Wife's first ride didn't go well — what parts do I need?

[ablock]

Well, my wife's test ride on our new SM didn't end well. She's 5' 5" and weighs 115 lbs. (not much shock compression), so only the tips of her toes touch the ground; she was nervous about tipping over when coming to a stop. Sure enough, as she was stopping she reached for the ground with her left foot and the stretch made her inadvertently throttle up. Bike ran away and crashed onto its right side. Wife had a few scrapes but was fine.

The brake lever clamp broke free, stripping the screw threads from the lever body, and one of the handlebar risers shifted. A couple plastics scraped but no biggie. I straightened the riser and was able to reattach the lever clamp, but the hole is surely stripped and the lever body needs to be replaced. Anyone know which parts to order, or should I contact the Alta service guy? Also, will I be able to make the lever repair without disconnecting the hydraulic line?

Thanks!

 

[WoodsWeapon]

Sounds like a job for a helicoil thread repair.

 

[snydes]

I second that.

Glad your wife wasn’t hurt any worse. Bike can be fixed.

 

[ablock]

Thanks. I know I could use a helicoil but since brakes are safety equipment I'm more comfortable putting on new parts. I'll ask Alta for the part numbers.

 

[snydes]

Thanks. I know I could use a helicoil but since brakes are safety equipment I'm more comfortable putting on new parts. I'll ask Alta for the part numbers.

Obviously it’s totally up to you, but a helicoil is a solid repair with all the strength of the original thread should you change your mind.

 

[ablock]

Obviously it’s totally up to you, but a helicoil is a solid repair with all the strength of the original thread should you change your mind.

Fair point. I'm not necessarily anti-helicoil. I'm just wondering how feasible it will be to squarely drill the oversize hole for the helicoil in the master cylinder body. I guess I can give it a try as the part can't really get any worse.

 

[ablock]

Okay, ordered M6x1.0 helicoil kit. Will see how it goes. Thanks!

 

[WoodsWeapon]

Im of the belief a Helicoil will provide a stronger attachment than it originally had. The existing hole will act as a pilot to ensure squareness.

 

[ablock]

The existing hole will act as a pilot to ensure squareness.

It's a 30mm bolt so I think you are right. I still might drill it with a pin vise.

 

[ablock]

Okay, the helicoil went in easily and the front master cylinder now seems solid.

But there is another issue: when the bars and risers are centered, the front wheel is angled significantly to the left, like a couple degrees.

I can't figure out how this could be. The risers cannot move forward/backward significantly due to the way that they mount, so they can't be misaligned to the fork. I reseated the axle per the instructions, though it did not end up moving from the position it was before I loosened and retightened the axle nut and pinch bolts. The fork legs themselves don't appear to be bent — not that I would expect the pretty beefy forks to bend under a low speed fall: this isn't a Zero.

The only thing I can think is that the upper and lower triple clamps are misaligned, but again I would expect the fork legs to register the clamps pretty well.

What am I missing?

Thanks!

 

[WoodsWeapon]

A twisted frontend after a crash is very common. Search online for proper way to realign, but basically straddling front wheel and twisting opposite direction, or bashing front wheel against a tree will get you inline. The correct way is to loosen the triple clamp bolts, straighten it all up, and then retorque. There is also a possibility your bar mount bolts that go through the top clamp have bent, but I’d loosen everything up and try that first.

 

[ablock]

A twisted frontend after a crash is very common. Search online for proper way to realign, but basically straddling front wheel and twisting opposite direction, or bashing front wheel against a tree will get you inline. The correct way is to loosen the triple clamp bolts, straighten it all up, and then retorque. There is also a possibility your bar mount bolts that go through the top clamp have bent, but I’d loosen everything up and try that first.

Thanks, I found these instructions which seem reasonable. Will start with the lower triple bolts.

 

[WoodsWeapon]

Yep thats a good instructional.

 

[B. FRANK]

that's the trouble with living in the desert, no trees, have to loosen the whole front end and do it the hard way!!

 

[Jayfox911]

FYI. We lowered my wife’s suspension about 2” on her exr. Any suspension shop can lower the suspension but inserting a shim basically into the suspension internals.

she is 5’ 6” and can sit almost flat footed now on the exr. Also respiring and valves for her weight made the riding more enjoyable as well.

in the short term you can slide the forks up in the triple clamps and adjust the rear spring tension to lower slightly. Or make her wear a 50lbs pack haha

or cut the seat foam. Spare seats are for sale on eBay still.

 

[zootie]

FYI. We lowered my wife’s suspension about 2” on her exr. Any suspension shop can lower the suspension but inserting a shim basically into the suspension internals.

she is 5’ 6” and can sit almost flat footed now on the exr. Also respiring and valves for her weight made the riding more enjoyable as well.

in the short term you can slide the forks up in the triple clamps and adjust the rear spring tension to lower slightly. Or make her wear a 50lbs pack haha

or cut the seat foam. Spare seats are for sale on eBay still.

I had my 2018 MXR lowered by MotoLab LLC in PA. Fantastic job! I'm 5'4 and can now feel comfortable on the bike due to its lowered height. My husband also cut down the seat. I highly recommend Moto Lab. They are located at 2008Whitfield La in Finleyville, PA www.motolabdirtbikes.com