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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Dumped my Savage for the first time :'(
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Message started by savskad on 05/02/15 at 06:21:19

Title: Dumped my Savage for the first time :'(
Post by savskad on 05/02/15 at 06:21:19

I knew this day would come...in my personal experience, dropping every bike you own (at least once) is inevitable. Today I got on my bike to move it to some covered parking and thought I had left the forks unlocked, hopped on started to give it throttle and leaned away from the kick stand side and realized the forks were still locked. Both me and the bike went down. :'( Other than some scrape marks on the bar ends, the foot pegs, rear turn signal, and the muffler, there is no obvious damage.

Just wanna be safe, has anyone here experienced any other damage from a low speed fall? Bent handle bars/risers, fork damage...etc etc.

I might just be over reacting...but this is my first new bike ever.

Thanks y'all.

Title: Re: Dumped my Savage for the first time :'(
Post by Drestakil on 05/02/15 at 06:48:38

I dumped a Yamaha DS7 back in the '70s due to ignorance. I always checked the oil and tire pressure but never gave a thought about the spokes loosening. They loosen so gradual that you never notice it when riding. Was making a turn on a gravel road and it went squirrely on me. The face shield on my helmet saved me from ripping my nose off on the gravel.

Like your little accident, it was a learning experience. Always check the spokes and always wear protective gear.

Title: Re: Dumped my Savage for the first time :'(
Post by WD on 05/02/15 at 09:49:47

Handlebar is flimsy, riser caps are weak. Check for bend and alignment.

Footpegs are soft, check for straightness.

Fork tubes can twist in the lower fork stanchion. Loosen the pinch bolts, front wheel braced against something immobile, a couple hard bounces will pop them back straight.

Other than that, run a standard bolt tension check, make sure the mirror is set right, and ride on.

Title: Re: Dumped my Savage for the first time :'(
Post by Flint on 05/02/15 at 10:20:25

Dumped mine a couple of weeks ago. I was following an old logging road and tried to avoid some ruts made by a dozer. I drove up on the side of the hill to go around but the grass was frosty and the bike spun in a half circle and I dumped it.

Not a scratch on the bike, just had to adjust my mirror. Lucky.

Title: Re: Dumped my Savage for the first time :'(
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 05/02/15 at 11:07:44

I can't envision getting on, putting hands on the bar and not moving them.

I'm betting that you never do that again.

Wheel locks have been known to bust a few bubbles.

Title: Re: Dumped my Savage for the first time :'(
Post by savskad on 05/02/15 at 11:34:16

http://i.imgur.com/CWK8N9El.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/aVOCbmhl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/AS38aMhl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/qaYP3PGl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ZzXjyawl.jpg

Yeah, I still have a hard time picturing how I did it. I think my mistake was I gave it gas before straightening the handlebars because I was counting on being able to turn right...

Title: Re: Dumped my Savage for the first time :'(
Post by jcstokes on 05/02/15 at 14:23:36

This happened to me about a year ago when I went to visit friends about 100 miles away. I had a very pleasant ride up and stopped on their slightly cambered driveway. I must have hooked my foot in my luggage as I was dismounting or the camber was to great for my right leg. Next minute the bike was on top of me and I couldn't get out from underneath. I forgot about the kill switch and the bike was trying to drag me along underneath it. I sustained a reasonable gash to my left leg. It bled quite profusely. the only damage to the bike was a broken right rear indicator. Fixed with duct tape after various glues failed.

Title: Re: Dumped my Savage for the first time :'(
Post by savskad on 05/02/15 at 15:57:06

383121263D393721520 wrote:

YOUCH! I slightly scraped my arm, that's about it. My pride is what is bruised the most.

Title: Re: Dumped my Savage for the first time :'(
Post by savskad on 05/02/15 at 16:02:56

I updated my pictures in my previous reply. I added 2 others. The pictures I took were the only places I saw any damage. The last one, the turn signal, there is just a tiny tiny scratch. The front foot-peg is slightly bent backwards (towards the rear of the bike). The handlebars appear to be straight. I haven't had the chance to ride it yet to see if it has affected how it rides.

I do have a friend who has a Savage and I don't know how many times that guy has wrecked on his. I never noticed anything funny about it after he had crashed it. Hopefully I got lucky...

I don't foresee this happening again either (famous last words, right?). I'm debating on whether or not I still want to use the fork locks for this very reason, or maybe get a curly orange cable, similar to the ones that come with some of those front disk locks, and have it there to run onto my throttle anytime I do lock the forks to help me remember. If I get the chance, I'll let y'all know it rides funny when I ride home today.

Title: Re: Dumped my Savage for the first time :'(
Post by GBG on 05/02/15 at 16:55:20

Chicks dig scars.

Title: Re: Dumped my Savage for the first time :'(
Post by Serowbot on 05/02/15 at 17:12:48

Ahhhh,.. battle scars...
She's broke-in now... ;)...

Title: Re: Dumped my Savage for the first time :'(
Post by arteacher on 05/02/15 at 17:34:06

40 years ago on a hot summer day, I went to the local variety store on my wife's little Suzuki step-through dressed in a t-shirt, shorts, and buffalo sandals. (Heck, I was only going a couple of blocks). There had been some asphalt repair on the turn in to the plaza which they hadn't finished so the put down pea gravel and oiled it. Down I went onto my right side, scraping up my right leg and arm pretty good, and tearing the skin between my right big toe and the next toe. It also ruined the sandal, which I threw away on the spot. After kicking the foot peg to some semblance of straightness, I decided that as long as I was there I would get the milk. I pushed the bike to the store and went in, my right bare foot leaving a bloody foot print all the way to the back of the store and back to the front to the counter. Blood was dripping from my right hand as well. (You should have seen the look on the clerk's face). I must have been a little shocky, because I don't remember feeling any pain. I drove home and my wife spent an hour removing road debris from my arm and leg while I stood in the shower. I then went to emerg and had two stitches between my toes.
Lesson learned.

Title: Re: Dumped my Savage for the first time :'(
Post by savskad on 05/03/15 at 05:42:33

6962626B6768697372060 wrote:

I'm cringing just thinking about it.

Worst "wreck" I've had on a bike was probably when I was 16 years old, I was on my 1991 Nighthawk 250. My younger brother was riding passenger. It was a busy day, we were on our way to the mall on a Friday afternoon during rush hour, bumper to bumper at a stop light. I realized if I had went in the turn-only "chicken lane" I could get all the way to the light and still make it to the mall parking lot. So I checked my mirrors, -clear-, so I pulled over into the turn lane and right about that moment, BAM! some chick flying down the turn lane at 30MPH hit the left side passenger peg and sent both me and my brother to the ground. Luckily since traffic was otherwise at a stand-still, I didn't have to worry about secondary impact. The only injuries we suffered was I bruised and scraped my left ankle, and my brother had injured his foot to some degree (worse than I had hurt my ankle). We were both limping around the house that weekend, come Monday, I was able to walk normally, but my brother got to ride around in a rolling chair at school for the next week. :-/

All that seemed to happen to the nighthawk was bent the shift lever all the way around and the passenger foot peg she hit was messed up a little bit. Probably some scrapes on the handlebars and muffler.

Moral of the story, checking your mirrors is a good habit, but turning your head and looking is best (assuming you're not moving too quickly with stuff in front of you).

Title: Re: Dumped my Savage for the first time :'(
Post by UneSauvage on 05/03/15 at 20:38:14

My first time in the rain last December. Was going through an intersection turning left and I felt like I was going too fast and was going to hit the curb, and my instinctive and wrong reaction was to ease off the throttle. The rear wheel slid out from under me and I slid about 10 feet to the curb. The only damage I saw to the bike was that the left foot peg was twisted and bent. I don't know how I was able to ride it home, it was very difficult to shift. My body landed on my left knee, left cheek, left rear ribcage, and left elbow which was protected by CE armor. I bought new footpegs from a guy in Tennessee on ebay very nice but only replaced the left one. I have the right one just in case something untoward happens on the right side. I'm a lot more careful about my throttle control now.