May 12th, 2019, 07:13 PM | #1 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Ethan
Location: South Lyon, Michigan
Join Date: Jul 2017 Motorcycle(s): 1998 Kawasaki Ninja 250 Posts: 24
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A great start to this last semester...
It's been a while since I've posted something on these forms, as university definitely pulled me away, but this all happened the day before the last semester started.
To kick off the year, my friends and I decided to have a cookout. We had all the food ready, but we were missing some small things here and there (plastic forks, paper plates, napkins etc...). I decided to take a quick ride down to the Kroger (Michigan grocery store) and grab the items with a backpack. Here comes mistake number 1. Knowing that it was going to be a sub 5-minute ride, I decided to be completely dumb, and not exchange my cargo shorts for jeans. I looked up to see the sky darkening, so I threw a rain coat on instead of my riding jacket. I did have a helmet on though. Anyway, I began to ride as the rain started to come down. Taking it slow, I came up to the medium section where I needed to turn across traffic to get to the store. As I entered the medium, a car in front of me decided last second to go to Kroger as well. I slammed on my front brakes.... only for them to be completely soft. I slammed on my rear and began slowing down as the rear tire kicked out. I was controlling it just fine, until I hit a dry spot, and the tire kicked straight. I flew off doing about 20 and went hip first into the asphalt. After I landed, I stumbled up on pure adrenaline. I ran over to my bike which had laid down on its right side. The throttle had been locked at 50% so the bike was revving on its side. The right break handle had snapped off, and the handle itself was at an awkward angle. I walked my bike to the side of the road to assess the damage. I couldn't get the throttle cable to back off from pulling the butterfly valve on the carb, so I cut it with some snips I had in my backpack. I rode back slowly, using my right hand to manually operate the butterfly valve for throttle, still clutching with my left, and breaking rear only. I parked the bike, sat down on the curb, and thought about what a great start to the semester it was. We decided to just use regular plates and silverware instead. Now that it's summer, I'm just getting around to fixing my bike. Turns out that the brake line had a crack in the rubber, letting some air in (It's a 1998...to be expected). |
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May 15th, 2019, 12:59 AM | #2 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: AKA JacRyann
Location: Mesa, AZ
Join Date: Dec 2011 Motorcycle(s): CB125T CBR250R-MC19 CBR250RR-MC22 NSR350R-MC21 VF500F CBR600RR SFV650 VFR750F R1M ST1300PA Valkyrie-F6C Posts: A lot.
MOTY - 2018, MOTM - Nov '17
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Wow, what a mess! Live and learn, I think we've all made bonehead maneuvers at one point or another.
Get your bike fixed up and ride it!!! |
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May 15th, 2019, 07:53 AM | #3 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Kerry
Location: Ventura, CA
Join Date: Jan 2016 Motorcycle(s): Ninja650 Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Apr '18, Apr '17, Apr '16
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That would be scary. I'm glad you found the problem and can get it fixed. You ok? Can't have been fun to fall wearing shorts.
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May 15th, 2019, 10:23 AM | #4 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Kevin
Location: Portland, OR
Join Date: Oct 2013 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250R, Tiger 800 XRT Posts: 828
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Manually operating the butterfly valve by hand...that's kinda badass! You've recovered fully I take it? Glad it wasn't worse!
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bike * miles = smiles smiles / bike = miles smiles / miles = bike |
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May 15th, 2019, 04:29 PM | #5 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Ethan
Location: South Lyon, Michigan
Join Date: Jul 2017 Motorcycle(s): 1998 Kawasaki Ninja 250 Posts: 24
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By now I am fully recovered. For a month or so my right shoulder and hip were acting kind of funny, but that sorted it self out (yes I denied many people that told me to go to the doctor on campus). I was lucky with the way I landed, as my helmet and my bare legs didn't touch the ground. My shorts look designer now though, with some nice rips in them. It's only going to cost me about 80 bucks in parts to fix the bike which is nice. I'm a little concerned about a top puncture on the dented in fuel tank though. Anyone know if JB weld will hold up to some gas splash?
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May 16th, 2019, 07:10 PM | #6 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: AKA JacRyann
Location: Mesa, AZ
Join Date: Dec 2011 Motorcycle(s): CB125T CBR250R-MC19 CBR250RR-MC22 NSR350R-MC21 VF500F CBR600RR SFV650 VFR750F R1M ST1300PA Valkyrie-F6C Posts: A lot.
MOTY - 2018, MOTM - Nov '17
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Personally I would braze hole shut with silver-solder or lead. Then cover with JB/Bondo as filler. Sand to match surrounding and repaint.
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May 17th, 2019, 12:10 AM | #7 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Anthony
Location: Pittsburgh
Join Date: Mar 2019 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Ninja 250, 2015 zx10r, 2010 Ducati 848 Posts: 75
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Man, glad you're ok! What do tanks go for on these bikes? Repair correctly or replace, but there's nothing worse than a rashed tank lol
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