Dad dropped my bike, what should I do?

[HorizonXP]

So my Dad, whilst wearing no gear, went down on my bike. In front of our house, fairly low speed, but nevertheless, hard.

He scratched his forehead, as his head went down. Little bleeding on his foot, and light scratching on his arm. Apparently he hurt his chest/ribcage somehow too. I cleaned up his scratches as best as I could, but they're all just abrasions. My first aid training says to leave it open, as there is no bleeding right now. He just has to let them heal up. There will be bruising. Problem is, his health and medications mean that healing takes a LONG time.

I checked him as best I could, he insists he's fine. I was mostly concerned for him... but anything else I should check?

Also, I have a road trip coming up. The right footpeg is broken, right turn signal is broken, right fairing is cracked even more than before but seems still usable. Right bar end has a scratch, so does the brake lever. (I JUST replaced the handlebars, as I bent them last year when I went down.) Muffler cover has a ding on it.

Is there anything else I should check on the bike? I leave May 21, so I have limited time to fix this...

[setasai]

Forehead... meaning NO helmet? Hate to the the bearer of hindsight but bad idea in every form. Hope he heals up soon and lucky it wasnt any worse. General rule, bike is on, helmet on.

As for the bike, take care of the obvious stuff that allow it to run and then work on the rest later since you're so limited on time. Think of it as battle wounds. At that low speed, I doubt you've done any frame damage to be worried about. Most of it is probably cosmetic besides the footpeg and turn signal. Wouldnt hurt to give everything a once over as well - chain, brakes, all tubing, alignment of the forks and wheels, etc.

[RedCromwell]

Curious... why didn't your dad go to the hospital to get checked out? Sounds like he has some health condition that you're worried about.

I'm no tech when it comes to repairs on the bike, but sounds like it's superficial. But, if you really want advice on what to check, you should probably provide more details on how the bike went down and pictures.

[HorizonXP]

Yeah, my dad is a big idiot that thinks he knows better because he rode all the time in the old country. He still treats me as a child, I guess because I still live in his house. That's a separate issue though.

I'm an ATGATT person. I was wearing my leathers when he went down. Although, I'm so upset at him right now, I'm kinda glad he wasn't wearing my $600 Shoei.

[HorizonXP]

Originally Posted by RedCromwell

Curious... why didn't your dad go to the hospital to get checked out? Sounds like he has some health condition that you're worried about.

I'm no tech when it comes to repairs on the bike, but sounds like it's superficial. But, if you really want advice on what to check, you should probably provide more details on how the bike went down and pictures.

It's not a heart condition. He's overweight, with a bit of the normal issues associated with that. But it's mostly because he has rheumatoid arthritis, and takes an immunosuppressor for it, which limits his healing ability. He still has a scar from when he stupidly touched his leg against the hot exhaust can.

I should really keep him away from my bike.

[Live2ride]

I don't want to sound out of line but, if it were my dad, I would make him pay to fix it. I have let 2 people ride my bike, my father and my step brother. Both had experience and I told them before they got on that "you break it, you buy it". I would never let anyone touch my motorcycle without decent gear. My gf asked for me to take her to her father's store with her dress on and flip flops. I told her that she better get walking. Then when she changed she came back downstairs in jeans, leather jacket, helmet, gloves and opened toe shoes. I made her change to boots . ATGATT FTW! I'm glad he only has abrasions, hopefully he heals soon.

[kkim]

1) tend to your dad
2) repair the bike

it's as much your fault as his that this resulted.

sorry, but this is soooo wrong.

Originally Posted by HorizonXP

Although, I'm so upset at him right now, I'm kinda glad he wasn't wearing my $600 Shoei.

[setasai]

Originally Posted by HorizonXP

I'm an ATGATT person. I was wearing my leathers when he went down. Although, I'm so upset at him right now, I'm kinda glad he wasn't wearing my $600 Shoei.

Now i'm confused. Why were you wearing leathers when he was riding the bike? Overall a bad situation. I'm a huge wuss when it comes to pain so this whole gear thing is a no-brainer but i'd be pretty angry at my dad for both messing with my bike and endangering his own life as well. Contrary to popular belief first, what was it?, 100feet from your house is the most dangerous? I forget but you get the idea.

[sarapacman99]

Originally Posted by kkim

1) tend to your dad
2) repair the bike

it's as much your fault as his that this resulted.

sorry, but this is soooo wrong.

[headshrink]

Head trauma isn't always immediately obvious. Watch him CLOSELY (confusion, dizziness, nausea, headache [ironic, I know], vision, etc.). If there is ANY doubt, go to the ER, as he will likely need an MRI. You CAN have permanent damage with LESS of a bump, but sometimes you just don't know initially. Since you were more concerned about your bike and $600 safety device, consider whatever it costs thanks for the years of wiping your butt, penance and an attitude adjustment.

Now that you have been sufficiently spanked, sorry about your bike.... it always sucks under any condition, but it doesn't sound that bad.... hopefully it is in good enough condition for your trip, even if it isn't as pretty.

[Mizono]

I hope you dad is ok

Now for the rough part. Im sorry but both you AND he are at fault here. Him for getting on without ANY gear and you for letting him. Thank god the fall wasn't worse. As previously stated

Engine on
GEAR ON!!!

[KJohnson21]

Originally Posted by headshrink

Head trauma isn't always immediately obvious. Watch him CLOSELY (confusion, dizziness, nausea, headache [ironic, I know], vision, etc.). If there is ANY doubt, go to the ER, as he will likely need an MRI. You CAN have permanent damage with LESS of a bump, but sometimes you just don't know initially.

This is the part that I was thinking of. If he's showing any of these symptoms, take him to the ER. If he refuses, call an ambulance to drag him in. I don't mean to be so disastrous, but it's better to be safe than sorry. I'm thinking of cases where a person seemed to simply have a bad fall, had the symptoms listed above, and just wanted to sleep it off. In the end, some of them weren't alive the next day because of the brain swelling.

If I understand correctly, your Dad refused to wear any safety gear because, "He knows better". We're all sure that you'll keep this in mind if anyone ever wants to ride your bike around the block, or to ride with you, in the future.

[phr3ek]

trick into going to the hospital
tell him you guys are going to the park

as for the bike.......
loosen the lower triple tree pinch bolts wiggle the forks back and forth then tighten them up, heres what im talkin about
time to go flush mounts, or not, depending on your budget
go to your local cycle shop and order a foot peg/bracket

[CmichRider]

I'll repeat what has been said about your dad, watch him extremely closely. It doesn't take much sometimes to damage the brain, and with your dad's medications and whatever conditions he may have, it pays to be extra careful. Even a low speed impact can be deadly.

[HorizonXP]

Whoa guys, sorry that I came off really insensitive!

Agreed about the head trauma issue. He was awake and talking normally for a while, so my sister and I feel he should be ok. I'll ask again tomorrow morning.

Also, about the gear thing: I meant that HE thinks he knows better, not that I do. Trust me, I cringed when I saw him get on with no helmet. Should I have been more forceful about it? You bet I should've. I also should know better, having just crashed hard on the track this past weekend, and my helmet preventing serious injury. My head's still ringing from that one...

That's what keeps replaying in my head, him hitting the ground. It's sickening to think of, and I'm definitely happy that he's mostly ok, even if my comments don't reflect that. I guess that stems from his reaction to when I told him I crashed at the track, 3 days in a row. He simply yelled at me for not knowing what I'm doing, and that good riders don't crash, that if it were him, he never would, and he was more worried about how much money I was spending (my money, not his.).

That's where my comments and anger stem from. It's backwards I know, but really, my dad and I have a stupidly dysfunctional relationship. He is always telling me what to do, never trusting me or my decisions, and checking everything. I was working on the bike on my own this past weekend without him, so the only reason he rode was to check my work. I really need to stand up to his bullying.

Anyway, I'm glad he's fine, I'll keep an eye on him, and make sure he never steps near my bike again... at least not without gear. Even then, likely not.

The bike will be fixed, that's not what worries me. Him hitting the ground like that though, does.

[Domagoj]

Originally Posted by phr3ek

loosen the lower triple tree pinch bolts wiggle the forks back and forth then tighten them up, heres what im talkin about
time to go flush mounts, or not, depending on your budget
go to your local cycle shop and order a foot peg/bracket

Do this, really do this. It seems stupid, and it may seem like you did nothing, but it will help. Fix all the obvious stuff, leave the fairings, it will break again, and go for a test ride. Then loosen the triple, upper, lower, tighten, and go for a test ride again. I'm sure you will see a difference.

Don't be mad at your old man. He did stupid, you tried to help, he didn't listen. You can be sure he doesn't feel good about all of it either. He is probably pissed at himself, and sad and angry that he damaged your bike.

Try to look at all of his complaints from the point of view of a concerned parent. You ride the track, and that scares the **** of most parents. Crashing scares parents even more. He can't go all concerned and teary eyed at you, it wouldn't look good, so he yells about money and whatnot, trying to be a man and a father at the same time.

My point here is, parents usually do everything because they love their children, however stupid that may seem while they're doing it. Be patient, and work on your relationship. It's worth it.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by HorizonXP

It's backwards I know, but really, my dad and I have a stupidly dysfunctional relationship.

lol... it's called being father and son.

remember, a relationship is comprised of two parties. you are as much a part of that relationship as he is and are responsible for the direction it takes. you can never control the other party in a relationship, but you can most certainly work to control your part in it. gl...

[headshrink]

HorizonXP: Gotcha, that is understandable.

[blink]

Come on...its your dad. I'de rather him break my helmet to nothing even if it was 1000+$ than to hurt himself.

He raised you and your worried about a 600 helmet...?
I'm sorry but I agree with kkim.

Anyways, yeah make sure he's okay. Then figure out repairs. If he was pushing you to ride, get him to pay. If you insisted...you pay!

Goodluck