[Msprygada]

I was riding on a trail, came around a corner and a motorcycle was coming fast the other way. I was not moving very fast and from what I remember, I think I stopped before he hit me but he hit my left front tire pretty hard. So hard that he bent the tie rod and he punctured my tire in two places, one on the sidewall and somehow right next to the bead of the rim which required me to buy a new tire too. I have replaced the tie rod and the tire and the wheels are aligned (3mm toe in). Today I went to load it onto the trailer to go for a ride and noticed that the quad was pulling pretty hard to the left. So I took it down the road and back and it's pulling so badly that is basically un-drivable.

So I figure that either a control arm(s) are bent, or worse case scenario is that the frame is bent.

So how does one go about figuring out what is bent or out of alignment to get this issue resolved? I am worried that if the frame is bent, that its a total.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ducvet]

Start by carefully examining everything, compare the side he hit with the side that was not hit and see what is out of alignment or bent.

Sounds like a solid hit but I would be really disappointed if it was capable of bending your frame, more likely something is just not right.
What machine is it?
How many miles are on it?
You have 1 new wheel and tire are they the same as what you had?
If you run a string around the tires on the front are they close or is one smaller due to wear etc?
From the other damage I see no reason that a arm could not be bent so use a flat edge and compare to the good side.
Have you set both sides the same or simply done the new parts, if you set your new parts up at the book spec of 3mm toe in but your old setup was zero or some toe out then it will act funny for sure Start with the basics and measure, inspect and compare everything maybe twice or get a second set of eyes on things.

 

[Msprygada]

UPDATE: We measured everything we could and could not find anything that was out of wack. I have no idea what possessed me to do this but I started the quad with the front end in the air with the handlebars straight and about 2 seconds after it started up, the handlebars go full left all by themselves. So it's the DPS unit. I did some digging and there is a way to reset them but the dealer says that it's only for torque not to center the wheel. The dealer says that is not a serviceable unit and a $1000 part. Yikes!!!!

New video by Matthew Sprygada

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[Ducvet]

Neat.
great catch!

do these units self center normally on start up?
I wonder if something got spun in the impact and the machine thinks it is centering itself. I would remove the attachment to the front end and let the DPS rotate to where it stops and then see if you can install the front end on at that point, centering the unit. No idea if thats possible but I would try it and look for worn splines when you have it apart. It may be that it was force rotated in the crash and now you need to get it back to center.

Test again as you have is suspended and inspect things to make sure nothing is worn so it will rotate easily out of center again.

 

[xsever]

the dealer says that it's only for torque not to center the wheel.

That's bullshit. Using BUDS, you can reset the DPS to basically tell it where is the center.
Check out my thread here for a lot of info and details that will help you: Handlebars/steering stuttering then Check DPS then failure

 

[Ducvet]

That would likely be the answer then, something was moved during the crash and now it needs to be told were center should be.

 

[xsever]

now it needs to be told were center should be.

Yes. If it doesn't know where center is, it will keep trying to assist either left or right. That is of course if there is no damage to the actual gears inside the DPS. Hopefully not.

 

[zrock]

betting that if the hit was hard enough to bend a tie rod it damaged the gears in the steering.. this is why i keep my machine insured just for accidents like this. Its a roll of the dice if the other person on the trail is not being a idiot.

 

[Msprygada]

I got a call from the dealer and they were able to reset the steering with the Buds software. Like some of you mentioned, I am concerned that the gears in the DPS were damaged but they did not say anything so I will press them on it when I go pick it up and I plan on riding this Sunday to give it the acid test.

 

[Ducvet]

Ask them if they were able to inspect those parts for damage. I would think They would know if...
1. your accident was a abnormal amount of damage to a machine with DPS

2. how often (best guess) that the DPS will get damaged

3. what to watch out for if it may have been damaged. and if going to give you problems.

 

[Msprygada]

These is nothing to inspect. The dealer says it works or it doesn’t. If it doesn’t, you have to replace it. It’s a non-serviceable part. I started to discuss the internals of the DPS ( I found a YouTube vid of a guy that replaced his DPS and then tore it down to see what was inside it) but the mechanic said he has no knowledge of the internals of the DPS as he has never seen the inside.

The mechanic said he has replaced 5 of them total over the years and says that it’s really a pretty durable part.

It seems to work fine, but I guess we will see if it ever gives me problems in the future. I hope if it goes, it goes soon as if it needs replacing my insurance will cover it right now or if it does realitivly close to the accident date. But if it dies 2years from now, they probably won’t.

Right now I am in for $380. $100 tie rod, $175 tire, and $105 to reset the DPS (they updated the software on the quad too....whatever that is/means/does). My deductible is $250 so if the DPS is going to go, it needs to go now and then this whole thing will only cost me $250 as the insurance will reimburse me the money I shelled out for the tire and tie rod.

 

[xsever]

Glad to hear it's working. Give it hell on Sunday and let's see if it falters.

 

[Freewill]

@xsever was correct that the centering can be reset. And yes there are software updates that can be applied with BUDS2 as I have BUDS2 and have done updates and reset the center on steering. Glad you got it sorted out!