First minor crash

[Barq]

Well I literally just got my gs on monday and I already had my first minor crash. I was riding down my street and came to a 90deg left turn. I must have fixated on the wrong exit point because I came out way to wide.
I ended up hopping over the small curb and then slipped on the mud. She fell over to the left as my rear tire swung out to the right. I was only going about 15mph and we both landed in the mud so I took only a few
bruises (my knee, and the tip of my left ring finger) yet here is my assessment of bike damage:

-Bent Handlebars
-Broken left bar end mirror
-Broken fork reflector
-Dented gas tank with some paint pealing
-Possible a bent axle bolt (Im not sure about this one so I included a pic, there is also a light grinding noise coming from the front brake pad when I push the bike around).

Since this was my first crash and I'm new to the bike world, is there anything else I should be looking for to get a better picture of damage and what i should replace? Also should i replace the handlebars just because they are bent or should I just bend them back.
Also, when I put her into winter storage what should I do about that paint chip in the gas tank so it doesn't rust. Any kind of insight would be helpful, thanks.
Here's some pictures to help you visualize the damage:

This first picture was taken with the fender being straight, so you can see the tire is turned to the left (or right when mounted on the bike).

[galahs]

You got out of it lightly but learnt a good lesson from it.

Ride on! 

[DoD#i]

Far more likely than a bent axle is twisted forks. The top triple has moved relative to the bottom one, causing the disagreement between the tire and fender - or at least that's my guess from your pictures.

Fortunately easy to fix - nothing really needs to be replaced for that, just loosened up, set straight, and tightened up.

As for bending the bars back, usually easier said than done.

[tt_four]

Hmm... I've done that one before. When I was new I was riding down a street where they were building houses. They had just paved the road and it had a slight curb on it since it was just a suburb road, so there was a good 1 foot drop on the other side of the curb. I looked to the right while I was riding down the street and stopped paying attention to where I was going, by the time I looked back it was too late to keep myself from hoping right over the curb and crash into the ditch. Luckily I was just on an '83 dual sport, not quite as clean as a new GS.

I wouldn't bend the bars back, especially considering you may tip the bike again. If they bother you and you have a hard time riding I would just replace them, otherwise I'd just stick with them until you feel comfortable enough to replace them, because they're going to bend every time you drop the bike. Same with the mirrors. My first bike had bent bars when I got it, and I never thought about changing them.

Like DoD#i said, nothing's probably bent on your front end, just needs reset. Let us know if you need more details on how you do that. For the gas tank, I'd just go to the store and get a little bottle of finger nail paint that's close and touch it up.

[Barq]

That was definitely the problem with the front end. So I straightened it out, put on the stock mirrors, and cleaned her up. For some reason (cold weather?) it was really hard to start. So i put on full choke to warm it up, and it would rev and hang at about 5k.
Also after taking it out i would put it down in 1st to make a U turn and it would hang at 4k when i let off the throttle, which scared the **** outa me. So i took it home and played with the idle and fixed it (i think). After again taking a ride down the street I noticed how hard it was trying to get into 4,5,6 gear. This was not an issue before I crashed, so I have no idea whats going on in there. Any thoughts?

[BaltimoreGS]

One consideration for riding with bent bars: You get used to the feeling of them.  I never replaced the bent bars on my SV after my wreck and have gotten used to riding with them.  Now when I hop on another bike the bars seem out of place/bent since I'm used to the SV.  I agree though, if the bend isn't severe just live with it until you build your skills.  Glad you learned from your mistake and weren't seriously hurt, happy riding!

-Jessie

[Andy13186]

probably didnt counter steer before entering the turn.. not sure though

i find that countersteering makes a big diff

if u want to turn left, turn right for a sec then left, helps u lean and get the correct path through the turn from what i can tell

[gregvhen]

New bars can be had for as little as 30 bucks. or less. and not just low quality ones neither. you can get a decent set of universals pretty cheap. What i wanna know is how the heck did all that get damaged from falling in mud? i would think the metal parts on the bike should be stronger than the soft ground. 

[JB848]

Glad you are OK. That being said. Take a riding course or something. If you can't negotiate a simple turn at low speed? Honestly you shouldn't ride a bike ever. Riding a bike is something that can't be taught. Granted you can improve skills by practice but either you have it or you don't.

It scares me to know that people like you ride motorcycles! Did you ever ride a bicycle? Fixation on a corner is the same in a car as it is on a bike. You should not ever ride again and I feel more sorry for that beautiful bike then I do for you.

[mister]

probably didnt counter steer before entering the turn.. not sure though

i find that countersteering makes a big diff

if u want to turn left, turn right for a sec then left, helps u lean and get the correct path through the turn from what i can tell

At 15mph countersteering will not have been in effect. At that speed it'd still be directional steering.

Barg:

Other damage will be scratches to the indicator covers. Maybe some scratches on the tail plastic. Depending on how the handlebars went, a miss-aligned headlight now as well.

As for handlebars.... logic might seem to suggest to keep the slightly bent ones and keep riding as you upgrade your skills. BUT, I say, piss off the bent handlebars and put on some proper straight ones. Otherwise, you'll get used to bent bars and that is how your skills will develop - with bent bars. Your posture will be slightly altered as well while you ride, with bent bars.

Clunking gears... check your gear change lever. Check your oil level. Check the clutch lever is pulling all the way in and the cable is also working correctly. Rule those out first.

Then practice NOT looking Down at the road surface and looking Ahead in the distance instead. Go to an industrial estate on the weekend - like a Sunday - and ride around and around doing U Turns and P Turns and left and right turns. Or go find a parking lot and just spend a few hours riding around it.

Oh... and if'n you're really really new to motorcycles... then leave the GS parked up, get your butt on a bicycle and spend a few days ingraining the rudimentaries of how two wheels works. Even if you know how they work, it's amazing what a day or two spent peddling can do for your technique if you're new or haven't ridden for a long time.

gregvhen:

Mud might be soft but it's not nothing nor is it bottomless. Even crashing into Water will cause damage as the faster moving object meets the stationary water and Resistance means something has to give.

Michael

[Andy13186]

^wrong - countersteering is defiantly in effect at 15 mph

its actually most noticeable/visible around 15 mph and initiates necessary lean

check out this vid 1 minute 50 seconds in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C848R9xWrjc  


best vid on counter steering i have seen

[mister]

Andy,

Watch the video again. Right at the beginning when he says... look, countersteering. Right after that, look at the front wheel. It visibly turns in the direction he wants to go. THAT is not possible at high speed, only at low speed. Because all he has shown is slow speed obstacle avoidance.

Try it yourself. Ride slow - say 10mph. Notice how the bike goes where you point the wheel.

Do the same at 15mph.

Then 20mph.

At some point you will see, as you try to turn the bike will go the other way.

Watch this video on it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVa2Ax-Dins

Each bike is different.

Now watch this video of police riding competition http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99KKx7cB-Ok and pay particular attention to how he leans the other way. When riding slow, better control is had leaning Out of the turn and Not into the turn.

Both of these points mean... at some point you need to stop leaning out and lean in and to stop turning in and turn out. If you mess it up right around the balance point where Your bike goes from one to the other, what happens is... you are leaning out while the bike also wants to go out. You drift wide in the corner at slow speed.

I bet That is what happened here. Right at the bike's point of not fully countersteering nor fully directional steering, with the wrong lean, drift wide and ouch.

Rectify = time spent on the bike riding at around those speeds - 2nd gear - around a parking lot to get the handling at that speed ingrained into the brain so it becomes more automatic.

Michael

[Andy13186]

what point in the vid are you reffering to?  i saw countersteering (slight wheel turn to 1 direction then actual turn with lean in the opposite) at all speeds in the vid and the vid explained that it does happen at all speeds

i have gone wide in a turn before because i was halfway through a turn, saw a water on the road and got the bike going straight again to avoid the water and lost all my lean, then found it impossible to start turning again without the lean, i would have tipped in the opposite direction i wanted to turn.. luckly there were no cars coming or anything , ever since starting paying more attention to countersteering i have not had a problem.. like the vid explains though u probably do it naturally

the vid you posted said it works from anything above 8-15 mph.. the vid i posted said it works at all speeds,  it seems to work for me at all speeds.  small counter steering cant hurt at low speeds imo, gives u lean, also gives you a little more room for your turning radius if your doing a u turn or something

i agree though with practice u can master it and find out what works for you

[mister]

what point in the vid are you reffering to?

the vid you posted said it works from anything above 8-15 mph.. the vid i posted said it works at all speeds,  it seems to work for me at all speeds.  small counter steering cant hurt at low speeds imo, gives u lean, also gives you a little more room for your turning radius if your doing a u turn or something

Obstacle Avoidance - that is, rapid directional changes / swerving - is done by counter steering at Any speed. A Sudden sharp push on the handlebar will force the bike to lean over onto the side you pushed from. The physics of a two-wheel vehicle will see the bike then go in that direction to maintain balance. That technique works at ALL speeds. That technique is what your video showed. That is not in debate. But understand this...

At slow speed riding the bike steers like a car... you turn the handlebars in the direction you want to go. If you want to go left you turn the handlebars left.

At highspeed, if you try to turn the handlebars left the bike will go right.

The technique is different.

At some point, there is a midway speed for that bike and how it is configured. Where turning the handlebars in the direction you want to go will have the Opposite effect. (We are NOT talking about obstacle avoidance here, just normal riding, ok).

Try it yourself. Get on your bike and ride slow. You will be turning the handlebars in the direction you want to go - and - you will go there. That's just how it is. You do NOT need to do a short sharp countersteer movement to initiate the turn/lean - you Can but you do not Have to, ok?

IF you are trying to control the bike using slow speed techniques - but - your speed is too high for them, you will run wide. Leaning Out of a corner works at slow speed. Leaning out at higher speed means you need a greater lean angle to complete the turn otherwise the turn will go wide. That's just the physics of the bike. That's why it's important for a pillion to lean with you and not against you.

Michael

[gregvhen]

probably didnt counter steer before entering the turn.. not sure though

i find that countersteering makes a big diff

if u want to turn left, turn right for a sec then left, helps u lean and get the correct path through the turn from what i can tell

gregvhen:

Mud might be soft but it's not nothing nor is it bottomless. Even crashing into Water will cause damage as the faster moving object meets the stationary water and Resistance means something has to give.

Michael

no crashing into water would not bend any of the metal at 15 mph.

[mister]

probably didnt counter steer before entering the turn.. not sure though

i find that countersteering makes a big diff

if u want to turn left, turn right for a sec then left, helps u lean and get the correct path through the turn from what i can tell

gregvhen:

Mud might be soft but it's not nothing nor is it bottomless. Even crashing into Water will cause damage as the faster moving object meets the stationary water and Resistance means something has to give.

Michael

no crashing into water would not bend any of the metal at 15 mph.

No. But there is a speed were crashing into water will bend the metal. Even though water will allow everything through it and has less resistance than mud, at sufficient enough speed metal will bend when it contacts.

That's all my point was... just cause it's mud doesn't mean no damage will result.

Michael