Well it is official, i had my first low side experience today while driving home from work. It was raining so i was taking a left turn slowly, and then next thing you know, the bike slid out right from under me and my passenger. Thankfully we are both alright just a nice scratch on her knee, and some nice road rash on my left elbow. Sadly the ninja, has seen better days. )This of course all happening before i had a chance to put my frame sliders on.) The left fairing is scraped up pretty well, alot of white, ( its a black 650) The shifter seems to be bent up, still shifts but in very akward opinion. The nice people of springfield ma that were driving behind me immediately stopped and made sure we were alright and even helped lift the bike up. So tomorrow i get to bring the bike to the shop and see how much buffering can be done to get the scratches out, or see if just replacing the left fairing will be easier/cheaper.
First and hopefully last crash
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That's a bummer, glad to hear no serious injury. Id bet it would be cheaper to buy replacement plastics from another forum member or ebay. I sold my stock plastics on here a few months ago. Post up a WTB thread in the classifieds and see what pops up
Good luck with the repair
Good luck with the repair
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Sucks even worse when you have a passenger. Did your helmets hit the pavement?
Were you crossing over some painted lines in the roadway when this happened? Have you figured out what caused the bike to slide out from under you? Tires close to needing replacement? Oil slick?
Were you crossing over some painted lines in the roadway when this happened? Have you figured out what caused the bike to slide out from under you? Tires close to needing replacement? Oil slick?
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That happened to me once, about 15 years ago. I was riding home and it was just starting to rain. The thing about intersections is they are always oil soaked. Even if you don't see a distinct oil slick, there is still oil embedded in the pavement that turns super slick when it rains.
I pretty much don't ride in rain, and I don't take my bike to work if there's a chance of rain that day. I don't go for the normal BS saying "real motorcyclists ride in all weather". IMHO, riding in rain is just not smart. It bakes a bad situation (motorcycles must have full traction all the time) 500% worse.
Glad you're ok though, and yeah everyone does have to deal with unexpected rain now and then.
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Glad your ok. Anything you can get up from, walk away and complain about how bad your bike now looks - everything is a.. o.. k..
Thank goodness your passenger is ok too.
+1 with Thoweel.. lets do some post analyzation.
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Good to hear that you both are OK! What gear did your passenger have on. I've been trying to make my wife use all the gear I bought for her as a passenger, but she doesn't feel like putting everything on. She says she's not driving so she doesn't need all the gear. I think i need to look up the "queen of road rash" again :/
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:wtf:
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Wives can be rather hypocritical at times... Mine pretty much demanded that I wear a bright jacket so she wouldn't have to worry about me being seen when I ride. Her jacket is black...
Granted, she worries about me more than she worries about herself...
But at least mine has Kevlar-lined jeans and full gear.
Granted, she worries about me more than she worries about herself...
But at least mine has Kevlar-lined jeans and full gear.
Glad to hear you're ok, OP.
Won't see my girl on a bike without at least a jacket and helmet. Although I generally won't go on a bike without the same. I think I've squidded it once just to see what it was like. Even if I don't have leather protecting my legs I'm nervous. But that could be because I went down at only 40 kph and got some nice road rash on my knee.
Drives me nuts when I see people flying down the highway with some little chick on the back wearing a tiny little skirt, flip flops, and a tank top. That @$$ won't look so good once the road shreds it off. Usually I'm wondering if the risks were actually explained to the girls.
Although seeing little like 5 year old kids looking like they're about to fly off the back with no gear bugs me more.
Won't see my girl on a bike without at least a jacket and helmet. Although I generally won't go on a bike without the same. I think I've squidded it once just to see what it was like. Even if I don't have leather protecting my legs I'm nervous. But that could be because I went down at only 40 kph and got some nice road rash on my knee.
Drives me nuts when I see people flying down the highway with some little chick on the back wearing a tiny little skirt, flip flops, and a tank top. That @$$ won't look so good once the road shreds it off. Usually I'm wondering if the risks were actually explained to the girls.
Although seeing little like 5 year old kids looking like they're about to fly off the back with no gear bugs me more.
@jmasc22 Glad you walked away from the lowside. The important thing is you're alive and well. The bike can be fixed. 
My first crash was also a lowside and luckily my leathers saved my hide. I escaped with minor bruising.
@unL33T This one time I saw some guy on a CBR with his 8 year old kid on the back. She was just wearing a helmet and a pink backpack. Dad was lane splitting on CA-17.
My first crash was also a lowside and luckily my leathers saved my hide. I escaped with minor bruising.@unL33T This one time I saw some guy on a CBR with his 8 year old kid on the back. She was just wearing a helmet and a pink backpack. Dad was lane splitting on CA-17.
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I saw the above a few times in California when I visited my brother last year during the summer months. Maybe it's normal in California to see barely clad chicks with sandals, oversized sunglasses, and fruity colored tank tops on the back of MC passenger seat. To top it off, one of the operator I saw wore knee high khakis with only a helmet on (no gloves, no shoes, no shirt). I'm almost sure these chicks are fully aware of the risks they're taking along with the operator. They have to be.
She had on jeans, sneakers, long sleeve shirt, and sweatshirt over, with gloves and a helmet. Thankfully neither of our heads or helmets came into contact with the pavement. We really just seemed to slide across the pavement.
Helmets did not hit the ground. I was making a left hand turn at an intersection didnt cross any lines. My tires have 2000 on them and still have plenty of tread left. I just remember getting up afterwards and standing on the pavement felt almost icey from all the rain. So lesson learned, be extra careful if it is raining. As for me, i will be taking the car once the rain starts, and i will leave the bike for those nice sunny days.
I will thanks for the heads up.. How did you fix the leak, and how much did it end up costing you?
Replaced the cover. I think it was about $30 for the gasket (local dealer) and $50 for the cover (from AsianConnection71 on eBay, not sure if they can get parts for the 650 before the 09 model) if I remember correctly. Did the work myself. Wasn't too hard, just a little time consuming. If you're gonna do it take a pic of how the cables and overflow/vent hoses are routed before you pull them out because I didn't and now I'm not sure if I put them back in how they were originally.
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Was this a slight rain after a few days of dry weather? If it wasn't raining long enough and hard enought to wash the roads they can be really slippery. There is a technique for turning on wet roads that is similar to riding on gravel roads. You said you were taking a left turn. You put most of your weight on the right footpeg and lean your body to the left which keeps the bike almost upright which lessons the chance of a slideout.
Also were your tires heated up or did this happen soon after starting out?
I have many miles of rain experience and intersections definitely make me slow way down.
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