I took a tumble :(

petei

petei

XS400 Addict
Messages
127
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
Vancouver, BC
so on my way home from work today i was coming up to the switch back and realized i was going to fast. I had to make a decision either try and make the turn and risk sliding out (the road is quite dirty) or continue straight and stop the bike, turn it and get going again.
I decided to do the later. I hit the gravel and immediately the front tire dug in and the bike fell on its side and slid, And i went for a tumble too.

I was wearing full gear and my only injury is a very sore shoulder.

here is the damage:
http://imgur.com/a/IQVt6
the steering seams to be a bit out of whack, the left indicators are done, i have a dent in the gas tank, the headlight and mounts look finished, gauges might be salvageable...

I have some fixing to do... this is a very depressing. i was able to ride the 30 minutes home but I don't know how much this is going to cost me.
 

Attachments

  • tumble.jpg
    tumble.jpg
    205.5 KB · Views: 404
Thanks for the offer, i actually have those in the mail from eBay i ordered them last week, (they are cheap ones) if they aren't good i'll let you know if i need it.
If anyone has a headlight for cheap i'd greatly appreciate it.
 
You can get a sealed beam on partsnmore if I recall, glad you're ok man. The damage isnt to bad and wont take much to fix. Can either try and pull the dent or just bondo it.
 
thanks, that looks promising i was taking a closer look and it seams that the only part that took real damage was the light, and mounts which won't be too expensive, I think i'll try pulling out the dent as much as i can then bondoing it (i just hope there are no cracks in the tank, how can i check this?).
 
Cracks will be obvious as fuel will pee out :)

I am glad you're ok. What kind of riding experience do you have? Did you take the MSF course? One thing I've learned after making a few mistakes myself is that you're not going too fast for a turn until you're scraping your knee or a peg.

I have a triple tree/steering stem from an 81, but it has no bearings. I am not sure if the 81 is a "maxim" or if it's different. It's different from my '78 though!
 
I was going to say the same BC. I'm a newish rider and I know my bike will turn more than I'm willing to make it.. Most of the time, I just don't push the bar far enough.

Glad you're okay though, the bike is easier to fix than you are. I'm swapping to a Sportster tank soonish, ill have a tank available then if you're still in need
 
Oh mate, that is bad news but glad you walked away.

I bet you are thankful you had invested in decent gear. Hope your shoulder heals soon and it is not too much work to get the bike back in working order.
 
get well soon mate.

push the bike against the wall and push to compress the forks. see if they stick down or slide back ok.
run a straight edge along front and rear wheel to check alignment. the forks may have twisted or it could be just the handlebars.

A motoliner jig can be worth checking out to check the frame alignment(although its not cheap with in the UK)

good luck,

next time ride it round like a flat tracker :D
 
I was doing a riding video when I was still new to street riding. Was on a road I had heard was quite curvy for this area. Well Turn #3 is a reducing radius turn. So when the road suddenly got tighter my mind blanked and all I could think is aw fuck, no way can I make this and I straightened out. At last second I realized exactly what I was doing and saved it, road the shoulder for about 10 feet then pulled it back onto the road.


I buddy of mine told me in response to the video... when it comes to corners like that, just hold your breath and push harder. I have since been back with the wife 2up.

 
Thanks for the support guys, after looking at the damage i think i can get thing going pretty easily :), my shoulder still hurt like a *****.
I actually just did the course this past week end and got my license to ride alone on Monday (I've been riding for three weeks). I know i could have leaned into the turn (i was actually dragging my pegs in the lessons) but then road was dirty and this made me nervous and i didn't want to slide out.

Drewpy, i don't think the frame is bent i was going 30km/h went i went down.

the only thing that really bums me is the dent and paint damage on the tank

corruptmind that is pretty much what happened to me but the shoulder was super loose gravel and i couldn't ride it.

I am now a devout advocate for full face helmets and riding gear.. wear it guys don't risk it. My helmet has some scratches on the jaw and visor my face would be mangled if i was wearing an open face.
 
glad ye ok petei that looks like a fun...errr nasty little corner:devil:
Is that a sealed headlight? If so I'm pretty sure I have my stock one still... cover the shipping and it's yourz:wink2:
 
Wow.

So sorry to read this, Petei. Don't feel too bad, though - probably all of us have put a bike down at one time or another. My first time was similar to yours - but my left hander was through a gravelly intersection, as I low sided it through.

Sounds like no major hurt to you, which is good. The side panel can be mended with a bit of superglue and body putty (and sanding and paint.) The tank is probably repairable, but you may not want to: clips on handlebars don't clear the tank without a dent, so if you eventually go that route, you can always "fix" the other side too.

And yeah, yay for gear!
 
Glad to hear you weren't hurt badly buddy. Hope you get everything repaired and back to great condition ASAP!!

As far as the crash goes, don't sweat it. My first few crashes were very identical to that situation. Although they were on tight single tracks and on a dirt bike. Something LOOKS too sharp and you panic. The mind generally wants to take the less demanding route whenever it faces a panic situation.

Motorcycling is the discipline of making your mind do the exact opposite thing of what it perceives as right. Going too fast to a curve? Go faster and counter steer like a mother fucker into that turn. Something coming into your area to hit you? Steer into it, so your counter steering away from it. Panic stopping? Do NOT look at the object you want to stop before. Just stop as hard as you can while keeping vision towards the horizon. It goes on and on.. :)

For me I had to mentally focus for a long time on any possible situation and physically act it out as often as possible. I did this on a bicycle though, so it was different in terms of safety.
 
THanks for the positive support, so much better then my roommate's "you're a noob". I plan on practising as much as i can once the bike is in good order/.

When i get home from work today i'm going to start taking the parts off and and assesing what needs to be replaced.

why are some of the head light mounts 3x the price of others on partsnmore??? is the 11$ one that bad?
 
Last edited:
I'd try to bend any bent pieces like headlight brackets back into shape, and just keep using them for now if you can.

I mean, at the rate you're going, 1 crash every 200 minutes of riding...
 

Similar threads

P
XS400 Tracker/Brat Build with Frame Modification
2 3
Replies
41
Views
26K
Alex Morales
Alex Morales
Back
Top