The bike will probably be at the dealer for 6-8 weeks. They said it takes awhile to get the frame from HD..[:'(]

 

So I recently acquired a 68 iron head sportster from a good friend, After tearing it all done to go through it all I discovered the upper shock mounts don't line up and the 2 upright tubes have been molested by someone way back in the past. Now he has had this bike for 23 years. I remember it being like this when he first tore it down after he got it . It never affected the way the bike rode ,but it bugs me . Makes the seat and rear fender look crooked . I was thinking I could replace the 2 tubes and weld the new ones in. Any thoughts I know every old frame is tweaked but the repair looks like crap as do the welds.

 

John at www.framestraight.com in Knoxville uses a special digital 5 axis motorcycle frame rack that will take it back to zero tolerance. Half the price of a new frame from the factory.

He is the one that straightens out all the wrecked and twisted Moto GP bikes you see on TV.

 

I bought a bike from my nephew after he was run off the road and hit a culvert. It was obvious the front wheel did not line up with the rear so I took the tank off, sawed the tube nearly in two and with hydraulic jack and chain and a straight edge laid against the rear wheel reaching too the front for measuring, pulled the front wheel back in line with the rear. I then trailer-ed it to a weld shop and had it welded. Road it for years with no problem, sold it and as far as I know it's still going down the road.

 

I'd fix a bent Sportster frame by buying another Sportster, used. For what all that labor and parts would cost I can (at least here in Ohio) pick up an 883 2004-2006 for less than 4K. Less if I was willing to go back to 1999 or so. This is in the case of me having to pay for the repairs. If it's insurance then sky's the limit as far as I'd be concerned.

This next part is meant to be constructive; nothing else.

Depending on where and how the frame was bent and if it ran without wobble or oscillation; I'd fix the minimum and ride it until I was more experienced.

 

I'm assuming the neck and the shock mount are cast iron and will require special welding rod to replace my uprights? I read somewhere that the older bikes they brazed these tubes into the cast , Does anyone know. I plan on securing the frame to a weld bench and rig up some support pieces to keep it from springing when I cut out the tubes. Clean out the bores and replace with new seamless steel tubing. Welding the cast should not be a issue I have rod for that and have done it on other cast iron parts pre heat / post heat etc. I'll get some pictures of the frame up later today if I don't get squirreled splitting the cases and such .

 

Insurance companies will typically total a bike with a bent frame.

 

They are reacting to our sue happy society. My local dealer will not put a new tire on a tubed wheel (spooked) without a new tub, no matter what condition the old tube is in, because of their insurance.

 

Having spent A LOT of years building racecar and racebike chassies as well as having worked on a pretty large number of bike rebuilds over the years, I will say that, first, I am surprised at how easy a bike frame can get bent. Second, I have straightened many of them over the years - as long as the bends are NOT SERIOUS & there ARE NO KINKED SPOTS in the tubes. Bike frames get problematic to straighten if the angle of impact is at an angle to the front to rear center line of the frame. You need a heavy frame table and other fixtures to hold everything.

So, with that in mind, how bent is the frame and what all else is damaged, bent or destroyed?

 

So you slipped and inadvertently grabbed a hand full of throttle and shot forward into her car. That's a pretty slow speed accident and I'm surprised that an impact that just dented a car bumper would bend a Harley frame! Not saying it can't happen, but I wouldn't expect a bent frame out of that sort of impact, the wheel and fork tubes would normally absorb the damage at that kind of speed???