Hey,

So the other day i was out riding and I hit a patch of gravel in a turn and lowsided my bike. Luckily, I am basically uninjured. However, the same cannot be said for my bike. Most of the damage appears cosmetic and I am not too worried about replacing fairings and such. I was able to start the bike back up and it ran alright when I rode it home. However, I am pretty certain my forks are bent. I was able to straighten the handlebars enough on the side of the road to get the bike home, but they aren't straight by any means, and the front wheel looks out of alignment. I had to make the front fender very loose to get it to stop rubbing on the tire to get the bike home.

If I were to buy new forks, is this a repair that I can do myself relatively easily? I do not have a lot of experience, but I am not afraid do do a repair as long as there isn't much risk of making anything worse, haha. Also, is it possible that the front axle is bent? I don't know a whole lot about the front end of the bike, so I could be completely wrong about what parts need replaced. Any advice you guys have would be helpful. I can post some pictures when I get home if there's any parts you guys want a look at.

Unless the bike ran into something hard, its unlikely that you bent the forks in a lowside. More often the forks are just rotated in the triple trees.

Put the front tire against something solid, like a brick wall, and loosen all the bolts holding the forks to the triple trees. Most likely everything will slide back into alignment.

Quote from: Bluesmudge on August 22, 2016, 08:19:00 AM
Unless the bike ran into something hard, its unlikely that you bent the forks in a lowside. More often the forks are just rotated in the triple trees.

Put the front tire against something solid, like a brick wall, and loosen all the bolts holding the forks to the triple trees. Most likely everything will slide back into alignment.

Okay, I will loosen everything up and see what happens tonight. Thanks for the advice. If that's all it takes to get the front wheel aligned with the handlebars, I'll be so happy lol. New front end parts look expensive.

Quote from: qcbaker on August 22, 2016, 08:23:36 AM

Quote from: Bluesmudge on August 22, 2016, 08:19:00 AM
Unless the bike ran into something hard, its unlikely that you bent the forks in a lowside. More often the forks are just rotated in the triple trees.

Put the front tire against something solid, like a brick wall, and loosen all the bolts holding the forks to the triple trees. Most likely everything will slide back into alignment.

Okay, I will loosen everything up and see what happens tonight. Thanks for the advice. If that's all it takes to get the front wheel aligned with the handlebars, I'll be so happy lol. New front end parts look expensive.

So I went home over my lunch break and took a closer look at the forks. the left one (the side the bike went down on) is definitely rotated a little bit, so that may explain the front wheel being misaligned. However, I still think the fork may be bent. The front wheel looks a bit closer to the lower part of the fairing than I remember it usually being. I wont know for sure until I get home and pull the front cowling off and get a closer look when I try to straighten everything out. I will post a picture of the forks with everything pulled off.

If it is bent slightly, could i put it in a vice and try to straighten it out manually? Or is that something you guys would advise against?

If your fork is actually bent (which I doubt), then you will not be able to repair it.

GS forks are too cheap. Just find a used set on eBay, craigslist, or GStwins.

Quote from: Bluesmudge on August 22, 2016, 10:49:22 AM
If your fork is actually bent (which I doubt), then you will not be able to repair it.

GS forks are too cheap. Just find a used set on eBay, craigslist, or GStwins.

Okay, good to know. Thanks. The only price i had looked at so far was for new ones from Partzilla. I hadn't priced out used ones yet.

So the forks are DEFINITELY bent:



I'm gonna order a replacement set on eBay soon, anything I should know about model/year compatibility?

Hi qcbaker, sorry to hear about your lowside !  Glad you are OK

I'm gonna quote Bluesmudge to answer your question cuz this just came up in a thread last week:

"The forks did change slightly through the years but if you swap out the whole fork leg they are compatible with all years."

I also agree with him saying it's a good idea to put in new seals and fresh oil... especially with a used set of forks.

Good luck !! 

Yeah, I'd say that's bent! I've got a set, just came off a '97 today. Couldn't tell where you're located, but I can let these go for cheaply ... I'm in Milwaukee WI area, drop me a line. robb.zimdars@gmail.com

Quote from: ShowBizWolf on August 22, 2016, 07:42:08 PM
Hi qcbaker, sorry to hear about your lowside !  Glad you are OK

I'm gonna quote Bluesmudge to answer your question cuz this just came up in a thread last week:

"The forks did change slightly through the years but if you swap out the whole fork leg they are compatible with all years."

I also agree with him saying it's a good idea to put in new seals and fresh oil... especially with a used set of forks.

Good luck !! 

Yeah, I was planning to put in new seals and oil or at least have the shop do it when i take it for inspection. The bike is due, so i figured once i make all the repairs I'm comfortable doing, i'll take it to the professionals so they can check everything out.

Quote from: windingroads on August 22, 2016, 07:46:39 PM
Yeah, I'd say that's bent! I've got a set, just came off a '97 today. Couldn't tell where you're located, but I can let these go for cheaply ... I'm in Milwaukee WI area, drop me a line. robb.zimdars@gmail.com

I'll send you an email and we'll see if your set will work out for me.

Thanks for all your help, guys!

A couple (hopefully last) questions:

When the bike went down, I lost my left mirror, both left turn signals, and my left bar end.

1. Since I lost the bar end, obviously the left handlebar hit the ground pretty hard. Do you think its likely the handlebars themselves are bent? I haven't really inspected them super closely as they don't look bent upon first glance. If they're bent, I may consider trying out the Suburban Machinery SV650 handlebars, as I really like the look of them. However, I am not sure what effects they have on the handling. Anyone have any other handlebar recommendations?

2. Since I have to replace the mirrors and turn signals anyway, do you guys have any recommendations for aftermarket options for these parts that are as good as stock or better, for less than stock? I am leaning towards aftermarket signals anyway, as I don't like how far the stock ones stick out, but I don't want flush mounts or anything that isn't nice and visible. As for the mirrors, I've read on here that Katana mirrors fit, but I haven't seen any pictures. I didn't hate the stock ones, but if i can find some that are as good or better for cheaper that look decent, I'd probably go for that.

Thanks in advance

Handle bar is just a preference thing. Aluminum vs steel. Sporty vs comfy. Any 7/8" bar should work -- most without any modifications. Just note that non-oem bars will not come with the holes drilled for the little tabs on the bar controls. You either have to drill them yourself or cut the plastic tabs off your controls.

Turn signals are also just personal preference. I recommend sticking with something DOT approved. I actually really like the stock F model signals because they are very visible to other motorists.

I'm not sure who makes them or where they were purchased as the PO of my bike installed them, but I really like the turn signals on my GS. Instead of a hard plastic, they are flexible where they attach to the fairing, so they don't push through the plastic or break if (when) the bike is dropped. Just something to consider...

I'll see if I can find a brand name or something when I get home for anyone that might be interested.

Quote from: Bluesmudge on August 25, 2016, 11:44:15 AM
Handle bar is just a preference thing. Aluminum vs steel. Sporty vs comfy. Any 7/8" bar should work -- most without any modifications. Just note that non-oem bars will not come with the holes drilled for the little tabs on the bar controls. You either have to drill them yourself or cut the plastic tabs off your controls.

Turn signals are also just personal preference. I recommend sticking with something DOT approved. I actually really like the stock F model signals because they are very visible to other motorists.

A buddy of mine has aftermarket handlebars on his bike and what he did for his control switches was to file the plastic tabs down, but then wrap the portion of the bar that the control assembly clamps on in a layer or two of some kind of tape. I think it was electrical tape, but it might've been sports tape that he just colored black or something. cant remember for sure. In any case, that seemed to keep his switches from rotating well enough. If I did non-OEM handlebars, i'd probably do something like that rather than drill the bar, since it seems like less work lol.

Might not even matter though, since I'm not gonna mess with the handlebars if I can determine they aren't bent. Got my new forks today, gonna change out the fork oil and install them, and while I'm doing that, I'll closely inspect the handlebars.

As for turn signals, I've been looking at some from my local cyclegear and I found a couple options I think I like. What I'm going to do is take the right signal with me to the store and compare it to the options they have, and select ones that are similar in size/shape, but have a shorter stalk. Also while I'm there, I'm gonna get some new 7/8" bar ends, whatever is closest to the stock ones and is reasonably priced. May bring the remaining mirror along as well to see if I can find any that will fit as well.

Another thing that occured to me:

Since I have to replace the rear side fairing, and the set I ordered comes with a new seat lock. The old one is gone (probably, maybe its still on the side of the road where I wrecked lol) so I cant just swap the locks. I'll need to rekey the cylinder, right? If so, anyone have any tips on that? As far as I can tell, I'd need to disassemble the lock, then swap the wafers around until its almost flush, then file the wafers down so its completely flush. That sound about right? I have some lockpicking experience (nothing illegal lol) so I'm not afraid to take apart the lock and mess with it, just making sure I have the right idea here.

This keeps getting worse and worse lol. I took the front wheel off in order to install my new forks, and look what i found when I tapped out the front axle:



Guess I'll need a new one of those too...

Ugh that stinks!!! So many things 

When I replaced my turn signals I bought some super cool LED ones off ebay... yeah they lasted a whole two seconds lol. Cheap garbage and I also encountered the whole "not flashing correctly, staying on solid, now what do I do" thing when it comes to swapping in LED's for the signals. Threw those out and kept looking.

I remember searching for OEM signals (again on ebay) from different sport bikes to see what I liked... and I found a great deal on 4 gixxer signals. I liked the shape, they are made well and I didn't have to mess with the LED thing. PLUS I knew that if I ever needed another one, there would always be ones for sale. I'd know exactly what to search for instead of having to scroll through listing after listing for "universal motorcycle turn signals" or whatever 

When I bought my bike, it was rashed and beat up like crazy on the right side. The forks were bent and so were the handlebars. I couldn't even tell by looking at them unless I crouched down and looked at them from a certain angle... the impact the bike suffered from the right side bent them the tiniest bit... plus they were faded and rusty so they had to go.

I ended up getting a $25 superbike bar. It's the smallest bit lower than the stock bars and they are super super comfortable. I've always wanted to try clipons or clubmans, mainly for looks... but the superbike bars are SO comfortable (I know I just said that) that I just don't wanna mess up how correct my posture feels with my current setup.

I'm trying to remember but I think twocool has the Suburban bars ? You could send a pm to get an opinion on them (although if I am actually remembering correctly, Cookie really likes them).

Hang in there with the repairs!!! 

Quote from: ShowBizWolf on August 26, 2016, 02:56:47 PM
Ugh that stinks!!! So many things 

When I replaced my turn signals I bought some super cool LED ones off ebay... yeah they lasted a whole two seconds lol. Cheap garbage and I also encountered the whole "not flashing correctly, staying on solid, now what do I do" thing when it comes to swapping in LED's for the signals. Threw those out and kept looking.

I remember searching for OEM signals (again on ebay) from different sport bikes to see what I liked... and I found a great deal on 4 gixxer signals. I liked the shape, they are made well and I didn't have to mess with the LED thing. PLUS I knew that if I ever needed another one, there would always be ones for sale. I'd know exactly what to search for instead of having to scroll through listing after listing for "universal motorcycle turn signals" or whatever 

When I bought my bike, it was rashed and beat up like crazy on the right side. The forks were bent and so were the handlebars. I couldn't even tell by looking at them unless I crouched down and looked at them from a certain angle... the impact the bike suffered from the right side bent them the tiniest bit... plus they were faded and rusty so they had to go.

I ended up getting a $25 superbike bar. It's the smallest bit lower than the stock bars and they are super super comfortable. I've always wanted to try clipons or clubmans, mainly for looks... but the superbike bars are SO comfortable (I know I just said that) that I just don't wanna mess up how correct my posture feels with my current setup.

I'm trying to remember but I think twocool has the Suburban bars ? You could send a pm to get an opinion on them (although if I am actually remembering correctly, Cookie really likes them).

Hang in there with the repairs!!! 

I got some new bar ends and some turn signals at the shop. Bar ends are weighted tapered ones, and they're pretty nice looking. No idea how they affect vibrations yet, as I still cant ride the bike lol. The turn signals I got are very similar to stock, but they have a shorter stalk so they sit closer to the bike. I'll know for sure how I like them once I get a new cowling and everything and put them on, but they seem pretty nice just holding them up to the cowling off the bike.

As for the bars, I forgot to inspect them closely because I was too busy messing about with the front end lol. I'll probably end up replacing them eventually anyway, just to get a sportier riding position.

Quote from: qcbaker on August 25, 2016, 07:42:29 PM
This keeps getting worse and worse lol. I took the front wheel off in order to install my new forks, and look what i found when I tapped out the front axle:


I think you should also check the wheel and brake disc for run-out too.

And if its done that to the axle-bolt you should consider replacing the wheel bearings, you may well have cracked a race 






Guess I'll need a new one of those too...

Errrm... simple downside did that to forks and axle?! ... when you and the bike went down... what did the bike hit after that while sliding? ... it takes some force or speed to bend stuff like that!