My first small fall, an awful marsupial, and a janky fix with a spoon.

[mysho22]

The motorcycle tool you never knew you needed: disposable spoons.

The Fall and the Marsupial:

Last night, on my way home in the drizzle, I took a small tumble when my front wheel slipped on some train tracks at low speed. I was wearing all my gear, but as I just washed my textile riding pants I didn't have the armor in and my knee took a bit of a bang. Luckily the only part of me truly hurt was my pride, especially after I couldn't pick up my 96 GS500E, Goose, on my own and a passing 16-year-old kid had to help the poor, waterlogged lady on the side of the road to pick it up and bring it to the side.
This was no fun, but my partner quickly found me and we continued to ride the few blocks left to my house.
Apparently I did something to piss someone off and had just enough bad luck coming my way that the Attack of the Beady Eyed was soon afoot. As I tried to ride off the adrenaline of my first real fall and see through the darkness, my fogged visor, and the increasing rain, a possum dove for my front wheel.
For anyone who has not encountered a possum, let me describe this one to you. With two black, beady eyes that wish death and destruction on all those who are unfortunate enough to make eye contact, and four long, jagged teeth lining the front of a snarling, hissing mouth, the possum is the most rat-like and most awful of the marsupials. Sharp claws clang across any surface it may pass over, and though the soft looking white and black fur may fool you into perceived cuteness, the lengthy whip of a pink tail like an angered snake tells the true story. He must've been a foot and a half long or so with the tail, which may not seem menacing, but when they're darting for your front tire and seem to have been born out of thin air they can be pretty terrifying.
Possums can be cute, don't get me wrong. This one wasn't.
So in these less than optimal conditions, directly after a small fall when I certainly wasn't at my best, this traitor of a marsupial ran directly for me. Automatically I grabbed for my front brake, which I know I shouldn't have, but it gave enough time that the little attempted accident-starter turned around and ran off. I was later told by my partner riding behind me that he must have been within inches of my wheel. Certainly wasn't an experience I'd like to repeat anytime soon.

The Damage:

My small fall did damage my poor Goose. His handlebars are bent, front brake lever is scratched and bent, and I think the stator cover? is cracked.


Question: This is my stator cover, correct? If not, what it is so I can order a new one?

The Fix:

I bought handlebars, some oil (I was a bit low so filling up, and I'm do for a change in not too long), and some JB Weld and have started my working.
My bike is my main form of transportation, so I started my repairs tonight so it has time to set before tomorrow. My new handlebars will need some holes drilled in tomorrow morning, and I have an extra brake lever so that will be my project tomorrow. Tonight though, I decided to start working on my stator (?) casing that cracked and needed some JB weld. I took that off, but as I've never used JB weld before, wasn't sure how to mix or apply it. Cue disposable plates and spoons that happened to be in the tool shed.
I've gotta say, I'm a little proud of my janky fix. I'm hoping to purchase a stator cover to replace my old one if I can find one for very cheap, but until that point I'm okay with this mess. The spoons turned out to be great for mixing, spreading, and smoothing the jb weld, and since they were disposable I can just throw them all away when I'm finished.
The fix (so far) looks like this:



I will update tomorrow when I fix everything else, and will post a picture of the casing actually attached to my bike. For the morning though, I'll be stuck caging it to classes and paying for parking. *sigh*

[Watcher]

Oh man, well it's a good thing you didn't fall a second time from the attack of the beady eyed white devil, lol 

As someone who has also been on the ground in the rain, I'd advise you take it slow for few days.  The real pain might not set in quite a while, you're sure to feel more tomorrow.  I was lucky enough to have just a sprained wrist and a bruised shoulder, ATGATT.  The padding in your gear is pretty crucial for your gear to actually be, well, gear, and it sounds like you learned that the hard way...



That's actually the Signal Generator Cover (or the ignition cover), not the stator cover.  The stator/generator is on the other side and is oil holding, if you had cracked that cover you'd be out of commission until you got a replacement.
Since the cover you cracked is not oil holding, it's just a dust cover, unless you aren't satisfied with the battle scar you can put that repaired cover back on and just deal with it.  IIRC JBWeld is just a 1:1 mixture and like an hour setup, overnight cure.  I just used tape to cover the center hole where the Suzuki badge was, lol!




More pics from when I went down.  Sounds like yours wasn't quite as bad, mine was a low side in a curve going about 30mph.







I wish I could demonstrate it more to my students but the opportunity doesn't come up all that much, there is a right and wrong way to pick up a motorcycle.  Done correctly, even you (yes, you!) can pick up a big ol' Harley Davidson.

Rest up, and keep us updated with how you feel and how the bike repairs come along.

[J_Walker]

Lay your GS over on its side, an try to pick it up like in that video, IT DONT WORK. the GS is weird on its side... my SV650 you could lay over an pick up EZPZ. the GS... nope.jpg you just gotta strong arm it.. ironically enough the GS is easier to get upright when its in the dirt...

[ShowBizWolf]

Ugh, sorry to hear about this!!! Great write-up though... thank you for sharing your experience. I agree with Watcher, keep us posted on how you're feeling and the repairs.

I saw that video back when I was first learning to ride... it really is a helpful technique! My parents' driveway is pretty steep and all random-sized stones/gravel/rocks so I biffed it at least a couple times there. Extremely frustrating let alone when ya can't even pick the darn bike back up

If I'm remembering correctly I replaced that cover within the first year of getting my bike... it was all rashed etc and they aren't too terribly expensive... those side metal sticker/logo things are like 13-ish bucks though. When I ordered them I also bought a spare

Edit: I just looked it up and that cover on MotoSport is goin' for $36.11 ($7 less than I paid 5 years ago!! lol) and the sticker emblems are $13.50.

[Endopotential]

Sorry to hear about your accident...   but you do win the prize for best thread title I've seen in a long time! 

[rscottlow]

Ugh, sorry to hear about your tumble, but I'm glad to hear you're okay. I also covered that hole with duct tape when I dropped my GS in the driveway last year. I eventually forked over the $14 plus shipping for the Suzuki emblem, but I rode with tape over it for quite a while. Good luck getting everything back in order 

[mysho22]

Oh hey I actually got replies!

Thanks for all the tips! I think I'll keep my janky cover for a while and possibly buy a new one in the future if I care later.

The handlebars I bought were too tall so I have to get a different set Some of my cables just aren't long enough to reach.

But I did make some progress today putting things together and prepping for the new handlebars. Ahh! A headless Goose!

[Watcher]

That looks like a massive tank bag.  What do you use?

...  Unless it's just a tool bag, which might make more sense.

[SirHansford]

Glad you're OK aside from the brused ego.  But I think I've heard somewhere that there are 2 types of riders,  those who have gone down and those who will,  so don't be too hard on yourself.  Nice Mcguyvering ya got going on there haha.  By the way, I think it's really cool you're fixing it yourself!  Any gal that doesn't mind getting her hands dirty and turning some wrenches is AWESOME in my book.  I hope that didn't come off as chauvinist,  it's just that ya don't see it very often and it's refreshing.  Good luck with your repairs and getting the wheels spinning under ya again very soon!

[Watcher]

I've heard somewhere that there are 2 types of riders,  those who have gone down and those who will.

As a rule I despise that mode of thinking, but I think statistically it's true.

Took me like 5 years to finally hit the pavement, and the following year I had my first official drop.

[mysho22]

That looks like a massive tank bag.  What do you use?

Its a wolfman of some kind, I got it for free and its a great place to keep my necessaries, like a small first aid kit, a tiny tool kit, etc. It's juuuust too small for a binder, or I'd be able to tote around my stuff for classes in it as well.

But I think I've heard somewhere that there are 2 types of riders,  those who have gone down and those who will,  so don't be too hard on yourself.

I've heard this too, and I'm glad mine was only a tiny one! This is for sure a reminder to wear my damn gear all the time.

By the way, I think it's really cool you're fixing it yourself!  Any gal that doesn't mind getting her hands dirty and turning some wrenches is AWESOME in my book.

Thank you! One of my favorite things about motorcycles is that it taught me I CAN do this kind of stuff, and that its really not all that hard. I'm certainly not planning anything like an engine rebuild or another complicated thing like that, but switching handlebars and removing/jb welding a small cover is certainly something I can do.

[Torstein]

hope you get back on the road quickly!

[mysho22]

Update: The place I attempted to get new handlebars from ordered the wrong ones, then told me if I was to order them again I would have to pay for whatever came, whether they were the ones I asked for or not. Then, he told me to ask my boyfriend to do it for me and research to make sure they're the right kind, and when I told him I'd just order them online he told me to ask my boyfriend to do it for me. So now I don't have a bike until I can find cheap bars online, and I get to miss probably another week of riding. Ugh.

[qcbaker]

Update: The place I attempted to get new handlebars from ordered the wrong ones, then told me if I was to order them again I would have to pay for whatever came, whether they were the ones I asked for or not.

Where did you order your bars from? What the hell kind of business treats customers like this?

Then, he told me to ask my boyfriend to do it for me and research to make sure they're the right kind, and when I told him I'd just order them online he told me to ask my boyfriend to do it for me.

What a misogynist @$$hole... f%$k that guy. Get a refund and order bars somewhere else.

So now I don't have a bike until I can find cheap bars online, and I get to miss probably another week of riding. Ugh.

Order some superbike bars. They're close to stock, and cheap as hell:

http://www.bikebandit.com/bikemaster-superbike-handlebars

[ShowBizWolf]

Totally agree. Ugh I hate being treated like that sometimes... but it goes with the territory I guess

+1 for the superbike bars!!!

[mysho22]

Ordered the superbike bars! They'll hopefully be here in two days, I should be riding Sunday (when the rain stops, ugh). So close I can feel it....

The shop was a local place that has had a ton of problems for people in the past. The previous owners sold parts off a bike belonging to a friend of mine a few years ago while he had it in to be fixed, but we thought the new owners and new staff were better. Apparently not. They lost my business, and the business of my friends/bike fam.

But I'll be riding again soon and then everything will be okay!!

[qcbaker]

...
But I'll be riding again soon and then everything will be okay!!

Good to hear!

[Watcher]

Unless you need OEM parts, go to a shop called CycleGear (if they're in your area).

They usually will have things like brake pads, handlebars, oil, filters, grips, accessories, whatever IN STOCK and if not will order them in no time, and no matter which one I've gone to (I've been to 3 separate ones multiple times) the staff is always friendly and eager to help.

[qcbaker]

Unless you need OEM parts, go to a shop called CycleGear (if they're in your area).

They usually will have things like brake pads, handlebars, oil, filters, grips, accessories, whatever IN STOCK and if not will order them in no time, and no matter which one I've gone to (I've been to 3 separate ones multiple times) the staff is always friendly and eager to help.

+1. CycleGear is awesome. Bought a bunch of my gear there. I even returned a pair of gloves after I had worn them and they swapped them out for a different size for free.

[mysho22]

Unless you need OEM parts, go to a shop called CycleGear (if they're in your area).

They usually will have things like brake pads, handlebars, oil, filters, grips, accessories, whatever IN STOCK and if not will order them in no time, and no matter which one I've gone to (I've been to 3 separate ones multiple times) the staff is always friendly and eager to help.

Cycle Gear is great! The closest one is about 45 minutes away, so I go sometimes but the previous place was just easy and on my way between classes and home. I will definitely be visiting Cycle Gear more often now, though.