Low side fall at 30mph. Bike feels VERY shaky in turns.

[jasper1605]

As stated I had a low side fall on my way to class a month and a half ago.  Bike went down on the left side and cracked all my plastics, but still ran perfectly fine.  Now it feels very 'slick' in turns where I feel like the tires are sliding out on me even in moderate turning.  Suggestions on what to look for?  I'm not too skilled on mechanics things, but I'm more than willing to give it a shot w/ a guide.

Specs on bike
'07 gs500f
6000 miles
BT45 stock tires (could these be going out if it's slipping?)
Recommended maintenance schedule followed.

[Big Rich]

Check the date on your tires. They might be past their prime.

But it could be something else is out of wack - fork brace, bent forks, etc.

[codajastal]

Check tyres dates and tyre pressure?

[Paulcet]

What Big Rich said.

Further,  support the front with block of wood, jack-stands, etc.  Loosen all the bolts on the triples, axle and fork brace.  Let everything straighten out and retighten.

[jasper1605]

After much searching the tires are 12th week '06.  So from what I'm seeing online that puts them right about at the time to be changed?

Also, thanks for the tips and suggestions.  I really appreciate it

[wildcat333]

Can you tell us more about the accident? How did it happen in more detail? Gear on? You ok?

[jasper1605]

By an act of God Himself I'm fine (He works overtime w/ me haha)  I had on a full monty of riding gear to go w/ my scrubs.

Accident details
On my way from home to school on a 40 degree morning.  It's about 5 minutes of 40mph riding to get to the school.
There's a 90 degree left turn that I like to take quickly.
Went into the turn at 30mph in 4th gear (i believe) and scooped into the turn as per usual.
My mind realized that the body was leaning to far all of the sudden and that was when the bike slipped out.
Bike proceeded to go along the run and up over the curb lip where it stopped in some grass.

Best guess on cause: cold road.  I went back and meticulously checked the road for any oil, water, unevenness etc.. and found nothing. 

That was ~1.5 months ago now.  I now ride less aggressive in the turns because it feels a lot more slick.  I'll have to check into how to loosen all the bolts and such to let it settle.  Is there any way for me to verify if the rear tire is straight-aligned?

[Paulcet]

Some people use a string.  Some just sight through the chain (somehow, I don't know).  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBxK-OQ--fg

[adidasguy]

I agree. I would not like tires 6 years old. Probably hard and tread nearly gone.
To align the front, put on center stand. have a weight on the rear or hold up the front somehow.
Loosen the 4 triple bolts a little. Leave ONE tight so the front doesn't drop out.
Wiggle things a little so everything settles in and then re-tighten the 3 bolts.

Here in Seattle we have "black ice". That's where the pavement gets dew on it. Then it freezes. While air temperature may be 40* in the morning, the pavement can still be frozen with a very thin layer of ice. Especially in shaded areas that don't get the morning sun. You can't see the ice - its a thin film on the pavement. Any shaded or west facing hill I have to take slowly on mornings like that.

[Dr.McNinja]

I agree. I would not like tires 6 years old. Probably hard and tread nearly gone.
To align the front, put on center stand. have a weight on the rear or hold up the front somehow.
Loosen the 4 triple bolts a little. Leave ONE tight so the front doesn't drop out.
Wiggle things a little so everything settles in and then re-tighten the 3 bolts.

Here in Seattle we have "black ice". That's where the pavement gets dew on it. Then it freezes. While air temperature may be 40* in the morning, the pavement can still be frozen with a very thin layer of ice. Especially in shaded areas that don't get the morning sun. You can't see the ice - its a thin film on the pavement. Any shaded or west facing hill I have to take slowly on mornings like that.

In Vegas we don't get ice, but we get rain occasionally. The rain is deceptive because the ground looks wet but it's really just on the surface. The rain will bring out all the oils and with the short rain intervals the oils just sit there waiting to cause an accident. There's been a couple times my back tire has turned into an ice skate by accident when I downshifted bad and hit an oil patch. Never dropped my bike, close though.

After that I do all my downshifting in the rain after a complete stop.



As stated before I'd check your forks first. I had a friend low-side his GS500 DIRECTLY into a curb and completely bend his forks. He got new forks for something like $150 and it took us around 4 hours to get the forks installed and the bike tested because we ran into some complications (avoid bumping into the brake lever with the caliper off...). At the time we were both novice bike mechanics though. If you've got some more mechanical aptitude you might be able to get it done in ~1.5 hours. Swapping forks is pretty straight forward. The hardest part is getting the old broken ones off.


How early is that turn in your ride? Cold tires are like rocks. Even new ones. You shouldn't be aggressive on your bike until you're sure your tires are warmed up and even then if the asphalt isn't warm you're asking for trouble. As others have suggested, check your tires/pressures, measure tread depth, and decide if you need new tires. The Hayne's guide has all the measurements for you.

[jasper1605]

How early is that turn in your ride? Cold tires are like rocks. Even new ones. You shouldn't be aggressive on your bike until you're sure your tires are warmed up and even then if the asphalt isn't warm you're asking for trouble. As others have suggested, check your tires/pressures, measure tread depth, and decide if you need new tires. The Hayne's guide has all the measurements for you.

Yep, I learned that now haha.  It's only 5-10 minutes into the riding so not much.  Ah, and I just took a look at the Hayne's guide.  Looks like that will prove invaluable to have with the bike should I decide to tackle this bike after classes are over this summer. 

From what I'm gathering off of here with you guys/gals it sounds like I need to:
1. Check tires across the board and probably replace since they're 6 years old 
2. Check front and rear wheel alignment  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBxK-OQ--fg
3. Check forks  -- http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=25706.0  (good guide to go w/)?

As stated earlier, my mechanical abilities are just about non-existent. Are the 2 links I posted good things to with?  I know the alignment was one already posted in here and the other seems to be decent enough albeit time consuming.  And again, thanks for all the insightful tips; it's much appreciated!