bent handlebars look straight?

[andym]

I've just taken the bars off my bike because when I was turning them to the left they were hitting the tank whereas they weren't when turning to the right. Now that they are off they look even enough and was wondering if there's a way to check them properly to save me buying new ones only to find there is something else wrong.

The bike came off the trailer when it was being delivered and thumped down pretty hard on the left side (see pics), All of the damage was done to the front of the bike (apart from strap marks on the saddle), so I'm wondering if something could have been bent out of shape.

If something has been damaged, can I claim from my friends insurance if I had just bought the bike about an hour before hand, and had no tax or MOT or insurance on the bike (which was why it was on the bike trailer in the first place).

[finpos]

You can usually tell if they are straight just by putting them on a flat surface - all the same bits should be touching down left and right. Any erratic wobbling is a bad sign.

f.

[stinkwheel]

More likely the forks have twisted in the yokes meaning the top yoke (with the bars attached) isn't totally aligned with the bottom yoke (with the steering lock-stops attached).

Loosen off the yoke clamps (not all the way or the forks will drop through them) and firmly dunt the front wheel of the bike square against a brick wall a few times by pushing it forward with the bars. This should square it up, then nip up the yoke clamps again.

Worst case, you've damaged one of the steering lock-stops. A visual inspection should show you this.
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[andym]

I may try that....

Since I'm going to a bike shop tomorrow I'll take the bars with me and see if they line up with new ones.

[Teflon-Mike]

Straight edge and tape measure.
Centre on a flat and then measure to the tips of the bars.
As said, putting them on a good flat surface, like a kitchen work top, and turning them this way and that often a good wat to spot any twist or bend.
Look for strain marks in the chrome, is another... pair of polarised sunglasses can help here.
When a bar is bent to shape, its done before chroming.
Bent after manufacture, any distortion will stress the chrome plating, which can 'tell' you of the distortion by slightly changing colour.... even if it doesn't crack or flake. often 'blues' around a stretch mark.
However, decent pair of replacement bars are normally £20...
From experience, any question, swap'em.
SO MANY annoying aches and pains or shear awkwardness are caused by just a small misalignment or imbalance between left and right grip positions.
Possible, and falling off a trailer, probably more likely that the lock stops on the bottom yoke have been bent, or the fork stansions twisted in the yokes.

As for the insurance...... Sorry, but you entrusted the bike to him, when you asked him to transport it.....

His Insurance MIGHT cover for any damage due to an accident or collision with another vehicle... but that would only be applicable IF the vehicle was legally on the road and covered by its own insurance, AND there had been a 'collission'... ie other vehicle was traveling independently...

Seem to remember, case years and years ago of a claim when a 'collision' was claimed, the result of a car being towed by another, running into the back of the towing car, because without the engine running, towed car had no brake servo! Case dismissed, as the 'collission' was not between independent vehicles, and the cause of the collission was 'negligence' on the part of both drivers.... Towing driver not ensuring towed driver was safe to tow, towed driver not assuring himself the brakes worked.

In this case your bike was 'luggage' &His 3rd party liability probably does not cover 'luggage'..... even his own..... luggage falling from his own vehicle would be his responsibility....

Any DAMAGE that luggage falling MIGHT be a 3rd party liability his insurers would pay out for.....

So, say taking auntie back to the nursing home after X-mas, her suit case flies off the roof rack (Stupid BINT should have been holding onto it tighter!) siutcase falls in road, explodes and her bloomers fall accross windscreen of car behind, blinding him, making driver swerve off road into a ditch...... Insurers would probably pay for damage to car behind that encountered ditch, but Not auntie's bloomers!

Same analogy here..... YOU might be able to claim PERSONALLY off HIM for your loss...... as in small claims court jobbie... but... err... bloke was trying to do you a favour, and YOU accepted, and entrusted transport of your bike to him...... doubt that court would offer you MUCH recompense... if you wanted garantees and insurance, they'd take the standpoint you should have used a commercial carrier, with the propper equipment, by way of specialised bike trailer or van, or transporter, and all public liability insurance..... not a 'mate' with a borrowed box trailer......

Sorry..... but I DO have to say, the suggestion is a bit of 'blame & claim' culture coming out!

FFS you do it the 'make do' way.... mate to drive you, and a trailer borrowed from the mates mate or reletive... fess up and take responsibility for your own shit, man!

Why should he loose his NCB, for helping you out? Twice! Same bloke that put you ON to the 'bargain' bike in the first place, isn't it? And what about his mate he borrowed the trailer from? He now has a busted trailer? You going to fix that for him, for breaking it, over loading it with your big motorbike?
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[andym]

Damn Mike that was a mouthful at this time in the morning.

I was just asking if there was more damage than I thought to the bike.... i.e. forks bent, frame bent, engine falling out, bike written off etc... would I be able to claim from his insurance. Sorry if it seemed like I was blaming him just for the hell of it.

Also he wasn't the person that told me about the bike in the first place, that was someone else.

Thanks for the tips though