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My first fall and its consequences

VersusAllOdds

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First of all, I'm sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong part of the forums.

So I was lanespliting, went a little too fast (around 40mph), a guy in front of me changed lanes suddenly and I immediately braked, slipped and fell. The bike went into the vehicle in front of me, and hit his rear wheel with my front wheel. My bike has no ABS, and I was riding on the road-line shortly after the rain has dried up... yeah, I know, I knew I was wrong as I was doing it - never gonna repeat again.

I wore full gear (ATGATT oh yeah), except for the pants, so I got a scratched knee, and absolutely nothing else (which is great, given that I fell on my elbow at a curb at 40mph!). So basically, no damage to me, except for wounded pride.

The bike fell on its right side. The price tag for the repair is around 3000$, which is ludicrously expensive given that a bought the bike for 4500$, used of course.

The damage is following (in order of cost):

- Slightly bent front fork bars, both of them (2x550$)
- Banged up exhaust pipe (not significantly, but has a few kinks) -(1000$)
- Slip-on part of the exhaust/muffler heavily scratched, the exhaust pipe itself banged up (400$)
- Steering stem - whatever that is (270$)

There's a list of other parts, some shattered (like for example, that body part that holds the exhaust and foot pegs, then the rear break peg is a little chipped, etc.), which I am gonna replace, however its the above priced parts I wish to ask for your assistance about. So my question is:

1) Is it possible to straighten the front bars properly? I live in Qatar, and the level of mechanical knowledge here is generally low, but I guess I can find a mechanic who can do it. The dealer won't do it and can only replace parts.
2) Can the exhaust pipe be fixed, and how badly can a little banged-upiness mess up the operation? It's not ruptured or anything.
3) The exhaust pipe + slip on is 1400$ bucks at the dealer's, which is ridiculously overpriced. Anyone have a suggestion for internationally shipped exhaust systems? I'd gladly pay 700$ for something better than my present system.
4) Steering stem - if I somehow straighten the fork bars, how can that affect the steering stem, and does it require straightening as well?

I really appreciate all your help:)

Here are the images, hope they help:
Imgur: The magic of the Internet
 
How bent are the forks? If there's a kink, they can't be fixed. If there's just a small smooth bend, repair might be possible. You'd want to put it on V blocks in a press, and rotate it with a dial indicator against it to measure runout. The pics show enough bend that I doubt they can be repaired, though.

The steering stem is the part that connects the two triple clamps, I think it's more likely that the lower clamp is bent but they aren't sold separately. Depending on how bent it is, repair may or may not be possible.

Both the header and the muffler are damaged? The header is so expensive because it has a catalytic converter in it, but I see used ones on eBay fairly cheap ($100 for the header + slip on but not sure if they're willing to ship to you). However, I don't see any damage in your pics that would worry me.
 
Glad you had on some gear! I've had two wrecks and both times a decent jacket and helmet saved me quite a bit. I just went through getting my 2012 NC700x totaled out. The damages I had were twisted forks, triple tree, bent handlebars, damaged fairings right side and rear. The damages plus labor were estimated at 4000. If I wanted to just strip the plastics off and have an ugly bike that rolled straight I would still be spending like 2000. For me I said screw it and filed an insurance claim. They paid 4000 - 1000 deductible to me and I got a 2013 NC700x for 3500 to replace it.

The first wreck I had I lost my bike and had several thousand in hospital bills, so the silver lining I guess is that it's just your bike that got messed up?

I looked at your pictures. I'm not sure the exhaust is totally screwed. Does it sound ok when you fire it up? When I had bent forks I was also confused on what a steering stem and triple tree were. Here's a picture of where I think the parts are.
fork_parts.jpg

Maybe someone else will have better suggestions for you. If you can't get a whole new bike you might be able to swing just replacing the forks and the stem...
 
If that were mine and I had to pay for repairs myself (no insurance to pick up the bill) I would get the fork legs and steering stem fixed/replaced and leave the exhaust as is.

Unless it has a hole, a dinged pipe shouldn't cause any issues on a bike like this.
 
Thanks for sharing the crash report- it's always helpful to know why people went down so we can avoid that situation ourselves. Glad you're ok! ATGATT!

Coming from a bicycle shop, I would say no to #1. We would occasionally re-align rigid forks but motorcycle forks are on an entirely different level when it comes to forces applied. Bending metal without treating it can introduce fatigue and stress points. This may be a good time to upgrade the front suspension, since you'll be replacing it anyway. I really wouldn't mess with the steering/suspension system unless you have the right tools and training.

Disclaimer: I come from a cautious school of mechanics that refused to do things that other shops had no problems doing regularly. Safety is more important than money

I wouldn't worry about the exhaust pipe unless it really bothers you, a wrinkle here and there isn't going to drastically impede performance. I see that RevZilla ships internationally, and sells slip-ons for well under $1700. Another unplanned upgrade!
 
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I completely rebuilt one of my fork tubes due to a rock strike.... Anyway, total cost for one side including new tube and all the seals was ~$350 US dollars, and that included all the seals and sliding bits to rebuild the other side. Turned out I didn't need all that but if I recall correctly the sliding tube was ~$225, so figure less than $600 to rebuild both sides.

I agree about the exhaust parts, too; if it sounds OK it is OK. Unless insurance is paying I guess. That's why you pay for insurance after all....
 
To all of you guys - thanks for all the advice!

So from what I see, the general consensus is that I should replace front forks. I'm very inexperienced, however I do think the bends that I attached within images really seem bendable and repairable. I don't believe the bending back would cause a significant amount of stress concentration in bending points, however I welcome the advice. In case that I decide to bend them back - how exactly can it be executed? How do they do it in mechanical shops?

Also, could anyone link a website, or suggest a manufacturer of these bars, where I can get both bars for less than 550$ a piece?

As for the exhaust, I'm looking to do the "unplanned" upgrade you guys have mentioned... However, I'd really appreciate any suggestions, noting that I want to replace the pipe and the slip on as well - so I want both. All suggestion and in particular web links are welcome, I will also look around these forums :) and keep it under 700$

One more thing I'd like to add, is what I learned from this crash (or actually, thoroughly confirmed what I already knew/thought):

- ATGATT - No exceptions!
- ATGATT - for pillion too. Don't ride anyone if they're not as protected as you are (I wasn't riding with a pillion in my crash, it's just a new rule I will self-impose)
- Lanesplitting top speed is 20mph - to account for idiots lane changing without turn signals or any warning
- Take extreme care during the rain, and particularly after it's seemingly dried up
 
I wonder if the $550 number is for complete forks rather than just the tubes.

I suspect there's a kink at the lower triple. Pull the forks out a little bit and take a picture of the back of them. If there's anything visible there, there's zero chance of repair.
 
I wonder if the $550 number is for complete forks rather than just the tubes.

I suspect there's a kink at the lower triple. Pull the forks out a little bit and take a picture of the back of them. If there's anything visible there, there's zero chance of repair.

550$ is for the Fork assembly, which I would interpret as not just the tubes. This is the designation of the parts: 51400-MGS-D31 or 51500-MGS-D31.
 
550$ is for the Fork assembly, which I would interpret as not just the tubes. This is the designation of the parts: 51400-MGS-D31 or 51500-MGS-D31.

As long as the internal bits aren't damaged it is pretty easy to rebuild.
Messy, but not overly complicated or finicky to put back together.
The toughest part for me was driving the top seal into the seat; for this, if you buy an extra seal or two you can stack them.
I put an extra steel spacer on the stack, and used a PVC tubing connection as a slide hammer.
 
As long as the internal bits aren't damaged it is pretty easy to rebuild.
Messy, but not overly complicated or finicky to put back together.
The toughest part for me was driving the top seal into the seat; for this, if you buy an extra seal or two you can stack them.
I put an extra steel spacer on the stack, and used a PVC tubing connection as a slide hammer.

Easy or not - doesn't really help me, given that the dealer mechanic is going to rebuild them. The problem for me is the price of the new part, which cannot be circumvented...

Come to think of it, how often are forks bent after a fall?
 
An update - I went back to my home country for a vacation, and took the bent forks with me. A guy who works exclusively in the field of straightening bent steel got them both fixed for 70$. So there you go a 1030$ save.
 
Be sure to let us know how it rides when you get it back together.

JT

Sure will...

One bad news though. I didn't bring the stem (or whatever that triangle is called), so the guy who does the straightening told me that I will probably need a new one (because it usually distorts when forks do).

So there you go, another 4 weeks waiting for another part, which I'll pay 300$ instead of 35$. But ok, I did make the most important save.

When I finally start riding again, I'm gonna find an after marked exhaust system, given that Honda's cost ~1350$.
 
not to hi-jack the thread.. but wow Dave, i too like to ride like that for lunch or even better "PIE" haha. That is amazing that you saw wild flowers all along the roadside. We just lost our last bit of snow here last week!!! (now back to our regularly scheduled program). :{)
Oops I didn’t mean to post a ride in this thread. I moved it to an appropriate location.

PS Glad he got the forks fixed for little money.
 
Sure will...

One bad news though. I didn't bring the stem (or whatever that triangle is called), so the guy who does the straightening told me that I will probably need a new one (because it usually distorts when forks do).

So there you go, another 4 weeks waiting for another part, which I'll pay 300$ instead of 35$. But ok, I did make the most important save.

When I finally start riding again, I'm gonna find an after marked exhaust system, given that Honda's cost ~1350$.
I don't know about NC triples specifically, but I've bent a few triples in my day :) and dealt with plenty more

the way I check if they're bent is that I find a very flat surface and see if the part rocks. Obviously the ideal surface is a granite surface plate at a machine shop, but adequate surfaces include granite counters in kitchens (if you can get away with it) or a piece of glass (even a mirror).

I managed to salvage a sink cutout from a granite countertop to use for this purpose.
 
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