checking a frame

[GIXXER KID]

starting to think my frame may be damaged,

any way of checking its all straight?

my forks still seem abit close to the fairing and the tank when bolted in at the sides and back its about 5mm high up front but pulls in when you bolt it up, seems to ride fine though :S

[Scotty]

Which model Gixxer is it? Has it had a crash as far as you know?
With Phase One we used to have problems with the K1-K4 thous bending frames at the headstock due to the frame spars being relatively thin-walled - a simple check was to run fingers under the spars either side of the headstock - it should be smooth, if not, then the headstock had been bent and the rippled surface was the giveaway. On the later Gixxers (K5 onwards) the headstock section was cast I believe and less prone to easily bending. The only way to find out is to strip off all the bodywork and look for cracked or flaking paint behind the headstock, and if still unsure, get it on a motoliner jig (or similar) to measure everything and check alignment.

[GIXXER KID]

hey, im no longer on a gsxr, its a 2007 r1 and i crashed it a few weeks back,

just finished rebuilding it, was wondering if there was a company that had say a lazer allignment machine or something lol

[billinom8s]

when i crashed mine there were three splits in the frame theat gave it away for me, i ended up stripping it to the bare frame and sending it off to spondon to see if it was recoverable.

they called up a week later and asked if i wanted to skip it with them or get ri of it myself. from what i could find out, they are best for frame checks.

there are a few checks apparently you can do but the only way to be sure and put your mind at ease is to strip it and send it to a proper frame company.

[GIXXER KID]

just removed the tank and airbox and checked all the frame but i cant see any cracks or damage to the paint :S

any other suggestions? dont really wanna have to strip it to the frame and send it off lol

[billinom8s]

Needs to be in a jig to be sure.

[DaveMcR1]

Think I'd be inclined to measure the distance between the wheel spindles then check that in a manuel or phone yamaha.

[frazzle]

Like has been said the 'best' way is to send the frame off to a factory that specialize in crash damage inspection and uses x-rays although this can be costly when done privately.

Other ways to check are for discoloration or visible cracks to the frame as this denotes movement and stress upon the metal this takes time and can be easy to miss something or misjudge a hair for a split or vice versa.

Another way is to remove all the plastics (inc number plate and taking the tank off makes it easier as well), get a mate to hold the bike straight and walk around making sure the subframe aligns with the frame and the forks align with the frame etc.

What happened when you crashed; lowside / highside / front impact / side etc ??

[TLS-Moose]

Ideally you need to find someone with a Motoliner frame jig. There used to be a bloke out Sticklepath way who had one, but that was several years ago now. Google brought up these:

http://www.motoliner.com/motorcycle-fra ... ightening/
http://www.jwmotorcycles.co.uk/
http://kpmcat.byethost15.com/Frame%20Straight.html
http://www.sudden-impactuk.com/frames.html

none "local" though

For a motoliner you only need to remove the bodywork and forks.

[Scotty]

just removed the tank and airbox and checked all the frame but i cant see any cracks or damage to the paint :S

any other suggestions? dont really wanna have to strip it to the frame and send it off lol

You need to check beneath the headstock so you'll need to remove the fairing and radiator to get a proper look at it.

Problem with measuring between wheel spindles is you'd need to know the max and min dimensions due to the rear moving for chain adjustment. Have you tried the wheel alignment check using a long bit of string? This would only work, however, if your rear wheel was in straight in the first place. Best Check the links that Moose posted for places with a Motoliner jig...

[GIXXER KID]

Ideally you need to find someone with a Motoliner frame jig. There used to be a bloke out Sticklepath way who had one, but that was several years ago now. Google brought up these:

http://www.motoliner.com/motorcycle-fra ... ightening/
http://www.jwmotorcycles.co.uk/
http://kpmcat.byethost15.com/Frame%20Straight.html
http://www.sudden-impactuk.com/frames.html

none "local" though

For a motoliner you only need to remove the bodywork and forks.

cheers moose,

just rang motoliner and they can straighten it for me, gotta take it up in a van and they said they can have it done that day

£300 to have it all done, cant really moan at that