Fellas,
My son bent his subframe in a pretty significant crash over the weekend and now I'm trying to bend it back. There's enough material jutting out where the fender bolts up, so I think I can get a long tube over the end and lever it back into shape. (I'm done beating on it for now, haha.) The only problem is, I don't have a big hydraulic jack lever or an old fork tube to do the trick. Any suggestions where I can get a tubular piece of mild steel or some other scrap metal? I don't mind paying a couple bucks, but I don't want to spend big dollars for a tool I'll almost never use. I'm in the Temecula/Murrieta area, for reference.
(Alternatively, anyone who has experience using a small hydraulic jack to press subframes back into shape, give me some advice!)
I like to remove all plastics, airbox, from subframe, so it’s bare, bolt back up to the bike, now you need a persuader…do you have a car jack with removable pipe? A 2+4 may do the trick also, maybe a set of old handlebars,most of the time if you position the pipe correctly its just a quick jerk in the opposite direction of the bend. I have also used the hydraulic jackmout of my pickup truck to spread things apart, woods blocks will also help…
Is that 'shoehorning'? Getting ready for the RM500 engine, haha.
Had a severely stuck swingarm bolt, I had to beat it out upon disassembly, after reworking and powercoating the frame, full swingarm rebuild, the swingarm would not fit back in the frame😂..toyota truck jack did the trick👍
Could you use a ratchet tie-down between two posts/walls or something similar? Post a pic of the subframe
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I used an old chain link fence post that I came across. Worked awesome.
I think it counted for 332 uga-dugas of torque.
Here are some pictures. It's not bad; just enough to piss me off.
Who was that guy here in SoCal that would straighten frames? Dr. something, I think?
Dr Johns in Anaheim, CA is a capable frame shop. Their price is aligned with the effort the put into jigging the part to their table. They have a decent back log. I have straightened many using various methods. My favorite is using a come along around the frame steering tube. Sometimes the radiator is in the way snd needs to be removed. A truss in the middle is made with a 2x4 with a sheetmetal cap to keep the cable from cracking the wood. Many tie down to keep the process sligned. A big dead blow inside of the fender on the bolt. A large bar through the frame. Park tool makes this also.
The pipe holding the weights on the floor will do the trick…leverage between swingarm & subframe…the trick is to get the right angle when reversing the bend…
Great advice, Sandman. I ended up using the weight bar and leveraging as much as I could get into the subframe, while my son whacked it with the dumbbells. We got it much straighter.
Thanks, guys! Locking the thread.