It was about three months

[Desdinova]

Between getting on a bike the first time and ending up in the emergency room.

Took the MSF course basically on a whim at the beginning of march, decided "hey, this is awesome", ran out and put down 1500 cash on 2007 Ninja. Put about a thousand miles on it before the end of april. I think it was april 30th; I was out riding in the morning after coming off night shift, blowing off a lot of steam, on the twistiest back roads I could find, went through once without incident, circled around, got too cocky.

Ended up going too fast into a blind 110-degree curve, pretty sure I was target-fixated on the guard rail. Lowsided the bike, slid about 20 feet. The bike hit a post with the front tire wedged under the guardrail, I ended up in the grass next to it. Grabbed the keys and took my gear off, couldn't get the bike out, ended up sitting in the shade for about 5 minutes thinking about what an idiot I was until a car stopped to help. I instantly regretted not buying more than liability insurance.

The deputy who responded was very cool about the situation, we talked about bikes, he declined to write me a ticket saying I was probably hurting enough. I had some very slight road rash on my right arm and a bigger patch on my knee and a stiff left wrist. The deputy called a wrecker out to pick up the bike, I declined sending any medics out and got a ride from a friend to the ER.

Took a couple days and a lot of pain before they decided I had a scaphoid fracture and put me in a real splint. Paid way too much to get the bike back (wrecker was a real asshole, agreed to deliver the bike, decided while en-route that he didn't have time then held the bike hostage until I paid him for making the 'attempt'. Decided the money was worth less than the time it'd spend fighting his ass, but I hope he gets rectal cancer). Elected to get a pin in the wrist instead of spending 6 months in a cast. Spent a couple weeks in a removable splint instead.

During this time I was tearing everything broken off the bike basically one-handed; I don't have any pictures of the bike in its immediate post-crash state unfortunately, but it was pretty bleak - front fairing in a bunch of pieces, headlight smashed, gauges broken off from all the mounting tabs, forks bent and a chunk taken out of the front fender. The right side rearset bracket was broken in two. One handle bar was bent, the other broken clean off when the bike slid under the railing. On the plus side, it started up, ran, and went in and out of gear without any problems at all. Me and a buddy tore it down to the frame to check for damage.

Being a person who goes crazy without a project, I started ordering replacement parts on ebay; maybe it would've been better economically to part it out but I kind of figured I owed the bike a shot. It didn't let me down, I let it down, after all. By the time I felt comfortable without a splint on, it was basically back together. I stuck a headlight, mirrors, and signals from ebay on to make it street legal so I could ride it home from the shop.

This is the state it was in at that point and basically still is:



I've since added a trail tech vapor readout for gauges since I didn't want to bother with a way of remounting the stock ones.

I was sort of hesitant about riding at first but after the first few miles with almost nothing important falling off (I may have forgotten to torque down a couple bolts adequately and lost one of them on the highway, yeah, I quadruple-checked everything after that) and not dying even a little, I started taking it back and forth to work occasionally (about 5 miles). I had to use it to commute after my car ended up in the shop for a week, and I started wanting to ride again more and began venturing farther. I've only been on one long trip so far when I decided to disappear into the backcountry for a couple hours, but I can say I feel completely comfortable on it again now. I've ridden almost 600 miles since the crash.

The bike's not 100% yet, the new forks I bought are straight but need new seals, the seat cover's ripped, and I don't think the shop that changed my oil replaced the gasket properly since it's developed a slight leak from the oil filter cover.

Now that I've paid off my car and can squirrel away a little more money I'm thinking of upgrading to a larger naked or standard like a GS500 or a honda nighthawk, but I think I'd be torn on what to do with the ninja. Can't really imagine someone would buy a wrecked 250 to ride, but I don't think it deserves the "take it behind the shed and shoot it" approach, either...

[Alex]

Youch! How is your hand healing up?

[CmichRider]

You'd be surprised at how many people would jump on a bike like yours if it were sale, even with the crash. That's the great thing about ninja 250's, people will buy them pretty much regardless of whats been done, what they look like, and for more money than you would think. In my area, that bike would fetch around 1200 looking like it does now.

Personally, for a ninjette without the front and lower fairings, I think it looks friggen awesome. kinda reminds me of the nighthawk I rode in MSF actually...

[ninja250]

You sound a lot like many people around here, Original Poster.

Lesson learned, back on your bike and now you know.
Sometimes it takes a guard rail to teach us unfortunately. It's a really good teacher if you survive it. I know people missing legs from rails. It's scary.

like a GS500 or a honda nighthawk, but I think I'd be torn on what to do with the ninja. Can't really imagine someone would buy a wrecked 250 to ride, but I don't think it deserves the "take it behind the shed and shoot it" approach, either..

A GS500 is a really nice choice.

I own a wrecked Ninja 250 (from a guard rail much like yours) and I'm sort of in the same boat, accept I walways wanted a stunt bike to learn wheelies with safely out of as much harms way as possible, so decided to go that route with my ninja instead of parting it out or getting rid of it for a reduced price. After all, there's still $3000 worth of good stuff on my bike aside from the bent frame that I replaced back on it.

Keep your ninja for learning skills. That bike can teach you more than you know while still being "the shed bike" Maybe you can even fix it up for "the track". It's a fun/inexpensive backup bike to have around while you wheel and deal for other bikes.

[Desdinova]

Originally Posted by Alex

Youch! How is your hand healing up?

It's fine I guess, doesn't really bother me. Those bones take months to heal fully, though.

[massacremasses]

I guess I need to stay away from this section... its really tripping me out!!

[Numbersix]

Personally, I think it looks excellent as it stands now. The new headlight and mirrors give it a very UJM look.

[Chuffmonkey]

Originally Posted by massacremasses

I guess I need to stay away from this section... its really tripping me out!!

Yeah, me too. I'm treating it as a learning experience so I don't do the same thing (or so I know what to watch for). Oh, and also to figure out that ATGATT really is the way to go.

[U5er]

Originally Posted by Chuffmonkey

Yeah, me too. I'm treating it as a learning experience so I don't do the same thing (or so I know what to watch for). Oh, and also to figure out that ATGATT really is the way to go.

I always hate reading about crashes. But it is very sobering.

Keep your head up Simon!

[akima]

Originally Posted by massacremasses

I guess I need to stay away from this section... its really tripping me out!!

It's not nice to hear about people getting hurt or having their Ninjette smashed up, but I find this section really useful. After reading a crash report I feel like I've learnt something from someone else's mistake. Normally by the end of the thread, everyone has figured out how the crash happened and what the rider could have done differently to avoid the crash.

Some of the crashes seem to be a result of:
* jerky application of power while cornering: eg they shift gear during a turn
* front break during a turn
* front break on loose surfaces (eg gravel)
* target fixation
* people being less than 100% alert when they're on their bike
* novice rider being to aggressive, without having the benefit of experience to tell them when is a bad time to go fast and how to get out of sticky situations

I'd much rather be reading about this stuff here instead of finding it out through personal experience!

[massacremasses]

hahaha I suppose, but I also dont want to be to scared to go outside and hop on it!! Ive actually only put like 30 min. of ride time on my bike.. Ive been waiting to get some gear as well as to take the MSF BRC course.. (which I take this next weekend) ..

and I still havent reg.'d it or gotten ins. on it

but thats cause im waiting to do it all at once after I take th course. so I can get my license, register the bike all in one DMV trip, then get ins. with my certificate and license...

but anyways... back OT, This thread also made up my mind to get frame sliders... Im gonna look into getting those shogun ones.

[Lil_Green_Demon]

Originally Posted by U5er

I always hate reading about crashes. But it is very sobering.

Keep your head up Simon!

x2

I've been involved in a crash before, so I know by experience the sh*t sucks... Not that you need experience to know it sucks.

[Malicious Logic]

Hope you heal up quick. Good to hear you didn't let it stop you from riding.

On a side note, have you considered sticking with your 250? Unless you really feel you can't comfortably ride the 250 anymore, I feel like it probably still has a lot to teach you. Not sure how many miles you had on 2 wheels before the crash but only 600 miles after and wanting to start upgrading seems kinda soon. Just my 2 cents....

[Art Vandelay]

Originally Posted by Numbersix

Personally, I think it looks excellent as it stands now. The new headlight and mirrors give it a very UJM look.

I like it better than my stock '07 for sure.