1st off in 27 years... Craptastic ride home

FZ1inTX

FZ1inTX

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I've always said "It's not a matter of IF, but WHEN" . . . . . "WHEN" was today....

Work was an "early leave day." Yea!!! Clear skies, not to hot.... I'll take off on some other back roads I've wanted to explore... a new way home. I'll detour over to the local garage and get my (now overdue) inspection sticker! W00t!

I left work and took some streets I had yet to explore. I slowed to turn on to a street that was a very hard left turn. I cut the bike hard and was doing about 10 mph. As I hit the apex and just *barely started to throttle up, I realized I was on a patch of sand. The rear immediately kicked out and I put a foot down to hold it up while grabbing some brake... mistake number one. I was almost totally stopped but sliding sideways and the rear caught the tar and the bike IMMEDIATELY flipped the other way. A high-side but at a near stand still. I got tossed over the bike's right side and the bike fell onto the tar with me rolling away a couple feet. I landed on my shoulder and hip and then just rolled over onto my back. No harm and the gear all did it's job. Zero cuts, marks, scrapes, bruises.... nothing!

The bike... well, not too bad for damage, but damned expensive for minor damage. I cannot tell you how happy I am that I had the LONG T-Rex sliders on the bike and it did a fantastic job of protecting the frame and engine. Nice!

Now for the damage....

First, the frame slider... she took a whack and held up fine but needs to be replaced. These ARE single-use items anyway! Damaged end and slightly bent... No frame damage!

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The brake lever was bent on quite a bit but I was able to move the bike into a parking lot and muscle it back into this position. While not quite right, it worked just fine. I'll fine tune the bends later...

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The bar end got a scuff as did the front brake lever but nothing got bent and nothing is out of shape. The front is just as straight as it should be. The mirror got a little scuff and then folded up as it was supposed to.

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The rear grab bar on the right took a little bit of rash... Nothing I cannot sand out and touch up though...

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And now for the most disappointing and heart-breaking pf all of this incident.... Copperdog parts... After all the wait, I've managed to damage three of the 6 pieces bought. I can live with the rest of the damage but this is just flippin' horrible to look at for me. I have some ideas on fixing these myself. The screen is easy.. a little sanding and some touch-up paint... The other two? Well, I'm hoping some small fiberglass repair from the inside will work and then refinish them.

First, the front pod.... scuffed and yes, under the scuffs? a wonderfully designed crack in the pod!

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The CD screen.... easy enough to fix this but still....

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Last is the LEFT rear blinker pod. My only guess is that my left boot nailed it when I was ejected off the bike and crushed the end of it because THIS side of the bike didn't hit a thing.

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Oh man. I am so sorry Eric. That really sucks! I am very glad you are ok but I am definitely sad about your new CD stuff. I would definitely be depressed about that.

Wife ok?
 
Haileyan said:
Oh man. I am so sorry Eric. That really sucks! I am very glad you are ok but I am definitely sad about your new CD stuff. I would definitely be depressed about that.

Wife ok?
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Thanks Brad! I have more of a bruised ego and broken heart than anything. The wife is simply glad I am OK but she also said that after the mudroom and what we still have to buy, we cannot replace what is broke so I have to get creative. I don't know what Patrick would charge for just the pod housings, one front and one rear, without the electronics but that is MOST of the cost anyway, the fab and finish.

I've got some ideas on how to fix them up. Finishing them will be the difficult part. Maybe I'll prep them in the fall when the bike is parked and send them down to Patrick to shoot with a new coat. ;)
 
FZ1riderNY said:
It hurts to see that damage. However minor it seems, it's still a pain knowing all the work you put into it. At least the sliders did their job and protected the engine.
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Thanks Billy! It's just the damned blinker pods that have me upset over this. The rest is very minor and easy to deal with. I should have known something would happen after she got all dolled up!

I'll make it right but it might take me until next spring to actually finish it. ;)
 
va_rider said:
Really sorry to hear this eric... but I'm glad you were ok, and the damage was relatively light... you'll get her fixed up as good as new... we all know you can do it!
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Thanks Aaron! I'm just a little sore in the shoulder and neck but nothing I can't deal with. The bike really flipped FAST so now I understand the mechanics of a high-side and I am ever so thankful it wasn't AT SPEED! :tup:

Minor incident, slow mover but the custom mods are what's killing me.

Ok, now the monkey is off my back. She's got her first scars so I can really just ride the pi$$ out of her without that worry, eh? :D
 
Oh man I feel your pain. We all know that the most important thing is that you're ok, but I know it hurts like hell to see all those CD parts cracked and scuffed...
 
NJFZ1 said:
Oh man I feel your pain. We all know that the most important thing is that you're ok, but I know it hurts like hell to see all those CD parts cracked and scuffed...
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Yup... that hurts more than anything. So, I'm considering some small fiberglass patching from the inside. On the rear, I think I'll reinforce it with a small bent aluminum rod that will be embedded in the fiberglass and run around the crushed rear. If the small piece that fell off is not inside, I'll have to glass and sand the hole to get it ready for finish.

Actually, I have a new airbrush and hobby pump that I forgot about. I can order up some paint and clear and shoot this myself. :D
 
First and very important, you are ok that's great news. I hope that news continues as you go through the next few days.

You are a very creative and talented guy, I am sure you will find the best solution for the broken bits. Don't be too discouraged its only stuff, we can't replace you, the bike is a different story. Good luck in putting humpty dumpty back together. Kudos for wearing your gear :+1:
 
cos_fz1 said:
First and very important, you are ok that's great news. I hope that news continues as you go through the next few days.

You are a very creative and talented guy, I am sure you will find the best solution for the broken bits. Don't be too discouraged its only stuff, we can't replace you, the bike is a different story. Good luck in putting humpty dumpty back together. Kudos for wearing your gear :+1:
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Thanks cos! I'm soothing the soreness with some Sam Adams Blackberry Witbier at the moment. About to take some ibuprofen and hit the pillow. :D I think I'll be fine.

Thanks for the kudos, both for the compliments and the kudos! This is EXACTLY why I always preach about ATGATT to everyone. As minor as it was, without the gear, I'd be rashed in a couple places. The gear was FirstGear Mesh jacket and pants with upgraded armor in the shoulders and elbow/forearms. I have to say, I did not feel the ground at all when I hit. Of course, my mind was TOTALLY on the bike and the car coming around behind me. I got up QUICK! So, the mesh didn't take a beating though... I didn't slide, just hit and rolled.

I'll get it sorted out and post some how-to threads that people just won't expect to see. :D

Have a safe holiday weekend (to ALL of you!)
 
Sorry to hear about this man, and its sad to see it. Looks like that slider did its job very well, glad to hear your ok also.

Sand is an extremely scary thing.
 
FZ1inNH said:
Ok, now the monkey is off my back. She's got her first scars so I can really just ride the pi$$ out of her without that worry, eh? :D
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Yep, sounds about right.

Check this out- last Sunday I was riding dualsport with a friend. He went down and busted up his ankle. About the same time his wife's BIG horse steps on her foot and broke it. They both had surgery this week and will be in casts for 6 weeks.

Plastic is much cheaper than foot surgery, eh?
 
Glad you weren't hurt and sorry to see all the damage to your steed. I looked at your pictures before reading everything, and I had a similar feeling as you did when I saw your blinker pods. I thought to myself Oh Man, not the blinker pods too. As if one pod wasnt bad enough, it had to be both of them and the speedscreen. Did your pipe survive without any damage?

Regarding your statement: I've always said "It's not a matter of IF, but WHEN", my day came in early May of 2005. I wrecked my 2003 Mean Streak at 55MPH, got a ride in a helicopter and spent 3 days in intensive care, plus two more days in the hospital, then two months off work and 3 more months in occupational therapy. The bike was totaled, but a guy in NY bought it an rebuilt it. One of these days I plan to post about my accident with details and pictures.

Hopefully your insurance will help to cover some of your damages!
Take care,
Brent
 
Bike parts (and bikes) are replaceable: Thankfully you're OK. You go- frame slider-yea! Sacrificing it self for the good of the many.
As sickening as it is to see your bike's expensive plastic chewed up-and those beautiful blinker pods by Copperdawg (argh), I'm reminded why I don't want lowers. Yea, just more expensive plastic to replace after a tumble.
Glad you're OK. This too shall pass.:banghead:
 
I feel for you. The only draw back to having something that you put so much effort into and have so much pride in, is having it damaged. You just have to remember that it can be fixed. The waiting, and having the reminder every time you see it will be the tough part. I am the same way about my FZ, and it has a few custom painted bits to. The weird thing though is that the dirt bike has a few deep scrathes on the side that hit the gravel (on my trip) and I see them as well earned battle damage. I don't plan to fix those, and they don't bother me. My relatives are shocked by this as they know the way I am with my toys. With my FZ it would be a very different story and I wouldn't be able to fix it quick enough. Remember that the FZ is a lot cheaper to fix than you would be. It's a good thing that you are one of the smart ones that sees the value in riding gear, even on short trips like work and back.
 
Thanks everyone! I'm actually feeling quite well this morning. I'm about to get on the bike and the wife and I are headed out to get her bike inspected.

I forgot to mention... yes, I still went to the local garage and got the bike inspected and it passed.

Brent, thanks! The 2Bros never hit the ground so there's zero damage to it. The long slider are really good for this!

Pete, I intend to try and fix the pods myself. I figure I have nothing to lose at this point because they can't get any more broke with my efforts. I'll be sure to post my how-to and pics when I "Attempt" this. :D

OnsSize, that is simply HORRIBLE! Tell them both we're sorry to hear and hope their recovery is as fast as can be! Yes, I am lucky this time!

Papa and Polestar, thanks again! I'm doing very well this morning. A few Sam Adams cures a lot of things when you sit around pouting. ;)

I'm OK with what happened now. I'm over the shock value of the damage in a minimal incident and look forward to getting this stuff rebuilt. It is a shame that I had to cut the wires off the stock blinkers as I could put those back on and start working on the pods... But I'm not going to unsolder/re-solder the wires just to hasten the process... not yet anyway!

So, back on the horse and off to ride. You all are great folks here. Thanks for being supportive and positive for me. It means a lot! :tup:
 
The process has begun. I just ordered replacement sliders.... T-Rex LONGs for $23.00 shipped. :tup:

Where can we buy the touch-up paint and does anyone have the color code for the '09 colbalt blue? Thanks all!!
 
Glad you're ok mate. I was looking at the pics, and thinking you were lucky, and a few scuffs was all, until I got to the last few. Bugga:frown:.

But the Two Bro's is OK, and the frame, donk, tank etc. so you must be pretty happy with your sliders.

As for the damage on the left side, I think you've nailed it. I've seen all sorts of damage done to the 'safe' side of a bike in an accident by the rider.

Hope you get it all shmicko again soon.
 
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