Had the first bike "incident" tonight. Stopped at a neighborhood intersection and the bike (now full of gas and a bit top heavy) just tilted a bit too much to the right with my foot on the rear brake pedal. I literally set the bike down hard on its right handlebar. One new front brake lever required... Oh and some bruised pride...
I know the feeling. The first ding, and on a beautiful ORANGE bike no less. <sob, sob>
And once these things start going horizontal, there is nothing you can do except try to control the drop, as you did.
But stuff happens, and the bike can be fixed. At least you're OK.
The OEM brake lever is rather expensive (and so are the clutch levers), so it might be better just to scour ebay or your local dealer and get aftermarket levers. Some are even shorter so they won't break as easily.
And crash bars cost less than the fuel tank fairing. I found out in a low side on clear ice (in Feb) that I don't want to be replacing anymore fairings, so I bolted Givi's on. To me they're worth the price for added protection.
You sir, with this reply, are really what this forum is all about. Vstromers helping Vstromers and showing compassion to boot. Well done.
P.S. No. I’m not British...BUT when the Empire ruled I do believe they were quite proper in their resolve to bring the Queen's English to the masses...if nothing else. Forgive me, I do digress, this is after all...a motor bike. err uhmm...motor cycle forum.
High tea for everyone and I must insist a bit of cricket in our Sunday best. Quite rousing, indeed.
Although please...do NOT fornicate on the front lawn after indulgences ( or any reason for that matter) as it is quite upsetting to some or our honorary guests, though some might condone but their hearts are too fragile as you can imagine.
Anyway, again, so glad to find this community and I do hope to 'live to ride and ride to live' with you....well....commoners. Yes, quite so.
Indeed. I was very happy that I was able to keep it off the fairings -- especially since my Givi crashbars arrive in 3 days... This was my second ride on the bike -- having some trouble getting used to the height and high CG of the V-Strom. But I will dust myself off and give it another try soon.
If [read "When"] you fall off the "horse", get straight back on :yesnod:
I laid my BMW GS down twice, softly, it happens.
I have been hit by cars twice and laid down a few dirt bikes over the years, but for the most part I have kept the rubber side down.
When I got my first bike [as a 17 year old] I was told I was "temporary Australian", I turned 56 five weeks ago, not bad for "temporary" :fineprint: ]
Been lucky with the Wee, so far, scratched one pannier on the bricks in the carport the day after I bought the bike :headbang: and have subsequently also scratched the other one too :furious:
Met a woman the other day who had just picked up a Gladius, went to the rego office to transfer the bike to her name, kid ran in front of her so she grabbed the brakes and the bike lay down breaking the right hand lever [same as yours, they are designed to break there so you still have a working brake lever, just file the sharp edge off and don't worry about replacing it :beatnik: ].
It's a pity Suzuki don't have the same lever for the clutch, if you drop it on the left it may break close to the pivot point and then you can't use the clutch [practice clutchless gear changes and push roll starts in neutral then dropping it in to gear without using the clutch, stopping is a whole other issue :yikes: pull up in neutral and repeat the whole roll start scenario all over again- PITA but you will get home or to somewhere to fix the bike]. :thumbup:
At least you are over the "first drop" :biggrinjester:
Everyone does it sooner or later. :green_lol:
Ditto. Instead of spending some $80 odd dollars I just sanded the busted end and am quite comfortable with it now. If you do a search here you'll find a cheaper replacement, I belive Parts Unlimited has one that will work.
Don't feel so bad about it, I've dropped mine on both sides now. :headbang:
Enjoy the ride.
Thanks for the supportive replies. I have a replacement lever on its way, but I think I will sand down the old one and ride with it for a while -- just in case I do it again... Seems like it might be wise to carry a couple spare levers when touring just in case too.
I did the exact damage to my brake lever. Took it to my welding buddy, fixed it in 5 minutes. Cost.......I patted him on the back and said " atta boy ".
I did that less than 5 miles after I got mine. I found a new lever for $20 shipped but I don't remember where. So far I have not repeated the experience. I did crack/bend a turn signal but it went back into place after I picked the bike up off it.
The wee is a lot harder to catch than my ninja 250 was.
If you are struggling with the weight? Make sure you point the front tire where you want to go. Coming to a stop where you are going to use your left leg to hold up the bike? Have that front tire pointing slightly to the left. That will stop it from rolling in the direction of the fall. Momentum combined with weight is what gets you. Same rule with off camber stops, the road drops away to your right for example. If that front tire is pointing right, you will go down hard. If it is pointing to the left you can lean your body weight left or even let the clutch out some and the motor will pull the bike out of the fall. Of course if you have the front pointing right and let the clutch out? You can do a doughnut:green_lol:
That's because we have heavy duty hand guards to protect the levers when we dump the bike. Also dumping a bike off road doesn't count... that's called "fun".
If you Gurlz will take your clutch lever off and cut a small slit in it with a hacksaw, that's where it'll break off when you fall. Cut from the bottom side, about 1/3 of the way in from the end ball, or where ever you want it to break. Cut about half way thru the lever, polish the lever with emery cloth and you're good to go. Leaves you a stub to get home on.
and what about the warranty? dumping dirt or street ... im leaking an oily substance from up high but beneath the seat/tank area. not sure if the warranty still covers it?
How would they know that you dropped it? How do you know they didn't drop it?:jawdrop: (before you got it) How do you know the drop caused the leak? If you still have warranty, take it in asap and see what they say. (nuthin to lose) Let us know how it turns out.:yesnod:
Many have been there. I was helping a buddy with his truck at work. My bike was idling in the parking lot when it went over. I will never leave it running again on the side stand! :headbang:
I replaced the hand guards and replaced the stock turn signals for flushmount signals and brought the bike in. turns out when i dropped, oil went into the pistons and up into the air filter. i was leaking oil from the air filter lol so the mechanic squeezed the oil out and put the filter back in and i was good to go! he did mention that if i didnt use the Suzuki oil filter it could nullify the warranty ( the previous shop had put a K+N filter on ) :jawdrop:
I guess I'm in the dropped bike club now. I had mine idling in the driveway,I turned around to close the garage door and WHAM. Didn't do much damage,scratched windscreen,chipped paint on the fairing and top bag. The bad part was the bar end went right into the front fender of my new Cobalt. Come on karma,things have to get better.
I found this thread while looking for a replacement rear brake pedal and thought I'd comment on the "break-away" cut for the clutch lever. My 2009 DL1000 came from the factory with that feature on both clutch and brake levers, and I can tell you from experience that it does work as designed :headbang:
The replacement OEM clutch lever, part number 57500-06G11, ordered from my local dealer has the cut-out also. Like others mentioned, I just filed down the end of the broken lever and continue to use it while carrying the new one as a spare. You can probably find the part a bit cheaper from an online vendor like RonAyers.com but I don't know if you'll get the latest version with the cut-out or an older "solid" version. Today's price at RonAyers.com is $35.52
Oh, and if anyone knows of a source for a good replacement rear brake pedal, I'm all ears! :bom_ears:
Dropped mine also to the right side...thank goodness I had crash bars (HB) saved me. The sad thing is apparently I am weaker then crap because I couldn't pick it up...and I have deadlifted 500 in a certified meet so it was a shocker I couldn't get it up...it was on a hill so that is my excuse :yesnod:
Pretty embarassing holding traffic up and you can't pick your bike back up...just added to the stress...I wish I had it on tape so I could laugh about it now...pretty funny looking back on it.
For what it is worth, I now have ~200 miles on the bike and the height and weight of the DL650 has become a non-issue. Handling and controlling the "tall" DL650 was an issue for the first 30 miles. Now, the bike is a joy to ride.
Very easy to replace. Be sure to use locktite on the bolt/nut and lubricate the bolt shaft and flange contact areas. Don't tighten the bolt/nut too much as that will restrict the lever's movement.
Twice dropped both times broke the brake lever. Once with the front turn light. Once in a parking lot, slowed to a crawl and just leaned and didn't get my foot down in time, just went right down, 2nd time making a right after a full stop w/o putting feet off pegs, think I stalled it.
Both times replaced through "motion pro" $22 plus shipping came to 30. It is a Chinese knock off, but what isn't these days. Very easy to replace.
Finally got the hang of low speed riding and turning, after 3 years of riding, 1 on the Wee
I finally picked up my new to me wee, and took it home. added my givi topcase that has been on my last 4 bikes. so i'm sitting on it in the driveway, and i start leaning it onto the kickstand.
a little later, i realize that i don't have the kickstand down :headbang:
no guards or sliders- they arrive on tuesday. :headbang:
eh well, a broken clutch lever that is still plenty long enough to use till tomorrow.
Why aren't you guys mounting real handguards on your bikes? I've had drops and get offs and haven't lost a lever yet. Best thing I ever put on the bike.
Good thread everybody. Every post on topic except for one person; does make one wonder ... anyway interesting about the ball on the end of the levers, I always figured they were to stop hands from slipping, dumb me. Defiantly there to make it harder to pierce a body part. I dropped my 2004 650 twice in one day Last Sunday (one drop and one crash really). I didn't trust myself or the bike to make the corner and ended up sliding across a dirt gravel turn-out area. Took out both front turn signals and one brake lever and one foot shifter lever with a severly scrapped fairing etc... O well *$%#$@ :furious: I got away with a broken collar bone,bruised ribs, sprained/cut knee and more bruises than I can count. I digress and slip off topic .....
Here is my question. I need to replace the turn signals and would like them as bright as reasonably possible. LED's ? Anybody know a place to buy them ?? Do I need to replace the blinker relay? As for the broken foot shifter I plan to not spend $80. I may try to drill, tap, bolt or weld on piece to fix. Also I have size 14 boots and would love to extend it at the same time. As for the clutch lever thats missing the ball end can it really be welded easily ??
It sucks typing with one hand as I heal. I have about 4 or 6 weeks until I heal and can ride again. I will have plenty of time to think about repairs. I am always going to ride inside my limits now and feel lucky to have gotten off fairly easily. The only gear I didn't have on was proper MC pants, just jeans that nowhave a big hole in left knee --- ouch.
ATGATT -- Dan
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