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Can't believe it

4K views 26 replies 12 participants last post by  backpain 
#1 ·
So, it's the last day of this three year project that has been an absolute marathon this virus/infection thing I've had is still holding on (can't hear a thing out of my left ear), and I'm just grumpy, tired and it's one of those morning where the only reason I'm doing anything is that I'm an "adult" - know what I mean? If it wasn't for my wife, my girls and my business partner I would have stayed home! Who needs a final deliverable and a paid invoices, right?

Anyhow, my bright spot is the beautiful K1200GT in the garage and I throw my crud in the top case, don the gear and fire her up. Oh, the sound of that perfect 4, I'm thinking the ride will be great, this is what I need.... Up goes the kickstand and I back it out of the garage making sure I don't back into my truck and I lose it... the bike goes over and I'm trying to fight it and there's that sound -

Brand new paint on asphault

- the worst sound in the world!

There I am, crying in my Schuberth. Heaving the Starship up. Cursing like a sailor.

One week old, 30 day tags on her. F*$*&#*@&*(($@(@*@&$$*(!!K!!!!!

I'm so bummed.
 
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#2 ·
I dropped mine too a little over a week ago on that camping trip when I was blown over by a 40mph gust (that's my story and I'm sticking with it). Horrible sound, I feel for ya. I'll make sure to drink a bit more Guinness for you tonight!

The left case took most of the damage, then the headlight surround trim piece, and some rash on the side panel just for good measure.

I couldn't stand seeing my new girl in that shape so I decided to have the panels painted - I took them off when I got back into town from the trip and dropped them off at the paint shop last Tuesday...not sure what the cost will be but more than I care to pay I'm sure. I'll let you know (or maybe won't if you don't want to hear!) how much it ends up costing me...

The good thing was that I needed to have those bits off for the Motolights install so I was able to get that all wired up over the weekend nice and clean since all the panels are off. Looks like a pretty spiffy Transformer when naked! :)
 
#3 ·
Nexus-6 said:
I couldn't stand seeing my new girl in that shape so I decided to have the panels painted - I took them off when I got back into town from the trip and dropped them off at the paint shop last Tuesday...not sure what the cost will be but more than I care to pay I'm sure. I'll let you know (or maybe won't if you don't want to hear!) how much it ends up costing me...
No, no. Let me know, because I can't stand seeing the scars either. I was wondering (while cursing a bluestreak while driving downtown today) what was cheaper, new tupperware or new paint.

Good idea on wiring in some lights while the plastics at the painter. Maybe I'll do the same, sure helps take the sting out... :banghead
 
#4 ·
backpain said:
No, no. Let me know, because I can't stand seeing the scars either. I was wondering (while cursing a bluestreak while driving downtown today) what was cheaper, new tupperware or new paint.

Good idea on wiring in some lights while the plastics at the painter. Maybe I'll do the same, sure helps take the sting out... :banghead

I wondered the same thing - I went to the dealership and priced the 3 scratched panels, hoping it wouldn't be too bad.

I hope you don't read or post here standing up...

The cover for the rear case (just the COVER)
The front headlight surround trim piece
The left side panel

For just those 3 bits...I was quoted $1,300.00 for all new bits. The dealer was pulling it from their catalog and I could see that was the price...the cost of a new case is less than $100 more than the cover by itself (!!)

Valuable lesson for me that day - don't drop the bike, vanilla face! (sorry, my inner narrative is stuck in Borat mode)
 
#5 ·
The important thing is that nobody got hurt so it can be chalked up to "stuff happens". Now I have not one but two misery loves company stories that I hope will make you feel at least a little better.

First Story: I had recently purchase a brand spankin new 1995 K11LT with all the bells and whistles and was prouder than a new daddy. Had it about one month with about 1800 miles on the clock and decided to go for a Sunday ride along the Washington State coast. Stopped in one of many parks, pulled into the asphalt parking lot, dropped the side stand, wife and I get off, we store our gloves in the top trunk and head off for a short walk on the beach. We get about 20 yards from the bike when a guy comes running up to tell us our bike had just fallen over. Seems that we had a side stand roll-off. I've never had it happen before and never since but the side stand gods were in a bad mood that day and my bike got tagged with about $2100.00 worth of 1995 dollars damage. At LEAST there wasn't any kids standing next to it when it took the plunge.


Second Story: Hitting a small mid-life crisis I purchase a beautiful 2003 Ducati ST4s. I've owned the bike 8 days and I ride it to work. Being EXTRA careful, I park it in the employee parking lot right where I can see it from my office window AND where I believe it will be safest. It's after 5:00 PM, most everybody has left for the day except for me and few others. The head of our HR department leaves before I do and promptly backs her car into my beautiful 2003 Ducati ST4s smashing the right side onto the pavement.

The only positive I was able to get out of my mishaps was that the bike can be fixed and it made me get over my obsession with door dings and scratches!

Seriously, I hope you can get your bike fixed soon and try not to lose any sleep over it. It happens to the best of us. ;)

Kind regards,
John
06 CGM KGT
 

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#6 ·
Thank, John. I've been here before... A couple months after I bought my CBR a friend decided to see what if felt like to sit on it and "could see touch the floor", she toppled over and took most of the force but broke the bar end. A month after I bought my Vic Kingpin I was moving the bike for my then GF to park and in my excitement to see her forgot to put the kickstand down. Doh!

The GT takes more damage unfortunately. Any scratch is too many for me.... Hopefully the bodyship can fix her up, not what I was planning to put my bonus into but se la vie.
 
#7 ·
Sorry to hear of your mishap. Don't put yourself on front street if you don't have to. Anyone looks at those scuffs, tell them you was doing 120mph going into a decreasing radius 20mph turn when a baby bunny jumped out in front, well you couldn't hit a baby bunny, so......

The women will love that. ;)
 
#8 ·
backpain said:
So, it's the last day of this three year project that has been an absolute marathon this virus/infection thing I've had is still holding on (can't hear a thing out of my left ear), and I'm just grumpy, tired and it's one of those morning where the only reason I'm doing anything is that I'm an "adult" - know what I mean? If it wasn't for my wife, my girls and my business partner I would have stayed home! Who needs a final deliverable and a paid invoices, right?

Anyhow, my bright spot is the beautiful K1200GT in the garage and I throw my crud in the top case, don the gear and fire her up. Oh, the sound of that perfect 4, I'm thinking the ride will be great, this is what I need.... Up goes the kickstand and I back it out of the garage making sure I don't back into my truck and I lose it... the bike goes over and I'm trying to fight it and there's that sound -

Brand new paint on asphault

- the worst sound in the world!

There I am, crying in my Schuberth. Heaving the Starship up. Cursing like a sailor.

One week old, 30 day tags on her. F*$*&#*@&*(($@(@*@&$$*(!!K!!!!!

I'm so bummed.
Hey Brian,
i'm so sorry to hear about your mishap
it has happened to all of us

october, 2005
on my 2002 K1200LT
with the wife/2-up
after having ridden the "usual" amount of BMW miles over the years
2.5 miles from our front door... sunny day.... no cars around
turned left from a light
10 mph
fell over...
have NO idea what happened
$300.00 BMW Gortex boots didn't save me from breaking my left ankle as the my ankle was trapped under the bike

so......
my wife had ridden 80K miles 2-up over the years and has only recently started riding A LITTLE/JUST TO MAKE ME HAPPY again
it sucks

i'm glad you weren't hurt
as i've said before
the dad of my old partner used to have a saying.... and i like it very much:

"If money can fix it... it ain't broken!"

great words to live by, i think
 
#9 ·
ClearwaterBMW said:
i'm glad you weren't hurt
as i've said before
the dad of my old partner used to have a saying.... and i like it very much:

"If money can fix it... it ain't broken!"

great words to live by, i think
Definately. If that's the worst thing to happen to me I'm doing very well. It's just a bummer when your shiny new something isn't anymore.
 
#11 ·
Not a BMW, but just finished 500 miles from Chicago to Kansas City on my shiny 1995 ZX11. Park in the parking lot, walk about 20 feet and hear a crash. F@$! A little too much slope and turned the handlebars wrong way. I was so tired after riding 7 hours it took a while to pick it up.

It happens. But, panels can be replaced. Maybe this is a good excuse to get a cool paint scheme.
 
#13 ·
I also had a "mishap" with my new GT. Stopped at a stop sign on a gravelly, sideward sloped road. Lost it and dumped the bike on its right side. Boy, did I feel like sh....t.

So I have damage to the right plastic side panel and to the front (metal???) shroud that holds the headlight. Can I get these parts pre-painted from BMW, or do they come only in primer???? Also, how hard is it to swap that front shroud??? I can't tell how it is attached and there are no schematics around to help. Looks to me like a big job.

You guys that have been taking stuff to get repainted...where do you go? A regular auto body place or something special. Anybody know a good shop in the Northeast?

Thanks.
Mike
 
#14 ·
mike5 said:
I also had a "mishap" with my new GT. Stopped at a stop sign on a gravelly, sideward sloped road. Lost it and dumped the bike on its right side. Boy, did I feel like sh....t.

So I have damage to the right plastic side panel and to the front (metal???) shroud that holds the headlight. Can I get these parts pre-painted from BMW, or do they come only in primer???? Also, how hard is it to swap that front shroud??? I can't tell how it is attached and there are no schematics around to help. Looks to me like a big job.

You guys that have been taking stuff to get repainted...where do you go? A regular auto body place or something special. Anybody know a good shop in the Northeast?

Thanks.
Mike

I took my panels to a paint shop I've used before in the past - most any good paint shop will be able to take care of ya.

The front headlight surround piece requires that you take the 2 side panels off and loosen some things (the mirrors have to come off, the front turn signals, etc). I thought it looked like a bit of work too, but it only took me 25 minutes to have all 3 panesl off with the mounting hardware labeled in baggies. Just take a few digital pics before and as you are going and reassembly should be pretty easy. :)
 
#15 ·
Dude...

I feel your pain! Sorry to hear you dropped it but it WAS an accident. I have an '04 that the previous owner dropped and the scars are evident. I've been in a few situations where the bike was going over at low speeds/stopped and it takes all of the strength I have, and I have more than average, to bring her back to center.

The good news is you are ok and you can still ride the steed. It's the feeling you get when your right wrist twists that puts a smile on your face, not so much the virgin look of her beauty.

Hang tough,

Gravity
 
#16 ·
Uummn....

I didn't read this entire thread word for word, but I didn't see anyone make any mention of INSURANCE. Isn't this very thing why we carry insurance?! Pay the deductable and let the insurance company pay the rest. Seems simple to me.

When my LT fell over (off it's centerstand) due to new asphalt, Progressive Ins. cut me a check 3 days later. 6 days later, all the parts were installed and the LT looking like new again. And my premium never went up a single penny.
 
#17 ·
Joe, a lot depends on the deuctible. Sometimes, the difference between the cost and the deuctible is not too much, so then it pays to do it all out of pocket.

Also, you are one of the lucky ones, whose premium doesn't go up. There are a lot of variables here !
 
#18 ·
How much is a new lower (not the upper/headlight fairing and not the belly pan) fairing? Is it something I can just order in DGM and bolt on myself? I've been thinking that the damaged one would look really cool on the wall in the pool/bar room.
 
#19 ·
Original Quote from Backpain

I've been thinking that the damaged one would look really cool on the wall in the pool/bar room.
Yeah but then you have to come up with an incredible story to go with the "trophy" part hangin on the wall. Something like,

"There I was going about 160 mph, dragging knee in the curve when this huge buck with the biggest rack I'd ever seen leaped out in front of me. I knew that I couldn't stop in time and a collision was inevitable so I dropped a gear, grabbed a handful of throttle and did a wheel stand. I caught the deer mid section knocking him down and I was able to drive over the top of him without crashing. The deer just got the wind knocked out of him and got up and ran off unhurt. So how did I get the scratches on the side panel? The points on his rack scraped against the panel as I rode over the top of him!"

Or something similar. :D :D :D

John
06 CGM KGT
 
#20 ·
John06KGT said:
Yeah but then you have to come up with an incredible story to go with the "trophy" part hangin on the wall. Something like,

"There I was going about 160 mph, dragging knee in the curve when this huge buck with the biggest rack I'd ever seen leaped out in front of me. I knew that I couldn't stop in time and a collision was inevitable so I dropped a gear, grabbed a handful of throttle and did a wheel stand. I caught the deer mid section knocking him down and I was able to drive over the top of him without crashing. The deer just got the wind knocked out of him and got up and ran off unhurt. So how did I get the scratches on the side panel? The points on his rack scraped against the panel as I rode over the top of him!"

Ahh, but thanks to the powers of mind control you just came up with it for me!! :thumb:

What, backing out of the garage and losing my balance not sexy enought for you? :rotf:
 
#21 ·
Well let me think, backing out of the driveway, 160 mph deer collision, backing out of the driveway, 160 mph deer collision. Hmmm, tough choice. I suggest you have few beers before you decide which story to use.

The power of beer in the decision making process is truly amazing! :rotf:
 
#22 ·
backpain said:
How much is a new lower (not the upper/headlight fairing and not the belly pan) fairing? Is it something I can just order in DGM and bolt on myself? I've been thinking that the damaged one would look really cool on the wall in the pool/bar room.
If I'm recalling correctly, the fairing (if you ar referring to the large slab side fairing) was $450 or so. I'm not sure if it came body colored or not...when I saw the price I didn't even follow up with that question. :) But it's super easy to get on and off.

I called my paint shop today and they think they might have it all done by Friday. We'll see...meanwhile the Ducati is getting some much needed love. heh
 
#23 ·
Nexus-6 said:
I'm not sure if it came body colored or not...when I saw the price I didn't even follow up with that question. :)
They do come body colored. That was one of my concerns when I went down on my 2000 Canyon Red LT. They stopped making that color in 2000 and here it was 6 years later. Well, they still had the panels in Canyon Red.
 
#24 ·
Nexus-6 said:
If I'm recalling correctly, the fairing (if you ar referring to the large slab side fairing) was $450 or so. I'm not sure if it came body colored or not...when I saw the price I didn't even follow up with that question. :) But it's super easy to get on and off.

I called my paint shop today and they think they might have it all done by Friday. We'll see...meanwhile the Ducati is getting some much needed love. heh
$450 heh? Less that I was imagining. I figured the body shot would want $250-ish to repaint the panel as that's what they charge for a door/quarter panel on a car. Prepainted... now that's pretty tempting.
 
#25 ·
I wonder why BMW didn't design in some sort of sacrificial fairing pieces that would take the hit in a tip over. That's a very big fairing piece to have to replace for a scratch or scrape.

My 1990 red/white/blue CBR1000F had 2 such sacrificial pieces on each side. One on the left and right crankshaft cover piece and 1 up near the middle of the fairing on each side.

I managed to drop it once! It costs me about $60 for the 2 replacement pieces from Honda and I was back to new again.

Not even Honda seems to have continued to engineer this "feature" into their newer bikes since then. (maybe the ST1100/1300 has some - I can't remember)

(and don't get me started on horns and self-cancelling turn signals! lol)

Mike
Future K1200GT owner - CGM!!!!
 
#26 ·
Mike,

I agree. Even my old 95 K11LT had small "crash" bars that actually worked in protecting the plastic bits. But I admit I would have a hard time second guessing the BMW design engineers on the KGT. I can't imagine how you could build that into the KGT without upsetting the clean lines and beautiful appearance. It would be like hanging a 5 mph bumpers on a classic Ferrari.

John
06 CGM KGT
 
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