Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge newbie dropsy

too embarassed to go into details but I dropped my 5 day old "07 America. Bent the shifter and clutch lever. (everything else looks fine). I adjusted the clutch lever play, and have to stretch my foot out a bit to shift but I rode it to work and back today.
Is there any discussion on making repairs to the shifter and clutch lever in this forum? Am I doing any further damage by continuing to ride it this way? Anything I should be looking for?

Your help would be greatly appreciated!

Generally a large wrench will bend the shifter kinda back to straight then adjust the height from the linkage. Depending on how bent the clutch lever is you may with to order a new one. If it runs and shifts you are not hurting anything. Happy riding, small drops are good drops, it could have been much worse.

Get a good thick rag and place it where you want to bend the shift lever. Then put some vise grips over the rag. Bend out as necessary.

Wrap clutch lever at bending point with some duck tape Get a piece of 3/4" black pipe, like they use for gas lines. Slip it over the clutch lever, then bend as necessary. You'll have to use something to brace the lever with between it and the handlebar if the lever is bent in.

Go easy on both of the above.

Welcome to the site
I always say there are 2 types of riders.

Those that have dropped a Bike and those that will.
Tim

the above remarks about the bending of the shifter are just fine.
bend it back.
the lever has more of a chance of cracking if you try to bend
it back.
being a softer metal it is more maleable(sp?).
a good smack with a hammer will straighten it without the chance of fracture.
remove the lever , clamp the flat part( mounting surface )
in a vice and smack it gently with a rubber mallet, it
will straighten.

i've done it twice. the bend was good. it made it easier to get the boot under the shifter. i think just about everyone has . it is embarrassiing when you do it.

18,000+ miles on mine, never dropped,,,,probably just jinxxed myself....

There is a pair of chrome levers on ebay for $60.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TRIUMPH-B...sspagenameZWDVW

Bryan

Ah, the Obligatory Embarrassment Drop. Good, now that's out of the way....

I am an umpire and I will be getting my bike soon (not soon enough) we tell pitchers the same thing...when they just come into the game they almost always throw the ball way back to the back stop...the first thing out of my mouth to the catcher is..."well now that we got that out of the way, lets get on with the game". I am sure this will happen to me but I hope that it is just as inexpensive to fix (both bike and embarrassment).

Quote:

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it is embarrassiing when you do it.

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No, mine was embarrassing. When I stopped to refuel, I thought I put my sidestand down. As I saw the bike go over too far, I quickly grabbed the falling bike, slamming my face into the gas pump and sliding to the bottom. Bike was OK. Of course I looked around and saw no witnesses, so I filled up and went inside to pay. The clerk said, "I saw that", and chuckled when she asked if I was alright. Then another voice from an isle in the store, "Me too!". I left and another lady was walking in smiling, her shoulders
shaking and said, "Nice save!". Yes, I was a little embarrassed. My left cheek was a little redder than the rest of my face - for 3 days!

John, don't worry about it - most on this board have probably forgotten to put the kickstand down before leaning the bike all the way to the ground!

FYI I fixed my clutch lever by putting it between 2 2x4's and then vicing (is that a word?) the sandwich. If it's bent in the direction of the machined curve, follow Pete's advice about putting it in the vice and then hammer gently.