F%$king cagers!!!!

[naughtylion]

Hey guys,

Just got back from the RTA to renew my license and some a$$hole cager backed into my bike and tipped it over. They picked it up and left. This is the second time this has happened since I got her in September. Seriously pi$$ed off.

Anyway if there's something I can say about this bike is that it seems to tip over well. Just installed a yosh exhaust and there isn't a scratch on it. No scratches on the bodywork - it must roll over on the locked front wheel and come to rest on the bar end, protecting the body.

Anyway I jumped on and started her up and it revved up almost to the redline before I caught the throttle. I then noticed my mirrors slightly skued and some scratches on the corner of the right mirror.

The thing that's bugging me is that now the throttle sticks. It has no spring to it so you have to roll it on and off. If you roll it on and take your hand away it stays where you left it. I can feel that the 'spring' is still there but something's preventing it from sprining back. Could it just be the bar end interfering with the throttle twisting?

I'm a little mechanically minded and am able to do all the mods to it myself (be that they're fairly simple mods), but I'm a moto noob and I've never taken apart the handlebars on such a new bike.

Does anyone have any idea what would be wrong with it? Please tell me I can take the bar end off and put it back on (or something similar) and it will be okay. Could something more serious be wrong with the internal mechanism of the throttle or anything?

Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated. I just wanna know if its fixable and if it something I can probably do myself. I have a wedding up the coast on saturday I have to ride up for too and it's annoying as to ride it the way it is.

I finish work in 3 hours and I'm fuuuuuuming.

I just need someone to tell me it'll be okay lol... and that I'll be able to fix it and that no serious damage could be done

EDIT: Oh and I've done a quick search on the net but I can't find anything that is setting my mind at ease. I looked up new bar end installs for some pics with the bar ends off but I can't see how the bar end could interfere with the throttle which makes me nervous. Thanks again guys

[Jiggles]

If the rubber handle is resting on the plastic housing of the starter/killswitch, it could be causing enough friction to prevent the throttle from springing back.

Taking the bar end off isn't to hard. You just need to torch the bolt and find a large screw driving that fits well. With the bolt torched it comes off without too much effort.

[naughtylion]

Yeah sweet thanks for the reply man...

I read how to replace the bar ends and the suggestion to butane the bolt (to work through the loc-tight I imagine) so I'f fairly confident I'll be able to get it off - however it still sticks when I pulled the 'flanged' (right side) of the grip away from the plastic kill switch housing.

I just have a bad feeling it may be something internal?

What kind of damage can you do if the bar end was hit squarly with a hammer, say? That's what would have happened when the bar end hit the asphalt. Could any serious damage be done?

[Jiggles]

Only thing I could think of would be that it is now resting against the rubber grip or the plastic throttle underneath the grip. Take it apart and I'm sure it will be an easy fix.

[naughtylion]

Oh okay cool *phew* haha

So that throttle under the grip is plastic? Okay cool that makes me feel a bit better. I thought it'd all be metal or titanium precision laser cut bomb proof 007 style under there so I'd just have to replace the whole bar.

Thanks Sean really appreciate it mate. Calmed me down. Man 20mins ago I could cut a b*tch I was that mad. The second time in as many months that this has happened. I'm never letting her out of my sight again.

Surely this doesn't happen that often to anyone else? Granted I live in the city but I always thought cars knocking bikes over was a scenario that's bad but never really happened. Like falling off. =D

[Jiggles]

I always try to park somewhere that I'm both visible and secluded. Next to curbs or bushes will prevent other cars from even coming near you since they would hit the curb/bush.

It's odd that you've been hit twice, perhaps you need a different color bike?

[naughtylion]

Yeah both times I've been next to the curb. I live in Sydney city though and the amount of shocking drivers around here is not to be sniffed at. Both times were in broad daylight. Dunno how much more visible I can make it without having flashing beacons on poles set up around it. Even then...

[Jiggles]

Replace your windshield with one of these and no one will ever hit your bike again

[naughtylion]

lol yeah but if they did it'd make a mess...

Never leaving her alone again.

[Felipe the Ant]

Your handlebar is probably bent, same thing happened to my friend's bike. Try taking the plastic off and messing around with that though first since it's easier

[naughtylion]

Ah ur kidding!! If it's bent can you bend it back? Even as a temporary thing?

[Jiggles]

Yep just torch the bent part and bend it back. To bend back the handlebars of my pregen I had to completely take them off and put them in a vice and use a metal plumbing pipe to bend them back.

[naughtylion]

Sweet thanks guys!! I think that could be what has happened - it makes sense.

About to head off home to see what the bad news is... fingers crossed....

[Felipe the Ant]

Or get a fairly long piece of pipe to slide over it and use as a lever, you might want to secure the bars somehow though so you don't damage anything else

[naughtylion]

Am I able to take off the plastic throttle bit to bend it back?

Probably a dumb question - I'm sure it'll make sense one I take it off...

[Jiggles]

To bend the bars back you would want to completely remove them from the bike, which also means taking all wired electronic parts off

[naughtylion]

How long you reckon it should take to dismantle and reassemble?

[Jiggles]

first time? 1-2 hours?

[naughtylion]

Okay cool that sounds good. See how I go thanks boys!

[setasai]

Make sure it is bent before you do all that. The weakpoint of the bars is very close to the mount and that would very unlikely cause problems for the throttle. Post some photos if you want confirmation.

[Clearlynotstefan]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

Replace your windshield with one of these and no one will ever hit your bike again

I'd hit that...

[naughtylion]

Okay thanks for the responses guys....

The bar was bent. I took everything off and took it upstairs to work on getting the bar end off. It was slightly bent, but I didn't notice because I *cough* thought it should have a slight curve to it (idiot. I had a lot going on that arvo)

I eventually looked at the other side and realised it was dead on straight. Because the slight bend was where the kill switch housing was, the throttle would move freely with the housing loose, but as soon as you tightened it it would stiffen up. My butane torch was screwed due to "over-use" so I couldn't get the bar end off. I tried with a ratchet and threaded the head of the screw. This made straightening the bar very difficult because I couldn't remove the grip so I needed to be careful where I was leveraging. A little at a time I managed to put a towel over the bar and little by little using a pipe as leverage straightened it up. I ended up getting it pretty much plum, screwed up the housing and hey presto, all better.

That being said I'll have to cut the bar end off and replace the bar should I ever wish to get a new bar end or anything like that. But small price to pay for no damage really. I'm just glad it's not cruise controlling itself anymore. Drove 4 hours up and down the coast over the weekend for a wedding with no problems.

[akima]

Sorry to hear about your bike Andrew. I'd be really pissed off if that happened to me. Glad your Yoshi exhaust wasn't hurt though: those things are pretty.

[naughtylion]

Hehe yeah upon closer inspection there was a little nick out of the bottom of the can but you can't notice it due to the textured look of the carbon fiber. And theres a couple of small scratches on the heat sheild but nothing major.

And you wouldn't believe it - I just went out for a smoke and the left mirror is folded in. So someone's backed into it again!!! Didn't tip over but seriously this is getting ****ing ridiculous.

I wanna get an alarm on it if for something else but to embarrass the **** out of the person that hits it.

Any suggestions? What are those XENA disc locks with the alarm in them like? Any good?

[setasai]

If you stripped the bar end screw, do the tried and true trick and use a drill to drill off the head of the screw. Take the bar end off after and then use pliers and maybe the torch to get the screw out.

[naughtylion]

Good idea setasai thank you

I'll give it a go when I next have a reason to take it off incase I break something. Just bought a yosh, koso, and double bubble screen so I'm broke for a little while lol

EDIT: Also, after the bar has been bent it's structural integrity would have been comprimised. I have no doubt if it was tipped over again the bar would bend easier than the first time.... I'll probably just wait until I have some spare case and swap it out.

[setasai]

If it works, dont bother swapping it out. Like I always say, dont expect to get into an accident and repair things. Ride like you might but most likely wont. Playing my cards close to my chest I guess... basically be confident in your skills to protect you and repair things as you go. Who knows... maybe you'll never need to replace the bars. The bar end screw maybe if you ever decide to change a worn set of grips or install grip heaters.