I have a 1998 Kawasaki Lakota, Wile riding I bent my rear rack up pretty bad. I had a towing rope on the rack and it got caught on a tree or something and bent the rack. That shows how stong the racks Kawasaki Makes are~! Is there anyway I can bend them back in shape? DO i need to get a new rear rack? Please Help

98 kawasaki lakota KawasakiLakota@aol.com

 

well , once i took my honda down a extremely steep hill, better known as a cliff, after i bailed off, and watched my honda flip end over end down said cliff, i was lucky enough to discover that bent up front and rear racks were my only penalties other than the jeers of my riding pals, we were able to use a fence stretcher also known as a come-a-long, to straighten out my racks fore and aft pretty decently.
although my honda being hung in a tree during this procedure did earn me some strange looks from a couple of BMW riders having a picnic nearby.But seriously it did work very well. hope this helps

 

Thank you. What was the rack on when you bent it back in shape? I have mine rear rack off right now. Should I put it back on? Was your rack on the quad still?

 

yes i left both front and rear racks on while we straightend them out The whole procedure took only about 30 minutes for both racks.

 

I'd cinch down the mounting bolts pretty snug on the rack; then, use whatever you need to bend it back into a serviceable shape--sledge (with a board cushion, maybe), comealong, winch, whatever--I've straightened mine somewhat by pulling tension with a comealong from on high, then jumping up and down on the rack to bend it into shape, tensioning and releasing the comealong cable as required during the process, connecting the hook here and there as well.

Does the rack look like new now? No.

Is the rack serviceable? Yes.

Do I care if the rack doesn't look like new? No.

Tree Farmer

P.S. Oh yeah; how'd my racks get bent? Descending a steep hill, but not on the wheels. Caution--do not try this at home!

T.F.

 

Treefarmer,

Please tell me this was your old ride and not your new one.

And when are we going riding again?

 

Older and wiser now, Eric; that WAS my old ride!

Not to run afoul of the moderator, as a matter of general interest I report a ride at Tower City, PA; the weekend of 27-29 October (followed by one the weekend before Thanksgiving). Interested? E-mail me!

Tree Farmer

 

How Much will new racks cosT??? If I wanted to buy them?

 

Check Dennis Kirk for rack prices, they should have racks for your ATV...
www.denniskirk.com

 

Ask your dealer!

And, next time, how about asking him first, before you ask how to fix something on the Forum?

I don't mind answering a question to help someone out, but after a best effort, finding out you're considering purchase instead of repair tells me I wasted my time and effort.

Tree Farmer