put the RSV in the ditch today.

[massey130]

i was making a right hand turn out of the driveway & for some strange reason, i could not turn tight enough and wound up on the other side of the road in the ditch. Pictures below.

 

our driveway is asphalt & our road is gravel. this turn is always tough for me as i feel if i turn to tight, i will loose the front end to gravel slide.

 

since i was in a turning position, i was in line with the ditch. i was able to get the front tire back on the road, but when the rear came up, the bike fell over on the left.

 

i had messed up the lower cowling and the engine guard/crash bar was bent upwards cramming the highway peg against the floorboard which caught the gear shift.

 

no room to lift the bike using the technique learned and used before as i had to stand in the ditch to lift. i had got my truck & was in the process of hooking up ratchet straps to assist me in lifting the bike when a neighbor came home & gave me a hand.

 

what a pain. anyway i have the busted side of the bike taken apart.

 

My question is - can i heat & straighten the bar ends that are bent, or should i replace them with used/new bars. i checked our classifieds & ebay, but nothing listed. If replacing is the better option, does someone have a left crash bar for sale that is not listed?

 

i am over being embarrassed with myslef & Debbie came home for lunch & I told her, so I have bases covered.

 

Dale in Louisiana

 

p.s. - this really put us out of making the M & E in Biloxi, Ms.

[massey130]

now i know the bar ends can be heated & straightened, but sometimes that process leaves a part weaker than when new. so my concern is whether or not I would have a strong enough part after heating & straightening.

 

thanks for the forthcoming input.

 

Dale

[saddlebum]

you can straighten them. DON"T USE HEAT. secure the part in a vice use wood or other material to keep from scratching. Get hold of a large adjustable wrench. close the jaws on the bent tabs and carefully pry them back in shape.

[eazyduzzit]

I would bolt it back onto the bike and try bending without heat, if it isn't bent too badly. It's hard to tell from here.

[99silver]

I hit a dog with my RSV on the same corner. The insurance co. replaced mine.

You could bend them back but they would be weaker HOWEVER the good news is Carbon One posted an upgrade which I think would work for your case. He made a bracket to connect the crash bar to the cast iron bracket that hold the drivers floorboard. The crashbars are a bit weak to begin with. If you can't find the post just PM Larry I'm sure he can advise.

[Yammer Dan]

Bolt them back on the bike and kick them back in place. I've done it several times.

Won't weaken them enough to cause concern.

[massey130]

I have insurance, yea. but when you use it, the rates go up. that is why i would rather fix this myself. Ok, so no heat - i have a pretty nice shop & one big azz vice that will handle the job plus the what ever wrench i will need.

 

since it looks like about a final 2 inch difference to the outside, i will need to look at the right side to see if the bar ends are at a 90 degree angle to the bar itself. that way i will know when to stop bending.

 

i will post closeup pics in a minute

[massey130]

I will do a bit of both, vise bend & kickem'. here are the closeups. it is hard to get in the pic the twist you see with you eye. i will probably do some vise work & then bolt on & kick into final position. howz that sound?

[massey130]

also, i have a crack around one bolt hole on the black inside molding to be repaired as well as a broken bracket on the white outer cowling. i had read in another thread where there was a plastic welding stuff that would fix these plastic problems. does anyone remember the same thread? i believe the stuff was called devcon or similar and available at wally world. ring a bell?

 

Dale

[SteveP]

also, i have a crack around one bolt hole on the black inside molding to be repaired as well as a broken bracket on the white outer cowling. i had read in another thread where there was a plastic welding stuff that would fix these plastic problems. does anyone remember the same thread? i believe the stuff was called devcon or similar and available at wally world. ring a bell?

 

Dale

 

 

I had the broken bracket on the inside of my left lower cowling... fixed it with JB Weld. It has been holding strong for almost 3,000 miles. Get some JB Weld at Wally-World, K-Mart, local hardware store, etc.

 

http://www.jbweld.net/products/jbweld.php

Edited August 4, 2009 by SteveP
Added link.

[Eck]

 

does anyone remember the same thread? i believe the stuff was called devcon or similar and available at wally world. ring a bell?

 

Dale

 

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=38296&highlight=devcon

[Twenty7Delta]

I feel your pain about the bike but I am glad you are OK!!

[Yammer Dan]

Devcron Plastic Weld

[BigBoyinMS]

Here's a link to the brace upgrade once you get your bars straightened. You wouldn't believe how solid they are once you put the braces on.

 

Brace Tech article.

[wes0778]

 

p.s. - this really put us out of making the M & E in Biloxi, Ms.

 

I promise not to tell if you happen to show up in a cage...

[massey130]

Ok, that was the name - devcon. i did remember it correctly. however, wally's world had none, but they did have the JB stuff. I will get some of that tomorrow evening. i can kick myself for not getting some tonight after the meeting we went to. we did go to wally world & i picked some JB stuff off the shelf. then i put it back telling myself if it's not the right stuff, i will have another "what to do with this stuff" added to the collection i have of stuff bought that wasn't right.

 

thanks to all who have contributed. fixing the broke pieces will be easy. getting all that stuf that tumbled out after i cut 20 or 30 zip ties holding God knows what in that tiny space in the cowling will be the challenge.

 

dale.

p.s.

there were really only 3 0r 4 zip ties cut, it just seemed that way as each part removed led to another part to remove.

[massey130]

after searching for devcon plastic stuff, i found it is sold by distributors now, but is made by permatex. so i bought the permatex 2 part epoxy at wally world. i repaired the plastic parts last night & will work on the crash bar tonight. hopefully by Saturday afternoon i will have the bike re-assembled. i will post pics when the work is done.

 

thanks for the input from everyone.

 

Dale

 

p.s.we will have the grandkids over the weekend plus a meeting half hour away, one way, so it may be sunday. you know how it goes.

[massey130]

It may take longer, as i want to do the upgrade and add the brace from the floorboard bracket to the crash bar. I will needs more stuff. but that can be added on later.

Hmmm - decisions. i really want to get back on & ride.