Steering handlebar stops?

[noggythenog]

Having a check of my bike & it appears that when i binned it that the bar end caused the dent in my tank & since a left turn on the steering full lock stops short of the tank i can only presume that i've knackered the stop on the right side.


But ive no idea what it looks like, or how easy it is to fix.


Actually do i even need it?, will it fail its next mot for fouling on the tank?

[stevierst]

It might not be that simple. Forks could be twisted, bars could be bent, and then ofcourse lockstop could be damaged.

You'll have to take a good look at each part in turn to determine what's wrong and why the bars hit the tank. The standard bars are a bit crap at taking a knock apparently, and bend easily afaik.

[Hedgetrimmer]

If the bars turn enough for anything to touch the tank or trap your hands, it will fail an MOT I believe.

[noggythenog]

Hmmm, interesting.


I hope theres no bends.


With the forks, if they were bent i take it that it would be the thin part that would bent & not the large heavy duty ends attached to the wheel?.


& would it be obvious on a test ride if the forks were bent?


With the Mk1 eye ball everything looks straight, even the handlebars but i appreciate there could be more going on at a micro level.id rather it was the handlebars that were bent, i could excuse myself then for getting some renthals for the project.


What about these stops though, are they easy enough to replace?

[Hedgetrimmer]

To look for fork damage, it's best to drop them in the yokes a bit. It's where they clamp into the yokes that they can crease, usually at the bottom of the bottom yoke. Dependant on the extent of the bend/crease, they might straighten ok. If there's a significant crease, you'll probably have to replace the fork tube. Don't know about lock stops, but I think I've heard of fixes being done with a bit of welding? I'll leave someone else to comment further. It would probably help if you could post up a couple of pics of the damage.

[noggythenog]

Cheers Nick that makes sense now where the bend could be,


So once ive figured out a way to accurately drop the forks an equal amount on each side then ill do it as a mod anyway to compliment my jack up kit, cant remember how much is good to drop so ill have a search first then when i do that ill see if theres any damage under the yolk.


Ta


Fras

[stevierst]

Yeah, The lockstops 'can' be repaired, but you'll have to strip pretty much the whole front end off first.
I'd look at bent or twisted forks first tbh. I've just sorted twisted yokes out for a mate of mine in an old CBR600 yesterday. Not too difficult if you go about it the right way, you can also check for bent tubes whilst everyrhing is loose at the front end.

[noggythenog]

Well im learning as i go along, got my haynes manual out.


Silly me thought i could just undo the bottom yolk allen bolts & with a little bit of pressure push the forks through a bit more....but they aint moving, i might need to get some penetrating fluid in there & try again another time.

[stevierst]

You've got to undo top and bottom yokes to get the fork leg to move. Just make sure you do one leg at a time, or the bike could slide down both forks and its not funny when that happens.
When both the yokes are loose, try and twist the chrome fork leg round, once you break the 'seal', it should rotate evenly. if it gets stuck in one position, the leg could be distorted.

[noggythenog]

Thanks stevie


Its all good fun


I'd never get this privilege if i had a new bike [size=78%] [/size]

[noggythenog]

Stevie, spot on advice there for the forks, i managed to drop one at a time, i went way beyond so i could clean & inspect & there was no sign of any damage.


Then i settled on roughly 10mm drop which should add to the excitement even if it is a bit twitchy.the arseend is  already jacked up.


I need something a bit more accurate than a tape measure though as you can see from the pic they arent exactly even at the moment but ill get that sorted out before i ride it.forks look good though


Thanks foccers!

[stevierst]

On picture 3 it does look like your bars are twisted, but it could just be the photo.

If you wanted to test the bars for being true, you can remove them from the bike (it takes 5 mins) and lay them on a flat surface (flagstones are good) then measure each side of the highest part of the bar bend to the floor. They should be exactly the same measurement. Just to make sure its right, spin the bars 180° and measure again.
Hopefully its the bars that are out. (Renthals alert ! ! ! . )

[noggythenog]

So what youre saying is i defo need renthals!


Im sold already,


Foc measuring, if im taking them off i may as well Renthalise


Ebay here we go again!!!!!

[stevierst]

You know it makes sense dude!

[Hedgetrimmer]

Yep, those bars definitely look bent to me.

[noggythenog]

I can see what yous mean from the pic however i didnt notice it whilst looking at the bike so im gonna have a quick check tomorrow to double check then its Renthal time.


Trouble is i just ordered bar end mirrors so i need Renthals the same thickness & im not even sure what sweep i want them at or whatever.


Something else to investigate during my days off.

[stevierst]

I'd recommend 758's all day long. Had a pair on my last two boxeyes, very comfy, and a marked improvement over the standard ones.

[Dead Eye]

After my off, the steering lock stopper is broken on one side - haven't gotten round to testing if it clips the fairing or not, but if the bars are straight I'd probably end up buying some risers to avoid the problem and it will cost significantly less than a set of Renthals :P

Edit: Ok... the handlebars are much much cheaper than I thought :| Thought they were like £80+ I must be going mad

[noggythenog]

Hey dead eye, according to good old mr Haynes if the bars touch the tank it is also a fail so if you raised the bars to dodge a particular bit of the fairing would it not just hit the tank instead like mine???


I still think that my lock is broken but who knows it could just be the bent bars causing the issue.


Stevie i'll give those 758's a wee look, did they make it any sportier?, i had always imagined the oem bars would have been created to be quite conservative as people say fazers are generally comfy compared to other bikes.


I did see ultra low's but i thought they might be more likely to hit the tank, im pretty tall so a lower bar would be quite nice.still tempted by them.


Also i see that renthal do some posh bar braces, what the foc are these all about, do they stop vibrations in the same way as bar ends do because im getting bar end mirrors that might not be as heavy as the original bar ends & could therefore possibly do with some help.

[Lawrence]

My lockstop is busted in the same was as Deadeye's, one chunk of the three is missing.  On left lock the throttle cables hit the faring, but the faring flexes a bit and it does hit the stopper so it was ok for the MOT.  Doesn't get near enough to the tank to cause any problems.

[YamFazMan]

Suspension front fork alignment

From Hot Poop  The following method of checking your fork alignment (i.e. "are they twisted?")
 
A simple way to check your fork alignment:-

Get two STRAIGHT lengths of tube or rod 12mm to 19mm dia. about a Metre long Then with the bike on the centre stand turn the ignition switch to "unlock" and remove the key and straighten the steering.
Place one tube horizontal and centralized on top the black fork protectors that are fitted to the fork sliders, making sure it is contacting both fork stanchions. Work the other tube between the control cables on the top yoke and then sit the tube on the top yoke in front of the fork legs and in contact with the ROUND part of both fork top caps (on later models you could sit the tube on the fork top nuts and back against the preload adjusters).
Then get on the bike standing on the foot rests and look down at the tubes they should be parallel if not the forks are twisted in the yokes or bent, the length of the tube exaggerates the error and make it easy to see.
What you do If the forks are only twisted and NOT bent
With the bike still on the centre stand place a scissor-jack and a piece of wood under the exhaust pipes and just support the weight of the bike. Slack of the four cap-screws (Allen screws) of the top and bottom yokes, the jack will stop the forks just sliding through the yokes. Determine which way the forks are twisted in the yokes, then stand in front of the bike and grip the front wheel with your knees and pull and push the handlebars, until the tubes are parallel to each other, then re-torque the four top & bottom yoke cap-head screws. Finally recheck the long tubes are still parallel to each other, Job done.
 
ATB YFM

[stevierst]

The 758's (ultra low's) are a bit lower, wider, and with less sweep than standard. Comfier, and also a bit sportier. I'm 6'1" with stupidly long limbs, and these bars are spot on for me. Both my last two boxeyes have been fitted with these bars, and clearance isn't an issue if your fairing is straight.
As for the bar end mirrors, they should come with 13mm spacers. I've used them in the past on Renthals with no bother.
And if your lock stop is damaged, best to get it repaired than risk failing an MOT through bodging it. Just my opinion of course :

[noggythenog]

Ah so the 758's are the ultra lows, i see.yep i reckon ill go with them, they aren't that expensive either.


& the lock stop ill put in to a garage to get done because im not too confident yet about stripping the whole front end off.luckily the day of my crash the bike was issued with a clean new mot so i can afford to put that job off a little while yet.


Next mission......getting the grips off the standard bars which i believe can be a royal pain.


& although im gutted about trashing my pride & joy, all this upgrade therapy is helping allot!

[noggythenog]

Suspension front fork alignment

From Hot Poop  The following method of checking your fork alignment (i.e. "are they twisted?")
 
A simple way to check your fork alignment:-

Get two STRAIGHT lengths of tube or rod 12mm to 19mm dia. about a Metre long Then with the bike on the centre stand turn the ignition switch to "unlock" and remove the key and straighten the steering.
Place one tube horizontal and centralized on top the black fork protectors that are fitted to the fork sliders, making sure it is contacting both fork stanchions. Work the other tube between the control cables on the top yoke and then sit the tube on the top yoke in front of the fork legs and in contact with the ROUND part of both fork top caps (on later models you could sit the tube on the fork top nuts and back against the preload adjusters).
Then get on the bike standing on the foot rests and look down at the tubes they should be parallel if not the forks are twisted in the yokes or bent, the length of the tube exaggerates the error and make it easy to see.
What you do If the forks are only twisted and NOT bent
With the bike still on the centre stand place a scissor-jack and a piece of wood under the exhaust pipes and just support the weight of the bike. Slack of the four cap-screws (Allen screws) of the top and bottom yokes, the jack will stop the forks just sliding through the yokes. Determine which way the forks are twisted in the yokes, then stand in front of the bike and grip the front wheel with your knees and pull and push the handlebars, until the tubes are parallel to each other, then re-torque the four top & bottom yoke cap-head screws. Finally recheck the long tubes are still parallel to each other, Job done.
 
ATB YFM

Thanks yamfazman, i hadnt looked in hot poop.


I am a bit confused by twisting though, if the forks arent bent then can someone explain twisting please?


For example i loosened off both yolks & i twisted the forks & pushed them through the yolks, even if i had twisted the fork with my hand & rotated it say 180 degrees in the process then what difference would that make as it is just a steel tube & there isnt a "face this way forward" on it or anything????


Or is it the yokes that get twisted & if so would that not mostly always end with some damage to the fork also???


Ive gotta say that my glass is half full on this one, considering that i went down to the side with no direct impact or head on with anything,at 40mph, if the handlebars did bend then it wasnt by much & my hope is that they were much weaker than the forks & therefore absorbed the force.i do hope anyway

[Dead Eye]

Slight misunderstanding of "twisting" - its not an individual fork that is twisted on its own axis.

Basically, the top and bottom yokes can become out of alignment. Think about it as both fork legs are secured in the bottom yoke but the tops aren't. If you were to sit on the bike and pull one of the tops of the forks towards you, it would force the other one away from you - but the bottom yoke would still be exactly where it was before. End result is "twisted" forks and this can be caused by a crash / off