Been riding for almost 5 years now, rain or shine, currently don't own a car, ATGATT, went down on the way to work today.

Rainy, I live nearby a quarry and take a curvy frontage road to the interstate to get to work every day.  Today was a day just like any other, halfway through a curve the front end washes out on me, HARD.
I hit the pavement and slide with my bike across the oncoming lane and into the grass shoulder.  I landed on my right knee, and slid on my hands and knees for a second, but I tumbled and ended up lying on my back.

The short story is I'm ok.  My gear weathered the road EXTREMELY well, I'm actually quite amazed.  I have a sore wrist and shoulder and a small abrasion on my knee, but after a checkup by paramedics I declined a trip to the hospital.  Nothing is broken.  I also called in for a day off work.  Even if I had alternate transportation I wouldn't go in, the last thing my wrist and shoulder need to do right now is push and lift stuff.


But anyway, my bike.  She slid on the right side and the cover for the ignition is really damaged.  She's not leaking gas or oil, and in fact I rode her home under a police escort since it only happened about a mile from home.  She's really dirty from playing in the mud, but it's raining right now and I left her outside to clean off.  I'll get pictures up once it dries out.
The real extent of the damage and what makes her unridable is all in the bars.  The bars themselves are bent, my brake lever is bent and overall damaged (but so far the perch seems ok), and I haven't had time to inspect the mirrors to see if they need replacing but they are all spun about.  But what I am worried about is the front end.  Visually the rear end looks to still be in alignment, but I'll double check that when I have a chance.  The bike seemed to track straight, but I wasn't about to "no-hander" after an accident and with cops around me to see if it was still stable.  But I can't tell if it's just the bent bars or if the forks are off.  It looks like the front end (judging by the triple clamp) now slightly turned to the right to go straight, but it could just be an illusion from the bent bars.
Is there a quick and easy, and most importantly cheap, way to check front end alignment?  I know you can't put a price on safety, but I don't have a lot of money now and since it's my only vehicle I can't really afford to have her stay down for long.
I'm off between now and Tuesday, so I have plenty of time to work on the bike.  I have the factory bars and levers, and mirrors are cheap if I need those, so I can have her back on the road in a matter or hours, honestly, as long as the front end isn't out of spec.

I have a friend I've been talking to who is selling a car for mega cheap, but it's still expensive enough where if I got the car now I'd have to sell the bike and I know selling a crashed bike isn't going to return me hardly any money on my investment.  I'd also end up bikeless for the rest of the year.  I'm having a hard time saving money in my current state of life and my credit is shot so financing isn't really an option...
I'd rather not let it come to that, but if the bike needs professional work I just don't have the time or money for it.

Man that sucks.
Take care and get better.
Cool.
Buddha.

wow that does suck. heres hoping for the best

Thanks for the best wishes, guys.

Good thing you were wearing your gear and that a car wasn't coming the other way.

If you want to really check things out pull the forks off and hold a straight edge to them.

Or you could just loosen the fender brace, axle, and triple clamps. Then stand at the front of your bike straddling the wheel (squeezing with your knees to hold it still) and jerk the bars back and forth a few times. Sometimes nothing is bent, but everything is bound up, and doing this will straighten it out.

Glad you're mostly ok.  Your soreness will be worse tomorrow and Sunday.  I went down similar to yours a few months back.
I agree with the above comment of just loosen it up and wiggle a little and tighten up again to see if that 'fixes' it.
Definitely pull the bars off and get a 'clean' look at the forks. 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/300604401466?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_5211wt_1221

just in case for next time.

Watcher, feel better soon!! I hope it all works out for you, good luck!

Sorry to hear the you went down. You'll probably feel worse for a couple of days and then it gets better. Having done similar things when I was (a lot) younger, I wish you the best. And it does get better.

As for your bike, a while ago I (well the bike) got hit and knocked over in a car park. Someone tried to park on top of it. Fortunately no-one was hurt and there was only damage to the bike, mainly the handlebars were bent and the brake lever too. You seem to have suffered much the same. The bars were fairly easily replaced and were not too expensive. If there was any damage to the front end then I suspect you would have felt it as you rode home, but remember that bent handlebars can distort your sense of feel. The tips here about alignment checks and visual inspection are really useful, so definitely follow those.

Good luck.

You might want to take the rotor cover off and make sure no debris is loose inside.

(experience)

Good to see you're ok.

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

I'll be sure to take off the timing cover and clean it out if it's dirty.  I also was smart enough to save the stock bars and levers after going for aftermarkets so once I feel strong enough to turn a wrench I can get the bike back to ridable in no time.

I'll be sure to heed the advice for "resetting" the forks, as well.  Visually they don't look damaged, they look parallel left/right and straight with the tubes above the clamps, and they didn't feel any different on the ride home which did involve going over train tracks.
I'll still put a straight edge to them, but I'm thinking they are true.  If anything maybe they shifted in the clamps.


As for me, I felt terrible this morning and took some pain pills (something I almost never do), but I haven't medicated since.
Wrapped my wrist, took it easy.  Spent the day inside on the PC playing videogames and such.
Now I feel quite a bit better.  My wrist only hurts "when I do this", and my shoulder feels more like it had a lot of pulled muscles than anything else.  Like a major charlie horse.  No constant pain, hurts when I raise my arm, but if I go slow and stretch it it feels better.
I've been exercising it slowly and my dexterity is improving.  My ability to work might suffer for a few days but I think I'll be back to 100% within a week or so.  Wrist might take longer.



In case you guys were interested here is the condition of my riding gear.



ATGATT people.  My gear held up EXTREMELY well.  Had I not been wearing FULL GEAR (helmet, jacket, pants, gloves, boots) I can say with confidence I would have ridden in an ambulance and be in a LOT more pain right now.

Don't forget pants for your gear.  If you are helmet+gloves+jacket then pants aren't far off, just spend the extra $150 and get some.
Of all the things the right knee of my pants is the most torn up.  It has a lot of strong materials there in addition to a D3O armor insert.  If I was without those I most possibly would have broken my kneecap and I'd be missing a lot of skin.
I have nothing broken, I have not drawn blood.  Initially my palms and knee hurt from landing and sliding on them, my wrist and shoulder only began to hurt minutes later.  The materials themselves let me walk away without road rash, and the padding in the knees, elbows, shoulders, and back for sure saved me from severe internal injuries.
Gear up people.  It WILL save you.

Watcher, going to go buy some pants right now. Even if I'm going to look stupid as hell dressed for racing on a GS 

If youre hard up for cash and need a set of bars, some 7/8" OD black iron pipe from the local home depot can get you by. Wont look great, but it looks like you have the E model, so no fairings to clear.
Good luck, hope you recover without permanent disability

Quote from: mennobike on September 13, 2015, 12:20:52 PM
Watcher, going to go buy some pants right now. Even if I'm going to look stupid as hell dressed for racing on a GS 

It's not about how good you look, it's about being prepared.  Cars have airbags, seatbelts, and a steel exoskeleton.  Bikes have... the gear you choose to wear.





At any rate, I think being all geared up looks cool. 
At work I get 50/50 people that question the hell out of me for gearing up and call me batman and people that think I'm the smartest guy on the road. 
Good on you for "seeing the light".

Quote from: W201028 on September 13, 2015, 03:36:01 PM
If youre hard up for cash and need a set of bars, some 7/8" OD black iron pipe from the local home depot can get you by. Wont look great, but it looks like you have the E model, so no fairings to clear.
Good luck, hope you recover without permanent disability

In case you overlooked it, I still have the factory bars and levers.  No cost will be needed to replace the upper controls.  The only money needed to get the bike back to 100% will be the timing cover and forks if they turn out to be bent.  All indications so far aren't showing any fork damage.  Won't know for sure until I start wrenching.

I agree with you 100% on the gear.  After addidasguy passed, I decided that protective gear wasn't enough; visibility seems to be another key to survival. 

I purchased this vest:
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/revit-athos-air-vest

And these LED blinking brake lights:
http://www.hyperlites.com/

I believe it's really helped with how people react to me on the road.  I see people taking notice, and giving me more space at stoplights and in other situations.  Definitely recommend to all those who want to do everything they can to avoid becoming a statistic.

I have a Hi-Vis vest and one of these that I usually wear if I'm riding in a storm.  I haven't had much trouble with the "safety black" I usually wear, though, because I take command of my own safety.  I don't trust that I'm seen even with the high-vis, I'm always watching and listening, like a hunted fox.
Since changing my riding style I've had virtually no close calls.

Glad you're ok man, keep us posted on the bike.