Last weekend I dropped the S10 on gravel onto the left, clutch side. Now it seems my left, clutch, grip is closer to my body than my right grip, hand brake, when riding straight down the road. Actually, I would love to get both sides closer... but that aside, what do I need to check here and how do I do it?
Handle bars crooked after drop?
- Thread starter Twisties
- Start date
rem
A man who don't lie, ain't got nothin' to say.
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Well, if I'm understanding you correctly (bear with me, I'm old), you just want to confirm that you actually did bend or shift your handlebars ??? If there is much of a bend, you can probably detect via eyeball when you max out the handlebars on one side and then the other, i. e. the distance from the fuel tank. Or you can measure the distance of the tips to a center point on your bike, like maybe the gas cap/lid. If your handle bar clamps were a bit loose, you may have only shifted the bars to one side a bit, without actually bending them. Not sure how to determine that. There may be some kind of a centerline mark on the handlebars. Good luck. R
I'll start with that, thanks rem. I guess I was also wondering if I need to check anything to do with the forks?
Ok, measuring from the gas cap to bar ends with wheel as straight as I can get it, and looks like the handlebar is definitely bent. I don't see any issue/problem with it, other than it would be very nice to bend the other side the same! Cables seem to have enough slack for full stop turns and bars have plenty of clearance over the tank.
Looking from tank to bar at full stop each way it's hard to see any difference. Doesn't look like the bar is un-centered or moved in the mounts.
Bend must be out at the second oem bend, as parts that should straight seem straight. It's hard to see anything wrong, but the left bar end measures 17" from the gas cap center and the right measures 18 1/2". Angle is definitely different too. Left bar end is at least an inch closer to the rear of the bike.
Looking from tank to bar at full stop each way it's hard to see any difference. Doesn't look like the bar is un-centered or moved in the mounts.
Bend must be out at the second oem bend, as parts that should straight seem straight. It's hard to see anything wrong, but the left bar end measures 17" from the gas cap center and the right measures 18 1/2". Angle is definitely different too. Left bar end is at least an inch closer to the rear of the bike.
Are you sure you just didn't twist the triple clamp (the bars are pretty stout)?
Remember just like what would happen when you crashed on your bicycle....and you would wack the front wheel on a tree to straighten out the forks?
Remember just like what would happen when you crashed on your bicycle....and you would wack the front wheel on a tree to straighten out the forks?
Yes, I remember... No, not sure of much.... how should I check that?
Put the bike on the centerstand.Twisties said:
To correct a slight misalignment, slightly loosen everything on the front end (you don't have to remove anything) - all 4 bottom pinch bolts on the triple tree, the top nut, front axle & axle pinch bolts.
While holding the front brake, pump the forks a few times.
Check the alignment. If off, pump the forks a bit harder or try and twist the bars (against the stops) to align things. Always pump the forks at the end.
When everything seems straight, tighten the lower clamp's pinch bolts(14ft/lbs), followed by the axle pinch bolts(15ft/lbs), axle (52ft/lbs) and top nut (94ft/lbs).
That should take care of it.
NoMorBills
New Member
I have to do this to mine. It came from the showroom off a little. Just been enjoying riding it to much to do anything about it.
Thanks.... I'll give that try.stevepsd said:
The top nut is the nut with the rubber cover directly under the handle bars? Does that affect the steering head bearings if mess with that?stevepsd said:
I haven't looked specifically at the S10, but typically not - the nut on the top of the upper triple just secures the upper triple and doesn't affect the bearings in the steering head which are preloaded with a nut (or two for locking) under the top triple.Twisties said:
The shade-tree fix to a tweaked front end is as has been described - loosen everything (fork pinch bolts, upper triple nut, axle pinch, axle, maybe even fender fasteners), and tweak it back straight as best you can. Some will straighten more/less or their own, others may require a little persuasion, like putting the wheel against a tree or garage door jamb and banging the wheel against the support with the handlebars to get it straight. These shade-tree fixes are not going to fix bent parts though, so if you think you might have bent handlebars, bent wheels, bent axles, or bent fork tubes, further disassembly and checking is in order. That being said, there are a lot of bikes out there with various levels of front end tweaking that seems to handle Okay, even with some minor bends and misalignment.
Best strategy - don't crash. Big 600-lb adventure bikes don't like being thrown on the ground like a 300-lb trail bike. I ride off pavement with MUCH bigger margins of error when I'm on my S10 vs. my DRZ.
- Mark
You obviously don't know Jan!!!! ::015::markjenn said:
Pretty sure the bars are bent... turned the triple tree some to even it out and tightened back up. Bike rides fine. But probably need new bars and set it back right.
Looking at the bike on the center stand, with the wheel straight, from behind it is clear that the bars don't sit symmetrically.
Looking at the bike on the center stand, with the wheel straight, from behind it is clear that the bars don't sit symmetrically.
Renthal doesn't seem to have anything listed for the S10. I sent them an email inquiry. Any other ideas for bars? Not so sure I really want oem again. I would really like bars that come back an extra inch or so.
You need to align the front end via the front end, NOT the bars! Turning the triple tree to compensate for your bars is inviting in a world of other issues you don't want. Stiction, worn bushings, poor handling, mishandling, poor road following, leaking seals, etc.Twisties said:
Since the top triple does not incorporate rubber mounting in the bars it should be very easy to determine the bar to top triple clamp relationship. You don't need to touch the forks to do this. Get the top triple centered up and then sight the bars. If there is a variance, the bars are bent. If there isn't, then again, center your top triple clamp and go out in front of the bike about 20 feet and look at your bike from the kneeling position straight on. Is the wheel turned off to one side? Then you have a fork tweak issue.
Thanks for the lead. I took a look.Firefight911 said:
The oem bar is about 35" bar end to bar end, measured straight across. With a roughly 15" pull back and about a 4" rise. The Spiegler bars are quite different, and I think they wouldn't work in so far as mounting everything on them. They support Yamaha, but not the S10, in so far as I could find. So it's questionable if one could even mount their bar without the services of a machine shop.
Most likely I should just replace the oem bar with a new oem bar, or try to bend the current one back into shape... though I don't think I have the eye for that.
Just about to take it to the dealer and shell out cash...
Wasp has some neat bars, with more rise and pullback plus they are adjustable. This translates to NOT cheap!
Maybe some others have replaced their OEM bars, and would like to sell them?
Maybe some others have replaced their OEM bars, and would like to sell them?
Lots of handlebar info here
http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=2365.msg40260
I just got my Moose CR-Hi today... have to say at first glance they look a bit low! But I'll be doing a test fit on the weekend, and if they work out my OEMs will be for sale, if you can wait a bit...
Trevor
http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=2365.msg40260
I just got my Moose CR-Hi today... have to say at first glance they look a bit low! But I'll be doing a test fit on the weekend, and if they work out my OEMs will be for sale, if you can wait a bit...
Trevor
If you want the stock bar, I'd put a feeler out on this forum and others to find someone who might have one to sell. Swapping bars is a common mod and I suspect there are a few stock bars sitting around looking for a home.
If you have a good vise and can build a jig to hold the center of the bar, you could probably bend the stock bars back to very close to straight with a long section of pipe fit over the end of the bar. They're made of steel, so they're relatively malleable. But I wouldn't attempt to do it on the bike.
The key thing to keep in mind is that the stock bar is a "fatbar" (thicker at the mounting point and thinning at the grips - 1-1/8" and 7/8" if I remember correctly) but steel. Most aftermarket fatbars are aluminum. An alum aftermarket bar would be a nice upgrade, but the wall thickness of an alum bar is considerably thicker, so you'll probably have to figure out how to mount the hand guards with aftermarket expander plugs - I used Moose plugs one time and they worked well. If you have a Kaoko throttle lock, things will likely get more complicated.
There is another thread on this forum about handlebars and I think someone sourced out some steel fatbars in the aftermarket. These are probably a simple bolt-up, although if you want to retain the stock indexing of the switch assemblies and throttle perch, you'll need to drill indexing holes in the new bar.
Nothing too complicated but some stuff to think about. If you have the dealer do a stock swap for you, you're looking at a relatively expensive bar and a 1-1.5 hour labor charge.... I'd guess $300 before you get out.
- Mark
If you have a good vise and can build a jig to hold the center of the bar, you could probably bend the stock bars back to very close to straight with a long section of pipe fit over the end of the bar. They're made of steel, so they're relatively malleable. But I wouldn't attempt to do it on the bike.
The key thing to keep in mind is that the stock bar is a "fatbar" (thicker at the mounting point and thinning at the grips - 1-1/8" and 7/8" if I remember correctly) but steel. Most aftermarket fatbars are aluminum. An alum aftermarket bar would be a nice upgrade, but the wall thickness of an alum bar is considerably thicker, so you'll probably have to figure out how to mount the hand guards with aftermarket expander plugs - I used Moose plugs one time and they worked well. If you have a Kaoko throttle lock, things will likely get more complicated.
There is another thread on this forum about handlebars and I think someone sourced out some steel fatbars in the aftermarket. These are probably a simple bolt-up, although if you want to retain the stock indexing of the switch assemblies and throttle perch, you'll need to drill indexing holes in the new bar.
Nothing too complicated but some stuff to think about. If you have the dealer do a stock swap for you, you're looking at a relatively expensive bar and a 1-1.5 hour labor charge.... I'd guess $300 before you get out.
- Mark