Worst Bday Weekend

[jeffwessel]

So today is my birthday, and I've had a pretty horrible bday weekend. Everything at first was going great. Last year for my bday I put a down payment down on my Ninja, and decided that for my bday this year I would do my first track day at the local track in Arizona. So I ended up buying a bunch of parts for the bike. There are a lot of nice canyon rides around me, and I am constantly scrapping my pegs so I figured it was about time to get some rear sets! So I bought the regular woodcraft ones and got them installed on monday. I also ended up getting some shogun sliders just in case, and figured I would try out some of the woodcraft clipons as well.

I ended up getting the clipons installed friday morning and took the bike to a local park that is basically 5 miles of twisty roads up a mountain. Around one of the turns my bike randomly died on me! I had no idea what happened, and looked down to see that my kickstand was down! The springs on the kickstand ended up coming loose! I had installed my rear sets that monday, and drove it every day that week and had never had a problem with my shoe coming in contact with the kickstand spring or anything down there, but for whatever reason I kept hitting the spring every time I upshifted on friday. The only thing I can think of was the shoes. I have a different pair of shoes that go over my ankles that I wear when I go on rides. So I spent a while trying to find the springs but couldnt. Luckily I was able to use a nylon cord from my backpack to tie the kickstand up and ride it back home, so I wasn't even able to finish the ride.

So I got a new spring and I decided to go back yesterday (saturday). I wanted to be able to get some riding in with the new clipons before my track day today(sunday). Unfortunately, I didn't get much further that I did the day before. I was going around one of the left hand turns and the bike just slid out right from underneath me. It slid right out and slid around 180 degrees facing the other way while I slid after it and rolled a couple times. Luckily I was wearing all my gear. I ended up tearing a hole in my riding pants and getting a tiny bit of road rash the size of a quarter on my left knee, a tiny bit on my right tricep, and my left ankle is starting to feel really sore, but that's it. I looked on the road and didn't see any signs of gravel or sand or anything, so I have no idea what exactly happened. It seems like the tires just lost grip and I slid. I was able to ride the bike home and when I got back a buddy and I tipped the bike over to see if maybe I learned over too far and the peg or something maybe scrapped and got caught in the asphalt which started it, but we had the bike just about fully sideways and nothing was touching.

I've attached some pictures of the bike. Needless to say I can't do my trackday anymore because of how bent my clip on is, but the frame sliders did a pretty well job helping protect the bike I think. I've got full coverage on the bike, so I figured I should better use it. I started pricing out all of the main parts that it would need, and it came to almost $1,400.

Being my first bike and my first wreck I'm not 100% sure on how it works. I called insurance and they said someone would be coming out to look at the bike in a few days. Do they just initially look at it, and then I have to get it to a dealership and they look it over and give an estimate on how much it will cost to fix. And the insurance company gets that number and determines if they want to pay it, or total the bike? Or what. thanks for the help.

Happy birthday to me!

[HKr1]

Happy Birthday!

Sucks about the bike, good your OK. There will be more TD's....... Leaning the bike over in the garage is different than when riding. The suspension gets compressed around turns and such.

You just never know when out on your bike pushing things, anything can happen.

[komohana]

sorry your birthday has gone off the deep end, but hey, you've survived with a few bumps and scrapes that'll get really sore in a few days, but you're alive, the bike is covered and it'll be repaired, and i'm sure that by the time you're putting your baby back together you'll find out just what happened. right now, that seems like little consolation, but count your birthday blessings my friend, others have not been as fortunate.

[BlueTyke]

Happy Birthday!

Sorry about the bike! I am glad you got out realitively okay! A few scratches bumps and brusies are better than what could'ves.

[zartan]

Happy BD! and I think that this was the best BD! since you can walk away from this.



So sad about the damage to your bike. But really happy you are OK!!!


" change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change"

[jeffwessel]

Thanks you guys. And don't worry, I know things could have been soo much worse. I am really lucky that I came out with only a few scratches. But it still really sucks.

[Sound Wave]

happy birthday and glad that you are ok. glad the gear worked. is that the cortech pants? and was the knee armor in there? looks kind of like my pants.

also... just curious, do insurance companies care if the bike was crashed while racing on a track? or will they cover the damage regardless?

[zartan]

I am sure YOU were NOT on the track yet , right?? If you were I don't think you were racing but just trying out some new set up.


keep that knee real clean... and septicized ?? ( is that a word??) I am sure you know what I mean. It is heartbreaking to see a scratched up bike.

[islanderman7]

Happy Birthday!

Sorry to hear about your bike, its a good thing you got insurance so they will take care of it. I can't tell if those are riding pants or your jacket, but I am curious as to what brand they are.

[jeffwessel]

No I was not at the track yet. I was at a local park that has basically 5 miles of curvy roads up the mountain. Those are Joe Rocket Phoenix 2.0 pants. They are mesh pants and yes they do have knee padding. They also have hip padding in them.

[Broom]

look at the bottom/side of your kickstand mount. i bet its got rash on it from hitting the ground... thats probably why you crashed.

before you were finding your limit by dragging pegs. once you moved them, your new limit is the kickstand mount... which is way more dangerous since its solid.

[noche_caliente]

sorry to hear about the bike.

Happy Birthday! At least you're still with us to celebrate!

[Cali619]

Bummer about the low-side. At least you are not hospitalized and the bike wasnt totalled. Happy b-day though, A small bit of road rash and soreness is a gift indeed when you think about the sport and risks and all. Ride on...

[xTKx]

Happy belated Birthday Jeff! It's def a bummer about the bike, but I'm glad you're ok.

[mcteague]

Maybe it's just me but it looks as if the sliders caused the bike to upend and cause more damage to the tank than would normally occur in a slow speed slide. Normally the fairings take the abuse but having something sticking out can cause the bike to "catch" on pavement cracks rather than just sliding.

Tim

[Broom]

i was curious about the tank damage too. haven't seen that on the 250s much. i have the same sliders and haven't had the same affect after 2 low sides.

[Syphen]

My bet is the the bridgestone BT-45's that caused the crash. They are a commuting tire, not a good track tire. The arrowmaxs from dunlop are the other tire I've seen come stock on the 250r's, they aren't that great in my opinion either. They just don't heat up and give great grip.

I think the Pirelli Sport Demons give a little more performance and are available in proper sizes. I'm sure there is some other tires that would be even better if you are looking to take it to the track.

[smcbride11]

That looks pretty similar to the level of damage I had from a simple lowside (though the tank damage is very odd - I didn't have anything at all like that). Mine cost about $1000 to repair (fairings, levers, mirror and turn signal) - just based off the pictures I'd put yours at 1.5-2k... which means they should repair it, not total it.

Having the clipons and rearset may significantly lower the bill, though - that's a good thing.

How fast were you moving?

[jeffwessel]

Originally Posted by Broom

look at the bottom/side of your kickstand mount. i bet its got rash on it from hitting the ground... thats probably why you crashed.

before you were finding your limit by dragging pegs. once you moved them, your new limit is the kickstand mount... which is way more dangerous since its solid.

Yea that was what I was thinking. The bottom of the kickstand is really grinded off.

Originally Posted by smcbride11

That looks pretty similar to the level of damage I had from a simple lowside (though the tank damage is very odd - I didn't have anything at all like that). Mine cost about $1000 to repair (fairings, levers, mirror and turn signal) - just based off the pictures I'd put yours at 1.5-2k... which means they should repair it, not total it.

Having the clipons and rearset may significantly lower the bill, though - that's a good thing.

How fast were you moving?

The tank damage happened because when the bike slid off of the road, it slid into a big rock formation. I started pricing the pieces damaged and it comes to around $1,400. So that sounds like a fairly good guess. To be honest I am not sure exactly how fast I was going. I would say around 40 mph.

[Broom]

the kickstand deal is a real bummer. i hope they realize that its a hazard and adjust it i future models.

only way i can think of for you street guys to fix it is to cut it off and get one of those kickstands that attaches to your swingarm.

[miks]

Tough luck mate, hope everything goes smoothly and that you heal up quick.

Also, Happy birthday!!!

[hieuster]

That's sucks man. Looking at the bike pics just makes me cringe since I have pretty much have same color bike. Thank goodness you made it out okay. Hopefully your insurance will be hassle free and your bike will be fixed in no time. BTW, happy belated birthday!

[CC Cowboy]

I'm one of those people who always look at the bright side of things that happen. Your birthday actually was a blessing in disguise, now you have a track bike.

[Broom]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

I'm one of those people who always look at the bright side of things that happen. Your birthday actually was a blessing in disguise, now you have a track bike.

i was thinking the same thing
let insurance total it, then buy it back from them for cheap. hello track bike!

[00v_Lucky]

Originally Posted by Broom

i was thinking the same thing
let insurance total it, then buy it back from them for cheap. hello track bike!

this is no shens.