Bent Brake Lever!!!

[TonySilver]

I am not proud to share this, but I just bent my brake lever and it looks like Captains Hook's hand. I leaned too much on a turn, was on second gear thinking I was on first, stalled the bike and well you know the rest of the story. I left the bike on its side. There is no damage to the bike at all. (other than the lever) I was just wondering if I should lower the bike to be able to handle it better at lower speeds. I really do not want to do that but, I do not want to bend anything else on the bike.

The only good thing that came out of this was that I was able to pick the bike up easily. I do not know if it was because of the anger or because the bike is light. I was a little worried in the past that in case of a drop I would not be able to pick the bike up. Still, I was able to do it on a first attempt. I am only 5'7'' and weight 149 lbs. I hope this information is usefull to somebody.

I just ordered a new brake lever from procaliber, only $11.80. I hope I got the right one.

In general, hope this rookie's mistake lightens your day a little bit.

Thanks for reading.

 

[670cc]

I don't think lowering the bike will help you much.

Stalling the engine was the primary cause of the fall. Normally, if you were leaning in too far and loosing balance toward the inside of the turn, a little throttle to straighten up the bike would have saved you. (When in doubt, gas it out). Unfortunately, stalling the bike has the opposite effect, and down you go.

Slow speed maneuvers should never employ the feet on the ground; they should always be on the pegs unless the bike is at a complete stop. Therefore I don't think lowering the bike is the answer, rather just gaining some experience in balance and throttle/brake control in tight turns.

You might want to eyeball the handlebars carefully to be sure they are not bent. Also eyeball the alignment of the handlebars to the front wheel to be sure the forks are not twisted.

$11.80 is cheap tuition in the school of motorcycling. The largest damage is probably to your pride. Thanks for sharing.

Greg

 

[DanH]

My rookie mistakes cost me about $1000 and I limped around for a couple weeks. Well worth it but I'd of rather got dinged for 11.80.

 

[Ramseysteve]

I am not proud to share this, but I just bent my brake lever and it looks like Captains Hook's hand. I leaned too much on a turn, was on second gear thinking I was on first, stalled the bike and well you know the rest of the story. I left the bike on its side. There is no damage to the bike at all. (other than the lever) I was just wondering if I should lower the bike to be able to handle it better at lower speeds. I really do not want to do that but, I do not want to bend anything else on the bike.

The only good thing that came out of this was that I was able to pick the bike up easily. I do not know if it was because of the anger or because the bike is light. I was a little worried in the past that in case of a drop I would not be able to pick the bike up. Still, I was able to do it on a first attempt. I am only 5'7'' and weight 149 lbs. I hope this information is usefull to somebody.

I just ordered a new brake lever from procaliber, only $11.80. I hope I got the right one.

In general, hope this rookie's mistake lightens your day a little bit.

Thanks for reading.

You're definitely not alone. Someone on this forum said something to the effect of "there are 2 types of people, those who've dropped their bike and those who will". I wish I could say I've only dropped a bike once in my life. Dropping a bike while riding at speed is one thing, dropping it at 3 mph, or worse, at a standstill is humiliating. I dropped the NC in a parking lot on the first day I had it, under similarly silly circumstances. I stopped in a parking lot on a sideways slope, popped the sidestand down and as I dismounted the bike leaned away for me and I couldn't catch it in time to prevent a lay down. No damage except a bent brake handle - they bend really easy it seems! Maybe that's why they only cost $12.

 

[Rocker66]

It happens to us all even experianced riders can make a mistake. At least it didn't cost you too much and more importantly you were not hurt. I hope that you will not let it put you off riding motorcycles.

 

[westgl]

The NC700 would very easy to lower, just need a new set of dog bones one inch longer I believe lowers it, then loosen up the fork tube pinch bolt on the triple trees with a jack under the engine to lower it slowly and hold it at the height you want.

Nice that it has a decent amount of suspension travel, so that you can lower it some, key is to keep the front and rear the same, if you drop the rear 1" then drop the front 1".

I lowered my DL1000 Vstrom, I am 6'-0" tall but the vstrom seat height is high, it almost got away from me at a gas station a couple of times, I did not go over but I was still embarrassed.

At least it was only a cheap brake lever that was damaged, and you did not get hurt.

 

[bonnielover]

TonySilver,
I dropped my 2003 Sportster twice, one time broke the brake lever, the other time the clutch lever. First time jumping off the bike to avoid a cager backing up who didn't see me; second on a slow speed uturn. Anyhows, I'm between 5-7 and 5-8, 155lb; close to you. I lowered mine 1" in rear (using Soupy lowering link and adjustable sidestand). Well worth it, but not because of your scenario, but here's where it comes in handy:
- when the grounds wet, it's better to be able to flat foot than merely be on toes.
- more feet on the ground moving backwards
- easier getting on and off
- but most important, when stopping on dips or uneven surfaces. You can't always control where you stop, and you don't want to be caught by surprise putting your toes down and finding nothing there! Lowering gives you a margin of safety.

Despite advice here about lowering the front, I haven't done this yet because I haven't noticed any adverse handling or issues. However, I will probably lower the front incrementally to experiment. Also, in theory, lowering the front means the handle bars and windshield are lower (?). I'm thinking of rox risers anyway, and may want to try somthing taller than my Givi windshield.

Paul

 

[NCer]

"In general, hope this rookie's mistake lightens your day a little bit.".....

Ammmmm... NO!

Glad you are OK! Live and learn

 

[Mikee3544]

You're definitely not alone. Someone on this forum said something to the effect of "there are 2 types of people, those who've dropped their bike and those who will". [...].

Just as I did today a few hours before... Started from a parking lot ( gravel and rough tarmac combination... ) and a guy just pulled in front of me from the right and I was turning right. Right feet on the ground, handlebar turned right and I was just pulling the throttle to start. I had no time to press the back brake, just grabbed the front and bike went down less than a sec.
The bike survived with minor scrathes, GIVI engine guard saved it. The exhaust and the engine oil cover has some little noticable side effects
and my pride of course... This was a bad hot windy day. Need some rest.

 

[dduelin]

We all start out riding with a box of full of nothing much but luck and perhaps a few hours of parking lot training. The trick is filling the box with knowledge & experience before we run out of luck. I'd say your experience was a common one and very cheap for what you will get out of it. I'm pleased you got right back up and came here asking questions - obviously right back in saddle.

Everyone drops a bike, well pretty much everyone, if they ride at all. I kind of disagree with the lowering the bike thing as long as the bikes and legs in question are in the normal range. Flat footing is way over-rated. A better long term strategy is to gain experience in slow speed handling and it is easy and cheap to come by plus it transfers to every bike we will ever ride from now to whenever. Put in some parking lot time with 10 or 20 minutes of drills every week and feel the confidence grow. It also wouldn't hurt to learn to start the bike from a stop in second gear to see how it feels to slip the clutch more than usual and gas more than usual.

 

[draco_1967]

^+1
I take my bike to a big empty parking lot at least every other week for low speed maneuver practice. Making a figure 8 in a 2x2 car parking spot is one of my favorites. Make sure you are practicing good form (body position, lean, not death-gripping the handle bars, etc.)

 

[yticolev]

Also, in theory, lowering the front means the handle bars and windshield are lower (?).

Paul

True enough, except you are lowered too! Hands to handlebar distance and rise is unaffected. Your view over the windshield (if you have a tall one) will alter a bit.

 

[Wcmike]

+1 on what Draco said. I do the parking lot figure 8's, u-turns, and full circles once or twice a month. Even with a bike this friendly, I have my bad times (more turning right for some reason) and a foot goes down. And I force myself to leave the front brake alone when I do this.

 

[DanH]

I stopped by a dealership today just to look cuz lookin' is fun -gimme an amen if you hear me preachin' here - and I couldn't believe how heavy all the bikes were just to get up off their stands and centered underneath me. The COG on the NCX is really low and its kinda easy to start taking that for granted. I really don't know how lowering it is going to help unless you have a 26" inseam and just can't touch the ground. Just chalk it up to experience and to quote the southern sages Angus, Bon and Malcom - Ride on....

 

[dog]

We all start out riding with a box of full of nothing much but luck and perhaps a few hours of parking lot training. The trick is filling the box with knowledge & experience before we run out of luck.

The truth of that statement really jumps out to me. I'm getting better all the time, but I still do these little bonehead moves (usually involving too much throttle) that could turn out pretty bad except for a little luck SO FAR. I definitely need more parking lot maneuver time....

 

[TonySilver]

Hey everybody!

I am definately feeling on better spirits today. Particularly, after reading all of your comments, I really appreciate your opinions and ideas. I did jump on the bike today again, and straight to the practice ground I went (empty parking lot). I think I did better today, and I will keep on practicing.

As some of you said I am glad I did not have to spend lots of money to replace the brake lever. I will also work on my turns and those figure 8s.

Also, I did check the bike for bent forks or any other misalignment on the handlebars, I am glad to report that everything seems as straight as it was before.

Thank you, all!!

 

[dduelin]

The truth of that statement really jumps out to me. I'm getting better all the time, but I still do these little bonehead moves (usually involving too much throttle) that could turn out pretty bad except for a little luck SO FAR. I definitely need more parking lot maneuver time....

Personally I like practicing slow speed riding and usually include a few manuevers at the beginning or end of every ride. I am of small stature (5' 6", 29" inseam, 152 lbs) so I need to be able to rely on learned skills rather than my short legs to control my machine in parking lot situations. I understand that statistically it is most dangerous for new or returning riders at 6 to 12 months after we start riding. By then we master the basics and may think we have this thing licked and let our guard down. Training and practice should have no end. I try to read a new book on motorcycle riding & safety strategies or reread a favorite one about twice a year. Total Control by Parks, Ride Hard Ride Smart by Hahn, The Upper Half of the Motorcycle by Spiegel, Proficient Motorcycling or More Proficient Motorcycling by Hough, Street Strategies by Hough, MSF's Motorcycling Excellence are all on my list.

 

[TheIronWarrior]

I've dropped mine once trying to pull a 3 point turn on a narrow dead end street and bent the lever pretty bad. I decided to try and bend it back into shape instead of order a new one, I figured worst case I'll end up breaking it and ordering a new one anyway. I took 2 pieces of hardwood and a bench vice and managed to more or less get the lever back into shape. I'll certainly be practicing more parking lot moves before I hit the road next ride.

 

[dduelin]

Hey, I dropped mine today.........pride goeth before the fall as they say. I ran out of gas on purpose to see how far the last bar goes. When the bike rolled to a stop I pulled out pen and paper and wrote down the mileage and calculated the fuel mpg of the tank. With that done I hopped off the bike to get out the fuel bottle - and forgot to put down the kickstand. No harm done except scratching the plastic cover on the hand guard and the lower left corner of the saddlebag.

 

[turbodieseli4i6]

No disrespect in the like Dave. I almost dropped mine thinking I put the stand down also. If the NC wasn't so light I would not hat been able to keep it up.