I Christened Her Today

[motochick]

Well I finally did it, she fell in a garage mishap today. No major damage, just a big 4" gouge in the plastic of the upper cowling :angry2: . I should not have been pushing the bike around in my garage because I had surgery on my ankle a month ago.

I just started walking on my own a few days ago. So being on my ass for a month watching TV all the time, I could not wait to get on my FJR. I did some work on it while my ankle was in cast and would stare at it everyday just waiting for the day I could ride again. I took it out for a spin to the coast over the weekend and I felt pretty comfortable when the bike was moving. Stopping I had to make sure the weight went on my left foot and not my injured one. Each day I'm feeling better and stronger so today I took it to my local Yamaha shop to get the new ECU on, get the YES warranty changed over to me and also apply for a job there(I'm unemployed and would love to work in the business that I love). So all went well today and brought her home and decided my ankle had enough for the day and rested it. Then I got the bright idea of kicking up the CO values on the new ECU up +7(like my old one), turn the bike around (which is where things went wrong), and go for a ride. My ankle was already weakened and our garage is full of junk leaving only a small area for me to push the bike around and turn it around. When I was backing it out somehow my ankle gave and the bike started to sway towards me. I think my adrenaline kept it from falling completely, but it did fall into our folding motorcycle trailer and got a gouge in the plastic. When I recovered I took the bike out anyway and I really think the new ECU with CO settings is great improvement. So anywho I hate staring at this gouge on the upper cowling but is it really worth me spending a $100 just so it looks pretty again or should I just "let it go" and save the money for fun on the bike? I dunno I'm probably worrying too much over something that could have been much worse. I guess battle scars are ok.

-jen

 

[cadman]

dang, sorry to read of your mishap moto-c..a blemish on our rides is very tough to accept.i have a few tiny marks on my side bags from a few careless dis-mounts. i have polished them out so they are not as noticable. as far as biting the bullet and buying replacement tupperware is something you will have to decide on your own. shoot ease up on the ankle and let it fully heal.

cadman

 

[user 213]

Sorry to hear about the opps. Strictly IMHO, but leave it and ride. I still have rash on my '04 from a pavement surfing episode two years ago. I keep telling myself I'll get it fixed, but it doesn't have anything to do with the bike working, so I don't want to give up the bike while it's being fixed.

 

[reddog]

I feel your pain! Three weeks ago after finishing the ride over nacimiento furgesson road to the coast I stopped in Gorda and and had mine go over in a parking lot. No major damage just hurt pride

and a few scratches. Anyways I think I'll let the scrathes ride for a few as a reminder to be more attentive to my surroundings and what the heck if people are close enough to see the scratches, they are to close to my bike anyways. Bobby

 

[monk69]

Plastic doesn't rust,fix it or not.Put some bucks in a jar till you have enough to fix,by then you might not even want to.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Well that just sucks, but is bound to happen. You sound like me...My wife was not happy when I took my bike out three weeks after having my ACL replaced. Being stir-crazy is absolutely not a good thing. As far as fixing it, I guess it depends on how much it really bothers you. Don't forget that Gerauld does great paint, which would prevent you from having to replace the part; however, I think Monk had the best idea for this dilemma I have ever heard.

 

[jerome burley]

jen, ouch........i feel more for your ankle than the bike. just be glad you don't have to kick start her! i broke my ankle a couple of years ago and it took sooo long to heal. i was always thankful that it was my left, for my last ride was a norton with a kick start, which could break your ankle on its own. live with the gouge at least till your ankle heals. i would love to ride my fjr on the coast. i lived in sonoma county for 25 years and know some incredable backroads. be easy on the ankle and let it heal. jerome

 

[FJRocket]

Well I finally did it, she fell in a garage mishap today......
...... I guess battle scars are ok.

-jen

Yep. Welcome to the club!

 

[C&C]

Welcome to the Club. You probably already know it but the worse part is that you constantly replay the event in your head and kick yourself over and over for being so (let's just say it stupid). Hang in there, the memories will fade (slower than you'd like but you'll get over it). Hang tough and take solice that you're not alone.

 

[madmike2]

Sorry, Jen! Obviously you are not the first to enjoy this "experience". That doesn't make it feel any better but you are not exclusive to this adventure.

Uhm...er...and the Doctor said it's okay to put this kind of strain on your ankle? :blink: The nurses and physical terrorist didn't give you any reminders to keep everything "square" until the ankle is completely healed? BTDT with an injury so I completely understand.

As with other comments, I have a couple of scratches on mine. Ixnay on the upidstay! You might consider finding some touch-up paint to cover the worst of the scar and then decide on more permanent options.

Finally, did the combination of ECU replacement and raising the CO levels smooth the throttle transitions?

 

[Geezer]

You can't see it from the seat so it's not really there.

I have quite a few little scratches on my '05. I just use a small dupli-color touch up to fill them in. You can't see them at all from 10 feet away or over 10 mph.

 

[terrysig]

been there done that, always let it go for awhile just to give me a reminder not to do stupid stuff!

Once I thought I learned the lesson it got fixed.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Ooops. Them that has and them that will.

Personally, if financially not a problem I'd either get the panel fixed or replaced, because every time I'd look at the damage would be a reminder, vs having it gone it'll be forgotten soon enough.

But then, I'm like a dog in "out of sight, out of mind."

 

[motochick]

Sorry, Jen! Obviously you are not the first to enjoy this "experience". That doesn't make it feel any better but you are not exclusive to this adventure.
Uhm...er...and the Doctor said it's okay to put this kind of strain on your ankle? :blink: The nurses and physical terrorist didn't give you any reminders to keep everything "square" until the ankle is completely healed? BTDT with an injury so I completely understand.

As with other comments, I have a couple of scratches on mine. Ixnay on the upidstay! You might consider finding some touch-up paint to cover the worst of the scar and then decide on more permanent options.

Finally, did the combination of ECU replacement and raising the CO levels smooth the throttle transitions?

Thanks for the solace guys. I figured a lot of you had christened your bike also, but I needed to hear so I could forget about it. I imagine when I get a job and have a few spare bucks I might replace the cowling. Its seems like every bike I've owned had a "little reminder" of something stupid I did, from forgetting to put my kickstand out on my CB750 to dropping my Old Concours while doing a U-turn in front of a whole group of women riders as I went to my first ride with them. I think I'm over it already. As for my ankle, as soon as the doc took off the soft cast and said I should start exercising the ankle and walking more each day, I couldn't help but see if I was ready to ride. I was ready but not real ready to hold the bike up when its not moving so I have to be careful. The doc wants me to start swimming to build strength in the ankle, probably a good idea.

The new ECU along with raising the CO levels was quite surprising. I had them up +7 on the old ECU and I noticed slight improvement on takeoff and shift to 2nd, but with the new ECU that improvement was more noticeable. Smooth power and less prominent flat spots in the power curve. I could almost live with this if I haven't already purchased the PCIII, however it still has some flat spots after 3k and the dreaded 4k buzz. I am eager to get that PCIII installed to see the difference.

-jen

 

[Scarbo]

Sorry to hear about your bike, and your ankle. These kind of "accidents" are going to happen. I had only owned my '04 for a month (I bought it last year, but it was in great condition) when I was trying to back it into my garage and my left foot slipped on some sand on the floor. The bike went down and put some deep scratches on the left side fairing and the left mirror, and some minor scratches on the luggage. AAARRRGGGGG.

While I try to chalk it up to "accidents will happen", seeing those scratches every time I saw the bike just about made me sick.

Anyway, short of replacing the left mirror, there's nothing I could do about that, but the plastic is black and you don't really notice the scratches. I used some WD40 on the scratches on the luggage and they practically disappeared.

I bought some touch-up paint pens from ColorRite for the fairing. The color pen matched perfectly and I also bought a clear coat pen. While my shade tree body work is not perfect, it looks much better than just leaving it all scratched up, and I don't really notice it anymore.

Well, good luck to you Jen. Hope your ankle heals quickly.

 

[Foxhuntr]

Sorry, Jen! Obviously you are not the first to enjoy this "experience". That doesn't make it feel any better but you are not exclusive to this adventure.
Uhm...er...and the Doctor said it's okay to put this kind of strain on your ankle? :blink: The nurses and physical terrorist didn't give you any reminders to keep everything "square" until the ankle is completely healed? BTDT with an injury so I completely understand.

As with other comments, I have a couple of scratches on mine. Ixnay on the upidstay! You might consider finding some touch-up paint to cover the worst of the scar and then decide on more permanent options.

Finally, did the combination of ECU replacement and raising the CO levels smooth the throttle transitions?

Thanks for the solace guys. I figured a lot of you had christened your bike also, but I needed to hear so I could forget about it. I imagine when I get a job and have a few spare bucks I might replace the cowling. Its seems like every bike I've owned had a "little reminder" of something stupid I did, from forgetting to put my kickstand out on my CB750 to dropping my Old Concours while doing a U-turn in front of a whole group of women riders as I went to my first ride with them. I think I'm over it already. As for my ankle, as soon as the doc took off the soft cast and said I should start exercising the ankle and walking more each day, I couldn't help but see if I was ready to ride. I was ready but not real ready to hold the bike up when its not moving so I have to be careful. The doc wants me to start swimming to build strength in the ankle, probably a good idea.

The new ECU along with raising the CO levels was quite surprising. I had them up +7 on the old ECU and I noticed slight improvement on takeoff and shift to 2nd, but with the new ECU that improvement was more noticeable. Smooth power and less prominent flat spots in the power curve. I could almost live with this if I haven't already purchased the PCIII, however it still has some flat spots after 3k and the dreaded 4k buzz. I am eager to get that PCIII installed to see the difference.

-jen

You're gonna like that PCIII :yahoo:

 

[HaulinAshe]

"Chiks dig scars!" is what I've always been told. So you should be loving the bike even more!



Ride it a while and see what still matters. You'll be surprised once the ouchy effect wears off.

 

[keithaba]

4" Sticker? :dntknw:

 

[Bungie]

4" Sticker? :dntknw:

So I guess you happy those stickers they put on the sides of buses have really come down in price huh :lol:

How's the nekkid FJR coming along?