stupidest mistake ever.

[noob1220]

So, I took the day off work today to go get the bike inspected. Rolled it out of the garage, fired it up, and turned around to walk back into the garage to get my gear and shut the door. This is where I should mention that our driveway has a slight downhill slope to it. I never saw it coming; but i heard my poor ninja crash to the ground and shut off. Somehow, I got it picked back up all by my weak self and surveyed the damage. End of the clutch snapped off, left mirror cracked, left turn signal punched a hole in the fairing, handlebar scuffed, shifter bent in, and some various other scrapes. I called and cancelled my inspection appointment, and then made that dreaded, tearful call to my husband. He tried to tell me it's not a big deal, it can be fixed, but what i heard was "you IDIOT, of course it's going to roll forward down the driveway because it's in NEUTRAL YOU DUMBASS." I feel like such a tool.

So tell me - where do i begin to fix this thing? I already know this is going to be an expensive mistake.

[alex.s]

dont feel too bad. i did this the other day by accident.

a new lever is cheap. new bars are cheap. the fairing is expensive. if you are looking to save money, i would try to repair the fairing with ABS cement

[noob1220]

i'm not a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to that fairing. i have found a new lever for cheap on ebay, but i'm not going to worry about the scuffed handlebar for now. the mirror shouldn't be too expensive either and i'm hoping we can just bend the shifter back to where it needs to be... i'm always looking to save money but i also want it done right, so i guess i'm going to have to suck it up and take it to the dealer. thought about calling the insurance company, but i don't know if they cover moronic acts of stupidity and i don't want a rate increase either.

[Malicious Logic]

Sucks to hear. I usually turn it off with it in first gear so it doesn't roll due to strong winds or anything. From the looks of the pic, doesn't look that expensive. Is it a stupid mistake? Yes....but it's a beginner mistake and it's a beginner bike. Everything will be alright.

[edxmon]

replace mechanical components, spend $80 on the T-rex sliders and avoid this ever happening again.

I was happy in the pants when I dropped my bike from standstil and the only scratches were on the frame sliders.

[noob1220]

Originally Posted by edxmon

replace mechanical components, spend $80 on the T-rex sliders and avoid this ever happening again.

I was happy in the pants when I dropped my bike from standstil and the only scratches were on the frame sliders.

excuse me for knowing nothing about bikes, but what are "t-rex frame sliders"?

[noob1220]

nevermind. google is my new friend. wish i would have known what frame sliders were beforehand.

[Malicious Logic]

Frame sliders connect to the frame under the side fairings and protect/reduce damage to the fairings as a result of a drop/low side. If you have flush mounts, they would also probably save those too. They're kinda controversial since some people don't think they're helpful or that they're more harm than good in a highway speed drop but I myself have some as well as quite a few other members on the forum.

T-rex is a brand of frame sliders, one of the cheaper priced brands. I invested in Shogun sliders which are about $179 for the whole crash kit which includes bar sliders, frame sliders and rear spools which act as sliders for the swingarm as well as contact points to use a rear stand.

[edxmon]

Originally Posted by noob1220

nevermind. google is my new friend. wish i would have known what frame sliders were beforehand.

Every Valerie I have ever known has been smart, I see there is no exception here.

I would think a good body shop or a adventorous DIY'er could patch up your fairings, the only thing that is really important is putting that blinker where it belongs. The cracks and scratches can be masked if you want and should not be a huge concern.

Priority is to make the bike rideable, so get the shifter and other stuff fixed before anything else. Then tap or glue the blinker back in place and get back on the bike. Save a couple of bucks by skipping that new delicious Cookie Crumble Mocha frappuccino and invest in some frame sliders

[rmorse]

Tell your husband that he's an idiot. He's telling you to leave a bike that's RUNNING in first gear? Seriously? Or did I misread....

[Stingray1000]

Originally Posted by noob1220

So, I took the day off work today to go get the bike inspected. Rolled it out of the garage, fired it up, and turned around to walk back into the garage to get my gear and shut the door. This is where I should mention that our driveway has a slight downhill slope to it. I never saw it coming; but i heard my poor ninja crash to the ground and shut off. Somehow, I got it picked back up all by my weak self and surveyed the damage. End of the clutch snapped off, left mirror cracked, left turn signal punched a hole in the fairing, handlebar scuffed, shifter bent in, and some various other scrapes. I called and cancelled my inspection appointment, and then made that dreaded, tearful call to my husband. He tried to tell me it's not a big deal, it can be fixed, but what i heard was "you IDIOT, of course it's going to roll forward down the driveway because it's in NEUTRAL YOU DUMBASS." I feel like such a tool.

So tell me - where do i begin to fix this thing? I already know this is going to be an expensive mistake.

Now with my little story there was no damage or anyhting but it did have to do with the DMV and inspection. I was in line for inspection and the line was kinda long so i put it in nuetral and put my kickstand down to tell the guy in front of me he was gonna fail because one of his brake lights was out (it really was out lol) . So i got back on my bike and the line started moving so I put it in 1st, released the clutch and the bike just dies.... I got really nervous, was a cool day but started sweating under my helmet.... Not only was my bike dying but I was also a half hour away from my house.... Kept trying and trying and kept dying and dying, till I finally put the kickstand up and it worked (of course I didn't realize it was the kickstand till a few days later and I asked on a forum) So Clueless but thankful my bike was now staying on I went in and the bike failed because the turn signals were too small anyways LOL but that was my DUH experience with inspection Don't feel bad we all make noobie mistakes....

[noob1220]

Originally Posted by rmorse

Tell your husband that he's an idiot. He's telling you to leave a bike that's RUNNING in first gear? Seriously? Or did I misread....

you misread. he didn't say anything negative to me, because i was bawling. what you read were my own thoughts about being such an idiot. my mistake was starting it while it was sitting facing downhill in our driveway. of course it's in neutral, so apparently the vibrations caused it to move just enough to roll forward when i went to shut the garage door, and then fall over. i should have just waited to start it after i had all my gear and the garage closed. live and learn i guess.

[Stingray1000]

Originally Posted by rmorse

Tell your husband that he's an idiot. He's telling you to leave a bike that's RUNNING in first gear? Seriously? Or did I misread....

I think she was saying he said "don't worry everything is fine" but what she was hearing in her head was..... him saying that. I dont think he actually said that.

Edit: and fyi Val I'm not usually slow on the draw but atleast you know I understood LOL

[edxmon]

Originally Posted by noob1220

you misread. he didn't say anything negative to me, because i was bawling. what you read were my own thoughts about being such an idiot. my mistake was starting it while it was sitting facing downhill in our driveway. of course it's in neutral, so apparently the vibrations caused it to move just enough to roll forward when i went to shut the garage door, and then fall over. i should have just waited to start it after i had all my gear and the garage closed. live and learn i guess.

Hahaha, yea, a crying female will tame the meanest beast of a man!

[noob1220]

Originally Posted by Stingray1000

I think she was saying he said "don't worry everything is fine" but what she was hearing in her head was..... him saying that. I dont think he actually said that.

Edit: and fyi Val I'm not usually slow on the draw but atleast you know I understood LOL

you got it.

[rmorse]

Originally Posted by noob1220

you misread. he didn't say anything negative to me, because i was bawling. what you read were my own thoughts about being such an idiot. my mistake was starting it while it was sitting facing downhill in our driveway. of course it's in neutral, so apparently the vibrations caused it to move just enough to roll forward when i went to shut the garage door, and then fall over. i should have just waited to start it after i had all my gear and the garage closed. live and learn i guess.

Ohhh, my bad. Yea, I learned from dirt bikes, that in all inclines, you always leave your bike with the kickstand "pulling" on the hill. So, you always park faceing the bike uphill. That way, if/when the bike starts to slide, the kickstand doesn't fold up.

[noob1220]

Originally Posted by rmorse

Ohhh, my bad. Yea, I learned from dirt bikes, that in all inclines, you always leave your bike with the kickstand "pulling" on the hill. So, you always park faceing the bike uphill. That way, if/when the bike starts to slide, the kickstand doesn't fold up.

an invaluable lesson, for sure.

thanks all for making me feel a tiny bit better... since my day off didn't go as planned and i was feeling a bit depressed about my earlier indescretion, i think i'm going to treat myself to wing night.

[Stingray1000]

Originally Posted by noob1220

an invaluable lesson, for sure.

thanks all for making me feel a tiny bit better... since my day off didn't go as planned and i was feeling a bit depressed about my earlier indescretion, i think i'm going to treat myself to wing night.

Boneless.... Till bedtime atleast LOL Did you catch my story about my stupid DMV inspection experience?

[leed]

That doesn't look half bad! It's better to make mistakes when you're not moving than when you are moving

Also, you may want to check your shifter to see if you need to bend it back out.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by rmorse

Ohhh, my bad. Yea, I learned from dirt bikes, that in all inclines, you always leave your bike with the kickstand "pulling" on the hill. So, you always park faceing the bike uphill. That way, if/when the bike starts to slide, the kickstand doesn't fold up.

Right, and if there happens to be a situation where you do need to park it facing downhill, make darned sure that you have the transmission in first, let it roll all the way forward in 1st to take the slack out of the drivetrain, then put the kickstand down. That way it can't move forward any more (unless someone kicks it out of gear, but that same someone could simply knock the bike over anyway)

[lc86]

Originally Posted by noob1220

i'm not a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to that fairing. i have found a new lever for cheap on ebay, but i'm not going to worry about the scuffed handlebar for now. the mirror shouldn't be too expensive either and i'm hoping we can just bend the shifter back to where it needs to be... i'm always looking to save money but i also want it done right, so i guess i'm going to have to suck it up and take it to the dealer. thought about calling the insurance company, but i don't know if they cover moronic acts of stupidity and i don't want a rate increase either.

If you haven't purchased the lever yet I have a clutch lever that is in pretty much new condition (I replaced mine with adjustable ones) that you can have. I know they are cheap but free is always better then cheap.

Also, for the bar end it only costs 13.11 for a new one http://www.ronayers.com/Fiche/TypeID...ebar(J9F-JAFA)
and they are really easy to replace. As for the fairing repair, if you are feeling adventurous you can read this article and try your luck at repairing it yourself http://www.sportrider.com/suspension...air/index.html You can also find new shifter components here http://www.ronayers.com/Fiche/TypeID...ange_Mechanism

Other than that, I highly recommend sliders, I have intuitive sliders and I once dropped my bike while putting it on a rear stand...and I once lowsided at 35-40 mph. It cost me 25 bucks for a new slider puck, 25 for a new mirror, and 35 for a set of adjustable levers (I didn't really need them, but hey, why not). None of this work is hard to do, and if you need help I can always make you a couple quick DIYs with pics, just let me know.

You also might want to use this as an excuse to invest in some flushmount led turn signals. For fun, here are pics of the damage to my bike after the lowside...



...and here are some pics after the whopping $85 in repairs...

[A Tomato]

What ic86 said.

[NevadaWolf]

Wow, the damage to your fairing is identical to the damage caused by the drop my Ninja's first owner did in his driveway, he just stuck a heavy plastic card (like one of those fake cards sent in with Pre Approved junk mail) and then taped up the cracks with green duct tape. Doesn't quite match but no one notices until I point it out.

Course he HAD frame sliders at the time, in their shipping box still. I installed those immediately. Not too hard to do, you get to figure out how to strip your bike naked, and the only tough part is sliding the engine bolt out while sliding the replacement bolt in (we did it simultaneously to avoid any shifting by the engine).