Hi fellas,
I just want to share my last crash; some idiot cagers skipped a stop sign (claimed he did not see me, since some trees by the curb obstructed his vision) I saw the guy stop before the sig, but then he kept going, panicked in the middle of the intersection and stopped BANG!!!, I could slow down, but not fully stop so I hit his front fender at an angle, flew a few feet.

I got a bruised ankle as only personal damage; bike got left-side turn signals smashed, bent left footpeg and gear lever, nothing major or hard to fix. The problem is that I think the forks are bent, since when braking, the bike tends to drift sideways. Does it mean bent forks?
I cann't see if the handlebars are bent or not (I guess they are, but not sure).

Any info would be appreciated.

Take care,

RW

Crash = bad.
Able to write about it = good.

I'm a dunce with fixing bikes, but if it ends up you need new forks you can look into the extend front end that HogHunter has -- either for yourself, or for another and you buy their stock forks.

Red, sorry to hear about your crash and am glad to hear you didn't get hurt any worse. I read somewhere that the front end of a Savage can get knocked out of alinement without bending anything. Try loosening the front axle bolt and the bolts on the triple tree. Bounce it a couple of times and tighten it back up. If the handle bars look bent check the bolts in the risers, I've found that they bend first. Ed L.

Red_Wine wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:04:


Whoa....it sure is good that you walked away with just these minor damages.

The forks can be twisted in the triple trees, and you can usually see if there is a little twist by just trying to "eyeball" them.  You can straighten them after loosening the lower tree clamps on the tubes.

Best bet would be to take it to a shop and have it looked at since it seems that the expense should be paid for by the cager.

Good deal that you were able to walk and ride away from this one....

Thanks for all the support and ideas, fellow riders  

As an update to the fork issue, my mechanic said that the forks and tripple tree did not look bent, at least, at "eye ball".  

However, he will check that with his "magic" trick, he would lay a parallel set of tubes and measure the forks from various angles and see...

Once I get a final word on the forks, I'll see what Hoghunter's upper end can do for me.

The handlegbars were bent, but not much and we "bent" them in the opposite direction with a long pipe and a couple of big "pushes", they seem to be quite even now.
While breaking, most of the "drift" has gone after the "pushes", so if the forks are bent, then it should be by not much. Whew!!!

He said he could straight them up with a "press" he's got. I wonder if "pressing" the forks straight is doable and worth it.

Right now, I'm riding the bike to see if I can detect any "drift" or something, as well as any handling issues that may have appeared after the crush. Nothing serious so far, but I'll keep everyone informed about the outcome of this little "saga".

Thanks to all, and watch out for those cagers!!!!

RW

WD wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:04:

Hi WD, I agree with you, it's a disgusting feeling, specially after you spent hours the day before cleaning, shining and waxing your beauty  
I do not understand your "pinch bolt loosening and axle loosening trick"; I do not know what a pinch bolt is.

Thanks for the tip, thou.

Take care,

RW

Michael wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:04:


Yeah Mike, agree... I just rode the bike a few miles today to check the forks and got scared by a car stopping to close to the curb... just pure paranoia...   I know it will go away, this is my 6th crash in 13 years (good average, eh?)   , so I know I'll relax again...  8) until the next one....
Forks seemed to be OK, but would probably need more riding time to make a final decision.

Take care,

RW

"Pinch bolt loosening"? Look near the axle on the lower ends of the forks. there are a couple of hex head screws that should be backed out a turn or two. Very slightly loosen the axle nut. Loosen the hex head screws in the lower triple tree. Bounce the bike on the front suspension two or three times by pushing forward and hitting the front brake. The forks should realign themselves...if they do, tighten up the bolts and get back to riding, if not, the cage driver owes you a new front suspension, complete. Complete as in from the top of the mirrors to the bottom side of the tire. Only fair.
-WD