Forks won't lock after dealer installed triple tree/lowering kit.

First post, so if this is in the wrong place, my apologies.

This Saturday I bought a new Busa and the dealer had preinstalled a lowering kit with the chrome triple tree. unfortunately, it appears that this mod seems to have eliminated the ability to lock the front end and turn the key swtich to engage the parking lights. It seems that they installed some metal spacers on each side of the fork that stops the wheel from turning all the way, and hitting the brake handle on the fairing.

Is this normal? Should the dealer be responsible for fixing this? I'm new to sport bikes and I need to know how much the dealer should be responsible for fixing considering that these are mods and not factory.

Thanks in advance

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A friend of mine had the same problem w/ the brake hitting the fairing and what he did to solved the problem was adjust the stopping point by a 1/16" of the forks to the left so the brake didn't hit the fairing and he can still can lock and put his emergency light.
 
Bluehaya,

I'll get pics, but I'll try to explain better for the moment.

The spacers are down on the forks at the brace point (about 6" above the fender) where the forks will normally have a hard stopper to keep them from turning too far. What they did was to glue (JBweld?) an additional piece of metal to keep the fork from turing as far as it normally would.

I have to assume that they took a shortcut somewhere, as I can't imagine anyone being happy with the inability to lock their front end.

FYI, you guys are FAST! :beerchug:

Sounds like the dealer has no clue what they are doing! Please tell me they did NOT JBWELD some spacers on your bike to limit steering travel... ???

:banghead:
 
this might sound off the wall but I can't see the chrome triple tree in that image?

but in all honesty when you lower a bike you've changed the geometry, obviously if the bike widens as you lower the clips you will run out of room to function naturally...

I cant tell all thats been done but it appears you have removed the stock triple setup and pushed the forks up to lower the front, since the chassis is wider the lower down you go the bars are colliding due to increased width?

apparently your only action is to install after market adjustable clip ons in an effort to maintain desired effect, odd the installer didn't alert you to that situation? maybe he just threw the parts on and didn't bother to check functionality?

so, remove the spacers or whatever, thats ghetto..

you have the choice of removing the spotting pins off the clips so you can move them, not advised as they are not designed to maintain position with engineered grip, the pin holds them in place, not the torque of the bolt you tighten them down with, (if you over tighten the bolt to add grip you will ultimately pinch the fork and fubar functionality...

ultimate fix is after market clip ons, they have more clamp area and you will notice this, prolly 3 bolts all in all compared to 2, also they cipe the interior mating surface for grip so you can still maintain the 8lbs of maximum torque and not have them move around on you...

simple really, aftermarket trees require aftermarket clips, installer should know this, not a prob though, keep the monkeys away from your bike, order online and install your self...

the manufacturer of the tree will offer clips...

You're looking at the wrong pic Twisted....
 
Sounds like the dealer has no clue what they are doing! Please tell me they did NOT JBWELD some spacers on your bike to limit steering travel... ???

:banghead:

Ok, I won't tell you. :laugh:

I thought it was rather amatuer too, but I didn't want to make any assumptions considering that I came from riding crusiers which don't normally have such tight clearance issues.

I took it to the dealer today (because my charging system isn't working :banghead:) and they're going to attempt to adjust everything to fit properly. It's a sister dealership, so I'm not at the point of getting upset...yet. We'll see what they can do first.
 
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You're looking at the wrong pic Twisted....


the pic in the yard shows a bike in the yard with a chrome top clamp, did you replace the entire tree?

if so then yes you will lose the lock on most setups, but they typically come with a stop so the legs wont hit anything...

I am guessing you canned the stock top clamp so you could push the tubes up to lower the front?

if you replaced the entire tree you almost would have certainly had to buy new clips?

I guess a pic of where the jambing is occurring and maybe the manufacturer and model of the aftermarket parts?

if the fork tubes aren't jambing without the jake stoppers can em...

if you have a full aftermarket tree such as a gilles or vortex, the clip ons are adjustable...

this kinda what the new parts look like?

wsfull-283.jpg


these are the gilles fully adjustable clip ons...

pr4511_10.jpg
 
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Gen 1 here with an after market tree had no kinda of issues like that. Dealer did the mod they should have told or warned you about this I'd ask them about resolving it.
 
Mine is lowered with a aftermarket triple tree and I don't have the problem of my forks not locking or the bars or levers hitting the fairings. If you go too low thats what will happen though. If you stay from 1.25 to 1.50 inches and rotate the lever right you should be okay. Anything lower and you might be wise to go with clip on bars. Plus lower that that and speed bumps become obstacle courses.
 
Hopefully you'll get it resolved to your satisfaction. My Reaper Risers caused a clearance problem with the front brake at full lock left. Good luck.
 
Thanks for all the input folks. I'll know today whether or not this sister dealership can adjust the problem. Otherwise it's back to the original dealer to hash out some sort of deal. ???
 
I say make em yank that crap, and put it back to factory conditions. They have already proved they are inept. Welcome to dealership repair world of crap.
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I say make em yank that crap, and put it back to factory conditions. They have already proved they are inept. Welcome to dealership repair world of crap.
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Two problems, I paid extra for that and I actually need it to be lowered to fit me (short legs, long torso.)

I'm still hoping they can adjust something...but I may not have much hope.
 
the added stops are not going to affect the way the bike rides down the road.. might make it a bit tougher to push around in tight quarters (certainly no more than any of the stretch guys).. I have never seen anyone ride with the bars at lock other than on a dirt bike... Those "clip-ons" listed above by Gilles are missing the 80mm risers BTW (another $130)

you could just knock the added stops out and see if the steering head will lock?

DSC_0022.JPG
 
I started to chip away at the spacers, but whatever they used is VERY TOUGH. I did more damage to the original stoppers than the spacers themsevles. They used an epoxy of some sort, maybe JB Weld.
 
Update:

The dealership has now agreed to get their top mechanic to work on my bike. They now seem confident that they can adjust the tree so that it will clear. I'm taking the bike in next Friday, so we'll see what happens.

If they're successful, I'll probe them to find out how they solved it so I can share it with everyone here.
 
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