are my handle bars bent or is it my forks?!? help please!

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are my handle bars bent or is it my forks?!? help please!

awesome sauce
hey,
 i have been working on a 1980 honda CB 750 k that i got from my next door neighbor.  im not a mechanic nor have i EVER worked on an engine in my life but I had an opportunity to get a toy and play with it so like any 2 year old trapped in a 20 year olds body  This ol bike has been sitting for the past 28 years after the previous owner dropped it damaging the front end a touch.  

after mucking around on the carb for a month or two i got her rebuild and running. after my first ride with her i noted that the handlebars were pointing slightly to the left when the front wheel was pointing straight ahead. upon closer inspection i found that the right front fork was bent. no big deal thanks to some threads here and the handy service manuel i replaced the fork with a salvaged one and did the seals too.  

took it out and yet again my handle bars are pointing a little bit to the left while im going straight forward.
I need some help here guys, are my forks twisted? did i muck up something with the tripleclamp? or are my handlebars bent??  how can i tell whats going on??

any help u can offer is appreciated!
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Re: are my handle bars bent or is it my forks?!? help please!

shinyribs
Administrator
The best way to test if your bars are bent is to take them off and lay them on the floor of your garage,your workbench,kitchen table...anywhere you can find that is nice and flat.If your bike is one of the models where the wires are run thru the bars,then the controls would be hard to get off,and it would be hards to tell with the controls still on,maybe.
 
I doubt your triple tree is bent,but anything is possible.

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Re: are my handle bars bent or is it my forks?!? help please!

TOOLS1
Administrator
In reply to this post by awesome sauce
Try loosening the bolts on the triple trees, including the big one in the center on the top tree. Then straddle the front wheel, and turn the handlebars straight. Tighten the bolts, and, you should be good to go.
TOOLS
Life is not about the number of breaths, you take, but the moments that take your breath away.
I don't have an anger problem. I have an idiot problem. Hank Hill
Never confuse education for intelligence.
Happiness is a belt fed weapon.
I just can't imagine what could go wrong.
No fire? No explosions? So whats the point of your story?
Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. ~Plato
It couldn't be done, but the darn fool didn't know it, and did it anyway.
We all got problems. Ksharp
I like vintage bikes because they take me away from the clutter of technology that I work with everyday and back to a simpler time of mechanical elegance and simplicity.. "ninadm"
Darkwing Duck: The worst part of public transportation is the Public.
"That is awesome shit there" Re-Run
"Fear nothing, attack everything" Eric Berry
" Oh, you read that on the internet? Clearly it IS a massive problem. Of course it CAN’t be normal operation."

1976 CB 750-A X 2
1977 CB 750-A X 4
1977 CB 750-K
1976 CB 750 F
1981 CB 750
1966 Kawasaki SG 250
1981 KZ 750 LTD
1973 CB 350
1979 CM 185 Twinstar
1982 Honda XL 80
South of Eden (Kansas City MO)
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Re: are my handle bars bent or is it my forks?!? help please!

awesome sauce
thank you guys for the incredibly prompt reply!
i have the day off tomorrow ill give both suggestions a try and let you know what worked!

Tools, just gotta say you have a kick @ss forum going on here! If not for you and your members my bike would have never gotten out of the garage.


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Re: are my handle bars bent or is it my forks?!? help please!

TOOLS1
Administrator
Well Thank You!!! That's what we are here, for. Maybe soon, you will be able to help out others here like yourself.
TOOLS
Life is not about the number of breaths, you take, but the moments that take your breath away.
I don't have an anger problem. I have an idiot problem. Hank Hill
Never confuse education for intelligence.
Happiness is a belt fed weapon.
I just can't imagine what could go wrong.
No fire? No explosions? So whats the point of your story?
Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. ~Plato
It couldn't be done, but the darn fool didn't know it, and did it anyway.
We all got problems. Ksharp
I like vintage bikes because they take me away from the clutter of technology that I work with everyday and back to a simpler time of mechanical elegance and simplicity.. "ninadm"
Darkwing Duck: The worst part of public transportation is the Public.
"That is awesome shit there" Re-Run
"Fear nothing, attack everything" Eric Berry
" Oh, you read that on the internet? Clearly it IS a massive problem. Of course it CAN’t be normal operation."

1976 CB 750-A X 2
1977 CB 750-A X 4
1977 CB 750-K
1976 CB 750 F
1981 CB 750
1966 Kawasaki SG 250
1981 KZ 750 LTD
1973 CB 350
1979 CM 185 Twinstar
1982 Honda XL 80
South of Eden (Kansas City MO)
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Re: are my handle bars bent or is it my forks?!? help please!

awesome sauce
Alright , it's the bars, there twisted. Once i had them off and put them on my kitchen table it was super clear what was up!  Now Im forced to choose between keeping it stock or going cafe style with a set of clubmens.... Or maybe even a set of drag bars.   It's a hard life!!!!!
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Re: are my handle bars bent or is it my forks?!? help please!

TOOLS1
Administrator
You could put the bent ones back on, and go RAT.
TOOLS
Life is not about the number of breaths, you take, but the moments that take your breath away.
I don't have an anger problem. I have an idiot problem. Hank Hill
Never confuse education for intelligence.
Happiness is a belt fed weapon.
I just can't imagine what could go wrong.
No fire? No explosions? So whats the point of your story?
Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. ~Plato
It couldn't be done, but the darn fool didn't know it, and did it anyway.
We all got problems. Ksharp
I like vintage bikes because they take me away from the clutter of technology that I work with everyday and back to a simpler time of mechanical elegance and simplicity.. "ninadm"
Darkwing Duck: The worst part of public transportation is the Public.
"That is awesome shit there" Re-Run
"Fear nothing, attack everything" Eric Berry
" Oh, you read that on the internet? Clearly it IS a massive problem. Of course it CAN’t be normal operation."

1976 CB 750-A X 2
1977 CB 750-A X 4
1977 CB 750-K
1976 CB 750 F
1981 CB 750
1966 Kawasaki SG 250
1981 KZ 750 LTD
1973 CB 350
1979 CM 185 Twinstar
1982 Honda XL 80
South of Eden (Kansas City MO)
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Re: are my handle bars bent or is it my forks?!? help please!

awesome sauce
Lol, Nah got me a new set of bars just the stock ones.... i also got some clubmans on order. but for now im back on the road!!!
 thanks for the help again guys.
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Re: are my handle bars bent or is it my forks?!? help please!

Lucky 1
In reply to this post by awesome sauce
IF the handle bars are not bent.
Take the bike and get it next to a wall or curb. Now turn the front wheel and push in the direction to straighten out the twist.


See what I mean?-LUCKY
On a Roadstar Adventure.