I had my scooter/sidecar (Burgman 650/Kenna sidecar) parked in a dirt lot, and a woman hit the left side and pushed the rig about three feet sideways through the gravel. Anyone have any suggestions on what to look for as to structural damage? It looks like the only glaring damage is a cracked rear plastic quarter panel, but I don’t know what else to look for. I put it on stands and the wheels spin freely, the sidecar mounts do not appear to have shifted position, it feels normal going down the road and there are no fluid leaks. Anyone have recommendations on what else I should check?
Double check your alignment. When the minivan ran me off the road she hit the Dnepr fender and pushed me left. Although there was no apparent damage to the mounts, in act the front tube pushed 1/2 inch in to the sidecar frame. I wore the sidecar tire off in less than 300 miles.
if is an insurance claim(and it sounds like it should be)take it to a shop and have the scooter stripped and evaluated for frame damage, damage to the wheels and bearings and any other apparent damage. Take the sidecar off and check it as best you can for the same sorts of things. Particularly look at the mounts for signs of cracking or bending. nCracks in the paint or powdercoat would be warning signs. Consider replacing the mounting bolts.
Replace all mounting bolts!!!!
same thing happened to me when a pick up truck hit my rig and pushed it 3 feet sideways on cement. I changed all the visible damage and never changed the connecting bolts. 3 weeks later one sheared. lost control, luckily we were going slow.
Me too in Laconia, NH. a 1/4" out of allignment cost me a new tire!
look for a new chip in the frame paint, or a crinkle or cracking to the paint on your frame....anywhere,...a frame struck at point A may bend in point E on the other side of the bike,..a fresh paint flek will help indicate structural compomise..purhaps have a shop spin your wheels and check for balance,..aluminum cast wheels bend easy,..unbalance will quickly show that,..be very dilligent with bright lighting...most of all be thorough...check everything twice,...might just be a cosmetic fix, but at least you'll know and trust the equipment and not have a close call like David did,. change anything questionable,.Red's got it right,..have the shops check it closely...good luck, crawf.
My wife a few month had an accident. We changed and fixed everything that we saw bent...but a nasty sound continued. The front wheels base plate was bent and obligated the bearing!!! Parts that seem to be ok might be serverely damaged. Out of my experience with the MZ Super(Plastic)elastic sidecar check too the squareness of the fists and swings and take out the shafts (wheel and swing for back+s/c+front) and check them for bend with an indicator on a center checking bench.
A bent fist or eyebolt has to be thrown out....I remember there a sheared off back shock on my Norton Comando! (What a feeling to drive over 100mi in Utah/Nevada until the next junk yard with a provisionally tied shock and a passenger on the back for half of it!)
Thanks to all for the pointers. I'm taking it to the Suzuki dealer I bought the Burgman from (luckily they have no problem servicing it with the sidecar on - no extra charge). I doubt they'll find anything besides the cracked tupperware, I've pretty much gone through the whole bike, but I need the dealer to check frame/wheel/power train alignments though. The woman who hit it was doing less than 5mph when she pushed it sideways, and I've put it through heavier impacts flying the chair in the dirt (some hard/sliding landings around corners, still working on it....), so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll soon be back on the road. Just really glad I had a hack, otherwise the bike would have gone over and been mangled under the truck that hit it.....
Just got the rig back from the shop - just tupperware damage, and I'm now a happy sidecarist again
Glad to hear it!
altho a pain for the effort and wait time,..it is better to have a rig you can be certain of and trust. glad to hear all is sound, cheers, crawf.
