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Bike knocked over - subframe question

thethendi

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Hi,

I went out to my bike the other day and noticed a tear in the cover on the left side...and noticed the bike was parked on the centerstand. I removed the cover, and noticed my license plate was bent on the left side. I looked more closely and it seemed like the bike had fallen over on the left side...either some asshat knocked it over, or it fell off the kickstand. This happened in my apartment parking lot, in the same spot I've been parking for years without a problem. Needless to say, I'm pissed.

Anyway, it seems like clutch lever was slightly bent (no big deal) and the left side footpeg was also bent. Handlebars and everything seem OK, I checked using measuring tape. Standing behind the bike, it also seems like the passenger footrest support was also bent; the left side looks to be shifted maybe a quarter inch, if that, inwards compared to the right side.

Two questions:

1. Given that this support was bent, is there anything else I should check for damage on the rear of the bike?

2. How difficult is it to bend just the support back out? I think I've read somewhere on this forum that people have straightened the rear subframe using an wooden rod and some elbow grease.

Thanks.
 
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Ah man that sucks! It's happened to me before too, but no-one bothered to pick mine up after, or even knock on some doors to see who owned it and inform them.

The damage on mine was limited, I guess I was lucky! But there were of course a few scratches here and there, and the main fairing mounting bracket was bent slightly. The bars were straight but the brake levers (both foot and hand) bent.

Which model is yours? If it's an 07+ you can detach the passenger footrests before bending them back in a vice or something. If it's pre 07 you can't so go careful with the elbow grease! The last thing you want is a cracked subframe/mounting points!

Hope you get it sorted!
 
pics would help... do you have a passanger ride with you at all??? sounds like its just the foot peg support, and you can probably just bend it back out.. bet that support took most of the impact of falling over.. frame sliders??? clutch lever and foot peg can probably be found on ebay for not to much.. if you could get a few shots up, that would prolly help determin if its bad or "really bad"... :thumbup:
 
Hi,

Thanks for the responses.

Which model is yours? If it's an 07+ you can detach the passenger footrests before bending them back in a vice or something. If it's pre 07 you can't so go careful with the elbow grease! The last thing you want is a cracked subframe/mounting points!

It's an '05, so the passenger footrest supports won't detach. I'm a little hesitant to actually try torquing it back into place for that exact reason.

The clutch lever isn't too badly bent; you actually hardly notice the bend. The rider footpeg I was able to bend more or less back in place. And I "streetfightered" the front end, so there were no fairings to damage. =) Besides the rear support, it seems that my license plate took the worst beating.

pics would help... do you have a passanger ride with you at all??? sounds like its just the foot peg support, and you can probably just bend it back out.. bet that support took most of the impact of falling over.. frame sliders??? clutch lever and foot peg can probably be found on ebay for not to much.. if you could get a few shots up, that would prolly help determin if its bad or "really bad"...

I don't ride with passengers for the time being, so it's not a HUGE deal. I do have frame sliders (dealer installed when I first got the bike), but the left side is shorter than the right one. I never really checked, but I'd say it probably sticks out just as far as the rear footrest support (with the peg folded in).

I didn't mention this in the original post, but I did take the bike out after that and didn't notice any differences in handling. Then again, I'm kind of a noob and don't push the bike that hard in corners.

I can try to post pics of the damage tomorrow sometime.

Thanks again.
 
well it sounds like that foot peg sport really did take most of hte blunt.. ill have to take a peak tommarow at my bike and see kinda what your talking about if you were to bend it back into place.. it shouldnt be that big of a deal, but i bet some people here can help figure out a way to do it without hurting the bike anymore.. good to hear that its driving strait.. sucks, but at least its not totaled
 
You should be able to muscle it out while on the center stand. Have a friend help support the bike. If you can't pull it manually, a 2x4 or steel pipe (supported at the end as not to damage anything) should give you the leverage to pull it out.

Its regular steel and isn't brittle, just go slow and easy..

Now the clutch lever is cast aluminum and will probably break if you try to straighten it...
 
Hi,

Sorry for not posting pictures sooner; I've been sick and busy with school this past week and a half. I tried to stand directly behind the bike when I took the one showing both footrests, and even then, I'm not sure how visible any damage is. You can also kind of see how the left rider footrest is twisted back slightly compared to the right one (not a camera trick, it's actually sort of like that...I don't notice it while riding though).

And apologies for the chicken strips - this is a commuter bike.

I may try the 2x4 idea when I have some time, but for now, I'm probably just going to wind up leaving it alone as long as there doesn't seem to be any other damage.

And yeah, I've got my eye on the Pazzos. =)

Thanks again.
 
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