front end woes

[fiddlesticks]

Ok I put my bike on the kickstand walked away and the stupid thing fell into the side of the house, Now she dont steer so good. Well stupid thing might be harsh but right now  I am getting a little fed up with some of her problems. Any suggestions on the front end. Feels alright straight but a slight turn to either side produces a stiffness or almost like trying to get it over a bump. She also clunks over a small bump. Also feels very unstable to drive in a staight line.
Fidd

[louthepou]

Hi Fiddle,

that's too bad, sorry to hear that.

Here are a few things you should do:

1. put it on the center stand, have someone sit on it so that the front wheel is up in the air, and make the wheel turn. See if the wheel or the brake rotor is warped. Check the brake caliper for any damage.

2. still with the wheel in the air, turn the handlebar from one side to the other, slowly, and try to see if anything binds, or anything unusual. Do the same thing with the front wheel down.

3. Check the forks to see if any damage was done. If they are not totally straight, that will affect bike behaviour. That may be what happened given the symptoms you describe.

4. I'd check the steering head components last. Let us know if you need more details on that one...

Louis

[fiddlesticks]

Thanks Lou
We  have already checked the bike on the center stand and on the ground. She is binding on each side about one inch off center.

[Lucky]

my bike had similar symptoms when i first got it. I loosened up the fork retaining bolts slightly, jounced it several times & tightened it back up, it was fine for several years. I eventually swapped it for an 83 ft end.

i'm not saying that will allways cure it, but it worked in my case.  i suspect the ft end took a hit and was knocked askew. resetting it did the trick.  good luck!

--Lucky

[Rob_OS23]

Hey Cindy, sorry to hear about the bad luck :(
I can't give any advice, but I can say this....
If you need parts for the front end, there are a bunch of 83 parts on ebay.com if you have to replace anything, and I asked him, he is willing to ship to Canada.