Straighten forks after drop

[petshark]

So as some of you may have read I dropped my bike while pushing it up on a motorcycle lift..

I researched and executed the realignment of the forks and it's a lot better but not perfect. I loosened the lower triple tree bolts, axle pinch bolt and axle and pushed down on the forks to realign them.

In this video Delboy goes a lot further, loosening the bolts for the mudguard, brake callipers and the nut on top of the steering head.

Any advice before I give it another go? Thanks.

[PhotoAl]

From a "simple drop" I'd be surprised if the fork tubes are bent - but never know.  On other bikes I've put everything together loose and then bounced the from a few times to get them to light up.  Yes I would pull the front fender or at least take the bolts out - anything than can keep the forks from being out of line.  I'm not sure of the need to loosen the top nut on the head bearings or the brake calipers but maybe for a tough case it is necessary.  

While you have the forks out might be a good opportunity to do a dump n run like Dave Moss demonstrates and also check the forks for stiction.  I'm not a fan of his method of cleaning the tubes with sandpaper - I would use a lot finer sandpaper and water.  If you are going to pull the forks off then might as well put fresh fluid in there.  If you had a bit of stiction on one but not the other maybe it would hinder a perfect alignment.  

[petshark]

Sorry I forgot to link the video

 

[kilo3]

12 hours ago, KellyL said:

I would also avoid Delboy for matters related to anything mechanical.

x100 this, guy's a phuckin moron

Edited March 30, 2022 by kilo3

[duckie]

I found I had a bent set of triple clamps when changes forks one time. I had one fork in place but the other fork would not slide in. The fork holes on the clamps were not in alignment. 

 

[dave sutto]

2 hours ago, kilo3 said:

x100 this, guy's a phuckin moron

this delboy is the moron who advises changing coolant by running the bike up to operating temperature and then removing the radiator cap. not only is he a moron but a dangerous moron

[petshark]

3 hours ago, KellyL said:

The Dave Moss procedure video is much better, especially with regards to the tightening sequence and caliper seating.

Great video and I am happy to say that I already use these methods. I probably learned this from Dave in an older video.

It's not really about twisted forks after a drop though. My question is more about in how many places things can be off and how much you have to loosen than how to do it right. Still much appreciated!

Doing the lower triple tree clamps and axle really helped and I'm hoping that there is still some tension caused by things I haven't loosened in my first try. If this method fails I will check if the forks are still straight and so on. 

I would be surprised if the forks or even the handlebars are bent as the screen and thus the entire nose of the bike took the worst hit (the screen hitting a large wooden crate was the first point of impact). The forks were rebuilt under warranty last november with new Ohlins oil and SKF seals because it developed a small leak after the complete rebuild last summer. There was practically no stiction at after both rebuilds.

I'm trying again this weekend and will include brake callipers and mudguard bolts. My dilemma is currently wether to undo the top head bearing nut or not. Can it hurt? Otherwise I'll do it just te be sure that I've tried everything.

If that fails I will take the wheel and forks out as per your advise.

[petshark]

9 minutes ago, kilo3 said:

x100 this, guy's a phuckin moron

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query="the+workshop"+delboy

I've heard this a lot from this youtube channel "the workshop" that has many video's dedicated to Delboy supposedly being a moron but there are also some fans on the forum so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. 

Anything specific that is wrong in this video?

[peteinpa]

I'm surprised with the low opinion of Delboy.  I know I haven't seen nearly all his videos but the ones I've seen were OK. Maybe it's the old videos.

Removing a hot rad. cap is a no-no.

The brake caliper alignment for a FJ-09 I think is useless.  there is almost no play in the caliper mounts. Just tried it a couple of weeks ago with my front tire change.  With 4 active pistons they will seek their own neutral position.

I'll second removing the front wheel and fender, loosening the triple clamps AND the stem nut and rotating each fork. If it's difficult or you can't it's bent.  VERY difficult to bend an upside-down fork.

[dave sutto]

sorry for losing the original thread of this post but i do find delboys garage very poor, whilst the majority of his videos are harmless enough he does portray himself as an expert with years of experience and yet does seriously dangerous things like removing the rad cap from a hot system, (which was a recent video) my main concern is an inexperienced person looking to get into bike maintenance will see these tutorials and copy them thinking if he does it then it must be correct. 

[petshark]

7 hours ago, KellyL said:

It's more a case of sloppy presentation, and lack of discussion (or awareness) of more fundamental issues that need to be addressed when facing a bike with poor alignment, i.e. why is it misaligned in the first place? Measuring the rear axle with some calipers isn't going to tell you if the frame is twisted from a crash. (It should be aligned to the chainline, and not the swingarm markers which can be inaccurate.)

It's not actually the worst video I've seen on this topic - there are some absolutely atrocious ones by other creators - but Del generally approaches things heuristically ('black box' pattern learning) without demonstrating actual understanding - leading to dumb stuff like his now-deleted coolant replacement video. His channel is a reflection of a wider problem amongst YouTube 'instructional' content culture. It's like the motorcycle version of that infamous Verge PC build video (also now deleted), but repeated over and over again. On the other hand, I am also aware of 'The Workshop' and I dislike the toxic atmosphere there too.

Del has also effectively blocked any form of critical peer review by filtering/editing the comments section.

In contrast, Dave Moss demonstrates logical reasoning and explanation, and clear concise teaching from a solid foundational theory. At least you can see where he's coming from, even if you don't agree with his message.

I agree with everything you say. 

Wouldn't you also say though that Del is a certain old-school type of mechanic that you often encounter in real life? None of it is very scientific but he makes up for that with rugged charm and confidence. I would go as far as to say that the heuristic approach is not uncommon amongst mechanics. That is my experience at least.

It is true that this kind of content can be dangerous. A mechanic has a reputation and liability whereas a YouTube teacher has none. As always the responsibility lies completely with the viewer. It's free information and none of it is guaranteed to be correct. Censoring the peer review system is bad but I imagine constant trolling by 'the workshop' fans could be the reason. On the other hand the workshop video's could have started because there is no other way to dispute Del's advice. Who knows.

I like that Del addresses exactly what happened to me as he often does. Dave's video is more generic and I never know how relevant it is to my situation. So it's up to me to piece it all together and ask for a second opinion. Thank you for yours!

[Cogswell]

21 hours ago, petshark said:

Great video and I am happy to say that I already use these methods. I probably learned this from Dave in an older video.

It's not really about twisted forks after a drop though. My question is more about in how many places things can be off and how much you have to loosen than how to do it right. Still much appreciated!

Doing the lower triple tree clamps and axle really helped and I'm hoping that there is still some tension caused by things I haven't loosened in my first try. If this method fails I will check if the forks are still straight and so on. 

I would be surprised if the forks or even the handlebars are bent as the screen and thus the entire nose of the bike took the worst hit (the screen hitting a large wooden crate was the first point of impact). The forks were rebuilt under warranty last november with new Ohlins oil and SKF seals because it developed a small leak after the complete rebuild last summer. There was practically no stiction at after both rebuilds.

I'm trying again this weekend and will include brake callipers and mudguard bolts. My dilemma is currently wether to undo the top head bearing nut or not. Can it hurt? Otherwise I'll do it just te be sure that I've tried everything.

If that fails I will take the wheel and forks out as per your advise.

Good on you for keeping at this.

You should take a systematic approach to determine if and which components may be bent or damaged. Find fixed locations and take measurements on both sides. Check the handlebars and mounts for movement, check the mount for the front instruments, headlight, and windscreen. One small tweak in a mount somewhere may manifest itself at the far end of the component.

[petshark]

So I aligned everything as said and everything looks straight except the nose from the rider position. It's much more obvious now that the forks are better aligned.

I'll start a new thread because it doesn't match the title anymore.