Handlebar Realignment

My dog succeeded in knocking my baby over (Korean BBQ, anyone?) and did a little minor damage, and I noticed that my handlebars are just a touch out of alignment now. When I bought her, she already had heli bars installed, and turning the wheel all the way from one side to the other shows a difference in the space between handlebar and gas tank of maybe a 1/4", if that. I'm having difficulty coming up with the right search criteria to find out how to adjust this and straighten them back out.

Can anyone share some input on what I need to loosen to straighten them out, and how to get them balanced other than simply eyeballing it? On my previous bike, I believe it was a simple matter of loosening the large nut in the center of the handlebars.

 

Loosen the pinch bolts on the tripple tree and move it to where it needs to be then tighten them up again

 

If you track down Randy on here - he may have a copy of the official manual.

If the damage was nothing more than a tip over - Randy will chalk up the tip-over to the dog - but will needs the name of said dog and a photo of the offending mutt so it or you will get entered on the wall of shame here.

http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthread.php/44298-You-dropped-it-how-many-time!

If you are happy to go with a common sense fix then the chances are that only the clip-on bar on one side moved - the one which hit the deck. Don't go messing with the centre bolt. I doubt it moved but if there is any evidence from witness marks (scratches from one to the other) which show that bolt really has moved then the bars took quite a hit and its probably going to need a visit to the dealer to sort things out!

So with bike on level ground place the bike on the centre stand. Carry out a visual inspection to check are not bent and the gap above the triple clamp is the same. Adjust/replace as necessary.

If all is good, turn the bar full lock towards the good side and then measure the gap to the tank or other suitable central reference point. Ease off the bolts on the clip-on which you think has moved and then turn bars full lock towards that side, adjust bar position to achieve the same gap. Torque up the bolts and then turn bars lock to lock several times looking to see none of the cables etc is snagging. If all looks good, take it out for a careful test ride. Afterwards recheck the torque on the bolts after a day riding.

Take care



SkiMad

 

Great advice, hope it's a simple fix, oh and no torque hammers.

 

Thanks to everyone, and especially skimad4x4, for reminding me to look at the likely simple solution, first.