[PontiacJack]

It finally happened... Poop! Long story short I ended up leaving a nice imprint of a Ninja 500 on the rear quarter drivers side of a POS SAAB on Christmas Eve. Fender bender deal, I have a sore knee and the bike took a decent hit.

I can't wait for insurance companies so I had to take the trooper out again to get to work etc.

I know its a bit vauge but what are some things I should check and how in attempt to ID some problem areas after a crash. The left clip on is bent and the right rear fairing is cracked. There is a shimmy in the front of the bike, plus some squeeks. The rear end wobbles a bit esp. when powering out of turns.

Any help would be great... Thanks

 

[MrSciTrek]

When painted metal gets bent it'll often/usually crack or flake the paint.
So when looking for bent frame or such...

 

[Guest]

This will sound psychotic, but I actually noticed a lack of PontiacJack postings in the last week, and thought to myself "I hope he didn't get into an accident, hopefully it's just being busy with Christmas.."

Sure enough...

At least you're still on this side of the ground

 

[AntiAndy]

This will sound psychotic, but I actually noticed a lack of PontiacJack postings in the last week, and thought to myself "I hope he didn't get into an accident, hopefully it's just being busy with Christmas.."

Sure enough...

At least you're still on this side of the ground

creepy, but yeh, atleast you're safe jack.

 

[PontiacJack]

Weird... But thanks very very much for your concern. In a funny kind of way I feel loved by my ex-500 brethren now! ;D It was defiantly a crazy holiday season. I'm glad its over.

 

[fog]

This will sound psychotic, but I actually noticed a lack of PontiacJack postings in the last week, and thought to myself "I hope he didn't get into an accident, hopefully it's just being busy with Christmas.."

Sure enough...

At least you're still on this side of the ground

Yeah Masochistic
FOG

 

[bitzz]

Check the wheel bearings and steering head bearings. Check the wheel alignment. If the tire stuck the car i would seriously look at replacing it.

You HAD to get the first crash out of the way. Thankfully it was minor. May the next one, yes there will be a next one (try a high side on...they're always fun), be even less worrysome.

 

[OreoGaborio]

If the tire stuck the car i would seriously look at replacing it

replace the tire? what the hell for? ever hit a pothole? did you replace the tire afterwards?

anyways... how exactly did you hit & how hard did you hit?

 

[AntiAndy]

If the tire stuck the car i would seriously look at replacing it

replace the tire? what the hell for? ever hit a pothole? did you replace the tire afterwards?

anyways... how exactly did you hit & how hard did you hit?

i think he meant if the hit was hard enough to bend the rim, and then, i think he might want to replace the rim, and not hte tire.

 

[PontiacJack]

Dosn't matter too much anymore, managed to whack it again just this weekend. At least this time I was alone in the hills without any cars to run over me. I'll get some pictures up here once I make it home tonight.

Word of advice to those trying to extend their "havn't crashed yet" riders... If you need a new front tire because your starting to mistake it for an eight ball, get a new front tire before you decided to boogie down thwe canyons just once before heading to cycle gear

You know in retrospec... (two days), it was actually kind of fun! What an experience though. Honestly if your a little lucky, geared up properly and somewhat sane a crash is a rich experience. I replayed the second crash over quite a few times in my mind and noticed the sounds were so distinct. Anyways... Front tire which takes much of the burden "to slow down" under heavy braking dosn't like you very much when you neglect it, it will let you know soon or later without warning.... to be continued.

BTW (rode the bike 25 miles home afterwards... these things are troopers I tell ya!)

 

[SoarAndEnvision]

geez man that's rough - but it sounds like you're staying pretty positive this time - what happened this time, were you leaning to hard?

 

[bitzz]

If the tire stuck the car i would seriously look at replacing it

replace the tire? what the hell for? ever hit a pothole? did you replace the tire afterwards?

anyways... how exactly did you hit & how hard did you hit?

i think he meant if the hit was hard enough to bend the rim, and then, i think he might want to replace the rim, and not hte tire.

No, don't put words in my mouth. Thank you very much.
I said check the tire. One would think that after someone hit something solid with the front wheel they would check the rim for bends, that should be obvious.
I want him to check the tire because a tire is designed to go round and round and when it hits stuff, like the afore mentioned pothole, it hits stuff in the tread area where the tire is the strongest because of the carcus design.
NOW THEN this tire was NEVER designed to take a hit OFF the tread, in the sidewall or bead area, where it is VERY VERY VERY VERY easy to damage a tire.
Also when you hit a object made from sheet metal, the sheet metal can and will deform. Sometimes this deformation can cause SHARP edges that will easily CUT a tire that is NOT noticable with a casual glance, it might take a detailed inspection to find this cut. I don't know about you, but I would rather find the cut in the tire sitting on a stand in the garage than find it as I am setting up for a high speed corner.

Oh just for MR Oreo: YES I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE TIRES AFTER HITTING A POTHOLE. And rims, and bearings. There was a guy here in Mississauga that sued the city for damages after he hit a pothole in his car...among other things that was replaced was the front SUBFRAME.
or
I high sided at Mosport...and some how broke a CARB BODY. Figure that one out!

The lesson here is: Weird things happen in accidents. CHECK EVERYTHING!

 

[PontiacJack]

geez man that's rough - but it sounds like you're staying pretty positive this time - what happened this time, were you leaning to hard?

The funny thing is I was smashing through the hills without a problem. The last strech of road before the freeway is what got me. On the last strech I could tell I was way out of my skill set but figured to myself, "No big deal, dry straight road and there is a stop sign 30 seconds from here." I started given her some confident front brake and poof... just like that I was sliding on my stomach watching the bike slide off the road. ooo wee, like I said, it was some experience. Fun fun fun, more fun if I wasn't still making payments on the damn thing = (

 

[dad1]

Was it cold out?

Remember, these tires, especially OEM, aren't up to snuff as the temps drop. It can start as you get under 60F and gets progressively worse, being pretty bad in the forties and below. Cold requires extra caution, especially below 50F.

 

[PontiacJack]

it was 50-60*F??? Bridgetones with 10k on them & lots of feathering... by the way how do you correct to reduce feathering? anyone?

 

[SoarAndEnvision]

few questions (and sorry if any of these seem silly, I don't know how long you've been riding,etc.)

- Do you engine brake?
- Did/do you grab at the front break, or do you squeeze "one finger at a time-ish"
- Do you warm up your tires by weaving side to side before riding?

Again sorry, I'm just trying to imagine how this all happened.

 

[AntiAndy]

few questions (and sorry if any of these seem silly, I don't know how long you've been riding,etc.)

- Do you engine brake?
- Did/do you grab at the front break, or do you squeeze "one finger at a time-ish"
- Do you warm up your tires by weaving side to side before riding?

Again sorry, I'm just trying to imagine how this all happened.

not sure who you're asking but ill bite.

1)As much as I can, though i usually find myself clutching to a stop, which i should get out of the habit of doing.
2)depending on the situation, the only time i would ever grab at the front break is in the event of someone pulling out ahead of me suddenly, but even then, i dont grab and hold down, i grab until i feel the break grab the disk, then instantly after i let of and get back on, not to overload the front break. Im not sure if it is proper technique, i just do it,
3)sometimes, specially if it is cold , i dont drag my knee or anything, but i figure the warmer the tire, the stickier the tire, the safer you are.

 

[PontiacJack]

few questions (and sorry if any of these seem silly, I don't know how long you've been riding,etc.)

- Do you engine brake?
yes... however the rear tire was soo bad it was breaking loose during mild downshifts

- Did/do you grab at the front break, or do you squeeze "one finger at a time-ish"
This was no panic break, completely planed brake, the bike was straight up and mid-squeeze I found myself on the ground.

- Do you warm up your tires by weaving side to side before riding?
I did the tilden park tour, very very lite traffic (cyclers & cars) so I was scooting pretty good for about 30 mins.

Again sorry, I'm just trying to imagine how this all happened.
No traction on front tire. While braking the bike starts to put stress on the front tire. Have you ever locked the front brake up? Kind of like that. The way I figure the tire's ability to slow the bike down reached zero so quickly due to obvious neglect (12months and about 12,000miles on the tire) since braking takes away from traction, I am assuming the tire said "f*&^ you" and slip right from underneath me. I don't know if it has anything to do with the crash but the bike fell on its left side and the wear of the front tire favors the left(alot)

 

[AntiAndy]

Im not scarred of crashing, that is to say, it will happen eventually, no point in riding around affraid of everything.

what DOES bother me however is getting my leg/pants caught on the side that goes down, and getting dragged with my leg under the bike...or the can...ouch.

obviously you have no control of your body as you get thrown off/to the side, but how did it work for you?were you thrown farther to the left and slide?did ya bounce? how far?

 

[PontiacJack]

Im not scarred of crashing, that is to say, it will happen eventually, no point in riding around affraid of everything.

what DOES bother me however is getting my leg/pants caught on the side that goes down, and getting dragged with my leg under the bike...or the can...ouch.

obviously you have no control of your body as you get thrown off/to the side, but how did it work for you?were you thrown farther to the left and slide?did ya bounce? how far?

Not scared? ... thats the spirit! (just don't end up like biaggi) Yeah be cool and prepared(gear).

and for your viewing pleasure!

Representing ex riders! and the corps of course.

Helmets are important

Knee 1

Knee 2

Well I guess half the tear down is already done for me = )