Well, some time has passed, and there have been some new developments, as I promised. I went down to the local MC junkyard and picked up a good, used CS for fifteen bucks and installed it on the bike. Here's a comparison with the old and new; you can see how the tang on the old stand has been bent at its joint with the foot, possibly in the same accident that ground the tip off:
Another comparison. You can see the damage to the old stand with the "new" one beside it. I'd noticed before that there were some problems here, but I hadn't realized they were so extensive. Being new to these bikes, I just didn't know what to look for. Thanks to cben750f1 for pointing this out to me ("G'day, mate!")...
So, I installed the new centerstand on the bike and it still didn't fit. The tang still hit the muffler and the Centerstand rest on the muffler wasn't even close to touching the foot. I knew there was nothing wrong with this new stand; I had made comparisons with several others at the junkyard and it was the best I could find. So I pulled the CS off and, with the help of a friend, bent the lift tang until it no longer hit the muffler. I also noticed that the Centerstand rest on the muffler itself hadn't been positioned correctly before it was tacked into place, so I bent it into position and installed the rubber stop pad. Now when I retract the stand, the foot at least rests on a very thin sliver of the pad while, due to my man-handling, the lift tang no longer touches the muffler:
From the looks of things, judging by the CS pad dislocation and the difficulty encountered during installation, the left side mufflers are being held a good inch to inch-and-a-half too far outboard. I believe that the exhaust has been installed correctly; that is, that all the pipes are routed correctly and brackets are in place per spec. I started looking at the muffler support "ear" on the frame. That's when I noticed this:
I'll admit that I am no expert, and I don't have another frame to compare with, but it looks as though the down tube has been bent forwards just above the frame gusset, creasing the tube at that spot; that is, it appears that the "ear" has been forced forwards and outwards, twisting the down tube in the process. I'm guessing that it could have happened by the passenger peg getting hit from behind, or the bike could have been laid down and somehow skidded backwards on the peg? You can see where the down tube has bulged out where it appears to be bent. The following ultra-saturated images might help point out the apparent damage:
Am I guessing right here? I believe this tube is supposed to be straight and smooth here with no purposeful indentations for the weld; is that correct? If this is true, and this
is damage to the frame, it would explain why the mufflers are being such a pain in my freakin' a$$ on this side. On the other side, the right side, the exhaust slid in just like it had been, well, made for it (which it had, of course, being original Honda parts. This is what's known as sarcasm in the face of mounting frustration). On this side, the left, it's been a fight every step of the way and, while I managed to get the mufflers installed, they're under so much tension that they're like two big springs just waiting to go off.
So, what do you think? Do I need a new frame? I'm not sure how much this affects the overall symmetry of the bike; could this cause the frame to be twisted to the point of being unusable? Or is this something I don't need to worry about? Not sure about
any of this, and any help will be very much appreciated.
Oh, and here's a pic of the bike as it now stands. I went to turn the engine over one night and the starter button simply sank into the switch housing. I opened it up and the starter switch fell out into my hands in a dozen pieces, the victim of 33 years of exposure to the elements . Needless to say, I'm currently waiting on a new switch
Once again, any suggestions, remarks, observations or questions are welcome.
