Well....Tuesday morning on my way to work I lost control in a turn and went down hard. I was on a straight stretch of road approaching a turn that I didn't know was there and couldn't see because of a slight elevation in the road ahead. The small hill was at such an angle that the road appears to be straight unless traffic is coming in the opposite direction. Anyway, I breached the top of the hill, saw that there was a turn and tried to compensate. At this point there wasn't much I could do, my speed was too high for the turn and my rear started to slide on a small patch of gravel and I was headed for the side of the road. The worst part is that the side of the road dropped about twenty feet into a pit of rocks. I applied my brakes and prepared to low side. Everything that happened after that was out of my control. I remember tumbling through the air, then rolling across the rocks and finally coming to a stop. I got up and made my way to the road and three people passing by stopped to help. One took me to the hospital while the other two got my bike back to the road. All in all, I was very lucky. I made it out with a broken finger, fractured rib and some small abrasions.

I'm aware that the crash was mainly due to my inexperience and I should have slowed for a blind hill on a road that I'm not used to. If anything this will make me more cautious but I definitely want to be back on the saddle again soon. However, my bike is pretty much totaled. The frame and engine are intact but everything else is either cracked or off the bike completely.

Anyone have any ideas on what to do from here? I'd like to try to save my bike, possibly create a Franken-bike, but I don't know where to start. I think it could be a good project bike at this point but my lack of knowledge in the area is holding me back.

Oh, I'll post some pictures of the damage soon. :cry:

http://g.imagehost.org/0477/1_32.jpg

http://g.imagehost.org/0488/2_9.jpg

http://g.imagehost.org/0162/5_3.jpg

http://g.imagehost.org/0986/6_20.jpg

You have my sympathies. Glad to hear you're mostly OK. Could have been a bad drop. :shock:

Anyway, call your insurance company. If you don't owe on the bike, keeping it with a salvage title might work out very well. JBarx could tell you more about that. I had to let mine go due to the payoff on my loan.

Keep in mind, any shop will replace broken parts, not fix them (if repairable, like a gas tank dent). That's one reason it's so easy to get a total loss on a crashed bike. That said, your settlement could give you enough cash to get the bike street legal, or else use it for a track bike.

Good luck!!

I'm glad you're ok man. I know the feeling of "my god my bike it gone" puts a heavy feeling in my chest when I think about it. That being said, if you can keep the bike, just hit the web and start looking for replacement parts. There are a lot for sale on thie website. Ebay is a good place to look to. After my wreck I realized how much replacement parts really were.

Glad you're able to tell about it. Sorry it happened though. The dropsies seem to be spreading. I want no parts of it buddy. Take it easy out there and hope you get back in the saddle soon!!

This crap is contagious lately - you guys and gals be careful out there!

Alatron, it's good you kinda know what you did wrong, and especially that you're not gonna let a understandably painful (but preventable) incident like that keep you off the saddle.

Heal up fast, and good luck with the bike.

EDIT: After seeing your pictures... "Holy shit, dude!" :shock:

Glad to hear you are ok. If it was me I would just take the money and buy a replacement bike. It will take months to find parts and get it together and you will miss the riding season. And in the end, if you go to sell it, you'll find nobody wants a Salvage Title bike. Plus would you trust your life on a bike you are not 100% sure of ????

To be honest, I kind of want a project bike since I can't ride until my fingers heal anyway. At this point, I've pretty much accepted that I'll miss this riding season. :cry:

Oh...as for insurance. I didn't have full coverage because I couldn't afford it along with my tuition costs and everything else (yes, I am kicking myself). So at the moment, I'm out a bike and the money.

Owee. Glad you're ok, dude. Relatively. Especially when compared to twenty feet and rocks!:shock: And, as noted, it's at least good to know how it all went down and what you can learn.

Be careful, everybody! Season is nigh and already it's lookin' a little scary for forumites...:wtf

Anyway, call your insurance company. If you don't owe on the bike, keeping it with a salvage title might work out very well. JBarx could tell you more about that. I had to let mine go due to the payoff on my loan.
Damn, yo. That's a mess. Glad you could walk away. That's the important thing.

Mine was in FAR better shape than that - so salvaging it was a no-brainer after I got over the situation.

Now to try to spin this in a positive direction.... you need to find out if the bike will still track straight if you really want a project. Otherwise it's a lost cause. I'd consider tearing it down to essentially the engine and the frame. From the pics, it looks like the front end is a loss. You could fit it with some super-slick RC-51 forks with a customized triple and fresh bars and levers, an upgraded swingarm and RR wheels, and match up some gauges. You could then try and hack a CBR600 rear end and you'd be pretty close to home.

Look at 370steve and 9nineteen and see how they've gone about modding their bikes. A combination of those two approaches would result in the baddest 599 on the planet if you really wanted to shoot the moon. In another month or so I'll have the official title of "baddest 599 in the United States" so you'll have to look for the global crown. :wink:

Thanks guys. I seem to be pretty lucky considering I walked away with very minor injuries. I'm glad I can remember what happened and why it happened and I hope it never happens again. As carlitos_92 said, it was preventable and I've definitely learned something from all of this.

So, I've been pretty much useless the lass few days and I think I'm going to take a closer look at the bike today and possibly strip it down. I'll let you all know how bad it really is when I can see the fork, frame and engine by themselves.

JBarx, I might not grab the global crown but I think I can take "baddest 599 in Newfoundland". Mainly because there are about three 599s in Newfoundland, but hey, who needs to know that.

Good job wearing your gear! You would have been screwed without it! Hope you recover quickly and get the bike back on the road.

Sorry to hear about the incident and glad you came out relatively unharmed. Especially looking at that helmet. That is an advertisement for full face helmets.

I am in awe of your brake lever. It doesn't seem to scratched just mangled.

Did the forks get bent or just the headlight/instruments?

If you own the bike and the frame isn't bent, I'd make an even more minimalist streetfighter out of it. Scrap the back plastics as they are toast and wrap it in either minimalist metal or fiberglass/carbon fiber. Gut and cut the exhaust or since the back plastic is scrap and won't have that odd cavity, custom fab a lower slung exhaust. Perhaps one of the new low exhausts could be made to work but I wouldn't bet on it. A sweet dual headlight setup and new brackets for the gauges. Strip off the passenger pegs because you can run a solo saddle. Taking off parts is cheaper than fitting other model (and hence custom) parts. :)

Inspiration: www.customfighters.com and a cool SV resurrection. (http://forum.svrider.com/showthread.php?t=93702)

Really ambitious would be to try to emulate a cafe racer like the GB500 but I don't know how that would end up looking.

Seems like there have been a lot of crashes this month. I'm glad you're okay and willing and able to ride again. Take your time, let the body heal and good luck on whatever you decide to do bike wise.

a good crash is one that you can walk away from

Good job wearing your gear! You would have been screwed without it! Hope you recover quickly and get the bike back on the road.

My gear definitely saved me. I don't have any reinforced or textile pants and my knees show that but my jacket, gloves, boots and helmet definitely did their job.

motorico:
I would like to build a custom 599 for sure. It's all about time and money and right now I have time, but no money :cry:

Oh, and that SV looks sick!

djamalt:
It's too early in the season for this many downed 599s, I hope I was the last.

dabinche:
As far as crashes go, it was a good crash...I think. I mean, I'm fine, except for some minor injuries, and I'm definitely willing to ride again.

As far as crashes go, it was a good crash...

I don't know whether that makes me want to laugh, or cry.

It would make a great signature line, though. :wink:

Count me in on the "too many this month"- I'll post my story up.

Alatron- holy crap dude!! Glad to hear you'll be okay.

I don't know whether that makes me want to laugh, or cry.

It would make a great signature line, though. :wink:

I may adopt that as a sig when I'm done crying over the heap of a bike sitting in my shed. Then again, things are looking brighter because it's actually running really well...maybe even better than before the accident. :thumbsup

Count me in on the "too many this month"- I'll post my story up.

Alatron- holy crap dude!! Glad to hear you'll be okay.

I read your story man. You definitely look to be in worse shape than me, but your bike is way better lol. I hope you and your 599 recover fast.

Glad to hear you're relatively okay. Sorry about the bike - hopefully your insurance will buy you a new one and you'll be a more careful rider as a result.

Wishing you a quick recovery all around.