Hello everyone;
Saturday morning, I had my first excursion through the air and onto the pavement. Stupid new-rider panic-response mistakes... was practicing my cornering on some low-traffic streets, entered a corner too fast, saw a curb (fixated), straightened the bike out and grabbed way too much front brake. It was pretty low speed, and my boot broke my bike's fall (full gear, except I was wearing jeans instead of proper riding pants). Thankfully, the only damage to me is a skinned knee, a whole lot of body-ache, and a wounded ego
I'm looking at it as a learning experience.
My bike (696), however, took a few dings. Nothing too serious, but it's an opportunity to mod!
Summary of damage:
- Lost a mickey-mouse mirror
- handlebar is bent on the right side
- cracked the plastic covering the tank
- bent my rear-brake pedal (broke the spring too)
- Broke a rear turn signal
Ironically, I was out for a joy-ride before I was to take my girl to the mechanic for normal service. My mechanic took serious care of me: bent the rear-brake pedal back into a usable position (not too far, else the aluminum would break) and rigged what was left of the spring into something 'workable' (needs replacing in the long term). The bike is ride-able, but I need to resolve the bar / mirror situation quickly, for safety purposes.
So, my thoughts on parts:
- Bars: I really like the look of the clip-ons for the 696... would want a bit of rise, compared to mounting them under the triple. Is rise adjustable? How much is riding position & corner-feel altered compared to stock? Will the controls still slot into the intakes on the tank cover?
- Mirrors: To match the bars... I like having them in my peripheral vision while riding, but besides looking ridiculous, the size of the stock mirrors on the stock bar make my cover a tight fit. I'm more concerned with functionality than bling, in the mirror department
- Sliders: Frame? Front Axle? Rear axle? All of the above? Would prefer not having my foot under the bike to break any future pavement dives
- Rearsets: Very tempting, but really expensive - considering I just need a brake pedal and spring. I saw a couple that had optional/removable passenger pegs - very cool.
- Rear turn signal: Would like something flush. I've got a temporary replacement, and I'm not a huge fan of the integrated brake/turn signal.
The only modification to my bike is a full termi system from the first owner and a evotech tail kit that I installed a few weeks ago. My chain was at the end of its life, so a new one (plus a 14t front sprocket and rear sprocket) is on its way.
It's red - long term plans include painting the wheels white, and adding a white belly-pan at the same time... Two-tone red/white... Italian inspired yum
Thank you all in advance for any advice!
Pics from before the pavement dive! My two baby girls:
After my tail-kit install:
