[SparkyMJ]

Hey folks!

This last season my 300 went down on the track in the rain. Nothing too serious mechanically, and I was unscathed. Even rode it home!

Although my front end took most of the hit, mostly my clip-on bar, left side. I have the full Woodcraft suite of clip ons, bars, rearsets, and pedals, as well as All Balls tapered rollers in the head.

For those of you more versed in crashing than I, any tips for getting this all straightened out?

After riding it home and around the block, here is my recollection of the status:

• Triple clamps aren't aligned, maybe slightly.
• Left clip-on clamp isn't symmetrical to the Right one.
• Wheels (front and rear) are still straight and balanced, had a shop check.
• Brakes seem normal
• No scraping or impacts on the forks themselves, they never hit the road, just the handlebar.
• Front suspension seems to work, and I might just be imagining any changes.
• No head shake or wobbling at all.

I don't think my forks are bent at all, but they are probably misaligned in the clamps. This is my plan, let me know if you folks think there is something I am missing:

• Remove the forks, check for any play, new noises, or other damage
• Take apart my head bearing for cleaning and greasing and tension setting
• Realign the triple clamps, and reinstall the forks in the correct process from the manual
• Check the axle for straightness, clean and reinstall
• Replace my handlebar and clutch lever, and realign the clip-on clamp

Anything else? I think that is all it mechanically needs on the front end.
Might be in the market for some used fairings soon as well... Lol.

Thanks folks! Happy wrenching season in the Northern Hemisphere.

-Mike

 

[motopreserve]

I don’t have any experience crashing a 300, but glad to hear you’re ok. And it sounds like, for the most part, the bike is too.

I have gone down on one street bike (super slow low side in the rain around a sweeping corner) and offroad quite a few times.

Sounds like your plan is solid - the only thing I’d add is to just give a once over to all the nuts, bolts, cables and wires, even if they seemed far from the impact area. I found some ground nuts/bolts in places I assumed had been safe. Better to find them now when you have the time. Also, might want to check/bleed the brakes.

Just finished your motor rebuild thread. I’m about to do the same. Thanks for sharing!

 

[SparkyMJ]

Thanks for reading! Glad it helped someone! Feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any questions as well!

Good call on bolt check among other things. There was some scratches on the rear subframe, so I will take a peek and straightness check.

Once my GSX-R is kinda 'off the lift', I'll get the 300 set up to get er all fixed up, and post updates here.

-Mike

 

[jkv45]

You should be good after disassembling and reassembling everything if it's slightly tweaked and not bent.

With the forks off, you should be able to see any bends. Probably do new fork oil if you haven't recently.

 

[SparkyMJ]

I feel like I did it recently, but maybe that was longer ago than I thought. Can't hurt to change it out. Good call, might as well.

Wonder what I am going to do about bodywork... Stuff is pricey. Find some used panels or cheap something somewhere...

-Mike

 

[motopreserve]

I feel like I did it recently, but maybe that was longer ago than I thought. Can't hurt to change it out. Good call, might as well.

Wonder what I am going to do about bodywork... Stuff is pricey. Find some used panels or cheap something somewhere...

-Mike

Did the bodywork totally get destroyed? I just patched up some armour bodies (INSANELY expensive!) that came damaged on the bike. Turns out fiberglass repair is not actually that hard - especially if you’re patching mostly the inside.

 

[SparkyMJ]

Some of the left side panels got shattered. The subframe panels are shattered and gone. The front ones may be salvageable, and benefit from some zip tie stitches and a new paint job...
-Mike

 

[motopreserve]

Some of the left side panels got shattered. The subframe panels are shattered and gone. The front ones may be salvageable, and benefit from some zip tie stitches and a new paint job...
-Mike

Ah. That sounds like it would be a bit more than simple repair. I was really surprised though how easy it was to piece back together parts that had snapped. I just used a basic Bondo brand repair fiberglass repair kit from autozone.

I’d like to give a shot at making an actual whole part - just to see if I can pull it off

 

[SparkyMJ]

Hmm, got an interesting issue with the bike post repair now.

So the bike has been sitting for a long time after the wreck. I rode it once after the wreck a few months ago to get things moving again, and then took it apart to get it fixed.

Well now a few more months later, I've repaired all the mechanical bits, and realigned everything and it looks really good. Fairings are still broke, but the mechanical pieces are good as far as I can tell. Bike doesn't leak, sounds normal, everything looks good. Although, at around 45mph, there is still a up/down vibration coming from the rear. The sensation feels like a really out of balance wheel, but the vibration goes away at other speeds (higher and lower) and it is not dependent on engine speed, gear, etc. If I clutch in at 45mph in any gear, the vibration persists. Any ideas?

Again, crash was a lowside on the left side, lost the front. Forks, frame, engine, swingarm, and tank did NOT hit pavement. Subframe, left clip-on, tank, rear axle nut, left rearset, and shifter, and back seat did hit pavement or dirt, and received damages. No bike tumbling or rolling.

Here's a list of the maintenance items I did, and any findings:

• Wheels/tires balance checked, shop said they were good. No runout inspection though...
• Took the front forks out, and found they were just slightly twisted in the triple clamps. Cleaned and realigned, and front suspension feels normal. No wobbles when riding, head bearing tension seems good.
• Axles looked good, but didn't take a dial indicator to them.
• Threw in a new thermostat, since my old one wasn't closing all the way. Don't think it's relevant to this but I did it. New coolant as well.
• Cleaned the brakes. Brake cleaned the rotors and pads, wiped out the calipers. In case any dirt from the wreck got in there. Brakes work very well when riding, ABS still works. Still need to bleed after the wreck but seems okay.
• Wiped down and washed the bike. No more mud or dirt anywhere on the whole bike.
• Cleaned the chain with kero, re-lubed with wax as always.
• Set chain tension and alignment same way I always have.
• Wiped down the swingarm, and all the rear wheel hardware like axles, nuts, spacers, etc. Fresh grease on axles and bearing seals.
• Repaired left side rearset and shifter. Just bought a new Woodcraft footpeg and folding shifter toe piece, cleaned it all out, regreased the hinged parts, and fresh threadlocker

I am wondering if maybe my chain/sprockets got damaged in the crash? I do feel like the bike has some new drivetrain lash as well. The chain didn't look at all like it was binding or tightening/loosening as I spun the rear wheel on the stand, sprockets weren't visibly bent, and have no visual signs of hitting anything. Spinning the wheels on the stands, there is no visible runout in any axis. The chain and sprockets were basically brand new before the track day and they rode fine before the crash.

What else could be causing the vibrations? I feel it in the seat of my pants, it's not like a high-frequency oscillation like handlebar vibrations might be, it's a large, slow, up/down feeling. It almost feels like riding down a road full of tiny lumps, but smoother. This vibration was worse the day of the crash, but the weirdest part was that the vibration was maybe 50% less/better after the bike sat for months, and I just decided to drive it around to keep the engine in good shape. Since then, the issue hasn't gotten better or worse, and is the same after I did the maintenance. I thought it might hav been mud stuck somewhere that dried up or something, but can't make sense of it.

Any bright ideas folks? Should I have the wheels actually inspected for runout? Think it's a frame or subframe crack? I looked close, but not extremely close.

-Mike

 

[motopreserve]

That IS a weird one. It’s always a head-scratcher when something only happens at certain frequencies/speeds.

Only thing I can think of is checking the rear wheel bearings. Not convinced bad/damaged bearings would present the way you describe, but might be worth a check?

I’ve felt odd slow “bumps” similar to this from tires being out of round. I think poor molds can cause this.

Confusing why any of the things you mentioned would change after sitting for a while.

For clarity, when you said the vibes were worse the day of the crash, it was afterwards? Or you felt the vibes that day before the crash???

Sorry I couldn’t be more help.

 

[Frank]

Could you have a brake dragging a bit?

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