Hi,
I laid down my GS500F in a gravel parking lot (very stupid thing.. had to do a u-turn.. thought of walking it around, then decided to try to ride it around.. and tires broke loose and low-sided the bike).
Doesn't seem to have major damage (was able to ride it back, and it felt pretty much the same).
Just wanted to know what I should possibly look for, or common things for very very low speed lowsides (I'll get some pictures). When it broke loose then grabbed I think max it could have gotten to was 5 - 10mph.. ..
It laid down on its left side, and clutch seemed fine when I came home too (and didn't seem bent, but maybe a little loose).
Let me know what to look for.. and I'll get some pics up soon (want to clean it a little..)
well the clutch lever wont bend, it'll break.
other than that, check your fairings, especially where they mount to the frame. check your gear for scuffs and scratches too... and check your pride, it may be scuffed as well.
Quote from: EclipseAgent on July 31, 2009, 09:41:08 PM
Hi,
I laid down my GS500F in a gravel parking lot (very stupid thing.. had to do a u-turn.. thought of walking it around, then decided to try to ride it around.. and tires broke loose and low-sided the bike).
Doesn't seem to have major damage (was able to ride it back, and it felt pretty much the same).
Just wanted to know what I should possibly look for, or common things for very very low speed lowsides (I'll get some pictures). When it broke loose then grabbed I think max it could have gotten to was 5 - 10mph.. ..
It laid down on its left side, and clutch seemed fine when I came home too (and didn't seem bent, but maybe a little loose).
Let me know what to look for.. and I'll get some pics up soon (want to clean it a little..)
it's fine. just ride it. your mirror may be off a little. or the bar end weight missing.. neither matter much.
i've thrown mine down on both sides a few times. just make sure you haven't cracked your gear selector or your peg at the welds. that would be really really bad in traffic
Left side you say...
Let's see.
Turn signal, shifter, bar end, fairings, handlebars, engine case.
That's the basics.
check for bent handle bars. That's what happened to me, but I went down on the right side, I did exactly the same thing as you.
Quote from: Dr.Sparkie on July 31, 2009, 10:28:42 PM
well the clutch lever wont bend, it'll break.
Eh, I'd beg to differ. The end of mine bent into pretty much a C when it fell off the improperly placed sidestand in the driveway. Tried to bend it back, eh, not the brightest idea. It's an easy swap out though.
Just check around on the bolts. Sometimes things get a little loose and going down loosens it up even more. I found this rolling down the road at about 40mph with no indication on the speedometer. My cable came loose and actually came completely off while driving. So just check around the bike with a socket set, make sure everything's still snug. Be sure not to over-torque it though! Sometimes you can crack the fairings, or even worse, twist off the head.
I second that clutch levers will bend as when i purchased mine it is defintely bent. I still ride with it bent since it seems normal to me since it was what i learned with.
+1 on bending levers, both of mine are more curved than Beyonce
Woo, it's true. I rode with it bent for a day but it was too uncomfortable for me, so I tried to bend it back with a long pipe, but I just ended snapping the little ball end off. I think I rode without the ball-end on the lever for probably 2-3weeks until I got my new lever, and I just swapped it out. Easy fix if it really matters to you. The broken end kept scratching me when I would clean it, so I got a replacement. I think for something like $8.
I rode the bike a bit on Sunday.. don't know if the turns to the right on 2 corners felt weird because of all the damn construction going on, or what.. But I laid the bike down on the left side..
Would it be common to lay the bike down on the left, and make the right turns / leans feel weird? Felt as though the bike wanted to turn harder and faster to that side..
Hm, I'd set it up on the centerstand on some level ground an make sure that everything's aligned correctly. I'm not sure if something like this can effect wheel balance or anything like that, maybe someone else has some input?
My first guess is that it's still mental that something's going on with the bike, and maybe you took the turn and just got nervous in the middle?
Otherwise your bars might be bent, and that threw you off some. Things can definitely bend and mess with the handling of your bike, but I have a really hard time imagining that you did anything that bad at 5-10 mph on gravel. Maybe your tires are low on air.
Lesson learned, always do a 180 degree burnout when you need to turn around in tight spaces, it's especially easy on gravel.