Bent Steering after Collision

[stevejambor]

Hey guys, I'm normally pretty handy with repairs but this one has me kinda stumped.

2000 BWs (Zuma) All stock save for derestricting exhaust and clutch/variator.

I was rear-ended while driving the other day.. long story short, I'm fine but the scooter is a little worse for wear. Once the dust had settled, I had to flip it from the seat/bars back onto its wheels :mad: (on the plus side, it was still running despite being upside down).

This brings us to my current problem: the 'landing' caused the handlebars to twist relative to the front wheel. Now to go straight, I have to turn them 30 degrees to the left.. Not safe.

I have the Zuma service manual for my model year and have gained access to the area where the handlebars couple to the forks/etc. I simply haven't been able to 'twist' them at all..
-I figured that it would be like a bicycle and after loosening the nuts on the joint I could straighten them.. nope.
-I then systematically loosened every nut on the handlebars (without removing entirely so as to not have to play with bearings) and again tried to twist.. all to no avail.

Any ideas? Want a picture? Let me know..

Thanks,
Steve

[stevejambor]

added pictures

[Lennox]

your safest fix is new forks.

the top clamp is what you need to fix. There is a tab that keeps the bars straight, ou may need to grind it off( not safe)

[Ed33908]

there is a slot in the fork where the bolt goes through to tighted the handle bar. Unless you remove the bolt completely you cannot move the handle bar. I am not sure what is twisted, but it sounds like the clamp where the bolt goes through that is connected to the handle bar.........good luck

[stevejambor]

Lennox and Ed,

Thanks for the input.. From what I gather, you think that there is no way to adjust the steering from anything other than 90 degrees to the front tire. (Unlike a bicycle that can have the handle bars at nearly any angle to the tire).

The service manual would seem to support your line of thinking. It seems that nothing but the handlebars dictate the angle of the forks to the chassis downtube. (Steering Manual.jpg)

The notch on the fork tube must have moved relative to the bolt that tightens the bars to the forks. (Forks and bars.jpg)

I will try removing the bars entirely from the forks and see if there is some damage.

Until later, Thanks
-Steve

[Ed33908]

I guess it is possible that the bolt is bent really bad. Pull those handle bars off by removing the bolt that goes through the slot in the fork post and see what you have.