Bent Forks(?)

[ksen450]

Hi all, I've been snopping in the background for the past 2 years and finally ran into something i need to ask about so I figured I'd make my first post.


So after a couple years of having my bike and never having enough time to actually work on it besides some here and there, I've finally gotten it up to my standards, and then my dad backed into it... Never had any issues with it before, but when he backed into it, the front wheel took the impact, but it was fully turned and in the lock position as it is every time i park my bike on the driveway. Anyways, he pushed it a foot(scrapes from kickstand on driveway say so) and he denies there was enough force to cause any damage.

I took the bike out the next day ticked off as can be, and after a short while noticed that my handle bars were cockeyed in the opposite direction as they were when he hit the bike. My thoughts is that they were facing this direction to compensate for misaligned/bent forks? A fork seal blew as well so I just took the fork off and sure enough, just aligning an adjustable square with the fork, you can prettly easily see a bend... in both of them... 

My questions are:

Do i bother taking both forks apart and judge them against a machined flat surface or should the square be a good enough judge?
Do I need to be worried about any damage to the triple tree?
What are your thoughts on buying new vs. used forks. I was looking at replacing just the inner fork tube and new they are about $200 US each. I'm in the US.
Any other parts of the fork I should inspect other than the inner fork tube?

Thanks all for any help, pretty dissappointed that from what I saw my forks are bent. Any answers to my questions or anything related is greatly appreciated.

Ill try to get some photos when I get to work tomorrow, it started pouring rain as I removed the second fork

[eaglerider]

Sometimes, handlebar/front wheel alignment can be caused by the fork tubes twisting (turning) in the tripple tree. Unfortunately, from your description, and if
of checking the tubes on a flat surface, sounds like they are bent, and need to be replaced. a set of good used ones would be fine, but I would replace the seals with new.

[ksen450]

Thanks eagle, any recommendations for where to get the forks or just be cautious using eBay? Always hesitant because I wouldn’t put it past someone else to sell bent forks

[eaglerider]

Ebay is ok...just check the history of the seller. Look under Kawasaki LTD 454 front forks. Good ones are not cheap, around 100 bucks.

[ksen450]

Hundred bucks aint so bad compared to new. Never got photos but i was able to check the forks on a flat surface and they were indeed bent. in good lighting, you can actually see dents on the inner fork tube from the triple tree and visibly see the bend... Just have to order my parts and hopefully im good to go. Thanks for the help

[eaglerider]

That's what we are here for, to help as much as we can.

[ksen450]

Somewhat unfortunate news, I got my new to me(used) forks in the mail the other day and went to see how they fit. These are straight, rolled them jsut the same as before on the machined surface, but the forks still do not line up. Loosed the bolt on top of the triple tree to realign and even with the bolt loose, if one fork is in all the way, the second one tales way more effort than it should to get into the top part of the triple tree. Actually, with just sliding the fork in amd no effort, it cant even clear the bracket for the headlight...  

Here is a post I did on reddit with the image, I cant figure out how to post those here


https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/comments/9ab8t7/whats_wrong/

[eaglerider]

OUCH!!!!!! Yes, you are gonna have to replace the complete triple tree...and bearings to be safe. And, as was posted on the Reddit page, check the neck close, to insure that it is not damaged...I think it will be ok, as the stem and forks seem to have taken the damage. So sorry your father is treating you this way. Hey...look in the Photo Gallery, under "Eagle", at pics of my front end. If you want to change your front, and "clean it up", a top triple tree plate from a 1990 - 1994(maybe 1995) Vulcan 500 will fit perfectly..my whole front end is from a 1994.

[ksen450]

So whole triple tree? wasnt sure if the upper portion would be able to be reused. I'd hate to have to remove all the guages and everything, but id hate it even more if it led to an accident. 

[eaglerider]

I would be wondering if the upper plate was damaged....I would find a complete triple tree...then, if your upper plate is ok, use it...but fpor sure, you will need the lower part with the stem. I would install new bearings.