Wot, no sliders?

Well, I've joined the "should have put sliders on" club.

Turning left out of my lane, wound on the throttle a bit and the back end just went. Slid down the road, the bike rotating slowly as it slid, ending up pointing the wrong way. Me following on my side. Luckily, didn't find the curb.

Damage?

- Windscreen off but OK, 'W' frame broken off, plastic screws all broken.

- Left mirror, fairing, indicator, engine cover, pannier all scraped,

- Hand gear change lever broken.

- Rub on the silencer.

- Kit? Barely a mark, I'm amazed. I wear a Triumph branded two-piece Cordura suit. Looking at it you'd never know.

- Ego: shattered.

Why did it happen?

- I was running late. I've always said, if you're in a hurry, take the car.

- Tyres were cold.

- There was some fluid on the road, not sure whether it was contributory, or came from my bike. (Does fluid come out when the bike goes over? The fuel tank was full.) EDIT: It wasn't fluid, smooth tar.

- The real reason? Me.

Recovery?

No problem. A couple of motorists stopped, helped me up with the bike, checked I was OK. Picked up the screen, the pannier "Yamaha" logo strip, the broken finger gear-change lever. Strapped the screen to the pillion seat, clicked the left mirror back into position and adjusted it, checked everything looked functional, and rode it back home (re-learning the use of the foot gear change). Oh, didn't have to turn the bike round in the road, it was pointing back already.

Found some screws to put the screen back on (temporarily until I get the proper plastic ones), then rode it back to work, much later than I would have been if I hadn't been rushing.

Pictures (click on one to make it bigger):

View shows windscreen held on (temporarily) with metal screws, no "W";

Mirror scraped, upper left faring worn away, just above the reflection of the indicator;

Crankcase cover gouged:



Close-up of the fairing gouge:



Close-up of the indicator:



Close-up of the crankcase cover:



The pannier (the two black lines towards the bottom are where it's rubbed through):



The silencer (perhaps I can pretend I was cornering hard? Well, I was):



Scene of the crime, looking back from about where the bike ended up. Not much to see, the light scrapes are my paint, plastic and metal. The road on the right is where I was coming from.



A few more pictures here.

Don't know why I'm posting. It's plain embarrassing. Just hoping someone might learn something from my stupidity.

Sorry to hear about your fall, but glad you made it through ok. The damage doesn't seem very bad at all.

Just curious. (I've never driven an AE.) Assuming you were driving an A model, do you think you could have prevented the rear slide out if you would have grabbed the clutch lever just as the rear wheel broke loose?

SR-71

mcatrophy said:

Well, I've joined the "should have put sliders on" club.

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As a member myself, I can say, that club *sucks*.

Don't know why I'm posting. It's plain embarrassing. Just hoping someone might learn something from my stupidity.

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Sorry to hear about the damage but glad to hear it's only your ego that's broken.

SR-71 said:

Sorry to hear about your fall, but glad you made it through ok. The damage doesn't seem very bad at all.
Just curious. (I've never driven an AE.) Assuming you were driving an A model, do you think you could have prevented the rear slide out if you would have grabbed the clutch lever just as the rear wheel broke loose?

SR-71

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SR-71 -

Damage not bad, but quite costly.

As for the de-clutching, no, there simply wasn't time. I just leaned it over as I opened it up, and the bike just seemed to flip. There wasn't an "Oh sh*t" moment until I was on the ground. I don't think even Rossi could have saved it (unless he pushed it up on his knee). I've known the back end move out before, but always been able to catch it on the throttle. This was just too quick.

Tough luck MCA... leaning/accelerating on cold tires have nearly bitten me more than once. Glad you're not hurt.

Ok, thanks for the info. I was just curious how quickly all the power can be disengaged from the AE model, compared to a clutched model.

I had a similar situation happen to me years ago while living in Texas. It had not rained in nearly 2 straight months. At the time I was riding a 1981 Kawi KZ-1000 with a full Vetter fairing setup. I ended up getting caught out on the highway in an isolated downburst which quickly stopped but left the streets well soaked. As I exited off the highway I saw the light was green so I proceeded through the intersection taking a right turn. Half way through the turn both tires started sliding out from under me; no doubt due to the oil film on road; (which like an idiot, I didn't foresee!). At the time I was also racing motocross bikes so I instinctively powered up and power-slid that beast through the intersection. I managed to keep it upright and (eventually) got back in the proper lane. Luckily there wasn't any other vehicles in the intersection because I ended up using all the lanes to pull this off. That was a close one! :gah: My dirt bike experience definitely paid off that day!

Sorry to hear about that. Glad you're not too badly bruised, and frankly from the looks of that intersection things could have been much much worse as THE CARS ARE ALL DRIVING ON THE WRONG SIDE!

Any chance you can find some replacement parts from bikes being cannibalized on e-bay? Hope you're on the road again soon.

C

Glad to hear your ok! Posting is theraputic!

Sorry about your mishap! Looks like it could have been a lot worse, though. I hope you find comfort in knowing that most of us have laid down their bike one time of the other. Only seems like with the FJR the result is more severe than with many other bikes.

Taking delivery of my new FJR tomorrow, and not too keen on joining this club, so I'm wondering... With sliders, would there still have been some damage, just less, or would they have been able to protect all parts that ended up being affected? Do sliders do anything for the rear of the bike, in particular the cases?

catastrophy,

Done the same thing on my 88 Connie several years ago. Cold tires/sharp right turn/too much throttle. Ended up on the road seemingly faster than force due to gravity alone can provide. Big, make that, GIANT multi colored bruise on right hip, many broken and dented Kawasaki parts. I did learn a valuable lesson though. I haven't made that mistake again. It's likely you won't either. Glad you weren't seriously hurt.

mcatrophy said:

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Is the back of your mirror black? Is this Euro only thing?

Sorry to hear of your fall, glad you are ok..

KM

Thanks for all the support, people.

A few specific responses:

artistonFJR said:

.. THE CARS ARE ALL DRIVING ON THE WRONG SIDE! ..C

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Not a problem, they don't usually look where they are going, so they don't care which side of the road they're on.

gregory said:

Glad to hear you're ok! Posting is theraputic!

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Cheaper than a shrink as well.

SEA-FJR said:

... I hope you find comfort in knowing that most of us have laid down their bike one time of the other. ...

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Not really, I just feel stupid. But thanks for the thought.

SEA-FJR said:

... With sliders, would there still have been some damage, just less, or would they have been able to protect all parts that ended up being affected? Do sliders do anything for the rear of the bike, in particular the cases?

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I think you will find they will reduce damage, but not eliminate it. Rear cases won't be helped at all. Might actually increase frame damage in a more severe off (but you probably wouldn't care if it's that bad).
You will enjoy your new bike, don't let my mishap do anything but make you have respect for its power.

FJReady said:

catastrophy,...

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That put the first smile on my face since since it happened, thanks.

Knifemaker said:

Is the back of your mirror black? Is this Euro only thing?...

KM

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It's not black, just the lighting (shows better in the bigger picture, it's clearer).
Now, how much oil do I have to drain to change the crankcase cover? No, don't answer that, it'll throw this into the NEPRT category :headbonk: