Hello all! I have a Kawa 250 2005 that I have ridden for almost 15K miles now. I got it with only 200 miles on it.

Anyway, this is my main mode of transportation as I currently do not have a stable job nor have money for a car.

Anyway, I was on my way to the gym this morning as usual. There are two lanes each way with a median in the middle. After my turn at the light I am driving past some shops when I see a van come to a stop sign. I swear he looks right at me, but as he approaches the stop sign, he rolls to it, pumps his brakes real quick, then pulls out in front of me.

I had slowed a bit (speed limit is 50) to around 40, but his move still caught me by surprise. I hit the brakes realized I couldn't stop in time, swerve to the right and half hit/half miss the curb and end up on the sidewalk. (I was in the right lane, and there was a car coming up in the left) Unfortunately the sidewalk ends. I hit gravel and then grass and end up tipping over and falling off at around 15 MPH. The van drove away.

I got up after sliding a bit and am fine, thankfully, but my motorcycle is not. The front tire seems to be about 5 degrees off from the handlebars. The right side turn signal is torn up, as is the whole front fairing on that side. The mirror is intact but that side is torn up. I also managed to snap my windshield in half.

After that I didn't feel like working out, so I carefully drove home to inspect the damage further. I'm going to get some pictures and post them. I have a bruise on my leg, some scratches on my arm from the gravel I guess, and a bump on my forehead. I was wearing all my gear so nothing serious thankfully.

I'm hoping I can fix this on the cheap and on my own. I am supposed to have a job interview Monday! :/

Oh snap! I would like to Welcome you under better conditions but.... Glad your OK.

Post up some pics so we can see if we can help you get to your interview.

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Here we go...

No pics.

Here we go...
Are you trying to show pics?

Alright figured it out after reading the FAQ on how to attach. Those aren't the ones I wanted. I will try to get the right pictures attached. I doubt that is a helpful angle.

Sorry! Give me a few and I will see if I can get the right ones.

The main issues to me (as a very inexperienced person in fixing things in general) is that the front tire/handle bars are off by 5-10 degrees. Another is a cable snapped out that connects the tripometer and speedometer which I am assuming would be easy to fix. The rest is mostly cosmetic IMO but I am very inexperienced regarding this and wouldn't want something serious happening while driving.

As for the car in the back, that is my friend's dad's as he is on vacation and parked it there. :)

Short term - Safe to ride? Okay to ride on Monday? (Or do I need to get a ride or take public transport?)
Long term - Cost of repairs? Worth it to repair?

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Unfortunately Im not sure these are going to be helpful either :/

Perform this easy work:

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/I_need_to_realign_my_forks_and_front_wheel

And ride it Monday.

Best luck with the interview!

Will do, sweet thanks! My friend is coming over this afternoon after he gets off and is bringing tools.

i straightened my front end out perfectly after my crash.
loosened up four nuts on the triple tree, put the tire against a curb, and pushed against the handlebars. Straightened it out, tightened up the nuts, and test road it around. handled like new, no problems what so ever. seems more complicated than it really is. everything is held on by clips, basic nuts/bolts, or pems, and generally everything is easy to get to.

hopefully nothing is bent/broken beyond plastic stuff. that's easy to fix/replace.
i'm no pro by any means, I just decided to do stuff myself, and found it to be not so complicated. just look things up here, a lot of people post step by step directions, like how to take your fairings off and everything.

Sucks dude, sorry to here! I'm sure you know if not better now but ATGATT

Check your forks. It is very likely one if not both forks got bent when you crashed. And if the fork is bent, it is very likely your triple trees may be bent.

It happened to me when I crashed. Me and the bike flew off the road at like 40mph.

But hopefully it is not that bad. I would hope the bike could survive a 15mph crash. But you never know. :(

Sucks that happened! I cant believe the van just drove off. He must have seen you go down... what a d-bag

Sucks that happened! I cant believe the van just drove off. He must have seen you go down... what a d-bag

Yeah, what a f**king prick... I'm glad to know you aren't terribly hurry... Good luck with getting the bike fixed...

Forks are probably ok, they typically don't bend unless you head-on into something solid like a car or wall. Your upper fairing stay is likely bent.

Take off the fairing, both upper and lower, then eyeball the forks from the side to see how they're out of alignment. Loosen top and bottom bolts, grip the wheel between your knees and bars in hands and twist, recheck, retwist, until they're straight again. Use a piece of glass laid across the upper fork tubes to verify.

Search on this forum and over at http://www.ninja250.org for instructions for plastic repair, use assorted techniques such as soldering iron and ABS cement.

Turn signals can be bought used. The left rear is the same as the right front IIRC, main difference is screw location holding lens on, you want that downward facing. You can straighten handlebars if not bent too badly, check that bar risers sit flush on top of triple clamp. Often times they bend upward. Bars should not touch tank lock to lock. Left and right handle bars are the same bar. Left and right risers are different.

Buy a used windscreen, not that hard to come across.

If the brake foot lever is bent, clamp an adjustable wrench on the flat, and a second wrench on the first wrench, to get the leverage to unbend it. It's mild steel, won't hurt it at all to bend it back. Same for shifters, BTW.

Hardest part will be finding a front fairing stay that's not bent. That stay holds headlight, instrument cluster, fairing, mirrors, etc, all in precise alignment, it will be tedious getting it straightened enough to fit properly again.

Here's what mine looked like:

http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee495/FrugalNinja250/Miscellaneous/WreckedNinja2.jpg

http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee495/FrugalNinja250/Miscellaneous/WreckedNinja.jpg

I had it fixed that weekend, though in mismatched colors. My fairing was too damaged to save. Later that spring I took paint and body at the local community college and painted it:

http://www.kirkerautomotive.com/html/gallery_view.asp?ID=382&SORT=220

http://www.kirkerautomotive.com/user_uploads/large_382_2.jpg

It's a different color now... :)