2007 R1200R. I realize this is the RT section (I also have an RT), more people own RT's than R's, likely more readers of this section, hoping to increase odds of an answer. It's the same basic suspension setup, with the addition of a steering damper.
I went down on the bike and slid, probably at 30mph in a ditch, a few months ago. I have done a basic visual, and ridden it since then. Front tire was worn, I removed it, had tire mounted, reinstalled myself. Mechanically inclined and experienced, but by no means a BMW tech or a certified motorcycle tech.
After a drop on a bike with conventional suspension, I'm familiar with what to "loosen and retighten" to re-align the bike, but on a Telelever setup, I'm not certain. Does anyone have experience with this? Could you provide some advice? Please and thanks!
Oh do the old soosing the bolts, then against a wall bounce the bike until the stress of the impact has been release..
When spin the stanchion tubes (the chromed tubes that come out of the fork into the triple clamp (you can do this on the R but not on the RT) if they are hard to spin probably they are bend, take them out and roll them on a really flat surface like a glass table, if you have the equipment (I have used twin trees, park benches, etc, you name it with great results) and skill they are not that hard to correct, or you can send them to a expert..
If any of the other parts got compromise, check for creases at the front of your A-arm ) Again your A-arm is different than the one on the RT) if is okay but the bike still acts funny, check the Engine mounts, because they can become ovalize after a BIG impact (I don't think that is your case..
also the handlebars can be a little bend giving you the impression the bike is tweaked)
Ricardo...thanks for the advice. no creases at the A-arm. Handlebars visually seem ok but with their curvature it's not easily discerned really. I will look into that a bit further.
Question: "loosen the bolts..." Since the engine is a stressed member by way of the frame on these bikes, are we talking about loosening everything, i.e., pivot bolts at telelever a-arm, fork bolts, axle bolt, and some of the frame bolts? If so, which bolts?
Believe I found the culprit! Front wheel appears slightly bent. Wheel bearings show no signs of play. When rotating the front wheel by hand, as viewed from the front, a slight left to right movement of the wheel is visible, and an audible intermittent sound of rotor(s) contacting pads timed with the visual movement. Now to find a solution. Oh, I know, I'll pay $1400 for a wheel from the dealer! Wait, no. Hmm.
The sound of a disc brushing the pads may be a red herring. Have you got access to a dial gauge and you can measure your 'run-out' at various places such as the rim, the outer surface of the disc (which I believe are floating discs so that won't tell you a lot).
If you have it handled ignore this but if your wheel (or forks or frame) is bent there are people who can straighten them. There are limits to what can be fixed but if you can't easily see it you are probably not outside the repairable zone. I'm not from LA but a quick search found this guy:
There is also a system called Acutrack or something similar, they have franchises with their very cool machines that check alignment and can "nudge" a frame back to OEM alignment. If these franchises do or don't fix wheels would be a separate issue but they can fix forks and frames.
I've never done the frame straightened thing but I had a Ducati wheel straightened (I hit a big pothole while ahh... testing the strength of my throttle cable) years ago, zero problems in my experience.
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