GS vs. fence...fence won

[icius]

So it was a good plan, my wife and I both wanted to ride.  It had been quite a few years since either of us was on a bike.  The GS seemed like a great choice for us to get into ridiing seriously (we had both just taken the MSF course about 10 years ago and didn't ride since).  I've been riding quite a bit lately but my wife had only gotten on the bike once before.  Today she was going to go out for a practice session with her Dad.  Now, he has been riding since the wheels were made of stone, so she was in good hands...

I just got back from the hospital with a bruised and embarassed wife...thank God nothing worse.  She was wearing her gear.  She went to make a turn from a stop sign and pulled out a little hard, she started to take the turn too wide, froze on the throttle and went through that newbie mind melt that happens where you just don't know WTF to do.  So she hit a 6ft wood privacy fence at about 30mph.  Flew off the bike and hit lawn (better than road) and slid for about 20 ft. 

Nothing broken just some nice bruises and comments from nearly all the nurses that "you are going to be really sore tomorrow".  I really feel bad for her and I hope she is able to get back in the saddle and not be deterred by this for too long.  I did a similar thing actually during the MSF course 10 years ago.  It was a combination of target fixation and freezing on the throttle and I hit a high curb at about the same speed.  Did a front flip off the bike and landed on my feet of all things!  So I understand a little of what she went through. 

So the bike is not too bad off, mostly cosmetic stuff.  Both side fairings are shredded, a piece of fence speared the bike through the headlight and then the handlebars sandwiched the wood to the tank and the impact drove the wood into the tank.  So big dent in the tank.  Small dent in the exhaust.  The front forks and frame seem untouched surprisingly.  The front brake is not working.  I think all of the fluid leaked out. 

Here are the pictures to go with the story:




Notice that the wheel is facing straight forward but the front fairing is facing the camera...



A little souvenir from the fence...



Another view...



Dent in the tank...

So this is an '06 with 200 miles on it.  I have full coverage with I think a $200 deductible.  One problem is that my wife has neither her license or a permit.  So not sure how that affects our coverage.  She was going to get her permit on Monday with just a quick ride around the neighborhood today...

What would all of you do?  To be honest we both kind of like it naked.  I guess I should at least take it to the shop and get a quote to get it all back to original condition.  If it were an older used bike I might consider just keeping it naked and looking at Buell headlights and such, but it is so new...and financed I guess we should take it back to the way it was. 

Dunno, I'm going to sleep on it and hold my wife extra tight tonight.  That's a damn scary phone call to get....

[pantablo]

wow, hope your wife doesnt hurt too bad tomorrow. glad she wasnt hurt badly.

bike...well, if you're really in love with the fairings fix as little as you can get away with immediately, just to get riding again. then keep an eye out here and on ebay for fairings.

if you're not in love with the fiarings, just go naked with it.

[annguyen1981]

Pantablo means make the GS go naked...  Not yourselves.


I'm glad that's the extent of your wife's injuries.

[pandy]

SO glad your wife wasn't hurt worse. She's going to likely be MEGA sore tomorrow. Do you have some anti-inflammatories in stock (and Vicodin???)?

As for your poor GS... If the insurance company writes it off completely, perhaps you can buy it back cheaply, ride nekkid 'til you've both practiced a lot, and bank the rest of the $ for another used, nekkid GS so you two can ride together? 

[Turd Ferguson]

Glad everyone is okay.  Ride safe...get the proper training before putting yourselves and others in danger.  What if that fence happened to be a 5 year old?  Stranger things have happened.

On a lighter note...Naked bikes = super sexy.  Here's my 05 after I removed the fairings and eBay'ed the hell out of em'.



-Turd.

[FearedGS500]

glad shes ok . they will probly write the bike off if they cover it . (causin had an 06 and crashed it . bent the front forks and the wrote it off .. then he went and got a gsxr-600  ) an option you might do is take her to get the perment then clame it .. ..... dont know how that would work

[scratch]

Hope your wife feels okay.  And, heals up quick and well.

Find out what the insurance will cover, if they will cover everything, have them fix it back to stock, if not, go naked.

[icius]

Thanks for the kind words, I will convey them to my wife.  She's pretty sore, but they did provide prescription Motrin and Vicadin for her. 

I couldn't help but wrench a little on the bike tonight just to see what the damage was.  Here is the GS in all its naked glory...



After removing all the junk from the front of the bike I examined where that front fairing/headlight frame connects to the main frame.  Pretty bent up,  I think this is the piece that took the brunt of the impact.  Since this is welded to the main frame, this looks like the kind of damage that could total it.  To get it back to original they woud probably have to replace the whole frame?  Here is a picture of it looking straight on at the front of the bike.



Also, I have no front brake.  When I squeeze the lever, brake fluid squirts out of the area I have circled below.  I tried to tighten the nut at the end of this, but no difference.  Not sure if this is supposed to be bent or not.  This picture is of the end of the brake fluid reservoir on the handle bar.



Also, how in the heck to you tigten the throttle/start switch/kill switch assembly to the handle bar?  It is spinning pretty freely right now but there doesn't seem to be an obvious screw or anything to tighten it down.

[blue05twin]

Whoa, glad your wife is only going to be sore, thank god she didn't get hurt worse than she did.  Hope she heals up fast.

I'm not an insurance adjuster but I think by the pic's they are going to total your bike.  If they do I would just take the money and get another new bike. 

[LimaXray]

Glad to hear she's ok.  She's really lucky those wooden splinters only get stuck in the fairing 

That upper fairing mounting tab does look like it's bent or its weld is damaged.  It *could* be straightened and rewelded as it doesn't support any significant load, but I doubt the insurance company will want to do that.   So on that alone I bet they'll total it.

The banjo fitting should be bent slightly, so that looks fine.  If that bolt got loosened at all it will leak; it needs to be *really* torqued down, although I'm not sure of the torque specs.  If it's still no good, I'd bet the banjo bolt is bent or deformed in some way.  Hey, it's a good excuse to get a braided front brake line.

The controls are kept from rotating on the bar by a little plastic tab that goes into a hole in the bar.  If that plastic tab breaks, they move around freely.  There are plenty of creative ways to fix this, such as double sided tape or perhaps making a new tab with a small screw.

In any case, I'm sure they'll total it.  If they do, you can buy it back from them as salvage for cheap.  Depending on your state laws, you might be able to fix it up and retitle it.  The bike looks fine for a naked conversion, no need for that tab on the stem, get a new headlight and mirrors, get a new brake line, and fix those controls and you'll be all set.

[icius]

Those sound like some great plans, except the bike is financed.  Now I haven't dealt with a totalled a vehicle before, but I'm guessing that they won't give you more than MSRP for it.  Kelly Blue Book says the bike should Retail for $4030.00.  Which is of course less than I paid for it    So I'm guessing if they total it that all of the money will go to the bank, plus I'll still owe them some and I'll have no bike to show for it.

[annguyen1981]

Actually, the insurance companies WILL NOT GIVE you the kbb or NADA value.

They have something different called the Actual Market Value.  It's more than KBB & NADA.  My first car ('93 Chevy Blazer) got totaled.  The value from KBB was $2500.  The insurance gave me $3800 for it.

[Alphamazing]

First, glad the wife is okay.

Second, the bike is totaled, as mentioned earlier in this thread. They should write you a pretty nice check for it, which you should then turn around and spend part of it buying the bike back. Use the rest of the check to take a serious chunk out of the payment.

Spend a little bit gettnig a headlight and mirrors and make that bike a naked bike. Use it to get yourselves aclimated to riding and ingrain the necessary skills into your brain. Then use it as a rack bike if you are so inclined, or sell it.

Basically you won't come out ahead no matter what. The bike got crashed, money now has to be spent. Sucks.

[jackiei26]

Im glad to hear that ur wife is fine.  Out of curiousity...was she making a right turn?

[icius]

Actually, she was making a left turn.  It was a right angle left turn from a stop sign.  She stalled the bike on her first attempt so I think she got on the gas a little to not do so again.  From there things just snowballed. 

[calamari]

how much are you selling that car again? and where are you at.

glad your wife is doing great.

[icius]

I wondered if someone might ask about the car.  Not intentional I assure you.  If anyone is curious, yes I'm selling it.  You can get more info here:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=207182049

[starwalt]

Also, I have no front brake.  When I squeeze the lever, brake fluid squirts out of the area I have circled below.  I tried to tighten the nut at the end of this, but no difference.  Not sure if this is supposed to be bent or not.  This picture is of the end of the brake fluid reservoir on the handle bar.

There are two copper crush washers in the brake assembly, one on each side of the banjo bolt (that you tightend). Perhaps one of the washers has cracked OR the banjo cracked and is allowing the brake fluid to leak. The bend looks a little severe to me, but then I am accustomed to the pre-96 era brakes.

Copper crush washers should not be re-used and discarded when the bolt is removed. They are cheap enough and could be found at a hydraulic hose dealer or just bite the bullet and get 'em from a Suz dealer/part seller.

If the weld's are not broken on the front mount, you probably can hammer the mount to close to proper position. It will take time and some judicious wrenching and shopping.

You are kinda painted into a corner with your wife being a non-licensed rider. Did she even have her learner's permit? In SCarolina, all we have to do is take a computer test and it's a done deal. No pre d-awn post dark riding though.

Who's paying for the busted fence (besides your wife's pain)?  If you file for the bike damage, since the bike is so new, they may pay to have the repairs made and just amp your premiums till it hurts. You are probably looking at less than $1k parts with all new stuff -- as long as you don't have to reweld, etc.

Messy situation for sure.  Shame I don't have any late model parts to help.

[TarzanBoy]

Holy crap... that fence totally owned that GS.  Tears are falling from my eyes

[maxtrucker]

I'm curious as to why everyone seems to be avoiding the REAL issues here, which have little to do with the injuries to your wife, or the damage to the fence and motorcycle... Yes, your wife has been injured, so there will be doctor and hospital bills. Yes, she damaged private property, and that will add to the expense, and yes, a new motorcycle got wrecked for no good reason, but that isn't ALL that took place...

That chunk of wood could've just as easily impaled HER, instead of the lower fairing section, so I really do hope you're going to hold her tightly... this could have been SO much worse, and you're really damn lucky you aren't preparing to bury her later this week. If she had been killed, you and her father might be facing charges of criminal negligence; if someone else had been injured or killed, all three of you could be charged...

You told us you've been riding the motorcycle recently; you two should have been practicing in a parking lot for a few hours each night the last few weeks, preparing her for this ride. Since you have more seat time than she does (limited though it might be), you should have been coaching her, to help her prepare for a street ride. Of course, you should have ALSO made sure that she was at least riding with a permit, but I guess it is OK to let UNLICENSED riders take to the streets if we are willing to pretend that the rest of the world is made out of foam rubber, and that being QUALIFIED to ride on the street is a matter of individual interpretation, not a matter of law. I don't know the laws in Pennsylvania, but the property owner whose fence was ruined might decide to escalate this, so try not to act TOO surprised to see your wife standing in front of a judge sooner or later... I'd imagine the statute of limitations will expire in about three years, so I'd suggest keeping a low-profile in the meantime.

To quote you, you've told us that you've "...been riding quite a bit lately...", but your wife "...had only gotten on the bike once before", yet she was RIDING IN TRAFFIC? What if she'd stuffed herself under an 18-wheeler? Am I missing something here? If I've read your posts correctly, your wife rode ON THE STREET without even having a permit, and had only ridden the GS once previously, which is incredibly irresponsible at the least; even worse, no one else did anything to STOP her from riding in traffic. In what way was she QUALIFIED to be riding on the street? Do you really think that just because she took the MSF course TEN YEARS AGO, she was actually PREPARED for dealing with traffic, obstacles, and road hazards, all while riding a motorcycle she wasn't really familiar with?

Let's see, 200 miles on the motorcycle; how many miles did she ride it before hitting the fence? My guess is, not very many... ANOTHER unlicensed rider wrecks ANOTHER brand-new motorcycle, destroys property, and suffers physical injuries; film at 11... This is an OLD story, repeated too many times to count, and now she's added to the statistics...

For some reason, you seem to think that your wife was in no danger because she was riding with her dad, but I hope you'll explain this to us; was he supposed to jump in front of the GS and block her from crashing into the fence, or was he supposed to catch her before she hit the ground? A magician might be able to pull a rabbit out of his ass, but I don't think even a magician could have prevented THIS accident. Of course, it COULD have been EASILY prevented, simply by not doing something so incredibly stupid and irresponsible in the first place, but after reading your original post, it seems that would have been too much to expect.

You can learn several lessons from this, or not; no one can force you to learn a damn thing if you simply want to pretend this wasn't compounded by some incredibly stupid choices you all made. Smart people do stupid shaZam! all the time; sometimes, the Grim Reaper steps in to punish people, and all the survivors have left are memories and tears...

Your wife is going to have to cope with the physical pain, and the psychological damage she's suffered, but at least she isn't lying in a cold morgue, waiting for the coroner to arrive Monday morning... hold her REAL tightly, and be thankful you still have her to hold at all.