Crashed on third day of riding. - UPDATE w. DIAGRAM + PICS

[angusgst]

So, the other day I posted a thread on here asking for advice on a GS500 I was considering buying as my first bike. I bought it on Friday, and since then I've covered about 200k's (130ish miles) on it and had an enormous amount of fun. Unfortunately just three hours ago I had a momentary lapse of thought and crashed it.

In short, I was approaching an intersection to turn left onto the entry/exit lane of a two-lane 80km/h limit road, saw the car in front moving away, looked to my right to check for cars, then started moving before looking back in front of me. Alas the car in front decided to stop and I went straight into the back of it at maybe 10km/h. The reason the car in front stopped was because a car moved into entry/exit lane over 100m away from us. My response was to give it more throttle, the car driver's response was to stop.

When I hit the car the bike fell to the ground and I somehow ended up on my feet standing next to it. I figured I'd better get off the road, so I walked a few metres away to the side and stood around trying to get my breath back because the tank had hit me really hard in the balls. The lady in the car got out and was quite worried for me. She kept on asking if I was alright, I told her I was ok and took my gloves and helmet off. Some other people who'd seen the crash stopped to check if I was ok and helped me pick the bike up and move it to the side of the road.

There wasn't much damage to her car, so we swapped details and decided to sort it out next week. After that we had a look at my bike. There was minor fairing damage at the front and the left bar-end was very bent, but aside from that it was fine. It took a while to start though, I suspect because the carbs got flooded when it was on its side. The lady kindly followed me for a while to make sure my bike was running properly.

On the way home my balls and groin were hurting a fair bit. They were still sore an hour after I got home, so I decided to go to the doctor. Good news, my testicles are fine and it's probably just tendons in the groin swelling up. The doctor said they might be very sore for the next week or two.

Damage to the bike looks relatively minimal, the front fairing's snapped just under the light, and a few of the plastic pins holding it on further back towards the cockpit snapped as well. It's a bit loose but ok to ride with. The only other damage I've noticed so far is a tiny scrape on the front left indicator stalk and the aforementioned left bar end. No scratches on the engine-case or fairings.

So to summarise, I'll be a few hundred dollars out of pocket for the lady's car, an unknown amount for my bike, and be walking with a limp for the next week. I've been driving cars for over five years and never been at fault in an accident, it was just a complete noob mistake on my part and it's cost me.

Does anyone know of any links/sites which explain fairing removal and damage assessment for GS500's? I'll post pics of the bike some time tomorrow.

[madjak30]

Sorry to hear about your "oops"...pick up a Haynes or a Clymer manual for the bike...they are great info to have on the bikes and cover any repair you may need to perform on the bike.

I dropped mine twice in my first season...once on gravel (I was being an idiot trying to pull a 180...don't try it with street tires), and the other was in my driveway...couple of scratches in the gravel, and a broken signal lense in the driveway...no where near as expensive of a lesson as you are getting...

Good Luck!!

Later.

[lucifer_mr2]

Sorry to hear about the crash.

Quick tip I've found with the bike not starting. The carbs get drained when the bike is on it's side, if you put the tap onto PRI for about 15 seconds it should start up right away. Also might want to check you battery, you might be a bit low on electrolyte in a cell or two.

[Twisted]

Sorry to hear about your crash. Thing I noticed when I started riding was how much attention you have to pay to EVERYTHING. Not only do you have to think for yourself but for just about everyone else on the road. Also things seem to happen much faster on a bike.

If your farings are damaged and need repair you could go the naked option on your GS. Even if you do fix the farings up it might pay to leave them off for a bit till you are a bit more experienced. Might save yourself some cash that way.

[Mart3y]

Sucks about the crash, ive lost count of the amount of times i could have dropped mine, so i'm very happy i went with a naked (they are also cheaper than the faired) 

Here is 2 links for a genuine suzuki and haynes manual. I got a genuine suzuki one for download in a .pdf for about $25 for myself, then printed it at work and bound it, but i cant find the link for it anymore.
http://www.amazon.com/Suzuki-Factory-Service-2004-2009-99500-34097-03E/dp/B002PN6HZC
http://www.themotorbookstore.com/suzgs500etwi.html

-Mart3y

[The Buddha]

This is the reverse of me getting rear ended in june 2010. Glad to hear you're OK. I got squished under and was screaming for a few minutes to make sure she stopped and not keep driving over my bike and my foot.
Cool.
Buddha.

[weaselnoze]

glad to hear you're alright! i did the same exact thing a few years ago... gunned it right into the back of some guy's SUV.  i felt like a tard.  I didnt drop the bike surprisingly and there wasnt hardly any damage (except to my balls lol)

[mister]

Main thing. You are intact.

Second, you have now joined the other club - motorcycle riders who have come off as opposed to those who are Yet to come off. Good you got it over and done with early.

Statistically, you are more likely to have an Off on a new/new-to-you bike within the first 6 months and 8,000 clicks, regardless of riding experience. (You're new so you fit that stat. But an experienced rider is also more likely to have an off within that time frame as well on newly acquired bikes.). This is because, we begin to think we know all about the bike when we do not.

As Twisted said, you canNOT ride your bike like people drive their cars (switched off). You MUST be mentally present the Entire time. Making Constant adjustments to your position on the road, Constantly looking out for Hazards. If you haven't already seen them, watch the 4 Ride On videos for free here http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/publications/2005/ride_on_video.aspx

Lesson Learned: Don't assume that the vehicle in front has moved on, know for sure by watching them. Then, as you get close to the Line you are better able to make a decision about whether to proceed (the approaching vehicle may have increased speed, changed lines, the leaving vehicle may have stalled after moving off, or any other number of reasons. Sure, we like to save a few seconds by scanning what's coming even though other vehicles are blocking our path - then we get annoyed when they don't move into a gap we could have made easily. But as you NOW know, this can cause a crash.

This is also one reason why riders should leave a gap between them and the car in front that is bigger than you'd leave in a car. So you give yourself more leeway.

Something you'll need to check on the bike is the forks to make sure they aren't bent. Also, even if the handlebar is not bent Much, do replace it. Otherwise you'll adjust your posture to compensate and put varying stresses on your body. Plus, getting onto a bike without bent bars will then feel odd. For the sake of a hundred bucks or so, change the bars if they have a slight bend.

Michael

[lucifer_mr2]

CMC can get you a set of Ventura VH4's for about $60. Apart from drilling two small holes to locate the switch's it bolts right up.

[angusgst]

Thanks for all the replies. The crash was definitely a stupid moment from me, and it's made me realise how easily you can hurt yourself on a bike. Ironically I think it happened because I was paying *more* attention than usual, just to the wrong thing. I was focusing so much on the car entering the entry/exit lane to make sure I had enough space to pull out that I forgot to look right in front of me. I've made a paint-diagram of the crash which I've included below.

I can walk without discomfort now, although I'm getting a very dark bruise and slight swelling. Might see the doctor again about those. I haven't heard from the woman whose car I hit; it's a public holiday today so she won't have got a quote on the damage yet.

This-afternoon I turned to my bike to assess what was broken:

Left bar-end bent. It's only the screw though, so I'll just replace it.
Front fairing has a big crack in it underneath the headlight.
The headlight assembly/front fairing has a few snapped mounting points. They're all plastic and moulded with the rest of the pieces, so I might have to replace the whole lot.
The metal frame which supports the headlight/fairing assembly should be welded to the steering head. (I think that's what it's called.) The welds have snapped.
Forks might be bent.

I've ridden the bike three times after the accident for a total of about 40km. The front fairing/headlight assembly was obviously loose, and it turned out it was only being supported by its connections to the side fairings. The handling seems fine, although I probably wouldn't notice if it was only a little bit out. I'd like to ask people's advice about this one though:

From the photos below, do you think the forks are bent? With the naked eye it looks like they might be slightly, but it's very hard to tell.
If they are slightly bent, is this an issue in terms of handling? As above I haven't noticed any difference so far, but that might just be because I've only been riding for a few days.
If they are slightly bent, will the condition get worse? If so, will this happen gradually or could they fail catastrophically without warning?

Thanks heaps for all the comments and advice, it's been really encouraging. I've attached the photos and paint diagram below.

















This is an undamaged connection to compare with the other side:


The other side:

[mister]

Yup, your forks are bent.

If your forks are out of alignment, then you will find taking bends in one direction will be fine but the other direction could see your radius be a couple of meters out = drift to wrong side of road or off the road. So, yeah, the alignment and straightness of your forks is Very important.

If the woman gets back to you and your insurance will be paying, they might as well pay to repair your bike to. You'll drop down two ratings (rating one goes down to rating three) unless you have rating protection. But at least it will only cost you access. But, if you don't want to go that route, and figure fixing it yourself is a good learning experience, then start getting prices.

Michael

[mimikeni]

Sorry to hear about the accident.  I did that in a car once.  Thanks for not posting a picture of your swollen balls!

[angusgst]

Mister, thanks for pointing out the forks. I took them off tonight, and I'm getting them straightened in the next couple of days.

I've been looking into doing a naked conversion. Does anyone know of US suppliers who sell new Suzuki parts? The reason I ask is that the ausy dollar is incredibly strong at the moment, so buying from the US + shipping will probably be way cheaper than what I could get here. I've also been unable to find any used headlight assemblies in Canberra yet. Might try calling wreckers in Sydney some time.

[madjak30]

I would check at the Suzuki dealer, since the naked was available in Canada until 2009.  They may be able to get you the original parts...but why not use an aftermarket headlight and make it a little bit of a custom...just a suggestion, and it will probably be cheaper...

Oh, and it isn't that the Aussie and Canadian dollar are strong...the American dollar is weak right now because of the instability in your economy...our economies are just a little more stable than yours right now...

Later.

[rickyny]

Main thing. You are intact.

Second, you have now joined the other club - motorcycle riders who have come off as opposed to those who are Yet to come off. Good you got it over and done with early.

Statistically, you are more likely to have an Off on a new/new-to-you bike within the first 6 months and 8,000 clicks, regardless of riding experience. (You're new so you fit that stat. But an experienced rider is also more likely to have an off within that time frame as well on newly acquired bikes.). This is because, we begin to think we know all about the bike when we do not.

As Twisted said, you canNOT ride your bike like people drive their cars (switched off). You MUST be mentally present the Entire time. Making Constant adjustments to your position on the road, Constantly looking out for Hazards. If you haven't already seen them, watch the 4 Ride On videos for free here http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/publications/2005/ride_on_video.aspx

Lesson Learned: Don't assume that the vehicle in front has moved on, know for sure by watching them. Then, as you get close to the Line you are better able to make a decision about whether to proceed (the approaching vehicle may have increased speed, changed lines, the leaving vehicle may have stalled after moving off, or any other number of reasons. Sure, we like to save a few seconds by scanning what's coming even though other vehicles are blocking our path - then we get annoyed when they don't move into a gap we could have made easily. But as you NOW know, this can cause a crash.

This is also one reason why riders should leave a gap between them and the car in front that is bigger than you'd leave in a car. So you give yourself more leeway.

Something you'll need to check on the bike is the forks to make sure they aren't bent. Also, even if the handlebar is not bent Much, do replace it. Otherwise you'll adjust your posture to compensate and put varying stresses on your body. Plus, getting onto a bike without bent bars will then feel odd. For the sake of a hundred bucks or so, change the bars if they have a slight bend.

Michael

Thanks to the Australian Gov. for those outstanding videos!!