Down she goes

[caamme0]

Yep I took my first, and hopefully last, dive from my bike last week. It was all me, I was being very stupid and seeing if I could go around a bend pretty fast. I was in mid turn and realized I wasn't going to make it (maybe I could have if I had leaned further and not taken my eyes off the road mark I was aming for) so I straightened up to brake. I locked up my back wheel and ran right of the road into some grass where my bike ejected me. It came down on its right side and I did several rolls before I stopped. I was more embarresed than injured, though I have a pretty fat bruise on the inside of my leg from nailing it on the frame. It was definantly a scary feeling. If I had hit a tree I doubt I'd be posting this message.  

Anyway, my right blinker was sheared off, my right fairing is dented in, and my handle bars are slightly crooked. I fixeed my blinker and I am going to take off the siding tomorrow till I can get a new fairing. Do I need to take the bike to the dealership and have them adjust the handle bars or can I do it? I had heard a machine at the shop is supposed to  adjust it perfectly, but I would rather not take it in if I can do it. If I can straighten them myself can anyone give me a starting point? (I have an 04 GS500f) For all you "search first" nazis out there, I did search for handlebar topics but I didn't find anything.  

Well, I may have fallen but I am not scared, just a little wiser. I can't wait to get my baby back out on the road. The weather is beautiful here in KY and im missing out on prime riding days!

Thanks fellow GSers, ride on.
Charles

[Jace009gs]

if the handle bars are bent their going to have to go to the shop to bend them back into specs [very hard to get a pt. of reference to bend them back the right direction]  I don't imagine a new handle bar would cost that much....Time for clip-ons

[caamme0]

They arent bent, just crooked. I feel like there is a ring I can loosen, straighten them back up, lock it down and be good to go. But I don't know if this is smart, or possible.

C

[weaselnoze]

ya just get new bars.  thats what i did. i opted to go for stock bars cause i like them best although there is a plethora of aftermarket bars to choose from.  srinath actually makes some that u might like

[poormanracing]

search nazi here:

http://www.gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15943&highlight=show+handlebars

...i also had some slight mishap this week with my gs (too embarassed to share) and had to replace my handle bar too

[94suzuki500]

glad to hear your ok.   I went down once and I was going home and girls made fun of me, Take a pic of your bars, it you mean they are twisted down in the clamps that is easy to fix but if they are bent its way easier to buy new bars.

[fettcols]

Hmmm... I haven't decided if I was going to sell the bars off my '04 yet... But I might listen to offers...

Glad you're okay... Onramps still scare me sometimes...

[ukchickenlover]

You may not have bent the handlebars maybe the forks twisted in the steering yoke. If you loosen the pinch bolts (4 of) which hold the forks in place and loosen the fork brace bolts (which is at the front mud guard) you maybe able to twist them back.

[gs500fromnb]

when I crashed last year it twisted both the bars and the forks at the triple tree.

I bought TAG metal bars (AWESOME bars by the way) for dirt bikes and put them on. If the whole front end is a bit twisted, just loosen the bolts on the front and twist it back into place.  As for the fairing, its expensive.

[dyran]

The best advice that has saved me a couple times is you can never lean too far over, glad to hear you're still alive and well.

[Roadstergal]

The best advice that has saved me a couple times is you can never lean too far over, glad to hear you're still alive and well.

Amen to both sentiments - the GS will lean until you scrape things, so if you hit a corner too hot, lean over and look though the turn (the last is absolutely critical).  Even if you really are too hot, at least you'll lowside - and you might be surprised at the kinds of turns you can make.
That being said, I still think nothing substitutes for track time as quality time to safely explore the bike's limits.  Glad to hear you're OK; replace the gear, fix the bike, and keep riding!  

['04gs500f]

OK listen carefully, I speak from extesive sir crashalot/self reapir alot experience...

1)DON'T buy a new fairing YET...  When the shaZam! hits the fan again your out another $150 for a new panel, let the already abused one take the beatings.

2)About the handle bars, oem bars are cheap cheap cheap www.mrcycles.com but they are easy to bend back in place...remove the bar end of the bent side and use a small diameter crow bar to bend it back, use the distance between the tip of the handle bar and the gas tank when the bar is turned as far as it can go one way as a reference point when compared to the undamaged side.

3)Crazy glue and plastic weld are your friends, both can be found at a hobby shop and do wonders on repairing cracks in fairings and even worked on on my headlight fairing when it was SPLIT INTO TWO DIFFERENT PIECES, it has yet to come apart again...

4)Don't take off your side fairings while learning to ride, they actually tend to save your tank from dents and scratches when you go down sorta like frame sliders...plastics are cheaper than tanks

anyway, I am glad to hear you are ok and keep riding

...All my accidents are fun