so Im taking the bike to him next week sometime.
In the meanwhile I will check out this triangle alignment stuff. I dont exactly know which nuts are you talking about (I can never remember the different names for the stupid nuts and bolts... like i can never remember the different names for the tools... sorry stupid foreigner :dunno: ), but I have already read some other threads about working on the front fork and I recall some pictures and explanations there, so I will look them up.
Thanks for the advice!
If the wheel fits too tight between the forks, there is a pinch bolt at the bottom of the right fork to adjust this distance. Loosen the pinch bolt and let the sleeve it clamps on slide to give proper distance between forks. Best to bounce the front end a couple times while the bolt is loose to help the forks align themselves.
If the handlebars are not straight across when going straight ahead, there might be a twist in the fork assembly. Loosening the four bolts that hold the fork brace to the forks just above the fender will usually allow it to straighten itself.
More than likely what the other guys said. My forks looked to be twisted slightly too so I'll need to loosen all the bolts and reset mine.
As far as finding a good motorcycle mechanic I know what you mean. Some are just out to take your money. Some really have good intentions but low capabilities. And the others are just plain hard to find or too busy. The good news is that motorcycles are relatively simple machines(especially our bike). You will learn a lot by working on your own bike.
Derek
IF one tube was bent, you would see an alignment problem with just the axle alone,
like this --_ from one for to the other, IF both were bent, even alittle, not only would you see it, there would be funny wear patterns on the upper tubes infront or back.
it is far more likely the top clamps and bottom clamps twisted skewing the forks abit, this can happen if the bike just falls over without moving.
Spacers, there is a bolt on one forkleg that pinches a spacer IN the fork leg, what folks dont know is once set, thre isnt a need to loosen that pinch bolt again. the axle will slide out of the spacer. if this spacer is Miss adjusted it will cause Fittment problems, This is where i would start with diagnosing front wheel fitment issues.
Don't want to threadjack here, but I want to reiterate the first question wurci asked: if the forks are not completely straight, is it dangerous to ride? Here's my situation:
Last fall my bike got blown over onto the right side by strong winds, bending the handlebar. I decided to winterize it while finding a cheap new bar. When I put it intot he garage I noticed a very slight misalignment in the forks. You can only see it if you sit on the bike and lean forward to sight directly down the forks. From this position you can see straight down to the bottom of the left fork, but the right one goes ever so slightly upward so that you can't see the bottom of it.
I estimate the difference to be a few millimeters. Now, my uncle assures me that a simple fall wouldn't do that to the forks. Maybe it happened in another zero speed fall a few months earlier; or maybe they were like that when I bought it (they were the only two falls it's had with me, but there was at least one before I got it, there is evidence of spilled battery acid). So if the wind blowover didn't do it, then I've ridden at least a few hundred miles at high (80+ mph) speeds with the forks like this.
So is a few millimeters difference within operational parameters, assuming all else is good (fork brace on, good travel, no seal leakage)?
milo, that's exactly how the fork assembly gets twisted, not bent. When the weight of the bike falls on the handlebar end, the assembly is stopped sudenly by the stop lug on the lower triple tree. A twist is put into the assembly and is held in place by the fork brace and also by the forks being clamped in the trees. My guess is that you would see what you are seeing now sighting down the forks due to the twist.
Put the bike on the centerstand and loosen up the fork brace and lower fork clamp screws and even one of the upper clamp screws. Bounce the front end a couple times and tighten it all back up. It only takes a few minutes to do this.
Even though I'm with uncle on this one, to directly answer you question I would say no it isn't particularly dangerous to ride it that way. Try it out carefully to get the feel of it and keep the top speeds down.
The fork assembly of my 02 GS500 was twisted that way and the bars were quite a bit from straight when I rode it home about 100 miles from the dealer I bought it from. One of the reasons I got it for a good price. I loosened up the screws mentioned and it all sprang back into place when I got home. :thumb:
Ah, I was mixing up bent vs. twisted. Over a year riding and I'm still a newbie! That's an easy fix though. Thanks.