Possible bent frame head

Just bought my first VF500. I knew it was wrecked when i bought it, but it all looked superficial and nothing major. When I moved the bike it was hard to move but then it freed up. Problem started to show when i was moving it in my garage and had to turn hard left and walking it back wards. Bike basically stopped. I just assumed calipers were sticky because the bike has been sitting for close to a year. I flushed the calipers (looked like a brown ale beer) but problem was still there. There is no visible signs of bends in the fork tubes. (my old bike had bent front tubes and triples and it was EASY to see) I took the tubes off and the triples off. I can see a small bend in the tubes, so I know that's an issue. The triples didn't look bent but I got another set anyway. ($20 for peace of mind is good with me). Now that i can see the head stock I don't know if my eyes are playing tricks on me but it looks like the head stock is bent. I find it hard to believe that the bike could get hit that hard to bend the head stock but yet the tubes are only bent a tad.
My question is how can I measure to see if they head stock is bent? The gas tank is bent to shit so I am trying not to use it as reference

 

sorry cant figure out why my pics are posting sideways.

 

see if this is better

 

Take a ball point pen and start running it across the welds in the steering stem area. If paint starts flaking off, you at least know that area was shocked. I highly doubt your frame is bent.

And in the future, the lower triple clamps are made of butter, they can be tweaked very easily right back into position by lowering the fork tube, tightening the pinch bolt, and using the fork to bend it back. Then slide your (straight) fork back up and see how it engages the top clamp.

 

I checked it and don't see any paint that has come off. I took the forks to my local shop, and said "which do you think is bent" they had a hard time figuring it out but eventually came to the same agreement as me. The right one. But the bend is very very slight. I looked at some forks om ebay and the only ones they had had pits and rust on them, and mine are very nice (excluding the bend). Think I will try and see if the new triples help the cause and i still think those calipers are sticky.

 

I straighten SLIGHTLY bent fork tubes in my press with a couple hard wood v-blocks. It's pretty damn easy actually and I've gotten some very sweat deals on forks because of it. Obviously not for everybody, but something worth considering.

 

Jamie D can straighten fork tubes... if you are interested in a fork refresh, this could be looked at as an opportunity to upgrade!

 

I am going to reinstall the forks once the new triples come in make sure calipers are functioning properly and see if that fixes the problem. I was also thinking last night while i was sleeping (because that's what i do in my sleep think about my bikes) I wonder if when the bike was hit it pushed the fork tubes up in the triples and one tube was higher than the other, which would off set the front end. When I took tubes out I really wasn't paying attention to how they were sitting in the triples. So once I get it all back together I will look and see if the slight bend is an issue. If it is I will look at repairing. The bend is really ever so slight so v block in a vise seem like a good idea.

 

Anytime you suspect or know the bike had a front wheel hit hard enough to bend a fork it's best to inspect the steering head bearings for damage (dented balls and races) and replace if necessary.

 

This guy can tell you for sure...he used to be in Napa, but has moved to Woodland. Not too far from you. If it is bent, he can get it back where it needs to be.

http://www.gpframeandwheel.com/contact.html