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Old March 27th, 2019, 05:18 PM   #1
utn
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Handlebars and Front Wheel Out of Alignment

Summary: After a moderate low-side accident, my handlebars and front wheel are not in alignment anymore. How can I find and correct the cause?

Hi everyone,
This is my first post and I haven't been able to find a solution after searching many different forums and YouTube videos.

Last July I had an unfortunate low-side with my 2014 Ninja 300. The main impact point appears to have been the left handlebar, accompanied by a bit of a slide. I believe I've corrected all of the damage to the bike, minus what my question is about.
The front wheel appears to point slightly to the left, relative to the handlebars, from the rider’s perspective.
I haven't been able to notice any bent or creased forks. I've lifted the front end of the bike on a steering head stand and loosened the bolts to the forks, axle, front wheel fender/shield, and the center bolt in the triple tree, in an attempt to relieve any twist or tension in the fixture. After wobbling it all around it still does not appear to have been corrected. When it's loose I can try to push the bars into a 'straight' configuration relative to the wheel, but meet resistance and feel that if clamped as such, it would be under stress and not in a relaxed/normal state.
I'm starting to think that there is something bent or damaged that I haven't noticed that is causing this.
I'm starting to run out of ideas :disappointed: I'm not certain if the bars are off, or the forks are off.
Any tips would be very appreciated.
Thanks!


These images are a little dated. The bike has all fairings replaced at this time, and a replaced left handlebar and clutch lever, fuel tank, etc.
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Old March 29th, 2019, 01:33 AM   #2
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Hard to tell from pics, but my money is on bent forks.
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Old March 29th, 2019, 11:38 AM   #3
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Try jacking up front-end and loosening all following to undo any twisting from crash (you need to unclamp fork-blades from triple-T):

- front-wheel axle nut
- lower triple-T clamps
- upper triple-T clamps
- upper triple-T stem bolt

Place some wood blocks under front-tyre to keep fork from falling out. Remove fender and bracket, them being bent can cause fork to be cockeyed when loosened. Wiggle everything a litte to unbind any twists from crash. Centre front wheel and tighten everything back down in reverse order.

Measure fender & bracket for twisting (measure between diagonals). Bend back and re-install.

Last futzed with by DannoXYZ; March 29th, 2019 at 12:42 PM.
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Old March 29th, 2019, 12:18 PM   #4
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try what dan said, if it dont work , you have bent forks, triple clamps,front axle. some combo of the 3. take all those parts to get straightened. 2 mos ago it cost me close to 400 dollars to get all 3 straightened.
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Old March 30th, 2019, 11:44 AM   #5
utn
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Looks like one of the forks may be bent. I'm not sure on the tolerances for how straight a fork should be. But, using a machinists straight edge, I can see that the left fork isn't perfectly straight. Measuring the right fork, it appears to be straight everywhere I measure it with the same tool and I can't see any gap on that fork.

Any opinions on if this is bent enough to warrant replacement or straightening? :P
I'm going to expect that I should correct it.

Thanks!
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Old March 31st, 2019, 06:21 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by utn View Post
Any opinions on if this is bent enough to warrant replacement or straightening? :P
I'm going to expect that I should correct it.
Thanks!
If it were mine I'd take to my buddy's press and get it as close as I could and put it back together, in fact I wouldn't worry about running it like it is. I know I'm gonna get lambasted for saying that, but that's what I'd do and I'll bet if anyone rode it with the tweaked tube they'd never know. If you try to straighten it make sure you don't put any knicks in it or they (the knicks)will ruin the fork seals.
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Old March 31st, 2019, 08:21 AM   #7
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I'd reinstall everything and check to see if the alignment is better now. Might have just been bound up a little twisted from the impact. I can't imagine that little amount of bend would result in such an exaggerated misalignment.
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Old March 31st, 2019, 08:57 AM   #8
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I'd reinstall everything and check to see if the alignment is better now. Might have just been bound up a little twisted from the impact. I can't imagine that little amount of bend would result in such an exaggerated misalignment.
+1 to above

.02.....your choice...a straightening process would include a hydraulic press and verification, rolling each tube on a flat surface such as glass or granite type slab, which blatantly reveals imperfections.

Once installed, I'd "string align" the front to rear to eliminate any variations there. And verify steering head adjustment is correct, no tightness nor slop.

Then check for real world steering imperfections test riding by *carefully* taking your hands slightly off the bars at various speeds.

If tubes are known straight and whacky steering is still present, lower triple likely affected....possibly upper too...or even more?

Edited to add....I'd "roll test" that front axle as well. Make sure front wheel rotation is sound and true.
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Last futzed with by ducatiman; March 31st, 2019 at 09:05 AM. Reason: clarity
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