[leif]

So just yesterday I gave my quad to my brother to ride for about a half hour on the long, winding dirt roads we have up in muskoka (come by some time, you'll love it!). He is a 'novice rider,' but has ridden automatic atvs for a long time and is fairly skilled. However, there was one high speed straightaway with a sharp 3rd-gear right hand turn that gave him a bit of trouble. He was hauling ass in 5th and was unable to downshift and brake in time for the turn and went in to the bushes at about 40 kph (25 miles). Amazingly he was totally fine with just a couple of scratches. The bike, however, took some damage:

As you can see, the handlebars appear to lean a little to the right in the picture (to the left when you sit on it). I've gone around and inspected the entire front end and have noticed no damage to hte wheels, hubs, suspension, tie rods, rectifier, radiator, etc. Therefore, I think the only real damage is to the steering stem and handlebars.

My question is where to go from here. I am a fairly capable mechanic and would likely be able to fix this issue if I was able to get a new stem and bars. However, should I order the parts and do it myself, or let a dealer order in the parts and charge me insane amounts of money for the same work? It gets a little more interesting because I am in canada, and ordering parts to here is ridiculously expensive and time consuming.
The other option is to buy the steering stem that member DL700 is selling on his 'part out' thread (http://www.club700xx.com/vb/showpost.php?p=107542&postcount=22). He has the stem for $40 whereas places like bikebandit.com and cheapcycleparts.com are selling the stem for $200. So, members of this forum, where do I go from here?

 

[DL700]

the stem is fairly easy to replace, just remove the front plastics and u can get to the stem mount bolts,,, the lower tie rods come off easily too

 

[Rastled]

If you want to go cheap and keep replacing stems you can get the $40 stock one. But if you want a real upgrade I would recommend the Houser stem or the Teixeira Tech Anti-Vibe Steering Stem.

http://www.amazon.com/08-10-HONDA-TRX700XX-HOUSER-STEERING/dp/B002FDGS9C
I also would definitely recommend the Precision-RP Shock & Vibe Handlebar Clamp for your future purchase their like night and day when it comes to relaxed ride and great ergonomics.

Just be careful which stem & clamps you choose because if you get +2 stem and +1 clamps you might need longer cables. If your stem is a comfortable height at the moment you can get the standard +0 on each. Everyone is different and knows which they prefer.

The rest of the post and certain questions are found here for you
http://www.club700xx.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7564

Good luck!

 

[leif]

Thanks for the feedback. I think I'm just going to go with the stock stem, but maybe aftermarket bars since they will probably be a bit better than the stock ones. In terms of anti-vibration/stabilizers etc, I liked the way the quad rode before the accident and really have no need to spend money to upgrade the handling. I just need to fix the bend in the stem.
DL700 I just hope you can ship this stuff to canada.

 

[700xxchris]

my brother was loading mine into the back of my f-150 and got away from him lifted up on him he sat the quad back down on the sid of the bed resulting in the quad bouncing back up and flipping backward he walked away without a scratch my quad not so much handle bars were touching the fuel tank this is y he not allowed to ride my quad no more hes rode since he could shift.

 

[5W0P3]

This is how i fixed mine... I put the f250 in low and idled forward.