Bent bars on 22 XR

[drmichelin]

went out for ride and dropped bike at gas station 

Got back on and though it drives straight, the left bar feels bent back a bit towards me more than the right bar.  All else seems ok but do these bars bend? Has this happened to anyone else?

[capt cf]

I have not had that happen, but when I was riding adv bikes and dual sports dropping them was a frequent occurrence and sometimes the forks/stem/bars would get knocked out of alignment particularly if they were rubber cushioned.  That made it feel like the bars had bent.  On a couple of bikes I had to loosen up the triples and compress the forks a few times to straighten them back out.  This might not be applicable at all on the XR, but easy enough to check and see if something just needs to be realigned or if you actually bent the bars.

[drmichelin]

Thank you sir....

[capt cf]

Originally Posted by drmichelin

Thank you sir....

I bet somebody will come along shortly that had a similar experience and has some actual "real" info to share.  I know that one time I was sure I bent the heck out of my Africa Twin bars and was riding home kinda sideways since I could barely reach the right grip.  Once I got it in the garage and started taking it apart I realized it just got massively tweaked and after loosening everything up and re-sorting it it was good to go and not bent at all.

[drmichelin]

Cool...nice streetfighter profile pic.  Sold my 2010 SFS for this XR and very happy with it.  Not as sexy, but fast

[Salem]

If you have a good flat plate (MDF, or glass) the size that you can fit against the upper forks you can see/feel if the forks are twisted in the clamps (which is likely). When twisted one corner will not lay against the fork and you can rock the plate. Can use that plate also as a gauge to re-align them.

[drmichelin]

sorry, dont understand

[capt cf]

Originally Posted by drmichelin

Cool...nice streetfighter profile pic.  Sold my 2010 SFS for this XR and very happy with it.  Not as sexy, but fast

Nice!  Mine was a 2010 as well and got traded for a GS back in 2013 or so.  Sometimes I really miss that bike but then I remember all the times it tried to kill me..   

[Salem]

Originally Posted by drmichelin

sorry, dont understand

see this. On the XR you can only use a smaller plate on the upper forks but it will tell you if they are twisted. I used this method, but with a simple MDF plate I had laying around. Please note the lowest part of the upper forks goes to a larger diameter, so you need to measure above that

https://w6rec.com/bmw-motorcycle-telescopic-fork-alignment-procedure-randy-glass-page-6/

You might want want to see page 5 and 7 too (previous and next at the bottom of the page)

[drmichelin]

thank you sir!