whoah, close call!

[ghettorigged]

I was putzing along about 40mph when my bike pretty much went crazy, sending me into a wildly exciting skid. The road was wet from an earlier downpour so I had to hang on for a distance to keep it upright, but managed to get the bike to the side of the road. After checking my pants for any unwanted deposits , I breathed a sigh of relief and started shaking with adrenaline. When it initially occurred I thought one of my tires had blown, but I quickly discovered that my chain had popped off while riding! 

Needless to say I had to unjam the chain and push the bike more to the side of the road to get a better look. I'm not exactly sure what happened but what I DO know is that I now need to repair my baby and perhaps upgrade some cogs while I'm at it.

The problem is that I am seriously uncomfortable with this particular repair and am not entirely sure what all I will need parts-wise. I'm guessing I should replace the chain and both front and rear sprockets?  I would consider doing this repair WITH someone, but would also consider taking it to the shop (er, rather, TOWING it to a shop) but I'm not sure how much this should cost and I think shop guys see a chick coming in with a moto a mile away and see dollar signs instead of a rider. Sooooo, I spose I'm looking for one of two things:

1) some one to help me get my bike back together
or
2) a general idea of what this would cost to repair at a shop (vs doing it "myself")

cool.

[Absolute Rescue]

Sorry to hear about the mishap, glad everything turned out ok. A couple of questions before replacing things. 1. How old is the chain? I'm guessing its been on there since you got the bike. 2. Do the gears look worn, did any teeth get broken off when the chain jumped? If all of the above is ok you could probably put it back together and get away with an adjustment to tighten the chain which is a fairly simple fix. Replacing the chain is pretty easy as well, just do a search there are a number of posts about chains and how to replace them. Someone else will probably jump in and tell you where you can get a new chain and sprokets fairly cheap. Good luck.

[mikesgs500]

For your chain to have "jumped off" intact one of two things happened:
1. The chain was WAY out of adjustment allowing too much slack
2. The teeth on the sprockets are so worn that the chain was allowed to come off (again this would have required the chain slack to be way out of adjustment). 

As mentioned, inspect the chain and sprockets for any damage, you may be able to get by with tightening the chain adjustments to within spec.  If the chain is old or worn go ahead and replace the chain/sprockets as needed.  I recently replaced my chain and front sprocket with an OEM endless type chain, which required removing the swingarm.  With a repair manual it's no big deal removing the swing arm to use an endless style chain.  The other option if you don't want to remove the swingarm is to get an aftermarket chain with a master link.  Just remember to keep an eye on the chain slack in the future, hope all goes well with your repairs 

[ohgood]

I was putzing along about 40mph when my bike pretty much went crazy, sending me into a wildly exciting skid. The road was wet from an earlier downpour so I had to hang on for a distance to keep it upright, but managed to get the bike to the side of the road. After checking my pants for any unwanted deposits , I breathed a sigh of relief and started shaking with adrenaline. When it initially occurred I thought one of my tires had blown, but I quickly discovered that my chain had popped off while riding! 

Needless to say I had to unjam the chain and push the bike more to the side of the road to get a better look. I'm not exactly sure what happened but what I DO know is that I now need to repair my baby and perhaps upgrade some cogs while I'm at it.

The problem is that I am seriously uncomfortable with this particular repair and am not entirely sure what all I will need parts-wise. I'm guessing I should replace the chain and both front and rear sprockets?  I would consider doing this repair WITH someone, but would also consider taking it to the shop (er, rather, TOWING it to a shop) but I'm not sure how much this should cost and I think shop guys see a chick coming in with a moto a mile away and see dollar signs instead of a rider. Sooooo, I spose I'm looking for one of two things:

1) some one to help me get my bike back together
or
2) a general idea of what this would cost to repair at a shop (vs doing it "myself")

cool.

You're still alive, pat yourself on the back.

You have the balance, co-ordination, and ability to operate a motorcycle, congrats, you can FIX it then, too !

Can you please take close up pictures of your rear and front cogs, close enough for us to inspect them for missing teeth, general conditions, etc  ? Also, take some time to check out the front cog area for damage, the rear wheel, and everything within 20 inches.

The pictures will do alot of good to help point you to trouble spots.

You -can- fix it yourself, maybe get a buddy over to help support you with beer and jokes. Whatever, no need in paying a shop rediculouse rates, and as you've mentioned, you're female, so they might be jerks too.