My first off - SV650.org

13-01-05, 11:15 AM

I was out for a ride last night as the weather had been glorious for this time of year at lunchtime. Just did a quick half hour ride around the lanes near my house after work. I turned off the reasonably large lane I was on, down a narrow, poorly maintained road and suddenly the bike stopped turning and just went in a straight line. I was only doing 5-10mph thankfully and there was about as good a landing as I could hope for; a big muddy bank!

The road I turned onto was a lot muddier/wetter than the one I'd been on and unfortunately, I didn't see that until I had commited ot turn (no light was cast down it till I began to turn).

Both me and the bike toppled to the left, the bike landing on my leg. I kept the clutch in, but couldn't find the kill switch in the dark. I fumbled with the keys and got the engine off, but of course, that killed the lights too. So, I then had to get the bike back upright, in near-total darkness (middle of the countryside, no building or car lights and a fair bit of cloud cover). If I'd stopped to think about it, I'd probably of been scared of lifting the bike up there, for fear of going too far and it dropping the other side, onto the road!

Once it was up and I had the lights back on, I gave it a quick look over to ensure nothing was obviously damaged, it wasn't bleeding oil/fuel/etc. anywhere and then went gingerly home. Once on the dual carriageway, I got it up to 65mph and all sounded/felt well. Once home, I could see there was a bit of mud on it, but seemingly not even a scrape anywhere. Looks like my leg took the brunt of the force. My leg is fine though- not even a cut in clothes/leathers or me or any even slight pain.

There were a few things that suprised me during the whole thing:

1) How calm I remained through it- perhaps it was because it was low speed, or that it happened so quickly, but I didn't get that usual "near miss" adrenalin. The whole time my heart rate didn't feel like it had increased and I was very careful and logical throughout.

2) The bike was very easy to get back up, considering it was lying down, only about 20 degrees up from horizontal. I'm 13.5 stone and reasonably fit, but I'm no he-man. The bike has always felt a lot heavier when I've leant it a bit too far when moving it out of the garage etc.

3) How there wasn't more damage to it or me. I know it was low speed, but I thought just dropping the bike would be bound to damage something!

Thanks for reading all that, now a request for some advice:

Anything I should check for? I know it was very low speed and a soft landing, but is there anything on the left hand side prone to break/be bent by a left hand drop on the SV? Judging by the mud, the back wheel, footpeg and gear pedal were dug in deepest. Do you reckon it's worth taking round to a dealers for a check out?

13-01-05, 11:21 AM

Phew! Lucky escape by the sound of it.

If you ain't 100% sure, get a dealer to run a cursory eye over it. But if anything safety critical (clutch lever, gear lever, footpeg, clip on (handle bars) etc) is obviously bent then I would change it!

13-01-05, 11:26 AM

Good job your okay, albeit a little muddy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ceri JC

2) The bike was very easy to get back up,

The power of an adrenaline rush! Although you felt calm, I'm sure your body was pumped. All of a sudden you gain the strength of ten tiger! raa!yes, anyway...

13-01-05, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monkey

The power of an adrenaline rush! Although you felt calm, I'm sure your body was pumped. All of a sudden you gain the strength of ten tiger! raa!yes, anyway...

It was really weird, it was actually less of a struggle to lift than a smallish server I had lifted in work earlier that day!

fizzwheel · 13-01-05, 12:22 PM

Glad you are OK and the bike is to

I'm with scoobs if you are worried pop it down to your dealer and get it checked out and put your mind at rest

13-01-05, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

Glad you are OK and the bike is to

I'm with scoobs if you are worried pop it down to your dealer and get it checked out and put your mind at rest

I went to clean it and give it a looking over in good light this lunchtime. All looks well. One question though: can people confirm that the "leg" of the sidestand curves (as well as obviously being angled) outwards, ever so slightly? I'm almost certain it was like that before, I think I noticed it when the bike was new.

I'm going to get a scottoiler fitted this month, bank balance permitting. Do you reckon if I ask them to give it a checkover at the same time as that, they'd do it free? I trust my local dealer, but I don't want to pay £25 for someone to literally just cast an eye over it for 5 minutes and say, "Yeah looks alright to me" (Like I've done!)

13-01-05, 11:15 AM	#1
Ceri JC Guest Posts: n/a	My first off I was out for a ride last night as the weather had been glorious for this time of year at lunchtime. Just did a quick half hour ride around the lanes near my house after work. I turned off the reasonably large lane I was on, down a narrow, poorly maintained road and suddenly the bike stopped turning and just went in a straight line. I was only doing 5-10mph thankfully and there was about as good a landing as I could hope for; a big muddy bank! The road I turned onto was a lot muddier/wetter than the one I'd been on and unfortunately, I didn't see that until I had commited ot turn (no light was cast down it till I began to turn). Both me and the bike toppled to the left, the bike landing on my leg. I kept the clutch in, but couldn't find the kill switch in the dark. I fumbled with the keys and got the engine off, but of course, that killed the lights too. So, I then had to get the bike back upright, in near-total darkness (middle of the countryside, no building or car lights and a fair bit of cloud cover). If I'd stopped to think about it, I'd probably of been scared of lifting the bike up there, for fear of going too far and it dropping the other side, onto the road! Once it was up and I had the lights back on, I gave it a quick look over to ensure nothing was obviously damaged, it wasn't bleeding oil/fuel/etc. anywhere and then went gingerly home. Once on the dual carriageway, I got it up to 65mph and all sounded/felt well. Once home, I could see there was a bit of mud on it, but seemingly not even a scrape anywhere. Looks like my leg took the brunt of the force. My leg is fine though- not even a cut in clothes/leathers or me or any even slight pain. There were a few things that suprised me during the whole thing: 1) How calm I remained through it- perhaps it was because it was low speed, or that it happened so quickly, but I didn't get that usual "near miss" adrenalin. The whole time my heart rate didn't feel like it had increased and I was very careful and logical throughout. 2) The bike was very easy to get back up, considering it was lying down, only about 20 degrees up from horizontal. I'm 13.5 stone and reasonably fit, but I'm no he-man. The bike has always felt a lot heavier when I've leant it a bit too far when moving it out of the garage etc. 3) How there wasn't more damage to it or me. I know it was low speed, but I thought just dropping the bike would be bound to damage something! Thanks for reading all that, now a request for some advice: Anything I should check for? I know it was very low speed and a soft landing, but is there anything on the left hand side prone to break/be bent by a left hand drop on the SV? Judging by the mud, the back wheel, footpeg and gear pedal were dug in deepest. Do you reckon it's worth taking round to a dealers for a check out?

13-01-05, 12:22 PM	#5
fizzwheel Super Moderator Mega Poster Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Somerset Posts: 3,614	Glad you are OK and the bike is to I'm with scoobs if you are worried pop it down to your dealer and get it checked out and put your mind at rest __________________ Look Dave, I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over. K5 GSXR 750 Anniversary Edition

13-01-05, 11:21 AM	#2
Scoobs Guest Posts: n/a	Phew! Lucky escape by the sound of it. If you ain't 100% sure, get a dealer to run a cursory eye over it. But if anything safety critical (clutch lever, gear lever, footpeg, clip on (handle bars) etc) is obviously bent then I would change it!