I was at the station gettin a tank of gas a couple nights ago. I was off the bike. I wanted to check that the rear brake light was still working on the new reartsets I just put on. I started the bike up and looking behind me at the tail light, I stepped on the brake pedal. The only problem was that it was not the brake pedal. Those Vortexes sure look alot alike on both sides. I had jammed the bike into gear by accident. It leapt forward and the side stand all but folded up.. The bike would have suffered another left side 0 mph drop. I got lucky, iguess

I've had minor bends if fork legs straightened before with no problems. So long as the surface coating is unblemished then you're good to go. If it's marked in any way then it will continue to chew out fork seals. It doesn't take much of a bend in a fork leg to effect the steering like you've noticed.

So my bet is it's still repairable without much cash. the cosmetics are going to chew most of your cash.

Find a V-block that is in the 44mm range or whatever these tubes are.
Find a press so you can push the bend past center-until-straight.
Find that rubber band [tube] come up from compression and now set it on that flat table so the rollers are in plane. Install that dial indicator over the center of the tube.
Find how much more you have to bend until that needle is about dead, not moving on the spin.
Find the divot you put in the seal run [some] is that press is about to compress some thin wall tube.
Find the dealer that has the right V-Block X to Y or you now line-collapse the v into the fork's finish kind of has to set as shown in photo post, meaning the sit in the V [top photo].
Find all that bend still be within an S-bend or wave, because you have some cheap ass people that rather run a coat hanger fork tube kind of repair and save half that price off retail, meaning, it's my only transportation so you do it salvage central close enough!
Find that wallet, Kruz. 2 forks/2 seals/2 fork crush seals/Upper crown/lower crown/frame's race set/crown bearing dust seal/.
Find I did not make a complete list but a few parts off the top of the liquid in the tube$ kind of go on line, price retail with those parts alone.
Find you can pay for half the bike with the parts you need to replace, meaning, retail price says buy new. It's a throwaway bike.
Find out, Kruz, this might be your first crash? Pour thousands into an antique? Big bucks if this is sold as a track bike for parts. The engine alone is port/cam job away. Plug and play my track bike(s).
Find me on a bent bike the way I wake up and push that starter buttons staring on yours so early in the morning I push buttons on line too.
Find the fish are still sleeping you foul hook a few...
Find yourself in front of that fish market like loose forks I set the front end down over a ton is a ton of fun on line!

* Last updated by: Hub on 6/5/2011 @ 6:30 AM *

Kruz

Here's the mark with bars at dead center.

Kruz

Here's how far out of alignment my front end is, about 1/8" to the left. When the black mark just touches the damper body, the handlebars are perfectly centered. The handle bars are turned 1/8" to the right to compensate.

Did you make the mark and determine straight ahead tracking with the bike in motion? I would try it several times to be sure you are getting similar results. I'm sure you prolly did that.

In any case. It will take a professional and some highly specialized equipment to figure out the exact amount of bend.

Not sure if anything is bent Rook, the amount the front end is out is very small, most folks prolly wouldn't even notice it while riding. I'm pretty picky and I couldn't really tell when riding if it was out of alignment or not, hence the need for precise,repeatable precise measurements. It could be that the upper triple clamp has twisted slightly relative to the lower clamp which would throw the front end out just slightly. Loosening up the crown lock rings and allowing everything to go back to it's original position then retightening may be all it needs. The slight leakage on the right fork tube could be seal compression, I think it was 1Bad that was telling me that even tying your bike down too hard can damage a fork seal.

As far as the marks, the right and left index marks next to the damper body were made with the forks on dead center. I established this with precision measuremenets between the center of the fork tube compression adjusters and the aft mounting screws for the fuel receptacle. when X = Y, your dead center.

When you ride the bike it is immediately obvious if you are off true center. Even at low speeds in a straight line, the mark was the same 1/8" off to the left. Yes, I rode it for probably ten minutes, the mark never moved from the position you see in the second photo, it is actually quite stable as you ride as the only time you force the bars off center is to initiate a turn, the rest of the time the front wheel's gyrospic force keeps it dead straight...applied physics 101.

BTW Rooks, thanks for posting my iPhone pics.

ya , sure 'welks. I have found precise measuring of parts to be pretty imprecise especially if they are moving or flexible parts but the roll down the road have to give you dead center.

its my headache now kruz .. quit playing with my toy

I know it was mentioned...yes....since the "problem" doesn't seem to be showing itself very easily or obviously...I'll suggest again....ARE YOU POSITIVE THE BARS ARE NOT "SLIGHTLY" BENT?At least the left one...that looked to me like it took a pretty good smack before grinding down.Take em out of the clipon handlebar mount piece.Remove that.NOW,put a straightedge along that bar.At least you'll know FOR SURE it's not a tweaked handlebar.MINE DID BEND....ever so slightly...enough to do EXACTLY what you're describing...."they're off center somehow"....yes.Enough to drive me KOO KOO trying to line up the steering head.I could not put my finger on it...but it just didn't "look" right.VISUAL cues are everywhere on these bikes.Something can be slightly off,and it will show up somewhere perception wise.Sometimes...things are just fine,and it can look like something is not right because of what we "think" happened to something.It may have been there all the time.We just never noticed it until.......

Kinda like....adjusting the rear wheel.It can look perfectly matched on BOTH sides.You tighten down the hardware,set er on her kickstand....WTF...that right one's NOT lined up with the Left one!.There is a way to adjust visually,but you have to do it the same on both sides...and I'm not just talking about.."lining up the hash marks".It's HOW you look at what you're doing that makes it come out equal.

* Last updated by: blue07 on 6/7/2011 @ 12:52 PM *

Blue07, I didn't want to go by the bars because of the reasons you just cited so I centered the damper , made the marks on the shaft and looked at only that when riding. It's definitely off 1/8" to the left. Seriously, it's very little and if I wasn't such a perfectionist, I'd prolly ride it the way it is and forget about it. But I am a perfectionist and I know I won't wever be happy until the bike looks and rides like new again.

I hear ya about things looking funny after a crash. You start scrutinizing every thing in detail and that can make you miserable.

Sometimes it's better to be like 1Bad, the ultimate pragmatist. If he can staighten it with a two by four, a ten ton bottle jack and a bottle of Jack Daniels then by golly it's good to go....Yahooo.

1Bad wrote:

its my headache now kruz .. quit playing with my toy

You ain't even showed up with no cash yet and you already gettin bossy with me?

Operative word there is cash, no personal checks...done been burned on those too many times....LOL!

everytime you touch my scooter i'm gonna have to drop 100.00

Ya kinda missed what I said Bro.Yer not "going by the bars".You're only "checking"to make sure they aren't just a tad bent.Tryin to ride a bike,centering with a "bent" bar...your brain's gonna want to keep the bars "equal"...if one IS slightly bent,the bikes's gonna go off to one side when ya "think" the bars are dead center.You can't go by the bars.But I think your idea of loosening the pinch bolts,and top clamp bolts is a good idea.Tweak it around a bit...see if she straightens for ya.I still think that left one is tweaked back just a hair.Enough to make things not appear right.Where's the ignition switch on that baby?Like the 14's?You should be able to line that divit up on the meter bracket casting...maybe there's a line going up forward that you can align with the switch casting and the bracket casting.That should show ya if the front is straight.Line those up,see if she's going right or left any as you ride.

It would be extremely unlikely that the axle/wheel could be cocked off center buy the fork tubes twisting.Your bearing and axle would start binding.It wouldn't take long to hear something grinding up front.You said everything looked okay and spun fine,yes?

I wouldn't jump the gun with those "seals" either.Sometimes,an accident can cause some strange things to occur....ONLY ONCE because of the dynamics of things.How's the fork tubes NOW...while compressing and rebounding?Any leaks?Maybe some fluid got trapped "under" the seal somehow...maybe it'll work it way out soon?I think yer forks are okay...just my opinion from how you described your lowside.

Contrary to what others might be saying or whatever...I don't believe your forks hit the curb.You would see a scuff mark of some sort where the tire hit first.That would HAVE to be there.No way could the forks contact the raised curb without the tire hitting first.Then the tire would have to go up and over,allowing the fork bottoms to hit,or the fork sides.You'd see some visible damage on the tubes.It would HAVE to be there.None of that happened according to what you said.The bike was laying "near" the curb,but not over or into it.She lowsided to a stop.No impact to the front except where the fender and bars turned and dug in.That won't ruin your forks.No way.They got spared from the left body panels and engine case holding the front up just enough.

Was there ANY bar damage marks on the right one?At the tip?Or the lever tip?I'm thinkin she dropped on her left side and stayed there...wheel and steering assembly locked all the way to the left stop.NO pressure on the forks themselves.Stupid as it sounds...with all the stuff you've been lookin at...I think your forks are fine.(I know..sounds pretty presumptuous).

* Last updated by: blue07 on 6/7/2011 @ 8:11 PM *

Thanks Blue you may be right, I took the bike out tonight and took it up to 100 mph on the freeway, took the overpass turn at about 90 and everything felt....well normal. The right fork leg seemed dry. Maybe you're right that a small amount of fluid got past the seal during the layover and it's worked it's way out. I was talking to a buddy at the gym tonight and he's bought and rebuilt several 600s that had been down. He said quite often just loosening the triple clamp lock nut allows everything to spring back into alignment. He wants to test ride the bike tomorrow night, he thinks I'm nuts selling the bike to 1bad for $3000. Maybe he's right, this bike just feels to good to be that bad off. I noticed the damper mark is only off by 1 1/2 times the width of the black mark during high speed cruise, that's only about 3/32", almost nothing. Should I keep her and repair?

* Last updated by: Kruz on 6/7/2011 @ 9:57 PM *

Should I keep her and repair?

.. 2900.00 now since you went out and rode my bike at 100mph

http://houston.craigslist.org/mcy/2421717513.html

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/mcd/2393188663.html

* Last updated by: Badzx14r on 6/8/2011 @ 3:41 PM *