so I crashed my bike -and hi :)

[midnightoker]

edit: after previewing I realise this is a REALLY long way to introduce myself to the forums -you might be better off not reading it, and just skipping to the bottom to laugh at me

So I'm going to start with a little confession, a bit of background and then ask for some advice.

Confession:
I crashed my Divvy (N-Reg, 600s) into the side of a taxi. It kinda hurt and, the absolute worst part is that it was completely my fault. (and if you think I'm an idiot now, you're going to hate how I got home.)

Background:
08:30pm: I was turning right from Kirkstall Lane onto Kirkstall Road (strangely in an area known as Kirkstall in Leeds). Its three lanes; I was in the right hand only lane, and it was cold and wet and sat at a red light. I glance down at my foot and notice the white right turn arrow painted on the road. I tap out a few bars of Money on the handle bars whilst I watch my boot bouncing in a shiver on the floor -its freezing cold, and I really wish the lights would get on with it.

Lights go green, and believing I'm in a filter lane, I set off.
Do my mirror checks as I'm pulling forward and start to turn right.
When I notice two pairs of headlights coming straight at me and suddenly realise what a stupid thing I've done.

I slam all on and end up hitting the oncoming taxi at about a 90 degree angle, starting somewhere on his right front wheel (I destroyed his hubcap) and ending just after the drivers door. I am at a stop now, but still standing, and he's gone through the junction and pulled up at the other side. I push the bike onto the crossing, out of the way and go speak to the driver -who as you can imagine, is not impressed.

20 minutes later and I've apologised profusely to the taxi driver (many taxi drivers, every time one went past they'd pull over and check everything was OK -and to scowl at me), given him my details and got back to my bike to inspect the damage.

The front wheel has rotated about 45degrees clockwise from where it should be, the front mudguard is completely missing (smashed to pieces, a little lump of plastic left flapping off the speedo cable) and the metal bracket that was inside it is now badly mangled and is impacting on the tire quite badly. When the front wheel was straight the left hand bar was close to being locked and it refused to start.

As you might imagine, I was in a state of shock and not quite thinking clearly. Combined with not having recovery on my "3rd party, fire and theft" insurance policy, my friends house only being a straight and two right turns away and my desperate urge not to get the bike nicked or my head kicked in I did the following.
Switched off the kill-switch so the engine would start.
Used the rear shocker adjuster in the toolkit to bend the metalwork off the tire so it could move freely.
Rode to my friends house in a very silly riding position and then drank a beer and had a meal.
Had a proper freak out and decided I needed to get home.

The panic lasted longer than I thought, and it was about 4am before I got outside with a torch, a hammer and the bikes toolkit.
By loosening the upper and lower fork braces I managed to bend the wheel to nearly straight (about 5 degrees off) before tightening it all back together again. And riding home.

Advice Please
This being my fault means my insurance wont pay, and I'm majorly low income at the moment so I can't just afford to take the bike into a garage.

I need a new mudguard -that much is obvious. I just got one off ebay (waiting for delivery), and I'm hoping when I fit it, its going to pull the front end back into shape.

-This is where I've gotten to at the moment. I assume forks, wheel, yolks and I don't know what else might be damaged though. I have no idea what might be, or how to find out if it is. Any advise on this would be greatly appreciated.
Also, does anyone know if I have to remove the front wheel to fit a new mudguard? -and if so, any advice on jacking the front end of the bike up?

Thanks in advance

[Flymo]

Hi and welcome to the club,

Pity about your off probably the best thing to do with regards to fixing the bike up would be to drop the forks out to make sure that they are still straight, with them out clean away any corrosion where the yolks hold them and the roll along a FLAT straight surface (i'e a marble worktop or similar) any bend should be easily apparent, Assuming they are not bent then the missalignment is due to the yolks, inspect them carefully for signs of bending or othr damage, if they look alright but are still missaligned you could either loosen the headstock (pain) or with the forks back in but only the lower clamp tight put the wheel on and ram in straight and square into a wall (pushing it at walking pace) the shock should line the yolks up again.

Oh yeah if your bike has a center stand put bike on center stand and prop front end up either a block of wood and a jack under the sump, or a long piece of wood under the frame near the headstock (there's like a bracket welded where the frame from each side comes together)

You need also to check the wheel is not bent this can be dont easily by rotating the wheel and seeing it if move much from side to side with reference to a fixed point.

Good job you saw the taxi's lights and stopped else you could have been rolling on the taxi's bonnet and the bike would have been well mangled !

Regards Flymo

Edit :

i think your going to have to straighten the brace that goes across the forks where themud gaurd attaches, either that or get another from somewhere.

[m40man]

First things first: Welcome to the club .

Depending on the impact speed, your forks may well just be twisted in the yokes. This sounds very likely from the description of your contact with the taxi. Loosen them & re-twist them straight & see if that sorts it out. If not, Flymo's advice makes sense for checking if they are actually bent.

If you haven't already done so, carefully check the wheel rim for any kinks. A tyre will stay on a rim even with quite a big kink in it, but even a little kink or two is not good as any future striking of an object in the road might be enough to break it's airtight seal. Immediate deflation of a front tyre whilst moving would not be nice.

(My suspicion would be that the yolks & forks took enough energy out of the prang so your wheel is probably OK - just worth checking.)

Your replacement mudguard will hopefully be complete with the light brace.

[midnightoker]

Thanks to both of you for your replies.

I figure I got off pretty lucky -though when my mum dragged me to A&E a couple of days later, it turned out I'd broken my left thumb and torn the ligaments off it -Don't suppose anyone has any thoughts on how I could have managed to do this; due to the direction of the impact, the bars should have been wrenched *away* from my left thumb (possibly into my left fingers/right thumb) -its left me completely baffled, so any thoughts would be appreciated.

Flymo: I like your plan to re-align the yolks.
The old mudguard brace was completely mangled, and one of the bolt-holes has been destroyed/bolt missing. The new mudguard is coming with a new brace (though I'm still waiting for it to arrive) -when it does I'll fit the new brace, and slacken the yolks and hopefully it will all be straight again.

Will check for damage to the wheel too -I hadn't actually thought of that.

[Flymo]

ouch that sounds like one sore thumb, take it easy with that hand until its fully healed.

Can't actually say i have used that method to reallign yolks before but i read it on another forum.. hang on....

www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=49212&highlight=forks+wall+push

Phew that took a few well thought out searches to find again !

Remeber to take it easy now the nights and weather is drawing in

Regards Flymo

EDIT for other members that know me :

Yes i know i should not preach about taking it easy ;D

[suzukikidontheloose53]

Bad luck about the crash and your thumb ,once you get the bike patched up I suppose the easiest way to find out if it is safe is to take it for an mot.

[midnightoker]

Flymo: Cheers for the link -and the support. I'm out of plaster now, and the more I'm using it, the more movement I'm getting back into it.
Hehe, I knew I'd done something bad the night after the crash when I was trying to ride home -the only thing I couldn't do properly was use the indicators -i had to take my hand off the bar and use my finger to slide the switch ;-)

Nov 2, 2008 21:41:00 GMT suzukikidontheloose53 said:

Bad luck about the crash and your thumb ,once you get the bike patched up I suppose the easiest way to find out if it is safe is to take it for an mot.

Good plan. Though I'm slightly wary, as my local MOT station has seen me come in with a couple of different sheds and let me pass with warnings

[midnightoker]

I'm just thinking about getting the front end off.
The last time I had to do this, I had one of those nice two-pronged scissor jacks (http://www.bigbikebook.com/14802/BIKETEK-MINI-LIFT-JACK.html) but I cant get my hands on one anymore without spending £60 and buying one.

Flymo, you suggested above using a plank of wood to prop it at the brace at the top of the frame -just got my socks wet looking, and thanks but no thanks, I can see that making a right mess.

I do have a single car jack -you said above jacking it under the sump... -can I just confirm I'm OK to do this? the bike isn't going to mind a load of weight rested there?

Looks like there is some damage to the top yolk, its actually mangled the headstock (might post a photo in the daylight).
I've seen a set of forks and yolks off a slightly newer Divvy (they have the "fork protectors" on) for only £70 -is this about the right price, and should they fit OK oven though they are from the newer model?

With Thanks

[m40man]

Nov 3, 2008 3:59:25 GMT @midnightoker said:

Flymo, you suggested above using a plank of wood to prop it at the brace at the top of the frame -just got my socks wet looking, and thanks but no thanks, I can see that making a right mess.

I do have a single car jack -you said above jacking it under the sump... -can I just confirm I'm OK to do this? the bike isn't going to mind a load of weight rested there?

Both methods are OK. Just loosen the requisite nuts & bolts a tad before propping up, so you don't have to apply so much force once it's 'airborne'. Alternatively if you have a shed / garage / workshop suspend it from a roof instead:

(I would have just used the jack on this bike, but it has no centrestand)
I believe that later models had fatter forks? So I'm not sure about the later ones you have lined up - may be fine with the accompanying yolks but hopefully someone else can confirm that or not?

Additional: I always place a piece of wood between jack & sump when raising the bike that way!

[midnightoker]

Well, I've done as suggested (car jack under the sump) and managed to change the mudguard.

It all looks ok, although I had to pull the right fork outwards to fit the wheel spindle back through, so I'm a little worried. Also looks like I might have bent the frame slightly where the yolks attach, so maybe not. I'm going to have another look in the morning, its pitch black and I cant see properly any more.

My problem now, is that I can't work out how to put my front calliper back together properly :S -ah well, try again in the light.

[CD]

Sorry about the off - sadly one of the hazards of biking.

If they are good condition, £70 is a good price for those forks. Its highly unlikely the originals got away without bending somewhere. Also get the YOKES if you can. Watch out though later forks had double discs and they are probably not compatible with the earlier single disc caliper. But maybe you could get the whole front end...? Maybe

When I strip the front of my bike I jack up under the engine then hang the frame from a tough rope or cargo tiedown strap slung over a beam across the garage ceiling.

The problem is that jacks can gradually settle and when the front end goes too low the bike simply rolls off it's stand.
Axle stands would be good, but where to put them AND the jack

[m40man]

Nov 4, 2008 0:36:22 GMT @midnightoker said:

My problem now, is that I can't work out how to put my front calliper back together properly :S -ah well, try again in the light.

This is *I Think* the right fiche, despite the model name not matching (it' not a UK site):
www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-xj600sgc-1995_model10241/partslist/D-09.html
If not, search the site, I'm sure it's there somewhere.

HTH.

[biblebasher]

if you do need a single disc front wheel, i have one to spare minus disc. not pretty but solid.