slightly bent forks?

[casual_lee]

ok so a month ago i had a small accident with my bike and dropped it on it's side. I replaced the crank cover, stator coil, handle bars, and foot peg. All is well the with bike with the exception of the fork. I went for a test ride today and noticed that the alignment is off. When the handle bars are straight, the wheel slightly pulls to the left while rolling. To go straight, i compensate the steering a degree or two to the right. It's just a smidge and barely noticeable.

My question is, does this mean my forks are slightly bent? is there a way to align them straight? Is it ok to ride like this? I really can't justify paying $600 for a new set when they are only slightly off alignment. any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[OZXJR]

Can't help you there mate but to me sounds like a good excuse to do the r6 fork mod :thumbup:

 

[casual_lee]

Can't help you there mate but to me sounds like a good excuse to do the r6 fork mod :thumbup:

that's easier said then done. from what i understand is that you need spacers and shims for the axle and calipers right? to top it off, the fender doesn't fit without fabricating brackets. what would i need exactly to do the replacement? can i still use the fz6 crown and handle bars?

 

[bmccrary]

Was the accident head on? Or was it a simple drop with no sliding?

Before spending alot of $$ just check to see that the forks arent just tweeked inside the tripple clamps, which is what it sounds like to me.

Loosen up the bolts that hold the fork tubes, just enough so it takes some tension off the tubes. Then by having some one sit on the bike and hold the bars straight. Pull the front wheel one direction or the other to get the wheel inline with the bars.

Hope this helps.

-bryan

 

[wrightme43]

Yeah man the forks are tough. I thought the same thing when I crashed, but they just had shifted in the triple trees.

Just loosesn, straighten, and tighten.

The way to tell if forks are bent is there will be a crease, and the seals will start leaking.

 

[Hollywood416]

Was the accident head on? Or was it a simple drop with no sliding?

Before spending alot of $$ just check to see that the forks arent just tweeked inside the tripple clamps, which is what it sounds like to me.

Loosen up the bolts that hold the fork tubes, just enough so it takes some tension off the tubes. Then by having some one sit on the bike and hold the bars straight. Pull the front wheel one direction or the other to get the wheel inline with the bars.

Hope this helps.

-bryan

Yep what he said, my buddy had a pretty good crash on his CBR and tweaked the forks. He was sweating it hard cause his are $700/fork. I pulled it in my garage got the front wheel off the ground loosened the triples, pulled it back straight and it's as good as new well besides the body damage anyway. Needless to say but he was ecstatic.:thumbup:

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Can't help you there mate but to me sounds like a good excuse to do the r6 fork mod :thumbup:

What are the advantages of this mod? I keep seeing posts about new forks. Why are the R6 forks so much more better than the FZ6's? I know they are a bit different because I have looked at my roomates bike which is an '07 R6, but what are the differences as far as performance?

 

[casual_lee]

Was the accident head on? Or was it a simple drop with no sliding?

Before spending alot of $$ just check to see that the forks arent just tweeked inside the tripple clamps, which is what it sounds like to me.

Loosen up the bolts that hold the fork tubes, just enough so it takes some tension off the tubes. Then by having some one sit on the bike and hold the bars straight. Pull the front wheel one direction or the other to get the wheel inline with the bars.

Hope this helps.

-bryan

it wasn't head on but it did bend the hell out of handle bar on the left side when it fell. It could be what tweaked my forks. I'll do as you say later this week. thanks.

 

[bmccrary]

it wasn't head on but it did bend the hell out of handle bar on the left side when it fell. It could be what tweaked my forks. I'll do as you say later this week. thanks.

Yea man. Give it a shot.

It takes a good hit to bend a fork/forks.

Let us know how it goes.

-bryan

 

[casual_lee]

I just want to say that I love you guys in a very non homosexual way. Thanks to your tips and insights, i saved myself a good amount of money. Yes the forks were just tweaked and it's now straight as an arrow.

 

[ibbob50]

THANK YOU FZ6 family.

Your forum is great, gave me the info I needed to straighten my forks that I thought were bent, but they were just sitting tweaked in the triples.

Much appreciated!

W