Yep, I went down today.  Riding in the SoCal canyons with a chick on a CBR600F4i.  Ride was going well.  Did a bunch of twisties, had breakfast, and was going back to the highway thru another set of canyons.. I must have fixated on the damn soft dirt shoulder, and that's where I went.  Pissed me off; I was having such a good run, leaning it like crazy, etc.

Damage to the bike:

Tach cable came loose.  (Fixed)
Speedo cable broken (need to get one)
Dent in tank on left side of bike
Bars slightly bent on left

So I need a new speedo cable, and new bars.

I assume I can get the cable thru a dealer or shop around here.  Any other places I should look?

EDIT:  Shop in the area has one in stock, 19.50.  I'm gonna go get it.  Anybody know how hard it is to install on the wheel??  On the speedo is just a screw on I guess...

Bars?  I assume everyone's gonna tell me to go with Suburban Machinery bars?  Anything else I should check out for bars?  Suggestions?

Going down SUCKS!

I'm fine, just a scraped/bruised knee, and a badly bruised ego (riding with a chick on a fast bike, and I go down!)  The chick was wicked cool about it, and that's one of the reasons I rode with her in the first place; her head is on her shoulders (shows up in full leathers, etc)

Gear is good people.... and look THRU THE DAMN TURN!!!  



Keep the rubber side down....

Chicks dig scars.  Don't worry.  Everyone goes down.  As long as there's no broken bones, I'd be feeling more lucky than ashamed.  

Glad you're okay.

on a budget I'd look to flandersco.com for superbike bars (not as extreme as drag bars but lower than stock. Probably under $30.

Was that chick wearing Alpinestars leathers and on a red/black cbr? If so she might have been the girl I met up there a while back-she is parts manager at Cal Coast Motorsports in Ventura and gave me a discount on my Alpinestars leather pants...wicked rider too.

Sorry to hear of your get-off but glad you're not hurt. What canyon did you biff it on? And what other canyons did you ride? Try Latigo? Piuma is my favorite.

Nope, she's unemployed, and wore a full Dainese leather suit, Sidi boots, gloves, and a red Arai helmet.  Cool girl.  

We rode Telegraph thru Otay Lakes, and North and ended up near the 8 in Alpine.  I went down about 4 miles before the 8.  Luckily it wasn't that far to a gas station, I was a bit shaken.

I'll check out the bars.  Thanks!

Quote from: rprataNope, she's unemployed, and wore a full Dainese leather suit, Sidi boots, gloves, and a red Arai helmet.  Cool girl.  

We rode Telegraph thru Otay Lakes, and North and ended up near the 8 in Alpine.  I went down about 4 miles before the 8.  Luckily it wasn't that far to a gas station, I was a bit shaken.

I'll check out the bars.  Thanks!

MY BAD...Read SoCal canyons and thought you were up in my neck of the woods...

Glad you are alright.
Crashing bites.  :x

Nope, this was pretty far south.  Almost to the border (Tecate) South!

Very happy to hear YOU are ok!  Take care- fix up the bike, shake it off and ride another day!  

Wow it sounds like both you and your bike faired pretty well.
It is true the GS crashes well.
I have to put in a vote for $15 drag bars from  AZmotorsports.

I'm glad you're okay!!! Too many people from this board (myself included) have been going down. Enough already!  

[soapbox_mode=on]  

From an old-timer: STOP having all these accidents, guys!!!   You're gonna get seriously hurt.  I have ridden for 26 years without so much as a fender-bender.  It really distresses me to see all these posts about accidents.  I realize the GS is often the province of first-time bikers, but there's no reason for accidents even so.  If you find yourself going off the road in the twisties, you really need more practice -- go to a big shopping mall parking lot at the crack of dawn on a Sunday morning and work on your chops at all speeds.   Get that head looking THROUGH the turn -- I'm sure you've noticed the extreme head-swivelling that goes on in Supersport racing -- they do it for a reason!  

The GS is dangerous in at least one sense: it doesn't really make enough power to "squirt" out of trouble, as one can do on a sport bike.  However, the brakes are exceptional for a small twin, and as long as you don't go locking wheels up you should be able to rely on them.  They're a far cry from the brakes on the Norton Commando I piloted way back when.  Edicts:

1. always, always dress in full protective gear ... no exceptions
2. be alert and always have a reason for what you are doing -- e.g., your placement in the lane at every given moment should be purposeful
3. ROADCRAFT!!!  take great pride in riding with smooth, surgical precision

[soapbox_mode=off]  

ehehehe  I know the head looking thing becomes a habit.  I was watching "Top Speed" at IMAX and every time the camera was in the car I was keeping my Head level with the road and looking through the turn.  my Girlfriend started laughing at me. (but I never got dizzy-she did)    

Dont worry about it too much, everyone makes mistakes.  The only way that this would really hurt you is if you didn't learn from it.  So as long as you learned something.  

Glad you're O.K.

What kind of bars do you want? Stock? More sporty? More comfy?
Stock - I saw a pair in the Buy/trade/sell forum.
Sporty - Everybody else know's more than me.
Comfy - Honda 750 Nighthawk bars are 2" taller and inexpensive as are Buell Thunderbolt bars.

Well, I thought the 750 Nighthawk bars were inexpensive. I thought I saw them somewhere for $20 new, when I started looking for something more comfortable for myself. I found the Buell Thunderbolt bars for $35 at SuburbanHarley.com. They're taller, and more narrow. Here's the stats: 6" height, 26" width, 8.5" sweep/pullback, 6" center, 3" x 4 3/4" clamp area. Stock is: 3.5 height, 27.5" width, 7.5" sweep, same center and clamp dimensions.