Well I've only had the bike now for a month and a half and I just took my first spill. It was definately a beginners mistake. I was doing some twisties feeling really confident leaning and transitioning, when I come around a curve at what I thought was too fast (wasn't looking into the turn) so I hit the brake and locked up the rear. I did everything that I was taught not to do in the MSF course and let off of the brake after it locked (you can probably see where this is going). Well needless to say the bike realigned and I did a flip landed on my helmet and slid for about 75 feet. Luckily I was wearing all of my safety gear and managed to walk away with minor road rash a sore neck and a very sore hip. All of the cars that drove by were very helpful. Now, flashback to yesterday. I dropped my helmet and cracked it, but at first really thought nothing of it. Later in ther day something was telling me to go get a new helmet, which I believe to be God's way of telling me I was to get a wakeup call today. So I went to the bike shop and bought a beautiful new Arai Profile Carr, and after landing on my head I have to say it was definately worth the $500 that I paid for it. The morasl of the story are be safe, wear protective gear, don't brake in corners(and if you do and lock the rear ride it out), always look into the turns, just lean, and pray to God to protect you. As for the bike I'm not sure how much it's going to cost to fix it.
Andrew
D'oh. Glad to hear your OK. Too bad about the helmets, though. Motorcycling's gonna get awful expensive if you keep going through helmets like that. :icon_mrgreen:
True. Almost as expensive as going through parts when I had my STi. I think I gonna have to claim this on my insurance so I will get the credit for the helmet. Also, I this the motor may be seized so the bike may be kaput.
Quote from: aaronstj on May 25, 2006, 01:30:31 PM
D'oh. Glad to hear your OK. Too bad about the helmets, though. Motorcycling's gonna get awful expensive if you keep going through helmets like that. :icon_mrgreen:
Going helmets AND motorcycle can get expensive.
Seriously though, glad you are ok.
Good to hear you're OK. I always hear gear more then pays for it's self on the first spill. :cheers:
good to hear you made it threw. 500 for a helment yikes .... seeing how your new to riding you might want to find some guys to ride with (even if they are 600's + ) and just ride some twiste with them . let them know your new and your looking for the saddle time so that you can ride on your own . i normaly ride with 900-1000 :) its great there like damn dude you know how to ride that bike ! .. i can give some of the 900's a run for there money in the twistes :)
Sure does. I landed on the helmet so the $500 I paid for the helmet was certainly a reasonable price for my life. Just wish I would have had it for more that a day.
Oh ... well glad you're OK. I been running about with no gear ... but I ride like an old man ...
Cool.
Srinath.
How can I tell if the engine is seized?
assuming it wont turn over when you push the start button. and you can't have it on the center stand in gear to turn the engine.
remove the ignition pickup cover (right hand side of engine) you should be able to turn the engine with a 18mm (19mm) wrench on the pick up. be sure not to turn the smaller bolt.
if the engine turns freely it has not "siezed"
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Glad your ok. how bad was the bike damaged, that you think the engine siezed ?
Glad to hear you walked away.... that was $500 well spent :thumb:
What other gear were you wearing?
Glad you're allright. 19mm wrench on the crank, and it can be seized and still crank when cold, it's when it warms up that the cleanances are taken up by the scoring of the cylinder and piston.
I was wearing Joe Rocket leather gloves, AGV mesh jacket, over the ankle leather boots, and jeans. I will now have to replace everything except for the glove and boots. I am now considering investing in some good leathers and pants. Since I didn't spend a whole lot of time on my legs the asphalt didn't get a chance to tear up the jeans too much but where it did contact it disenigrated them.
Sorry about your accident but the good think is that you came out with almost no dmg to you. . thats the important part
Glad to hear you are OK. Looking at the positives: You are OK, bike is insured, you are now a more experienced rider.
In that situation, just lean the bike some more, you are usually better off doing that than panicking and breaking. Worse scenario you will "low side" rather than "high side" with the later being a potentially more dangerous and painful proposition.
Cheers
Ok, so I can turn the nut backwards, but not forward :dunno_white:. If I turn it backward a little bit and try to crank it turns a little but get stuck right back where it was. Does this mean she dead?
The moral of the story is that if you flew 75 feet through the air, you need to slow your ass down until you get more experience.
It's meant to be rotated clockwise. Please don't rotate it the other way; bad. The tensioner is designed for one direction, and rotating it backwards messes with the slack and the timing of things, which could lead to other broken things.
Chances are that your motor is not seized. Maybe something else came loose, like a battery connection. Do you have lights?
Are the safety switches functioning?
Clutch safety switch?
Sidestand safety switch?
What else could have been damaged is the crash?
Whoa there chief. I learned my lesson. I was going around 20-30mph and I could have easily made the turn had I looked to the end of it and not been fixated on the gaurdrail and then just leaned instead of the no-no braking(that wasn't even as bad as the fact that I released the rear brake after it had locked up). Also, I didn't fly through the air I slid on the ground. It didn't help either that I was sliding downhill. So, I recognize what I did wrong and I know what I need to correct. It is more of an inexperience issue than a speed issue.
Alright then I believ she's spent.
Chances are that your motor is not seized. Maybe something else came loose, like a battery connection.
Do you have lights?
Are the safety switches functioning?
Clutch safety switch?
Sidestand safety switch?
What else could have been damaged is the crash?
Is the red running switch set to run?
It's possible the starter motor may have come loose, and is jamming the motor.
Glad you are ok!!!! Aint protective gear great!!!!!
Dont listen to corndog I think he has one stuck up his ass.
Quote from: scratch on May 25, 2006, 04:09:40 PM
Chances are that your motor is not seized. Maybe something else came loose, like a battery connection.
Do you have lights?
Are the safety switches functioning?
Clutch safety switch?
Sidestand safety switch?
What else could have been damaged is the crash?
Is the red running switch set to run?
It's possible the starter motor may have come loose, and is jamming the motor.
All the lights are working the kickstand is fine, the oil light is red. Here's the damage, front headlight case is all scraped up, handle bar is scraped up, dent in the tank, clutch lever broke free from the mount along with the mirror, other mirror is cracked, left peg is bent back, the case gaurd is scraped up, the spoeedo is trashed and thats about it. When I was trying to pull the crank forward it would not budge. Any other suggestions on what I can check? Oh, and I tried jumping it in case the battery was the problem.
Is it in gear?
If the clutch lever broke free, most likely that safety switch will not allow the motor to be started. Unless you can get it into neutral.
if that cluch lever borke up and away that might be one of your problems .. its not in gear is it ? ( i know it sounds stupid be we all over look the small things sometimes )
It is in neutral. I can hold the clutch lever and drepress it fully. Thats how I tried to start it.
hehe .. just an off the top of the wall kinda thing .. can you duck tape the cluch to the bar so you can maybe try to push start it ? i mean .. if its not trying to turn over . i'd try to push start it .. if the cluch is in but its not triping the switch then you might try to push start it if its still rideable in a safe mannor . did you lose any oil or any thing when you droped it .. check the oil lvl if its where its supose to be . then your probly fine . you just probly broke the trip switch in the cluch lever
no oil loss that i can see
500 on a helmet?? Yowzer! I thought 170 was a lot for a helmet! But like they said, what's your brain worth to you? ;)
Glad you're alright, and I hope you can find a way to get your GS back in shape! It'd be a shame to have one less on the road.
Yeow ... wait a sec here ...
You dump the bike ... OK you need to do these things before trying to start it ...
Drain the oil and change it, you may have gas in it.
Remove the spark plugs and turn it over by hand ... in gear with back wheel is fine for a start. Then try with starter.
Make sure gas in in the carbs ... drain it and fill with prime ... and check float levels.
Check air box for gas and make sure its drained out if its there.
Battery acid level check.
Brake fluid flush and re fill and bleed (though its more after starting but before riding)
Then try to start it.
If any of the checks fails ... you need to fix it before proceeding.
Cool.
Srinath.
yeah.. i highly doubt you seized the motor... to do that you woudl have to run out of oil or something....
If your cases are not cracked adn you're not leaking oil.... do what srinath says... its gotta be something popped off, out of gas, something... the chances of it being seized are slim
P.S. i dont really remember who it was... but sorry for the scolding you got about being new and taking corners too hard... accidents happen to everyone eventually (i'm free so far but its coming sooner or later). Just be glad you're alright and move on!
Glad to see you're ok... you could sell your messed up jeans at Structure/express men for like 200 bucks... try that on ebay and pay for another helmet!!! :icon_lol:
I'll just pedal themout of the back of my car in front of the mall. :laugh:
I'm not supposed to read stories like this when I'm thinking of buying my first bike :laugh:. Well glad to hear you are ok and have learned from it. I'll be sure to get the proper gear when the time comes for me to get my bike. Good luck with it all!
Quote from: aworkmon on May 25, 2006, 01:35:42 PM
True. Almost as expensive as going through parts when I had my STi. I think I gonna have to claim this on my insurance so I will get the credit for the helmet. Also, I this the motor may be seized so the bike may be kaput.
If you're only going to claim this on insurance for the credit of your helmet, I'd take a hard look at the financial realities of what an accident does to your insurance rates over a 3-5 year period. Even with a low deductible, you'll have trouble coming out on top with a $1000 claim.
I should get the 500 for the helmet and 1250 for the bike after the deductable, but we'll see. I am just ready to start riding again.
I don't see anything that would of caused your engine to seize...
And nothing that'll cost more than 250 bucks to get you riding again... well, another 120 on a helmet... so 250 bucks and you can be up on one again
I don't remember everything that happened, but I believe the bike may have been completely upside down at one point. Not sure if that could cause something to go wrong, just a guess.
Quote from: aworkmon on May 25, 2006, 04:02:36 PM
(that wasn't even as bad as the fact that I released the rear brake after it had locked up).
Refresh my memory, what ARE you supposed to do if you lock up the rear tire? If you don't let off the brake you will drop the bike.
You are supposed to ride it out and not let it go. After I didthat I should have just kept the bike square and applied the front brake harder. If I would have done that I wouldn't have wreck, but there are a lot of other factors too. If it locks up and you let go it instantly realigns itself and tosses you off just like me.
Well the verdict is in. She's totalled, but I have the option of keeping it as a salvage and trying to fix it or I can take the $650 that they clam its worth. It sucks!