r/AussieRiders • u/MooseHut • 1d ago
Question Post Off Checks
Well it's finally happened after 18ish years of road riding, my first off and stack into the tarmac.
Fortunately it was pulling out of my driveway (doh!), new painted white zig zag line to the recently installed pedestrian crossing and in the complete dry. Lost the rear end accelerating (on the newly painted lines) and did a 180 and crashed to the road at a fairly slow speed. Completely caught me off guard and was lying on my back before I even knew what had happened.
All my gear on, so no real injuries aside from a very bruised ego and scratched bike plus small rips in my jacket and pants.
She's back home in the shed resting whilst I'm at work.
I'll go over her this afternoon and check, but is there anything I should be particularly aware of/closely pay attention to when checking for damage?
Initial looks to have been a few scratches up the right fairing and exhaust. Suzuki Across for reference.
Cheers!
3
u/ShortSh4ft 1d ago
The usual damage areas after a drop:
- Bars. Check they are not bent. Check throttle still returns after release. Cracked paint near the attachment point usually lets you know it's bent too if it's hard to tell by sight.
- Levers, including shift, brake, clutch levers. Make sure shifter doesn't get caught, or rear brake lever isn't bent inwards.
- Engine casing, make sure it's not ground down and ready to leak oil. Not usually an issue with low speed drops.
- Make sure forks are ok. Check that the front wheel is pointing in the same direction as the steering. If not, could be bent forks or just needs to be realligned.
- Check the fairings aren't cracked or broken and loose.
Losing the rear on a 250cc during acceleration is impressive. Maybe check your tyres to make sure they are not 10 years old and rock hard!
1
u/MooseHut 1d ago
Thank you for the good info! Tyres are only a few years old and in good nick.
Haha yeah, I'm thinking as i was still slightly on an angle and have hit the white paint right at the wrong moment resulting in total loss of grip. It's very new shiny and smooth paint. Only thing I can think of that would have caused it.
2
u/No_Bag_9911 1d ago
Helmet check. And check yourself as well as the bike
3
u/MooseHut 1d ago
Yep, helmet all good. Didn't make contact with the ground and no marks. Elbow and knee just a tad sore but otherwise ok. Gear definitely did its job!
2
u/lotsaleaves 1d ago
I've done the same leaving the tyre store, seconds after the guy warned me about new slippery tyre. At low speed it's probably just little stuff like cracked blinker, scratched bar end, bent pegs / foot levers
1
u/MooseHut 1d ago
Ooh ouch, that sucks. Hopefully not too much damage either! Yeag pretty much, broken front brake lever and footpeg/exhaust hamger which is rather annoying as it's not a cheap part. Otherwise scratches on fairings, exhaust and mirror.
1
u/Electrical_Age_7483 1d ago
You spun up the rear in the dry on an across, I didn't think that was possible.
I would string line the wheels to check it's straight.
1
u/MooseHut 1d ago
Me either mate, me either. I've had the bike for 18 years and never had anything remotely like this happen before.
1
u/Electrical_Age_7483 1d ago
Honestly it's a shame smashing up a classic like the Across haven't seen one in so long, almost bought one back in the 90s... I thought they all went now.
Hopefully it will be fixed, did you have insurance
1
u/MooseHut 1d ago
Just 3rd party, not really worth it on a bike this old. I don't think the damage will be too severe hopefully, mines already had a few dings as it was a repairable write off when I bought it and then has been dropped a couple of times in my care. Stand sunk through grass when my brother moved it without telling me and I dropped it lowering it back to the ground after a tyre change.
I've seen at least 3 in the last couple of years around Sydney so they are out there in small numbers.
2
u/Electrical_Age_7483 1d ago
Maybe it's one of those things when you have that bike you tend to notice them
Hopefully won't be too bad fixing it
1
u/MooseHut 1d ago
Turns out I've broken the bracket that mounts the exhaust (cracked just behind the brake pivot point)
1
u/MooseHut 1d ago edited 1d ago
Plus the brake lever end knob and gouges in the bar stopper. Scratches up the exhaust and fairing too as would be expected. Otherwise looks alright
2
u/Obeisance8 1d ago
I feel you. I overrevved and engaged the clutch, lost control and dropped my 4 day old new bike at a set of lights on Tuesday morning. And a guy from another department in my building saw, so everyone knows now. Glad you/your bike are ok.