Having trouble locating what I bent/twisted on my front end

[CA-T7]

I had a spill with some forward momentum.. Not sure exactly how fast. My forks and handlebars weren't aligned afterwards. It was off by about 1.5in, maybe 2in.

When I got home, I loosed up the front axle, pinch bolts, and the lower triple clamp. I compressed the suspension a few times, then torqued everything back up again. My handlebar is still turned to the right about 5cm when riding straight to where you definitely notice things aren't lined up. I looked through and it appears that something with the handlebar risers themselves is bent/twisted.

 

I want to remove the risers to inspect them a bit more closely, but I'm not sure how they are supposed to be removed. I saw the bolt on the bottom, but it was really hard to reach with my wrench/socket and bar. Is there a specific procedure you can point me to?

 

 

[AZJW]

@CA-T7According to Cory at Camel-ADV, you'll need lots of extensions to reach the nuts underneath,  but apparently that will work.

Welcome to the forum. 

 

 

[Hammerhead]

Another experienced vote to suggest it’s likely those stock risers getting twisted out of alignment or just in their rubber mounts somewhat. Their cap nuts aren’t easy access but removal is the only real way to check their bolts for parallel & will help tune alignment in the rubber as well. 
 

edit: the location of your handlebars relative to the fork caps in your top pic is a pretty good indicator that’s where the problem is.

Edited October 24, 2021 by Hammerhead

[DT675]

This is such a controversial subject I don't know if I dare try to be helpful. Their could be several things wrong but by the looks of your pic I think I would pull the front tire off, loosen the top fork clamp bolts (not the lower) and loosen the top clamp center bolt (not the bearing ones under the top clamp). That should allow you to twist the bars back straight across the forks. When you get it where you want it, tighten them back up. Then put your front tire back on. Look up proper procedures on how to do that so you dont bind the forks. 

 

If that doesn't work then I'd be looking into loosening and straightening via the handlebar clamps. 

 

"IMO"  

[WRXer]

Loosen the front fender also.

 

Same thing happened to me.  If what you have done  + the front fender does not work try straightening it between your knees like an old bicycle while everything is loose.  If all else fails take the wheel completely off & take the fork legs completely loose & start over.  Worked for me.  Never messed with the H-clamps or stem nut but tried first as you did.

[Landshark]

One could bang the front tire into something like a tree stump or truck bumper of anything solid after loosening a few pinch bolts to allow the tire to align itself to the handle bars.  Then you can kinda asses the handle bars/risers for damage.   Good luck and check in often.  

[tenerecanada]

I've had a few mega offs, one of which bent the pins coming out of the bottom of the lower handlebar clamp, so it is entirely possible this happened to you as well. The nut on the bottom is around 14mm I believe. To access  you will need a socket extension piece at least 12 inches long and a universal joint - looks like this:

 

Bonus pic:

 

[UtahJack]

@CA-T7

Had a similar problem with mine last year, after going through the procedure's to straighten the alignment of the front forks. I found that the remaining misalignment was in the riser, they where not bent but they are rubber mounted and get tweaked in their mount,  was just a matter of loosen them slightly and with the steering at full lock forcing them into alignment and retightening, I have even been told that sometimes they can be forced back without loosening them, but I would still get the extensions needed to reach the riser nuts and go that route.

 

    

[JohnnieBoy]

Yep, long extension and a knuckle joint. Breaker bar definitely helps. I bent mine also and had to take it off to straighten it.

[williestreet]

When you take the riser off, set it upside down on a flat surface.  Glass surface would work well.  It will allow you see how it is bent and you can straighten it back, checking on the sheet of glass until it is perfect.

Also to check the forks are aligned, using  a perfectly flat plate(glass works well) hold across the tubes.  They should be perfect with no rocking of the plate.

 

Edited October 24, 2021 by williestreet

[CA-T7]

So with the far side flat, this is what the difference looks like.. I'm not even sure how to straighten something like this.  @williestreet @JohnnieBoy how did you guys go about straightening yours? I unfortunately have neither a garage nor workbench with vice.. So I'll maybe I need to find a friend with one hah

[CA-T7]

3 hours ago, CA-T7 said:

So with the far side flat, this is what the difference looks like.. I'm not even sure how to straighten something like this.  @williestreet @JohnnieBoy how did you guys go about straightening yours? I unfortunately have neither a garage nor workbench with vice.. So I'll maybe I need to find a friend with one hah

 

Okay... So I put the risers into their slot, turned the fork all the way to the left, put the handle bars on and then just applied pressure turning left. It straightened out significantly. Maybe not perfect, but miles better than it was. 

Edited November 7, 2021 by CA-T7

[williestreet]

It's as good a method as any.  Whatever works.

 

 

[Wintersdark]

Won't help with the risers, but for forks/trees, I do:

 

1. Loosen lower tree pinch bolts
2. Loosen fender bolts
3. Loosen front axle pinch bolts
4. At this point the only tight attachment to the forks should be the upper pinch bolts.  If there's any other accessories grabbing your forks anywhere, loosen them.
5. Hold your front tire with your knees, grab the handlebars and straighten them as well as you can roughly by eye.  I find this is necessary, as step 6 will correct slight misalignment but at least in my experience not gross misalignment
6. Get on the bike.  Hold the front brake, and bounce down on the handlebars compressing the forks a few times. 
7. Re-tighten and torque down everything you loosened, have a beer.

But, as @williestreet said, really whatever works.  Everyone has their own methods, and it doesn't seem to really matter a lot if you get the results you wanted.  I've never heard of anyone damaging anything doing this or a variant of it, at least not without doing something really extreme.

[tenerecanada]

On 10/24/2021 at 5:36 PM, williestreet said:

When you take the riser off, set it upside down on a flat surface.  Glass surface would work well.  It will allow you see how it is bent and you can straighten it back, checking on the sheet of glass until it is perfect.

Also to check the forks are aligned, using  a perfectly flat plate(glass works well) hold across the tubes.  They should be perfect with no rocking of the plate.

 

 

That suspension shop is located very close to me - I was going to send the bike in for some upgrades in the spring. Funny seeing the name pop up. Cheers.

[Oxxa]

What is the tightening torque for the two bolts that are under the triple clamp that hold the handlebar riserS?

[Hollybrook]

19 hours ago, Oxxa said:

What is the tightening torque for the two bolts that are under the triple clamp that hold the handlebar riserS?

@Oxxa you have asked the same question in 3 different threads - how about only asking once?