I'm new to the group, new to riding, and new to dropping my bike...
Today I was installing a tank strap on my rebel. The SW Motech (Legend gear SLA) that I found on this forum. It looked awesome and I went to ride up and down the road to test its functionality. Well, as I was returning to the house, I was making a right hand turn, slowly in first gear (around like 8 mph). I hit some gravel (that I didn't see) late in the turn and the bike slid out from under me. I righted the bike and immediately noted some damage more severe than just some scuffs. The handle bars seem bent and the brake pedal is way bent. Anyone know how much this is going to run me to fix? I'm kinda anxious to see what the bill is going to be... I have insurance, but rather not use it if under $500 in damage. There's some minor scratches here and there but nothing to bad. My main concerns are the handle bars and brake pedal.
MIne felt due to strong winds. I had less cosmetic damages (bent handle bar and bent brake handles). I replaced the front brake, as it was angled 90 degrees. The handle bar took a bit of time to be repaired. They had to dissasemble it completely and screw everything again. Apparently with strong lateral forces (like when you fall) the screws have some room to move, so the handle bar moves a few degrees. Luckily for you that is not a hard problem.
For me all the work was 400 euros. Kinda expensive for what happened...but insurance paid for it, so it's OK.
Your cosmetic damage is, sadly, stronger than mine. Good luck with the repairs...and the bill!
That sucks, but at least you're ok. As long as there's no hidden damage beyond just the bar at the front then it seems mostly cosmetic and repairable. Probably wouldn't run you over 500 to bend things back in place. Will cost more obviously to replace windshield and exhaust if you don't want to live with the scuff marks, but I think you can cover those up easily to a great extent. The brake lever is easy and cheap to replace, and the tank is not noticeable at all.
We've all been there at some point, and like someone mentioned...a bruised ego is the biggest mark.
Curious how gravel caused a low side at such low speed though; did you overreact with your input when you felt the tire slip? I ask because, we obviously all fear gravel and debris mid turn, but usually the bike can correct itself just fine. There's a right curve that I have to take every time I leave the house, usually covered in debris and gravel. I have to take that turn also in 1st gear at a similar speed and I often feel the rear slip a little. It caught me off guard a few times, but now I just let it sort itself out - I think the biggest problem is rider input in these situations unfortunately. If you freak out (being a new rider like you mentioned), and start to make sudden and abrupt corrections, the bike won't like it. At least that's been my experience anyway.
That sucks, but at least you're ok. As long as there's no hidden damage beyond just the bar at the front then it seems mostly cosmetic and repairable. Probably wouldn't run you over 500 to bend things back in place. Will cost more obviously to replace windshield and exhaust if you don't want to live with the scuff marks, but I think you can cover those up easily to a great extent. The brake lever is easy and cheap to replace, and the tank is not noticeable at all.
We've all been there at some point, and like someone mentioned...a bruised ego is the biggest mark.
Curious how gravel caused a low side at such low speed though; did you overreact with your input when you felt the tire slip? I ask because, we obviously all fear gravel and debris mid turn, but usually the bike can correct itself just fine. There's a right curve that I have to take every time I leave the house, usually covered in debris and gravel. I have to take that turn also in 1st gear at a similar speed and I often feel the rear slip a little. It caught me off guard a few times, but now I just let it sort itself out - I think the biggest problem is rider input in these situations unfortunately. If you freak out (being a new rider like you mentioned), and start to make sudden and abrupt corrections, the bike won't like it. At least that's been my experience anyway.
I keep replaying the incident in my head over and over... so, there was no stop sign for my lane, like a T intersection, so I rolled off the throttle, slightly applied the brakes then let off, and slightly leaned into the turn, and all of a sudden I heard that sound of gravel scapping and it just slipped. I was on the ground before I truely knew what happened. The road was covered in a nice healthy layer of gravel. I could see where my tire(s) lost traction and slid out. I didnt really have any time to put any imputs in, as far as I recall. Maybe I subconciously did something but I have no idea.
If you're the DIY kinda person, don't care too much about a a few scoffs (I call them battle marks!) and are handy with a wrench, I sure you can get that all fixed for a lot let than the 500$ people have been quoting.
Brake lever looks scuffed and not bent. Maybe just touch it up with a little bit or paint, or get a new lever.
Tank damage is barely noticeable.
Exhaust has cosmetic damage. You can probably repaint it, or use this as a reason to upgrade to one of the aftermarket exhaust everybody seems to be so giddy about.
Brake pedal took quite a hit. You could try taking it off the bike and bending it back into shape. It's probably cheaper to just buy a new one and call it a day though. Probably not that expensive for just a piece of metal.
Bars are the only thing that looks like there might be more damage than meets the eye. First thing I would try would be to loosing all the bolts on the clamps, including the ones under the triple tree. Might have been that the bars twisted inside the clamps, in which case, just put the bars back where you want and tighten everything back up. If the bar themselves have lost their shape, it might be time to get new ones. You can go for OEM, or for the hundreds of different shapes that are provided by companies like Biltwell.
Windshield damage can be mostly fixed by sanding and polishing. I won't be "like new", but it will take away the painful reminder of the drop.
There has been a recent topic on the handlebars off centre (including a video). A search should be fruitful. Basically, you need to fix the front wheel and wrench the bars back to straight. As you say, there is room for movment built in. That presumes they are not actually bent.
It was just one of those unlucky things for you. I remember as a kid, whizzing down a steep hill on my bicycle and looking forward to the leaning right turn at the bottom. Well, I never saw the gravel either. Painful! We can learn the kind of situations where you might find gravel (at the bottom of hills!); or at certain times of the year; or where gravelly banks are regularly weathered away into the road. Just a few examples. By all means see what you can learn but don't beat yourself up over it; you are in the good company of a very great many.
dropped mine a week and a half after I got it. Was in a S turn at slow speed but too fast for the sharp curve and somehow went down. To this day can't figure out why but I've done the same turn since so I feel best not to overthink it. I had similar damage except my brake pedal was only scuffed not bent. I replaced the handlebars myself (OEM $30), adjusted the handlebar alignment, and readjusted the pedal. I left the scuffed lever until recently when I bought adjustable ones. Used black matte BBQ spray paint to cover the muffler scratches. Had to reconnect the brake wire as well. I still have a scuffed mirror a ding in the tank. My scars of battle. I learned all of these minor fixes from youtube videos. I learned ALOT about fixing a bike from the minor damage I had. So it cost me about $40 but I am also no l am no longer intimidated about working on the bike
Yep I dropped my bike at a full stop leaving the library. Cursed like a sailor and the Mom of the four year old who heard me helped me get the bike back up. Talk about embarrassing, but at least I’m a woman so only felt about half as embarrassed as my husband would have! You walk away from it, and it’s all good. A bike can be fixed more easily than you!
You would be surprised to find that Honda replacement parts from Honda are relatively cheap for a lot of them. Many folks use Babbitt but I use discounthondaparts.com they are usually cheaper and have good service. Always check more than one online parts source for a better price. Look up parts you want to replace. A car knocked over my Honda Grom in a parking lot. I bent the handlebars messed up a foot peg and cracked the front fender. OEM new parts ran less than 100 bucks shipped
Hey ya'll, figured I'd give an update. Got the bike into my local Honda dealer. They said that one of the handle bar mounting brackets broke and obviously the brake pedal was trashed. With the break in service, replacing the brake pedal, the handlebar bracket, and a new brake lever the total job is going to run $380. So not terrible. I could do the work myself for probably half the price, but I'm not confident in my abilities to get the steering perfectly straight. So, I'll let them handle that this time... but I appreciate everyone's responses and similar stories. I'm also going to take this opportunity to slightly modify the bike. I'll post pics of the repairs and mods. Thanks again for the encouragement! We rebel riders really have a great community!
FWIW, FYI, YMMV: A month ago I removed the M4 exhaust from the 300 to return to the quieter but scuffed stock muffler. Before reinstalling, I grabbed the closest can of black spray paint and I am very pleased with the result. I'd say it looks better than original and actually matches the front fender rather well. I thought I had pics but can post some if requested.
I'm back in action y'all. With just a few mods. I added mirror extenders, so I can see over my shoulders. I put on a mini sound bomb to louden the horn, definitely happy with it. Added a clip on wind visor to add a little extra wind protection. Finally, I finally secured my tank strap. She's comin together real well. Glad to be back on the road.
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