Hey,

As you can read in my other thread, I had was in an accident this morning. The bike seems fine except for cosmetic damage. Im really worries about my fork being dent as it was a decent slam. The look fine and still work. For the 15 mins i rode home it felt ok. I wont be able to ride for a little bit so i cant really test them. Is there any other way to check. Also if they are bent slightly, can it be fixed by a shop? Thanks.

Tom


mod edit: I had to fix the spelling in the title it was bugging me, Bubba

The only way I know of to check is to run your hands down the length of them to check. And shops can also fix it, I'm not sure where you're located, but a quick Google search would tell you.

If you have a set of v blocks, you could pull the forks and do a runout if you really wanted to be sure, but that would be a lot of work for what I would think could be eyeballed pretty easily.

easiest way to check is to take a straight edge (machinist rule or angle etc) and put em up to the shafts. shine a light from the other side to see if there's a crack.  do that going around the shaft every 90 degrees or so.

the correct way would be to use a precision granite top, vee blocks, and a dial indicator.

Or maybe just roll the shafts on a flat surface. If they don't wobble then they're straight, if they do then you need to get them bent back or replace.

Pull the front wheel and axle; remove the brake caliper, front fender, and fork brace; and then loosen up the triple clamp screws holding the fork tubes.  Put a half inch drive extension in the top fork cap and rotate it with a ratchet or bar and observe the lower end of the fork assembly while rotating the assembly.  You'll be able to see if the tube is bent or is straight enough to use.

Quote from: gsJack on September 01, 2010, 05:59:04 PM
Pull the front wheel and axle; remove the brake caliper, front fender, and fork brace; and then loosen up the triple clamp screws holding the fork tubes.  Put a half inch drive extension in the top fork cap and rotate it with a ratchet or bar and observe the lower end of the fork assembly while rotating the assembly.  You'll be able to see if the tube is bent or is straight enough to use.

I like this but cant he rotate without all the disassembly? Just loosen triple clamp bolts and then rotate it?

That amount of disassembly is not much work, maybe 20 mins.
It's certainly worth checking carefully Twism, mine had a bent fork when I bought it but it worked all right and rode straight, I just noticed the bars were not in line(90#) with the front wheel. Guy who sold me the bike straightened it with a hydraulic press as a temporary fix until the new leg he ordered had arrived.

Thanks for the help guys. I think I will try gsjack's method. I have to install a billet fork brace anyway. Once I get my rotator cuff checked out I'll begin fixing my baby up.