Ultra unplanned fenderectomy OR why to strap luggage properly

[510]

So, today I was traveling down I-5 to LA with my backpack tied to the backseat using tie-downs. They were almost perfect for the job, since they were easy to tighten and stuff. However, there was a _lot_ of it dangling off. I didn't think much of it so I tucked the extra part in and rode off.

Zoom forward to about 250 miles away from the Bay. I was thinking about stopping for gas, when all the sudden, the bike starts to slow down fast, make this metal jangling noise, and wobble like crazy. I managed to make it to the shoulder to see what was wrong with it.

Turns out that one of unused parts of the tie-downs managed to get caught in the sprocket side of the rear wheel. The force was so tremendous that it pulled the chain off the sproket, bent the left swingarm a bit, and it pulled the entire fender off, bolts and everything. Oh yeah, and the clutch felt mushy, like it wasn't pressing against anything... broken cable, I was thinking?

Well, Suzuki provides a toolkit with wrenches to fix things like this, so I was okay, right? Not really, since the tools were in the space between the seat and the... fender, which was now in the middle of a freeway. I managed to collect the license plate, after it was run over by 3 cars (still readable though). Ended up pushing it a few miles to the nearest gas station somewhere at the intersection of 5 and 52. Thankfully, some other riders were there and one dude managed to fix the sprocket for me with tools from his kit. He was nice enough to leave me a few wrenches.

There was still the matter of the clutch, which didn't work because shifting the bike would make it stall. It turns out that the force of the chain whipping off the rear sprocket was enough to bend and break the clutch pin, that little bar thingy that goes from the thing that holds the clutch cable to somewhere inside the transmission, near the front sprocket. Went to the gas station and bought some duct tape, which seemed to do the trick! I still cannot believe that these repairs were enough to get me the rest of the way here.

Much thanks to the guys from San Diego who were nice enough to help me out! Lesson of the day is... always make sure straps and stuff stay in place. Things could have been a LOT worse... like highsiding in the middle of a freeway.

[slowinthestraights]

When the chain snapped on mine, it broke the clutch push rod into 4 pieces and oil came FLOWING out of that hole. Wasn't too much fun, crappy design with the push rod right there, unprotected.

[Chuck]

You fixed your clutch pushrod with duct tape?

[Kasumi]

My bike tipped over on the curb two days ago, a classic case of stand not correctly seated. Like slow motion the bike went over and landed hard on the alternator cover and cracked it through and oil spilled out. I fixed it with decorating polyfiller got me home though now just need a new altinator cover

[simon79]

>510:

Congrats, you've been a very lucky guy. Things could've gone much worse.
Glad you came out unharmed and were able to ride home, even though on a limp bike.
Duct-tape-repaired clutch rod...I can feel a taste of McGyver

[bombadillo]

The guy I got my bike from did the same thing with some saddlebags that were not properly set on there and it flipped him, his passenger and the bike over at 60.  Nasty wreck!

[nazgulnarsil]

I secure things to the 4 tie points ad make sure theres nothing floppy. 
my saddlebags are attached to the passenger footpegs in front and the turn signals in the rear in addition to the bungie tie downs and each other.

im a safety saftey dork