Cursing and Stomping!

[colobluefox]

I went on a really nice 2 hour ride this afternoon.  I had a great time and really enjoyed myself.  I got home and put the bike over on the side stand in the yard to let it cool before I roll it on the porch and cover it.  I went inside and took off my gear when I walked back out my '96 was laying flat on its left side. @%$#@

When I put it on the stand I wobbled it from side to side a few times to make sure it wouldn't sink in the grass and that it was stable.  Curse the fates and al gore.

Anyway now I have a broken clutch lever and slightly bent handle bars.

No problem with the clutch but I'm not sure what to do about the handle bars.

Anybody know how much trouble it is to replace the bars?  It doesn't look to bad, but I don't know what I am going to run into when I start to tear all the stuff off of them.

Thanks for listening to me rant a little bit.

[poolshark]

None, really. Time for some clubmans.

[coll0412]

You can by OEM through places like Bikebandit.com or you local dealer

YOu can by some Suburban Machinery bars that drop the height a bit

Or you can buy some generic Bikemaster bars and find one thats close to stock, do a search and you will probably even get a part number.

Last but not least, put a post up for some bars in the For Sale Section and someone on the forum might have some

[ashman]

Stock bars can be had off ebay for dirt cheap or off this board even. If the bend isnt too bad they can still be used, I was at Deals Gap, NC this Summer and had a whipe out and slightly bent my bars. Another GS member and I were able to bend them back to damn near perfect by sliding a socket into the end and yanking a cheater bar. I rode back home 800 miles no problem. Just FYI.

-Ash

[CBR JOCKEY]

I heard so many horror stories about bikes falling over like that.  I always carry a juice can lid under my seat just for parking on grass or hot ashfault heated by the afternoon sun.

[Sicarii]

Its not hard to take off the bars, just make sure you look at how the throttle goes together and you'll be fine.  When I did it on my 89 I zip tied the brake/mirrors and stuff temporarily to the headlight area so that it wouldn't get in the way while I was working with the bars.  I didn't have to replace the clutch lever but the brake lever was SO EASY.  It doesn't even connect directly to a cable, it just has a little prong that pushes the actuator.  One screw out, put in new handle, one screw back in.  Also, there are lots of handlebars that will work correcty.  My 89 has the clipons, and I found a pair of Hayabusa bars that were perfect.  They really don't look any different because they are 99% covered up by grips and switches.

[colobluefox]

I got my clutch lever this morning.  It took me longer to drive to the parts place and back then it did to put the lever on.  The only thing that I saw that might cause someone trouble is on the bottom side of the lever is the switch that won't let you start the bike until the lever is pulled.  That was no problem though two screws hold the switch on.  You just pull the two screws, the switch comes apart and you pull the little tab down, out of the slot in the clutch lever.  I had to use needle nose plyers to reach it but it came right out.

I tried a little to tweak the handle bars back straight, but I now think that they have been bent for awhile.  As hard a I pulled (with a cheater bar) they didn't budge so I don't think that they got bent from the bike falling over on grass.

These are the lessons that you have to learn.  Thats why I bought an older used bike to begin with.  I don't think that I want to learn these things on my brand new, $15,000 dream bike.  Whatever bike that ends up being.

Thanks again guys for all the support.

[jordan172005]

You should have probably put a small piece of 1"x4" or something under the sidestand so it wouldn't sink. Sorry to hear about what happened though. My friend didn't put my stand down all the way and he walked away and it fell over right on the concrete. Thankfully the only problem was a bent clutch lever but after trying to straighten it it's now a broken clutch lever. This is also my first bike so when I learn all the things to do and things not to do then I'll get a bigger and nicer bike... cough zx-14 cough

[spc]

Good plan Colo   I'm really sick of seeing gorgeous bikes obliterated by newbie riders    If I ever see a Newb down a Duc he better hope he dies in the crash   I've been down twice on the GS and both times very little damage was done in terms of cost to fix ( oddly neither time was my fault and I have the police reports to prove it )

[coolboarder]

Does anyone use the center stand?

I have a gravel parking lot that is very difficult to even ride through and I use the centerstand. After loads of time placing it up it became quite effortless.

[Rhandom]

I park my GS in a gravel driveway everyday, I often park in the grass or whatnot. I keep a crushed Coke Can under my seat and another one @ the house.. knock on cyberwood it's never fallen down or even pretended to, and we've had storms and wind.

Just take a soda can (not beer, that's a DUI offense) stomp on it so that it's flat and round and set the sidestand on it. never had a problem.

[Wrecent_Wryder]

O7