tweaked forks

[vinmansbrew]

So, bike got knocked over on its right side, yesterday evening. No major damage as there was no forward motion, just got dumped on its side. Only thing that happened is the forks got tweaked so the while rolling straight, the bars were angled left. Stuck the tire against a building, rubber only, and pushed the handlebars straight with a couple of quick twists. Seems to handle fine, bars are straight with forks now. Did a couple hard brakes from 60+ mph, nothing weird. Corners feel fine. Tree bolts are all tight.

In short, nothing look odd or bent, but is there anything on the fork I should check? Bike rides the same as before but if someone has had this experience, let me know if you found anything that didn't show up in initial inspections.

 

[dbldutch02]

Sounds to me more like (and more likely) that you bent the bars, then bent them back. I personally would replace the bars, not worth the risk of a break, which will always happen when you need the bars most.

 

[Marcin]

Not really the bars. For me the fork tubes sligtly 'rotated' in their mounts in the upper and lower triple. I'd loosen all 4 bolts in the triples, pushed the front a couple of times and everything should get back to original position.

 

[vinmansbrew]

Yeah, I wouldn't think bars would bend that easy. That alone would be a danger just for regular riding. I mean a hard brake would bend them if they were that weak and had any weight against them. This was basically the bike just falling over, onto grass even. So I think Marcin has the right idea.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Not really the bars. For me the fork tubes sligtly 'rotated' in their mounts in the upper and lower triple. I'd loosen all 4 bolts in the triples, pushed the front a couple of times and everything should get back to original position.

+1 ^^^. I'd also loosen the axle pinch bolt, again, push up and down on the forks(with the ft brakes on), then tighten back down..

You should be able to feel if the handle bars are tweaked and not straight..

 

[FinalImpact]

Anyone who's dumped a dirt bike at speed has done exactly what the OP did. Most of the time they go right back. --> Verify all the fasteners have the proper tension and ride it.

Downside:
It can be hard on the bushings and like during a hard impact it elongates the opening in the top of the fork body but I can't imagine that happened from a zero speed tip.

 

[vinmansbrew]

Yeah, everything seems fine at this point. Nothing loose, nothing bent that I can tell. Bars seem inline with the fork.
But yes, I remember doing that with dirt bikes. I figured a simple check was in order though since no one wants their steering to fail at 75 mph.