Guess It Was My Turn - went off today (crashed)!

it is good that you came out of it relatively unscathed for the most part. fear makes you pay more attention then you normally would to help avoid the mishap, no fear, you are typically bound to drive straight into the mishap. when i got hit a couple of months going through the intersection, there was that fear, or paranoia, whatever you want to call it that someone might do something stupid, and it paid off when they did, i made the swerve in time, still got hit, but i was able to angle the degree of impact and kept the bike up, not sure how i managed that part, but glad i did, the right saddle bag was torn off the bike and got run over by a dodge ram and honda crv, if i went down that could have been me getting run over by them. people who talk or act that way i typically won't ride with, they are sort of a danger to themselves and anyone who is with them

Not sure if I should start a new thread on this, but here goes. Working to get the bike up and going again. A little more involved than I had hoped.

First the shifter was bent, so I heated it with a torch, slowly, and twisted it back into shape (or close). A carriage bolt, piece of pex pipe, the rubber off the foot pad that broke off and I rescued from the road, and a lock nut (that I cut short in place for clearance) and back in business there....


I'll need to order a left turn signal and the rest is mostly cosmetic. Guess the tank badge is a must. It's freaky that it got rubbed off, but I don't see any signs of damage to the tank. Talk about close!

So she shifts. The fuel tank shows empty, but the clutch switch is working. It won't start with the kickstand down (trust me from the 2.3s this is also true of the 2.5s- that switch and the fuel reading are related. If your fuel reading goes out on either bike you almost definitely have an issue with the clutch switch). Hoping that issue will resolve itself, maybe after I fuel up again .

The big one that prevents me from riding is that the front end is twisted. I'm looking for advice here. I raised her up and loosened the bottom fork clamp, axle, and pinch bolts. The left side was tight trying to release those bottom fork clamps.



But, as you can see the forks are turned. I think I need to loosen the steering head bolts in order to shift the top clamp back into the correct orientation. And then...... I hope the world will be right. Anyone with any experience or thoughts here please jump in.

Here's the plan. I hope to have a chance today (big family pre-Thanks gathering going on) and will report back soon.
Feeling the need to get back on the horse sooner than later.

I like this guy's tutorials a lot...

When you hit that slick spot the wreck was unavoidable. I’m glad you are doing ok. I hate the center of the lane.

Glad you are okay! Sorry for the damage. Sometimes accidents just happen

I don't know how many times I've reflected on the possibility of having an accident while riding. Maybe it's some heightened sense of awareness that suddenly hits you on the road. These are things you often don't consider or really worry about, while driving your car but are deadly on a bike. Things you should consider before you begin your ride come into focus and jump out at you on the bike. Sometimes while you are riding in town and you notice the sand still on the street from the winter thaw. Other times it's while you are riding on some quiet country road and you realise you are just a few meters from a deer or moose you haven't seen and blow by them. The hard bank into a blind turn and you notice the pothole midway through. It's almost enough to make you quit. I guess it's the love of riding that keeps us going.

I find myself contemplating these events (even oil slicks now) on the road... for a few minutes... then continuing on with a heighten sense of awareness for a while, before getting comfortable again... Is it wrong? Do we get complacent as we get familiar with our rides.? Is it an age thing??? I often wonder if I'm not getting more paranoid as I get older but then the "I couldn't care less" factor kicks in... and I ride!!!

@Journeyman, thanks for posting and especially thankful for those videos that show us another hazard to consider on our rides. Glad you are recovering and appreciate the fork straightening How To videos. Keep us posted and get well soon!

@Gregger It's a bit more the other way around for me. As soon as I kick a leg over and get going, I very rarely think about the aspect of any jeopardy riding my bike, at least, not in a way that would make me question me being on my bike.......though setting off in the rain or cold, damp conditions might certainly make me ask myself the question, but that's because i've gotten soft now i'm heading towards 'seniority' and beginning to experience some arthritis in my fingers and wrists etc...
I'm more likely to question my safety/mortality riding a bike when, say, relaxing at home and my mind wanders onto past scenarios i've experienced while out on my bike.
Those (quite rare) but somewhat concerning 'thinking' times are fairly constructive for me because I think I do register the danger and also my rider error etc... so that I take past factors into account in order to apply more self preservation into my future rides, but as soon as the bikes fired up and i'm underway, i'm in zen mode..... kinetic & focussed.... I'm where I feel best in my head. It's somehow always been that way, and i've been riding motorbikes since I was six years of age.

That said, i've never had the pain and misfortune of a crash while out on the highway. I can imagine that if I experienced the hardest of knocks and scrapes and living to tell the tale, my mind might not work in quite the same way.

I know quite a few biking buddies who had significant smashes, primarily when another vehicle has come across the path of their bike and it still affects them many years later. Some eventually hung up their leathers because they were no longer getting the positive adrenaline pumping through them. Only the negative kind, which means riding is no longer a pleasure.....sometimes quite the opposite.

Ride safe friends...

Dr.D said:

When you hit that slick spot the wreck was unavoidable. I’m glad you are doing ok. I hate the center of the lane.

Click to expand...

Good point my friend. I see riders using the middle of the lane to ride in constantly. That's where all of the crap and oil are especially at the intersections and stop signs where it accumulates. I use either the left or right wheel of the lane (such as behind a car in front of you) while riding and stay there as much as possible. When back road riding aggressively it isn't particle although 90% of the time I'm using left or right side. I always put the opposite foot down when stopping at an intersection. If I'm in the left wheel the left foot goes down and right wheel the right nearest the curb. I've seen guys foot slip at stops due to the oil/diesel that accumulates there. Never seen anyone fall but foot slides then yes. One more pet peeve. I see this all of the time. At stop signs and red light guys on motorcycles ride up directly behind the car in front of them about 2' off the cars center bumper and stop. I always stop off set in between lanes so if some knob doesn't want to stop behind me I can escape between the lanes of cars and very rarely do I put it in neutral at a red light. Not saying my way is right as everyone has different ideas on riding but it seems logical to me so I do it. Throughout the years I listen to most all opinions and riding tips and take what I believe will help me and practice it. I've learned quite a bit from this forum also concerning riding tips. Cheers my friends.

I usually am in the lead. If you can pass me and stay there, we’ll good on you. So I ride in formation. From the lead I’m in the left third almost all the time. I don’t have to cross center and dive to the inside to make curve in a right hander. If I find myself following, for some social reason and I’m on the right thirdI stay there. It’s a game for me and practicing bike control. I do not view scenery very often on a curvy roads so I’m %100 focused on the pavement in front of me to help me make the bike go where I want it to.

Sure stuff creeps up on you like it did to Journyman but I I plan on otherwise. Remember he was not hooning or riding aggressively and that is when you relax and get surprised. Stay on mental point and never relax to much unless the road is straight and wide open spaces are on both sides.

Dr.D said:

I usually am in the lead. If you can pass me and stay there, we’ll good on you. So I ride in formation. From the lead I’m in the left third almost all the time. I don’t have to cross center and dive to the inside to make curve in a right hander. If I find myself following, for some social reason and I’m on the right thirdI stay there. It’s a game for me and practicing bike control. I do not view scenery very often on a curvy roads so I’m %100 focused on the pavement in front of me to help me make the bike go where I want it to.

Sure stuff creeps up on you like it did to Journyman but I I plan on otherwise. Remember he was not hooning or riding aggressively and that is when you relax and get surprised. Stay on mental point and never relax to much unless the road is straight and wide open spaces are on both sides.

Click to expand...

I was in a left turn and starting to setup for the upcoming right just ahead. It's nearly impossible to stay in one third or another of a lane when carving curves and not at all when switching from the outside to outside, which is widely accepted as "the way" for safety so that you can see ahead. And, having ridden with you, Doc, aggressively in the twisties, there is no way to stay in just one third the entire time at that rate.

In this case though I was definitely not riding aggressively, nor viewing the scenery, but relaxed? Maybe more so than I would have been later, as planned, on The Snake, but no amount of attention or focus would have allowed me to maneuver out of that fall. I was down wondering why everything looked sideways before I heard my handlebars scraping along the pavement.

If you're saying by "planning otherwise" that this would have never happened to you.... well, I truly hope you're right, my friend, and everyone else who is equally confident.