My first crash!

[blue05twin]

For parts try these
www.oneidasuzuki.com
www.bikebandit.com
http://www.suzuki-factoryparts.com/
Sorry about your crash glad it wasn't worse.

[angrsand]

It was "Failure to maintain control of the vehicle within reason for the condition of the curve."  $150. What pisses me off is -- lots of accidents happen there, including a dump truck on the same curve YESTERDAY. It was on the news, and that man wasn't ticketed... but then he had a NC license while mine still showed as FL. The HP probably wanted to teach me (an out-of-state rider) a lesson.

who ticketed me

I have to ask, If speed wasnt an issue and you just undercut the turn,
what was the charge on the ticket? 

Probably "Failure to maintain control of the vehicle". Like I said, high pos are dicks.

[angrsand]

Glad you made it through relatively unscathed; hope you heal quickly. Keep us posted on your progress, and I hope you'll paint a Band-Aid on the tank, or maybe some stitches! Keep your spirits up and welcome, our new friend, to the show that never ends...

I like the idea of painting a bandaid on the tank!! Hehe, I'm definitely going to do that! 

[angrsand]

Glad you're ok....Why did you get ticketed?

So the mistake was you jammed on the rear brake and locked the rear tire instead of leaning harder into the turn? I'm confused, a  new rider myself. Glad to see a fellow soldier. I comission next year.  Good luck on your recovery.

Yes, that's exactly what I did wrong -- I should have continued to roll on the throttle and lean more. Plus, taking my eyes off the road AHEAD of me so that I could look down the cliff wasn't helpful either. It just frightened me more, and caused me to do what I would do while in a car -- hit the brakes. That doesn't work on a motorcycle because there's no traction in a curve b/c the tires are on their sides. I just locked up the wheels and skidded out of control. *shrug* Oops.

Good luck in your Officer career, Sir! 

[angrsand]

Glad to hear you made it though ok! 

Curious: why were you so certain you'd crash at some point?

Pandy: lots of experienced motorcyclists told me, "There's only two types of motorcycle riders: those who HAVE crashed, and those who WILL." I took that into consideration  the day I bought my first bike, and also bought all the best safety gear I could. I figured I'd crash someday too... and when I do, I'd like to be covered properly.

[pandy]

and when I do, I'd like to be covered properly.

I hope I'll always remain in the group that hasn't crashed (other than minor get-offs). I couldn't agree more with your thinking on the gear! I like the saying, "Dress for the crash, not for the ride." As for the ticket, that just totally sucks. Talk about adding insult to injury! 

[angrsand]

I tried to crank the bike this morning, but it's a no-go. I've got power, but there's no starting, no cranking. Any ideas? I guess I'm going to have to take it to a mechanic to get a crash assessment before I begin attempting to fix it.

[scratch]

Then this damned curve happened. Normal curve, no big deal... then at the end it just cut even sharper, blind. I ran off the road. Steep cliff (with trees, boulders and eventually a river down there) scared me.. and I... well... *sigh* I hit the brakes.     Tail spin, metal road sign, tumbling... good thing I was wearing my Shoei helmet and Aerostitch Roadcrafter jacket!!

Ooh, I can understand what happened there.  Decreasing raidius turns catch a lot of newbies by suprise; they did me when I was learning, too.  One thing to keep in mind when on an unfamiliar road is to keep the speed limit, if it's posted.  If the road is posted 35mph and a turn is posted (yellow diamond sign) 20mph, take it at 20mph.  If the turn is not posted with the yellow sign, and the road is posted at 35mph, if you can see all the way through the turn (meaning: you can see the exit of the turn), you should be able to judge that turn, or to be safe, take it at a speed slower than you think you can (I would half the posted speed, in this case 20mph).  If it's a blind turn, and you can't see all the way around it, you'll need to enter the turn slower (like <15mph), and stay wide.  The reason I state to stay wide is because you don't know what is coming around the other way, and you'll be able to see around the turn better.  It may not be the fastest line through the turn, but we're not racing.  Another thing, if you go through the turn ok and you think you could have entered the turn faster, good!  You've establised that you can safely negotiate that turn at a known speed.  Now, next time you can try the same turn at a faster entry speed.

Next, where were you looking?  Oh, I see you already answered that.  Damn, I type slow; you guys are already on page two.

And last, were you following the instructor?

[angrsand]

Scratch -- thanks so much for all the advice! Yes, I was following the instructor AND a a car was in front of him. The speed was posted at 35. I remember distinctly that I was at 30 and downshifted/slowed prior to entering the curve because I had been doing that all day with the other curves. I knew I wasn't ready to be hitting curves at speeds, even if the instructor was... I was taking it at my comfort level. The car ahead also slowed down, so both the instructor and I slowed to compensate. I did take it wide -- too wide in fact. LOL!  Okay, seriously... yes, I was staying wide to see what was coming around the curve at me. A lot of cars up here cross the lines in curves, and I didn't want to be hit. I wa s looking where I needed to, until the "decreasing radious curve" (glad to know what to call it now!), at which point I began looking over the cliff I was riding on the edge of.

I posted pics... http://www.ncrivercamping.com/ANGELA/crash.html   Wasn't sure how to do it on the forum, but they're on my website. Looking at it all today, doesn't seem all that bad. I hope you guys tell me the same!  I'm just worried that the bike won't crank now.

[scratch]

Doesn't look that bad to me.  I'd definitely repair/recover/replace that seat, expecially riding in the rain.  If the mounting points on the rear body haven't all broken off, you might be able to 'suspend' it in place with zip-ties on the inside, if you have something that the zip-tie can hold onto.  Handlebars: if the handlebars are straight, keep 'em, but check your steering stop on the head of the frame; move your handlebars full left and right and see where it stops.  If it is restricted to the right, it still may not affect your slow speed turns, but check to make sure in your driveway/street/parking lot.
I think the main thing to look for is broken mounts.  If there are too few mounts to 'remount', and not enough 'material' to fabricate mounts, then you may have to replace.

[Alphamazing]

It doesn't look too bad, and the unable to crank might be because of the clutch lever getting a bit screwed up in the crash. You'll have to check it's adjustment and make sure that you can do the "clutch lever must be pulled in when you start the bike" circuit. Also, be sure the bike is in neutral! I know it seems silly, but it won't turn over if it's in gear and the kickstand is down.

The bike doesn't look too bad, except the front fairings. Now it just gives you an excuse to take them off and go naked! Maybe fab up some brackets to hold the F model headlight on the naked body? That might look good.

[blue05twin]

Try by-passing your clutch switch

Under the clutch there are two screws. remove them and you should see a switch that moves when you pull / release the clutch it's probally broken thats why it wont start.  Get a paper clip to make the circuit whole and try to start it.  Just make sure the bike is in nutral.  Once you conect the circuit it will start in any gear without the clutch lever being pulled in.

and search "clutch switch"  you will see how others have by passed it also.

[Egaeus]

A fuse of the same type that goes in the bike makes a great makeshift clutch switch bypass.

[angrsand]

Thanks guys -- I searched and read up on the clutch switch (I am by no means mechanically inclined, so it was informative and enjoyable!) and went down to toy with the bike. I didn't have to bypass it, but did manage to get it working. Seems the whole handle was twisted and loose, so with a little tightening of the screws and replugging in the cables, it's all working. My father did all that, and then took the bike for a short ride -- watching him ride off was almost scarier than the crash (he used to ride when he was half his age, but none since!)  I'm not sure about naked -- I like the fairings and cowling... but will have to see how the pocket holds up after paying the medical bills.    It'll be like new soon enough! I had considered selling the bike to get a Yamaha FZ6, but after Sunday's ride decided (pre-crash) that the GS was perfect for me. Now I want her ready to ride again.

[Cal Amari]

Glad you like the Band-Aid idea; from what you'd originally posted, it just seemed appropriate for your sense of humor...

Keep that damaged seat covered and dry; if the foam gets wet, chances are you'll soon have some nasty mold growing in there... if that happens, you'll spend a lot more getting the seat rebuilt, and might actually save money by simply buying a new seat.

Speaking of seat repair, you might want to check this page:

http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Seats.html

Scroll down the page to the section titled "Modify your stock seat"...

Once you've read that, you can find another source for the Tempur Foam from the following post:

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=24592.msg253246#msg253246

Just some grist for the mill while you're healing yourself and your beautiful GS...

[blue05twin]

Here is anothe source for a seat if you want it in different color to match your bike
http://www.powersportrider.com/cgi-bin/zcatjpg
Here are some pic's of what they can do ( these are from second-look )

http://www.geocities.com/soulfly_productionz/seat1.JPG
http://www.geocities.com/soulfly_productionz/seat2.JPG
http://www.geocities.com/soulfly_productionz/seat3.JPG
http://www.geocities.com/soulfly_productionz/seat4.JPG

[pantablo]

pretty common around here anyway, for tickets to be given when you crash. seems like putting salt in the wounds to me. Cars dont get those tickets, unless the cars playing in the canyons that crash do too, dont know.

Glad you're okay and you seem to be in a good mood about it-thats good.

Also sounds to me like speed WAS a factor-too fast for an unfamiliar road, especially if a decreasing radius turn caught you off guard.

p-