Friday, 29 November 2019

The first rule...


Hello friends! I come here with a sad story and hoping for some advice. I have been on motorcycles for most of my adult life. I finally took the dive and bought a brand new motorcycle. Not a mile on her and has seen no rider except me, until tonight. The first rule when owning a motorcycle? Never let anyone ride your bike. This situation felt different than some random person or even a close friend saying hey let me ride your bike. It was my father, who has had his motorcycle endorsement for 40 years, and he just wanted a spin around the block. Needless to say when 5 minutes had passed and he didn't come back I started to worry. I had a really bad feeling in my stomach and I couldn't shake it. I hopped in my car and cruised around the block. I found him standing next to the bike, kickstand out, on his phone as I pulled up. Apparently he didn't downshift as he took the turn and the bike stalled, throwing him off and laying it down on the left side. A good rash up the fairing, clutch lever, mirror and the cowling. The crankcase cover took a nasty gouge as well. No fluids leaking, she fired right up and everything seems to be running well. My father was okay, no damages save for his ego/pride. At this point the damage is already done, it's Thanksgiving and I do not want to make him feel any worse than he visibly already was. I kept everything inside until all the family had gone and it was just me left staring at my brand new, freshly damaged motorcycle. One month and a little over 300 miles with not even a close call to mention. One 5 minute trip at 25-30mph -- wrecked it. I'm sort of at a loss for words as I type this. Still hard to believe that really happened. Something told me not to let him ride and something else clinched tight in my stomach as he pulled off. Bad feeling plus gut instinct equals exactly what I worried might happen. Now I have the wonderful task of locating OEM parts from Suzuki and hoping I can buy replacement fairings. Google has turned up a lot of aftermarket brands but nothing seems like genuine OEM Suzuki when it comes to the frame. Aside from getting a small moment to vent, I was hoping for some advice. Where would you begin searching for parts if this happened to your bike? Would it be worth getting a body work estimate from my local Suzuki dealership? I've heard a lot of people say eBay but I am not sure I trust a lot of their "unbranded" auctions and fake parts. Thank you all for reading and whatever insight you may have.Signed,A deeply saddened motorcycle rider (Who is very thankful on this holiday that his father wasn't hurt)😔 via /r/motorcycles https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/comments/e3be7z/the_first_rule/?utm_source=ifttt

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