HollywdPatGB
Member
Hey All,
Well - it happened. Had a high-side (ouch - yes it hurt! Me, the bike and my pride) and ended up in a (thankfully) muddy ditch...me about 20 feet further up the ditch than my poor bike. thankfully also, it wasn't that fast. All s well with me, a little banged up but no worse for wear, also no one else involved.
My '13 FZ1, though, is a little damaged - I thought not bad, just real muddy in the front. But after a good washing, the damage became more clear: front cowling cracked on the left (ok, that's a pricey part, but I deserve that), but everything else seemed fine. Starts great, runs smooth, oh the gear lever (foot) is a tad bent but that's a cheap fix.
So today I say "well, let's ride her and make sure it goes down the road straight!" The answer was, yes, it goes down the road straight, but handle bars are tilted to the right about 5 degrees when going straight down the road.
My main question - something tells me this is not going to be as simple a fix as in an automobile where if your steering wheel gets off center, when you get the car aligned they can adjust all that easily. In other words, are my forks 'bent'? I cannot tell from eyeballing it just what the situation is, and was hoping someone on the forum had some advice.
I fear taking it in to the dealer as these are the same folks who told me it "could cost up to $178(!)" for my first, 600 mile, oil change "depending on what the bike needed." Depending on what the bike needed?? It needed an oil/filter change. I ended up doing the oil change at 600 miles myself for $40 and 30 minutes of my time (Mobil1 4T on sale at Autozone and a Fram filter from same). Given that experience, I am extremely hesitant to put the bike in their clutches.
Any advice on how to proceed? Is this doable myself or does one need special 'jigs' or something? If I do take it somewhere, what's too much to pay (again, all damage appears to b e front end - tire is not even flat).
Thanks,all.
Well - it happened. Had a high-side (ouch - yes it hurt! Me, the bike and my pride) and ended up in a (thankfully) muddy ditch...me about 20 feet further up the ditch than my poor bike. thankfully also, it wasn't that fast. All s well with me, a little banged up but no worse for wear, also no one else involved.
My '13 FZ1, though, is a little damaged - I thought not bad, just real muddy in the front. But after a good washing, the damage became more clear: front cowling cracked on the left (ok, that's a pricey part, but I deserve that), but everything else seemed fine. Starts great, runs smooth, oh the gear lever (foot) is a tad bent but that's a cheap fix.
So today I say "well, let's ride her and make sure it goes down the road straight!" The answer was, yes, it goes down the road straight, but handle bars are tilted to the right about 5 degrees when going straight down the road.
My main question - something tells me this is not going to be as simple a fix as in an automobile where if your steering wheel gets off center, when you get the car aligned they can adjust all that easily. In other words, are my forks 'bent'? I cannot tell from eyeballing it just what the situation is, and was hoping someone on the forum had some advice.
I fear taking it in to the dealer as these are the same folks who told me it "could cost up to $178(!)" for my first, 600 mile, oil change "depending on what the bike needed." Depending on what the bike needed?? It needed an oil/filter change. I ended up doing the oil change at 600 miles myself for $40 and 30 minutes of my time (Mobil1 4T on sale at Autozone and a Fram filter from same). Given that experience, I am extremely hesitant to put the bike in their clutches.
Any advice on how to proceed? Is this doable myself or does one need special 'jigs' or something? If I do take it somewhere, what's too much to pay (again, all damage appears to b e front end - tire is not even flat).
Thanks,all.
