Straighten a bent fender stay?

[gcrank1]

I have bent stay on my Electra Jester. These are the rather hefty chromed steel in a 'V' shape for strength. It looks like it took a localized hit and is somewhat of a compound curve. My attempts at hand tweaking cold do nothing and I would like to 'do no more damage'.

 

[flatflip]

Can you post a pic of it? I might be able to suggest how to beat on it and what size hammer. HaHa, I'm only serious. I have had some success.

Mick

 

[gcrank1]

Well, ya got me thinkin'.....I do have a bronze and lead hammers,.....if I use a piece of thick flat stock in the bench vise as an anvil and pound over it I may be able to reform it. Another thought is to pad the jaws of my sheet metal visegrips and do some initial tweaking, and/or make a form die to use in the bench vise.

 

[flatflip]

Well, ya got me thinkin'.....I do have a bronze and lead hammers,.....if I use a piece of thick flat stock in the bench vise as an anvil and pound over it I may be able to reform it. Another thought is to pad the jaws of my sheet metal visegrips and do some initial tweaking, and/or make a form die to use in the bench vise.

Consider a C-Clamp too. It may be stronger than the vise grips and more versatile than the bench vise.

When I had a brand new '93 Nissan pickup, the clutch pedal was a little over bent. It did not match the brake pedal. I used a heavy C-Clamp and 2 pieces of 1/2 X 2 flat bar and corrected it under the dash without removing it.

 

[shawn57187]

I've straightened a few fender stays. It's kind of a pain in the ..., but you can get good results with enough persistence. Usually I put a piece of small gauge steel bar on the inside of the fender stay and straighten it using a bench vice, c clamp, and a hammer. Since your bike is newer, you might be able to get the part new and just save yourself the hassle! Fender stays are typically pretty cheap.

 

[gcrank1]

Im kinda the 'save it if you can'.............and if it turns out poorly that is part of the learning curve and Im really no worse off. Usually stuff turns out the better side of usable, at least until a replacement comes around. I am also not generally in a hurry, so I get to ask questions and think through a process (OK, I'm slow....), but I swear this helps me make better moves!