Bent Rear Fender/Frame

[Green Hornet]

Got my ass kicked in a Harescramble on Sunday, Broke Three Toes & injured my ribs again. Thanks to DEEPPPP SANNNDDDDDD I got riden up the back by a YZ :nener: and noticed the rear fender was crooked when loading into my truck. Any pointers on how to straighten those two thin bars under the rear fender. I was some what successful straighting the thing but its still not right :| . But I can live with it. Luckly the main frame wasn't bent :cool:

 

[Rooster]

Beat on it until it's right, then go buy a Yamaha. Hehe. Just kidding. I bent the hell out of my subframe once, I ended up clamping the bike to one side of an automotive hoist and cranking it back into shape with a lug-all attached to the opposite side hoist column. Took a bit of doing, but the end result was good.

 

[YZ165]

I have had some success laying the bike on it's side with some boards/bricks/buckets/whatever under the sub-frame, with the plastic removed so you can see what you are doing. Then stand on the frame near the bottom of the tank and give it a little hop hop. Takes some time to see how much you bent it each time, but you get the point. Careful now, if you are like Pred(7'8", 345), you might want to have a.......well........less large specimen do the hopping! Hope that helps, YZ165

Or you could just beat on it till it's right! :laugh:

 

[Green Hornet]

I'll give it a try when I have two good feet to stand on. Sounds like Pred is like Hoss Cartwright :nod:I was thinking of getting a come along but I can hoist it up on the car lift at my place of work when the bossman ain't around :moon:

 

[Colorado]

My '80 KDX175 is broken through the gusset on the exhaust side in the same seat area, and cracked/bent up on the other. I've seen used ones advertizing welds there on e-bay, so guess it's a weak point.

I'm thinking I'll have to heat the left side and simultaneously bend it down and twist it to the right while someone else tack welds the left into place. Then I'll have them weld it up good and ad beefy gussets to both sides. In fact, I'll have that area reinforced before it breaks if I get another one.

 

[Green Hornet]

I heated and banged w/2 x 4 & used a floor jack. Got it almost perfect, I can live with it. Jeff Fredette told me to heat, bend & paint. But if its broken I would think any good welder could do the job
TTFN-Jack

 

[kawikdx250]

Mine is also bent but is livable. Seems like the silencer took most of the damage of the flip, thanks goes to the previous owner for this.

 

[Colorado]

You might want to consider beefing up the gussets before it bends again or breaks. Getting the seat back on with it bent is a pain. Kawasaki should have done bigger gussets with heavier plate.

 

[cicone]

Mine is also bent but is livable. Seems like the silencer took most of the damage of the flip, thanks goes to the previous owner for this.

I looped out and trashed the right side fender mount, bending it up and out about 4 inches---also toasted my PC silencer to the point of looking like a crushed beer can(and, of course, the rear fender broke in half).

Used a 3 foot piece of pipe slipped over the bent part of the frame and a propane torch---not real hot, but hot enough---and gently put a good amount of steady force on it. Got it lined up nearly perfectly.

As for the silencer---removed the baffle via the 3 screws and removed the other end by drilling out the rivets. Then, using penetrating oil as a lubricant, drove various diameter pipes through the silencer until all the dents were virtually gone. After a little bending of the mounting tabs, you can hardly tell that it was rendered useless earlier that day! It helps to have a friend with a hot rod addiction/machine shop. :laugh:

 

[Green Hornet]

I'll have to remember your idea about using a long pipe. I was so pissed off I could'nt think right at the time. I had made ONLY one payment on the bike :bang:

 

[cicone]

I'll have to remember your idea about using a long pipe. I was so pissed off I could'nt think right at the time. I had made ONLY one payment on the bike :bang:

HA!! Don't feel bad. I was so pissed off that I beat on it with a hammer for a while before coming to my senses!! :rotfl:

 

[bigpa]

I saw a special tool on Dirt Bike mag and just knew I had to have one. Had a machinist friend build one for me for free.
It's two four feet steel bar welded together at one end and held 1 foot apart by a smaller rod on the other end. kind of froming a fork. One bar has a hook on the end the other is machined to conform to the frame tube. I coul get pics if anybody wants it. ANYHOO, IT'S THE BEST THING EVER TO STRAIGHTEN FRAMES AND HANDLEBARS (steeel or aluminum). No need for heating or banging just apply pressure on the handle and the bar does the rest. I can't tell you how much $ I saved in subframes and handlebars with this little wonder. Everybody should have one!
Hope you recover soon!

 

[Airlooped]

Has anyone ever thought about joining the two tubes together that support the rear fender? I would think the structure would be much stronger and less subject to bending if they were braced together like the KX and other MX bikes. I wish the KDX had a removalbe sub frame like MX bikes.

 

[cicone]

Has anyone ever thought about joining the two tubes together that support the rear fender? I would think the structure would be much stronger and less subject to bending if they were braced together like the KX and other MX bikes. I wish the KDX had a removalbe sub frame like MX bikes.

That would be nice, but would call for a new rear fender design unless the brace were on top and visible. Should probably get rid of them all together and mount similar to a cr250---I think, if I remember right?

 

[Green Hornet]

I saw a special tool on Dirt Bike mag and just knew I had to have one. Had a machinist friend build one for me for free.
It's two four feet steel bar welded together at one end and held 1 foot apart by a smaller rod on the other end. kind of froming a fork. One bar has a hook on the end the other is machined to conform to the frame tube. I coul get pics if anybody wants it. ANYHOO, IT'S THE BEST THING EVER TO STRAIGHTEN FRAMES AND HANDLEBARS (steeel or aluminum). No need for heating or banging just apply pressure on the handle and the bar does the rest. I can't tell you how much $ I saved in subframes and handlebars with this little wonder. Everybody should have one!
Hope you recover soon!

CR- Could you e-mail a pic to me @ readjw@optonline.net
Thanks-Jack

 

[bigpa]

GH, you got mail!

 

[Green Hornet]

CR-Interesting tool, THANKS-Jack

 

[Colorado]

Don't rebend your bars. Geeze! Metal becomes brittle after it's been bent.

 

[Green Hornet]

Trust me. They had to be bent back

 

[bigpa]

Don't rebend your bars. Geeze! Metal becomes brittle after it's been bent.

Colorado how do you think they make frames and handlebars in the first place?