Steering out of alignment after bike got knocked over

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone. My precious '82 GS650E was rear ended while parked on its center stand and subsequently fell on its left side. Some idiot backed up into it in the parking lot, doesn't seem they hit it too hard though (it was a hit & run). The steering was locked in the left position and thats the direction it fell in. Luckily there does not seem to be any major damage, but my forks seem to be "twisted" because the handle bar & headlight no longer line up with the front wheel. Do I have to just loosen the four clamps holding the forks and try to re-align the steering? Is there anything else that might have been damaged, such as the front axle, has anybody else had a similar problem before? Visually everything looks fine and it rides fine too, but I don't want to take any risks. I would appreciate any comments on how to re-align my steering and what else to inspect for damage. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Hmmmm, "i'd" take it to a dealer's shop and have it checked out. That said, if your handlebars and headlight no longer line up with the direction of the bike -AND- the fork tubes are not bent, loosen the triple trees (top and bottom) and tweak them back where they belong and tighten them back to factory spec torque. Things that i'd also be wary of would be the clamps that hold the front axle. Loosen them with the triple trees, then torque them last.

Good Luck,
Tim

[earlfor]

I have on occasion had a bike fall over, or have done a Scotty
(tipping over in the driveway) :-) and have never had it result in
bent or twisted forks. The headlight mounting bracket is a loose ring slider on the upper forks and is fairly easily bent. Handle bars
will bend rather easily also. The tripe trees and fork tubes on the other hand are pretty substantial. That the bike seems to ride normally indicates to me that the wheel alignment is OK. Its much more likely that the headlight bracket and bars have taken a twist.

Earl

[Anonymous]

There are two things that can happen.

Worst, you have bent fork tubes. These can rarely be straightened. However, from what you describe of the accident itself I doubt it is this bad.

The other thing that happens is that the tubes rotate in place and go out of alignment without being bent. You can check this easily.

Get two long straight pieces of timber or metal. About a metre long, an inch or two wide, thin stuff is best. Remove your light and any fairing. Have the bike on the centre stand. Lay the straight edges against the fork tubes, one straight-edge between the triple trees, and other close the the wheel.

Look down the line of the tubes. You will be able to see if the straight edges are out of parallel with each other. Loosen the triple tree bolts slightly and twist the wheel so the straight edges are lined up parallel to each other. Tighten the bolts and refit the light/fairing.

The third thing, of the two things that can happen :? is that you have bent handle bars. These can easily be straightened or replaced.

Kim