well my bike put a guy in the hospital with a broken back in 2 spots and a ruptured disc...also broken wrist in two spots and a messed up shoulder....worst of all it was within the first hour of riding at winchester bay...anyways,...when he wrecked he was halfway through the throttle in 5th gear and along came a razor back...he landed on the rear left tire and compressed the bike fully and sprung himself off....well...after i got it home after riding it all weekend i noticed the rear axle on the "drivers side"...was bent about a half of an inch or so....just enough to make the tire apear like its not tight....will it be ok to run it like that for a while or will it hurt it?....

oh...yea...its an 03 baja x..

 

up...for the daytime rush...thx

 

Just to let you know there is no such thing as an 03 baja x. You either have an 03 baja or an 04 baja x. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

The question was about an axle. I hate it when people post corections for misspellings and crap like that without furthering teh post any with useful info or opinions...
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How bad is it bent? I bottomed mine fairlly good and still have a bit of a sore lower back. Wasnt bad, but axle was bent 1/4 inch on one side, and 1/8 on the other.

I took a dial indicator stuck to the swingarm on a rod adn measured the runout on the axle just inside of the wheel hubs. The dial went .25 form high spot to low spot. So i guess it was only 1/8 and 1/16 respectivly.

I kept ridding the rest of the day and didnt notice it was bent till i rode it on the asphult to the truck. I pressed my bends out on a hydralic press. Youl never do it by hand even with a 10 foot bar so dont bother. The press had to stress it so far past strait to remove the bend. I was surprised.

I believe youl be ok as long as your speeds dont get out of hand, And you are ridding on sand or mild dirt. Depends on how bad its bent. But ive seen videos where guys are doing major air and you can see the axle is bent bad while there in teh air as its spinning. Lighter quads, but im guessing as long as the bearing section is straight, youl be ok...

If you cant feel it much in the sand, your most likely fine to ride on it.

just my opinion....

Dave.

 

well the sticker says 08-03...i guess thats clasified as an 04....

 

 

toydoc,

That would mean it was built in 08 of 2003, which would be a 2004 model. MY 2003 Baja was built in 10/02 and my 2001 was built in 09/00.

Concerning the axle:

I know a guy who rides a Banshee and he rode and still rides his machine with the axle bent, it doesn't seem to bother him much. I suppose as long as it doesn't bother you it is do-able. I would just be careful pulling any high speed maneuvers, the tire is NOT going to hold like it should and if you land hard from a jump it is more likely to bend than a perfect axle. An axle that has been re-bent will also be more likely to bend than a perfect one as well. So if you decide to re bend it, you'll have to judge if it will be a problem based on how you ride.

I know I'm pretty easy going so I don't think I'll ever be in a situation where my axle will get bent.

 

well im just gunna run it,...i got a price from a shop today and it was outragous...like 5 hundred and something,...im sure an aftermarket axle would be cheaper and possibly stronger...i measured it and its bent almost 1/4" close by the wheel...still straight as an arrow by the swing arm...

thanks for the help[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

when I bent my axle I replaced whit a durablue. it cost about 450.00. mine was not bent bad but did not want to risk damaging my barings, axle housing or swing arm. whith a bent axle your taking a gamble on how long your barrings will last and if they come apart at the right time it could cause allot of damage and cost allot more money

 

I have a brand new axle for a 04 DS. Make me an offer.