Questions on the bike?

[Kuper600f4i]

ok i went down the other weekend cracked 3 out of four fairings. those are ok i am getting those painted again just fixing the stock ones since the ones on there now are pit tek fiberglass anyways after i got the bike back up i noticed the hadle bars were off some of the guys said it could just be the bars on top but more i look at it it seems that the forks might be bent therefore i think i am screwed and have to get new ones. when the bars are straight the tire is a little to the left so when i ride the bars are tilted to keep it straight. and very little response in the shocks too. really hard ride they have recoil if i make them recoil. hence clutch up but other wise its a ruff ride on the road just wondering what you all think it is. if i need new forks, rebuilt, or adjust the fork clamps. a little help would be great thanks. 2002 600f4i green/black

[dizzyg44]

You would know if it was just your clipons that are bent by the relation between them and the upper triple.

If it's your forks themselves, make sure the individual fork tubes are ok, support the bike to take the weight off of the front end and loosen the upper and lower triple clamps and axle. You may hear a few popping sounds, that's a good thing.

You are basically just loosening the clamps so that the forks can pop back in to alignment to, this is a common thing to happen when you lay a bike down.

Make sure your forks aren't actually damaged though, check for hair line cracks, ripples, smooth function.

This is a really common thing for dirt riders, they just find a couple trees growing close together and put the wheel in between then slam the shit out of it til it's straight.

Last time I lowsided my old ZR7 it was slightly tweaked, put the bike on the centerstand and slammed the bars hard the other direction and kicked the tire back in place and was good to go (make sure someone can hold the rest of the bike steady though so it don't fall over)

[Turbo storm]

Good call Dizzy,
Support the bike like he said, and loosen the upper and lower triples. It could be that the front-end is in a bind.
Good luck with it.

[DK]

Good call Dizzy,
Support the bike like he said, and loosen the upper and lower triples. It could be that the front-end is in a bind.
Good luck with it.


Dan is correct. You could remove forks and spin them up on some vee blocks to check for run out. In most cases you'll find slight bend of less than .010" from top to bottom. Is it good, NO. Is the machine not ridable, NO.

Loosen top and bottom triple clamps along with top triple clamp steering stem nut. Remove front forks. Check for run out. If not too bad replace one fork leg into clamps. Once fork leg is in clamps, Tighten the lower triple clamp to pinch down fork. Now install other fork leg. Once second leg is at same height as other leg try to install front axle pushing it through both forks so that it spins as free as possible when turned with your finger tips. Just your thumb and index finger, any more pressure and you will have to clean off axle or axle carriers on lower fork legs. Once you find the least amount of resistance you may tighten down the lower triple clamp pinch bolts. Once that is done you may begin to slowly tighten thew top triple clamp steering nut to ensure it seats properly and does not walk down the fork tubes. It should slide freely. If it is binding than you may have bent top clamp or your forks are in fact way out.

If I was a stunter, or at least on the bikes of theirs that I have serviced we have been able to take run -out on fork leg and turn the fork so that it points to the outside parallel to the axle. This way it is no longer forward or rearward but kick out in line with the axle. We then use the axle torque to straighten/ pull the forks back in.

(Not recommended, but in a pinch it works to get you by until you cough up the coin for new forks.)

((That's Ghetto tech/ brought to you by years of experience in dealing with customers with NO $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$))

(((Break in case of emergency tactic, when MRE's are not available and chicken droppings must turn themselves back into chicken salad))) :cool:

Good luck. I have found a company that sells the tubes for the F4I . Let me dig it up.