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How well did your Versys survive a crash?

5K views 29 replies 11 participants last post by  fasteddiecopeman 
#1 ·
Inspired by a thread about DIY axle sliders and a descriptive of a crash, how about real world advice on what works and what does not if you crash.

I had an off when the front wheel went away from me on mud. I came off my Versys at about 35 mph and it slide for about 30 feet turning back to face the way it was going before it came to rest when it went off the road onto the grassy verge.

I had fitted the Kawasaki engine protectors and it worn away as it slid taking about 1cm off the end of it. There were slight scratches to the radiator cowl. The Kawasaki (Givi) pannier was scratched but held fine. There were very minor scratches to the wing mirror end, indicator and bottom of the fork and brake.

The main damage was the hand guard bent and broke the end off the brake lever and snapped off at the bit that fit onto the handle bar. That in turn hit the screen and snapped it down the middle. :(





The pannier has had a replacement coloured insert and the other part has been sanded and covered with some stuff used to protect car sills and bumper edges



The scratches on the cowl have been covered with the same stuff



The other scratches have had a gentle sand and touch up with paint and I have fitted axle sliders. Most impressive was how well the pannier held. Least was the hand guard snapping and breaking the screen. The Kawasaki engine protector worked well but I suspect that crash bars would have worked better because they would not have worn away causing the cowl to get scratched. But they saved actual damage to the engine.
 
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#2 ·
Well i got hit by a car and the bike bounced off the pavement a couple of times. Not really that much damage, Because of the Hepco/Beckers Crash Bars and Acerbis Handguards...I added front axle sliders after the wreck.Me on the other hand had 2 fractures below right knee and a fractured left wrist. Photos of the bike...http://www.flickr.com/photos/54181788@N06/6427219569/in/set-72157628210904815/
 
#3 ·
Is that Speedy's highway peg and did the cowl get scratched as well as the crash bar?



The Acerbis hand guard looks like it held up well. What happened to the screen? I got away with scraps and bruises as i slid along the road surface watching my bike slide away from me!
 
#6 ·
I like the looks of the guards you have. They look like they'd be good in a skid but not much good for something like what happened to me. Also about the Highway peg mount in the above photos. Right after i posted about the crash i got a Get Well Card from Speedy along with a new mount. Speedys a class act.
 
#7 ·
Inspired by a thread about DIY axle sliders and a descriptive of a crash, how about real world advice on what works and what does not if you crash.

I had an off when the front wheel went away from me on mud. I came off my Versys at about 35 mph and it slide for about 30 feet turning back to face the way it was going before it came to rest when it went off the road onto the grassy verge.

I had fitted the Kawasaki engine protectors and it worn away as it slid taking about 1cm off the end of it. There were slight scratches to the radiator cowl. The Kawasaki (Givi) pannier was scratched but held fine. There were very minor scratches to the wing mirror end, indicator and bottom of the fork and brake.

The main damage was the hand guard bent and broke the end off the brake lever and snapped off at the bit that fit onto the handle bar. That in turn hit the screen and snapped it down the middle. :(


The other scratches have had a gentle sand and touch up with paint and I have fitted axle sliders. Most impressive was how well the pannier held. Least was the hand guard snapping and breaking the screen. The Kawasaki engine protector worked well but I suspect that crash bars would have worked better because they would not have worn away causing the cowl to get scratched. But they saved actual damage to the engine.

Where did you purchase your Kawasaki Engine Protectors? How difficult were they to install? Did you like putting your feet on them? Thank you for the feed back! :thumb:
 
#8 ·
#11 · (Edited)
The scratches on the cowl have been covered with the same stuff



The other scratches have had a gentle sand and touch up with paint and I have fitted axle sliders. Most impressive was how well the pannier held. Least was the hand guard snapping and breaking the screen. The Kawasaki engine protector worked well but I suspect that crash bars would have worked better because they would not have worn away causing the cowl to get scratched. But they saved actual damage to the engine.


Just paint your radiator cowls with black plasti-dip it will cost you about 15$ for a can. Just make sure you read the instructions and apply it thick. ;)
 
#12 ·
No pix but I can describe the carnage after I hit gravel in a right hand corner (at about 50 kph). The bike must have high sided because all the damage was to the left side. I flew through the air and landed flat on my chest - no injuries, except for aching all over. V35 pannier was destroyed, swingarm spool snapped off, footpeg broken in half, mirror broken and handlebars bent beyond repair, rash on the plastics and a little bit down below the front axle. I don't have crash bars on the bike, so all in all I'm pretty impressed with how it took the fall. A passerby helped me get it out of the ditch and I was able to ride the bike home. It wasn't a fun experience, but there certainly was some learning that happened as a result.
 
#18 ·
This video shows a low speed spill




With panniers it did not stop the foot peg from breaking off. No engine bars so bad rash on the fairing. The wing mirror appears to have spun on its bolt and broken the screen.

My mirror has Speedy's extender, so is more vulnerable. This video shows how effective SW Motech crash bars are

 
#19 ·
This video shows a low speed spill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fntH8i5rOZE&feature=player_detailpage


With panniers it did not stop the foot peg from breaking off. No engine bars so bad rash on the fairing. The wing mirror appears to have spun on its bolt and broken the screen.

My mirror has Speedy's extender, so is more vulnerable. This video shows how effective SW Motech crash bars are

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bEDVpLvP_4&feature=player_detailpage
Seems like twisted throttle do this on purpose ...


LOP
 
#20 ·
I 'low-sided' at somewhere around 20 mph a few years ago when I changed my line in a hairpin corner and discovered that the yellow lines WEREN'T painted, but some kind of plastic. (I was riding rather 'enthusiastically'....)

With H-B crash bars and Zeta handguards, the ONLY bike damage was a scrape on the left Zeta ('repaired' with a bit of filing and a piece of reflective tape), a small scratch on the left H-B ('repaired' with about 3" of electricians tape), a VERY small scrape on the lowest part of the engine cover, and a bent shift lever. I, on the other hand, broke a couple of ribs, so got to remember the sliding along the road for a few weeks....:thumbdown: I was ATGATT so that certainly minimized my injuries.:thumb:

The only pics I took were after the repairs had been 'stuck' onto the parts....
 

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#21 ·
A big thumbs up to SW Motech crash bars from me! Low sided on pavement on a sharp right hand curve at about 35 +/- . The crash guard took nearly all of the punishment. The mirror swung out of the way with only some light scratches on the plastic back. The bar end weight, foot peg feeler and passenger peg got scuffed up but not to the extent where replacement was warranted.

ATGATT resulted in only a couple of sore spots on me and a couple of serious wear spots on my jacket elbow and shoulder. The armor there took the road rash. Luck was with me since there was no oncoming traffic and I slid across the lane.

If you plan to ride "enthusiastically" I recommend some crash bars. May not save you but they can save the V a lot of damage.

Andy
 
#24 ·
Using a Versys to plow soil in Kentucky...



One year ago, my son and I attended and rode in the KY Icebreaker ride up in IN and KY. A combination of rural paved and gravel roads proved that the Versys was indeed versatile; at least for me.
On Day 2, I was riding very slowly along the edge of the road, perhaps 10 mph, fidgeting with my camera using my left hand wanting to take a photo of my son, just ahead of me. I didn't realize the tranny was in 2nd gear, suddenly the engine "bucked" wanting more throttle or a lower gear. During the next nanosecond, I went off the edge of the road and into a slide across a 30 degree incline.
The Versys slide lasted about 15 feet and pinned me underneath. My son doubled back, righted my bike and helped me to my feet. I feared the worse concerning damage to the cowling, blinkers, windshield. The only damage that was incurred was the left side rear spool breaking the weld and falling off the swingarm. After removing the sod and washing the dirt from the bike, I was quite suprised to see that the side cowls weren't scratched, the blinkers were still attached as well as the windshield.
I've ridden motorcycles since 1965. This incident was the 1st time I've ever laid my Versys down or any street bike for that matter. My ego was bruised. My riding gear came clean. I still haven't re-installed the spool to the swingarm. Cycle shops don't want to try to reweld it. J-B Weld isn't a consideration. Suggestions??









:feedback:
 
#25 · (Edited)
One year ago, my son and I attended and rode in the KY Icebreaker ride up in IN and KY. A combination of rural paved and gravel roads proved that the Versys was indeed versatile; at least for me.
On Day 2, I was riding very slowly along the edge of the road, perhaps 10 mph, fidgeting with my camera using my left hand wanting to take a photo of my son, just ahead of me. I didn't realize the tranny was in 2nd gear, suddenly the engine "bucked" wanting more throttle or a lower gear. During the next nanosecond, I went off the edge of the road and into a slide across a 30 degree incline.
The Versys slide lasted about 15 feet and pinned me underneath. My son doubled back, righted my bike and helped me to my feet. I feared the worse concerning damage to the cowling, blinkers, windshield. The only damage that was incurred was the left side rear spool breaking the weld and falling off the swingarm. After removing the sod and washing the dirt from the bike, I was quite suprised to see that the side cowls weren't scratched, the blinkers were still attached as well as the windshield.
I've ridden motorcycles since 1965. This incident was the 1st time I've ever laid my Versys down or any street bike for that matter. My ego was bruised. My riding gear came clean. I still haven't re-installed the spool to the swingarm. Cycle shops don't want to try to reweld it. J-B Weld isn't a consideration. Suggestions??









:feedback:

Ditch the spools and get one of these to lift the bike......
 
#28 ·
Definitely not! Unless I rode for 10 miles with it down. The front tyre left a mark into the mud and you could see where it went to one side and then the rest of the mud had no marks in it at all.

I had a ride round the Dales recently, plenty of mud on the road and no issues this time. There must have been a pot hole or something under the layer of mud that kicked the front tyre to one side.

I have just sourced a new/old screen off a UK Versys forum member, so just the hand guards to go to return the bike to as it was, barring a few marks.
 
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