Dropped Bike Need Help!

So this past weekend I dropped my bike in a friends driveway. Back tire went pfft right from under me. Welllllll....now the bike pulls to the right a bit and my brake light is stuck on. The forks don't appear bent and neither is the wheel. I'm more concerned about the brake light though. Its an 81 Xj650 and was dropped on the right side. Any advice on triaging these issues would be appreciated.

 

could it be the bars are bent a little?

it fell on the right side so the brake lever hit. maybe the little switch came out of the housing, the back brake switch is on the right side too.

 

+1

I'd still take a pair of broomsticks and check the forks for misalignment. It doesn't take much for forks to twist in the trees. Strap the sticks perpendicular to the forks, one above the lower tree and the other just above the fender. Look straight down the forks. If they are aligned you'll only see one broomstick.

 

Start with the switch on the master cylinder as it would have been right at the point of the handle bar hitting the ground. I'm guessing that the switch broke off in the fall. If the switch is still attached. Unplug the wires and check to see if the brake light goes off.

The brake light switch mounted on the master cylinder can be seen here.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Master-cyli...ash=item41a52b2018:g:AwYAAOSwB4NWzMyk&vxp=mtr

And will look like this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-XJ-6...ash=item463b792eff:g:CJwAAOSwKrhVZOIT&vxp=mtr

To remove the broken stub use a round object and push into the hole to release the tab holding it in.

 

Saw this a lot, forks sprung in clamps.
Bike on center stand and run a string around rear tire then run it up around front tire and line them up.
If your alingned then look at bars to be cocked to right.
Then loosen axle and upper triple clamps and front end can be alingned.
Sitting on bike grab bars and move them back and forth until forks are parallel. We had a piece of glass 4"x12 that placed flat against forks would prove them true or not.
Then tighten upper pinch bolts then top nut , then axle and check with glass again

 

I use the sticks method. Can true up the forks in a matter of minutes.

I bought a "wrecked" nine a couple months ago..... Owner was convinced he wrecked it--- I told him otherwise, but he was convinced it was a real bad mess.....less than 2 hrs of swapping parts and true-ing the forks and it's a beautiful bike.

If you just flopped it in the drive, you just boogered some stuff up ..... It's NOT wrecked.

1. Probably twisted forks
2. Probably stuck or bent rear brake pedal/linkage.

Other than that, there's nothing that can make the bike "pull" to the right.... The only way that you steer is with the front tire turning. The other is stationary, and I HIGHLY doubt you jacked the swing arm ---- which is the only way to 'steer' the back tire. So if it want to turn right, most likely your forks are twisted so your tire angles right when you think your bars look straight. I bet if you line if the tire straight, your bars are gonna look like you're slightly turning left .....

Loosen all triple clamp bolts and straighten things out, tighten them back up.

You'll be fine

Dave F

 

Just to be a tool...
I thought I'd add. The last time I went over the top of a car after a T-bone I broke my right arm.
For a long time it felt like I was pulling to the right when I got back on a bike.
Ahh the hilarity. *takes a bow*

 

Was this a stationary tip, or were you rolling?

If stopped, I find it hard to imagine this knocking your forks out of whack... but you never know.. worth checking and easy enough to do.

It's easier to assume your bars may be bent.. This would make it feel like your grip position is not centered while going straight. And likewise, if the bars are bent and you center your grip position the bike may appear to pull to one side..

Check the handlebar bends right near the clamps on the tree, this is the center of leverage and if dropped the bar will bend here before anywhere else. You may be able to spot a difference in the bends. My bars are bent from when a PO dropped it, and the chrome finish is a little rippled where the bend occurred... For me it's not really noticeable because I'm used to it, but if its bent, its new and it wont not feel normal the first couple rides.


Good Luck!

 

As to your brake light , You may have bent rear brake lever , check switch it has a spring on it if you push up in it and light goes off , you found problem! Cheers

 

I was rolling out of the drive and my back tire slipped

 

Thanks everyone so I know how to do the rear brake lever....but I have no idea how to do anything with the forks. Where are the tree clamps and how do I loosen them. I still have a lot to learn

 

The Tripple tree is your mount for the forks and this mounts to the frame , if you look there are a couple of bolts on the mount should be allen bolts you can loosen. Put bike on level surface and on center stand. put front tire straight ahead between your legs. see if handle bars appear straight in relation to front wheel. if not then you need to "Tweek " forks slightly.

 

I have to true up some forks this evening.....I'll take some pics to show you what to do....it's EASY

Dave

 

Sounds like a slow speed lay down.. i'd still bet your bars are bent before the forks... I just got a new moto style bar for my xj650 last weekend.. 26$ out the door... cant go wrong!

Fwiw, the tripple trees look this (this photo is from a different bike, but same idea overall)...

 

A pic of the forks/handle bars/throttle would really help identify the problem.

 

Here's the bike..... It looks nice and straight. I have two metal pipes: 1 is through the rim, and the rim is turned backward to hold the pipe tight against the lower fork' the other pipe is zip tied tight to the upper tube at the moment.



But wait--looking down from the top, we can see that the pipes are definitely not parallel. so, the forks are not parallel this way. We shall fix this. Notice, the handlebars are already removed, and the pip is moved up to the top of the tube. That is simply because I could see right away the pipes were not parallel, so I moved stuff out of the way and slid the pipes up before taking this pic.



Loosen the top pinch bolt and the lower two pinch bolts on each side



Loosen the top bolt of the triple clamp AND the pinch bolt. The handlebars are back one for added leverage.



I stand with the front wheel between my knees and twist the triple clamp almost as far the other direction, so that it will settle toward the middle and be close to straight. I keep doing that until the pipes are dead parallel, and I don't settle for "well, that's close enough". My thought is 'close enough isn't".

Here' the pipes are parallel, and time to hook everything back up.


No need for. Fancy equipment, v-blocks, etc...... Just a couple straight pipes, or broom handles, etc.....just make sure they are perfectly straight. Take your time, you'll be able to do this, too-----

Hope this helps you....

Dave F

 

Nice writeup Dave, that's the beauty of these forums. Going out of the way to assist another.

@KShockney , we're doing a group ride next weekend. It's about 2.5 hours for you but if you can hack it we'll look your bike over no problem at the meet up. Don't attempt if you're unsure of your equipment.

http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/ne-ohio-nw-pa-ride-saturday-8-20.98768/#post-533148

 

BTW my 82 max 650 came to me with bent stock handlebars due to a no speed driveway dump. Felt like you were fighting to go straight. PO was used to it.

 

Good job Dave.

 

Thanks! I started that too late in the day for the best pics..... I got interrupted and by the time I got back to it, it was getting dark and had to finish the pics with the 500w work lights......but it got the pics across