Got my new 500 Country (couple problems)

[nikitino]

Well, i got the new bike over the weekend (Saxon 500 Country) and it runs fine but there are couple problems....one is that the carb leaks but hopefully it just needs new gasket which i have. The bad thing though is that the handle bars are bent so i'll need to put on some new bars (never done this before). Also, along with the bars being bent it seems that something else in the front end is bent too but i don't know what. The reason i think this is because when the front wheel is straight, the bar clamp (with key slot) is skewed to one side and should be straight also with the wheel. I don't know if there is any type of adjustment that is possible with this and don't know what else could be bent? Maybe the upper or lower triple clamps or may be the shocks themselves? Anyway, hope to get this sorted out soon.....anybody got any suggestions? Bike is definitely rougher overall than my previous one (crashed it recently) but was cheaper.....I guess you get what you pay for....

[DAVID THOMPSON]

MZ-B.DE CAN PROBALEY SUPPLY THE BARS
MINE BEFORE THE WRECK DID MOT SEEM TO RUN TRUE TO THE REST OF THE BIKE
MAY HAVE BENT TUBES
CARB CLEAN THE FLOAT BOWL OUT AN THE FLOAT NEEDLE AND ITS SEAT
IF ITS A BING IT WILL BE A PAIN
DAVE

[OLDMTNCARVER]

David,
Some what off topic...
I'm wondering the differents between the 500 and the later 605?
I'm wondering about the cases and the con rod relational to the crank bearing size.
I was thinking that often companies will choose to generalize their manufacture process for the purpose of cost savings. This might be a benifit...just curious.
Regards,
OMC

[DAVID THOMPSON]

the difference is best asked of the fellows at ron wood
as they can tell you all you can do to make it exceed the speed any man really needs to GO!
dave

[nikitino]

Well, was at the shop today getting a tire worked on and i showed my out of alignment handlebars/bar clamp/front wheel relationship to the guy who owns the shop (old guy who does all repairs by himself) and he got in front of the bike, put the front wheel between his legs, grabbed the bars, and gave em a twist like you used to do with a BMX bike and i'll be damned if this didn't straighten everything out just like that. The bars are bent a little but i got a new set on the way.....so for five bucks i got a steering alignment and the guy fixed a badly mounted tire to boot.......what a deal.....

[TS2Fifty]

Well, was at the shop today getting a tire worked on and i showed my out of alignment handlebars/bar clamp/front wheel relationship to the guy who owns the shop (old guy who does all repairs by himself) and he got in front of the bike, put the front wheel between his legs, grabbed the bars, and gave em a twist like you used to do with a BMX bike and i'll be damned if this didn't straighten everything out just like that. The bars are bent a little but i got a new set on the way.....so for five bucks i got a steering alignment and the guy fixed a badly mounted tire to boot.......what a deal.....

Just goes to show you can't, CAN NOT, beat the service of the small independents. Sure the franchise dealers have all the newest equipment but who needs it when you've got decades of experience and passion for bikes at your disposal?

Bit off topic, but I reckon it could be a good thing to have a thread for forum members to recommend their favourite independent bike shops. We could include addresses and contact details to help other people find somewhere decent & trustworthy to work on their pride and joy when they're in unfamiliar areas and hopefully it would help provide a little extra (well deserved) income for these true bike people who put a happy customer on a sound bike over and above gross profits & manufacturer bonuses. I'll start the thread in the dealers section & if there's any problem then David, feel free to delete it if need be (hopefully this won't break any rules & it'll end up a sticky instead!!!)

Anyhoo, back on topic - I'm assuming that said bloke tightened the stanchions into the yokes after straightening the forks, if it pulled back into alignment as easily as you said then the clamps would have had to be loose.

Safe riding, Dan.

[nikitino]

I'm not sure what stanchions or yokes are but when i got home i tightened the lower triple clamp and fork brace (did a little fine adustment myself before tightening).......Anyway, if you start the repair shop thread, I'll put down this guy's shop which is called Parkers ATV Repair in Cape Girardeau, MO ......the guy didn't have change at the time for my 20 dollar bill so he said just drop the 5 bucks off later sometime....

[TS2Fifty]

I'm not sure what stanchions or yokes are but when i got home i tightened the lower triple clamp and fork brace (did a little fine adustment myself before tightening).......Anyway, if you start the repair shop thread, I'll put down this guy's shop which is called Parkers ATV Repair in Cape Girardeau, MO ......the guy didn't have change at the time for my 20 dollar bill so he said just drop the 5 bucks off later sometime....

Sorry, stanchions would be the inner fork leg & the yokes are the clamps above & below the steering head. I suppose it's all down to our local dialect what they get called (I'm based in NW England.)

I've started the thread in the Dealerships forum now & David doesn't seem to have deleted it yet, so I'm guessing it's fine to have members' recommendations on there. From the sound of things Parkers is just the sort of shop we don't see enough of, either in the US or the UK. (and in most other places I don't doubt).