best way to repair the frame?

[metaleckz]

hello everyone,

I just purchased this fz07 for a good price and it has been into an accident. handlebar was bent, foot peg broke and the rear part of the frame got bent. luckily, it had a frame slider and it saved the engine and the front part. it still drives straight.

whats the best way to tackle this? bend it back? replace the frame? do you guys know any shop that can do it in bay area, CA?

 

thanks

[mjh937]

A new frame is $918.  Personally I would buy a new one, but it may be possible to straighten the one you have. 

[Triple Jim]

$756 for a 2017 frame from Partzilla.    What year is this one?

[metaleckz]

Just now, Triple Jim said:

$756 for a 2017 frame from Partzilla.    What year is this one?

2015  im not mechanically inclined to transfer everything. Might cost me a lot

[mjh937]

Do you think you can straighten your existing frame without removing everything?  I would have thought that was not possible. 

[Yakko Warner]

If you're open to taking the bike to Sacramento, you can have Gerry Piazza at GP Frame & Wheel take a look at it.  This is the kind of stuff he does.  Unfortunately his web site no longer works.

https://www.facebook.com/people/GP-Frame-Wheel/100070774549244/

[M. Hausknecht]

Bending the rear subframe back to something resembling straight should not be terribly difficult as long as you don't crack the tubing or welds. But right now, you don't know whether anything more significant, like the head stock and the main backbone, are bent. If the handlebar is bent, that means the forks and triples took some shock/load too. Unfortunately, the fact the bike rolls straight doesn't mean anything, since the wheels will self-align. I'd use a 6 foot long straight edge between the tires/wheels to see if they are out of alignment with each other. I'd also loosen the forks in the triples to determine if they or the triple clamps are bent. Others here more clever than me will, I suspect, have similar suggestions.

[Lone Wolf]

6 hours ago, metaleckz said:

I just purchased this fz07 for a good price and it has been into an accident. handlebar was bent, foot peg broke and the rear part of the frame got bent.

21 minutes ago, metaleckz said:

2015  im not mechanically inclined to transfer everything. Might cost me a lot

Maybe you could sell it "as is" for a profit if you picked it up cheap.

Buying a "fixer" without fixing it yourself kind of complicates things.

[mossrider]

I've chained bikes to trees and used a long bar (with pipe attached if needed) passed thru the frame rails to twist them back several times. 

Just sayin.

Good luck.

[Triple Jim]

Just now, Lone Wolf said:

Maybe you could sell it "as is" for a profit if you picked it up cheap.

Buying a "fixer" without fixing it yourself kind of complicates things.

Right, metaleckz indicated he's not mechanically inclined, so this seems like the wrong kind of project for him.

[Pursuvant]

Just now, mossrider said:

I've chained bikes to trees and used a long bar (with pipe attached if needed) passed thru the frame rails to twist them back several times. 

Just sayin.

Good luck.

I thought that's how you change the oil? 

[mossrider]

Just now, Pursuvant said:

I thought that's how you change the oil? 

w/o the pipe, sheesh.

[union]

If it's just the sub frame its "easy".  Companies like Robem engineering sell race sub frames.  It requires some fitting up.  The easiest path is a new frame and swapping the rest over.  If you can't do that which doesn't require much but unbolting and rebolting parts you really should be buying a wrecked bike.  Straightening a frame to the original spec is much trickier.

[FrodoFZ]

I would buy a new frame that way I had peace of mind knowing the frame is free of any defects or unforeseen stress risers which occurred from the wreck. Plus straightening out the frame is going to be pretty mechanically involved; all this is just my option though. 
If need be you could document locations for parts removed off old frame, and it’ll make it much easier to reinstall on the new frame. It might seem daunting but if you had an extra set of hands it’s just unbolting and re-bolting things back into place. K.I.S.S. applies here.

Edited September 4, 2022 by FrodoFZ

[JJ_08]

 

Unfortunately, I have firsthand experience with this topic.  I also bought my FZ for a "bargain" because it had "light crash damage."  Let's just say that it turned out the damage was quite a bit more than "light." 

I'm also in the Bay Area and I ended up taking my bike to Gerry and Anthony at GP Frame & Wheel in Sacramento.  I highly recommend them.  I called a couple other places that were closer, but decided to do the 1 hr drive to Sacto because of GP's reputation.

I was not disappointed - they are truly craftspeople.  Gerry and Anthony combine a wealth of technical knowledge and equipment with years and years of experience and feel.  They aren't the cheapest, but what they charge is well worth it in my opinion (and this is coming from a bona fide cheapskate).

I ended up chatting with Gerry and Anthony and learned that FZ07's do not crash well.  The bike is built to a price point -- I think we FZ owners get a lot of bang for the buck, but Yamaha had to save money somewhere, and I believe the frame is one of those areas.  The good/bad news is that the frame is made from relatively ductile mild steel - so it can bend quite a bit when crashed, but on the flipside, it's also fairly easy to straighten without compromising the structural integrity of the bike. 

My bike looked a lot like yours, and I originally thought that only the "subframe"/tail needed to be straightened (I even considered doing it myself using chains, 4x4s, hydraulic jacks, etc.).  The first thing GP did when I brought in the bike was measure it on their 3D digitizer... and it turned out that my entire frame was twisted in multiple dimensions.  The visible bend in the tail was really just the beginning.  To my chagrin, I realized there was no "DIY" fix for my bike - proper frame straightening requires a frame jig, precision measurement, and a lot of know-how.

As you are probably aware, the FZ has a 1-piece frame - no subframe.  As a result, forces sustained to the tail of my bike ended up transferring to the rest of the bike. Visually, it looked like only my tail was bent, but it turned out that my headstock, swingarm pivot, and swingarm were all out of alignment.  The headstock was twisted in two axes.  The forks were also slightly bent, as was my front wheel.

The happy ending to this story is that GP ended up straightening my frame to within thousandths of an inch of perfectly straight/aligned, and I've never ridden a bike that feels as neutral and responsive.  I've owned over a dozen bikes over the years, and I've never experienced a bike that feels as "telepathic" as my FZ after it was straightened.

The cost to have GP straighten my bike (including straightening the front wheel) ended up being comparable to the cost of a replacement frame -- and that's not even including the cost of labor if you have to pay someone to swap the bike over to a new frame. 

Also, note that if you're in California, a frame swap is not a trivial matter.  I considered this route and quickly decided against it.  You would need to get a CHP inspection and file paperwork with the DMV since you would be changing your VIN.  That may also result in your bike getting a salvage designation (although I'm not 100% certain of that).  I'm no stranger to dealing with the DMV, but still decided this process would be too onerous.

My recommendation would be to take your bike to a reputable frame straightening shop, and if you're in Northern California, I don't think you'll be disappointed with GP Frame & Wheel.  As I said, I am fairly convinced that my bike is now actually straighter than it was off the factory floor.

Edited September 7, 2022 by JJ_08

[shinyribs]

The beauty of straightening a motorcycle frame is that it doesn't really matter how perfect you get it unless you're wanting perfect aesthetics ( which is reasonable). If the relationship between the steering neck and the swingarm pivot are correct the rest is superficial. 

 

Also, unless you're riding at the ragged edge and have the ability to feel very minute things, it doesn't even have to be perfect. I've ridden bikes that were visibly bent on more than one occasion. Couldn't tell it. Two wheels will always self align. It can't bind up and fight itself. It's not what you want, but it's not the end of the world.

 

Do the best you can to straighten it, but don't let the internet scare you off, man. This is basic mechanics 101. Something bent and you want to bend it back. There's some nuance to bending metal, but slightly tweaked steel tube?... You'll be fine. Take your time. Don't get excited. Use blocks of wood or heavy plastic to spread loads and prevent dinging the tubes. Teenage boys have been straightening their bent dirt bikes for well over half a century. It's not rocket surgery!

Edited September 7, 2022 by shinyribs