Dropped my bike - now what?

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Besides the mirror, bar end, clutch lever, gear lever...

you might want to check:
1. clip on bent AND/OR might have rotated around the fork a millimetre or two
2. rearset (if OEM) might have bent a little

If case either has bent/rotated, they can both be bent back/adjusted (or replaced) very easily.
Besides that, it's as good as new, no matter how OCD you may or may not be.
 
he could be a new-ish rider. He's also Asian. Having lived in Asia for nine years, while his sentiments sound completely crazy to an American, it's not completely out of line in an Asian culture, although probably on the anal side of things nonetheless.

There are other factors too. Ducatis are crazy expensive in Asian countries. While walking into my dealer a couple months ago and writing a check for $28k was no issue for me, I'm not so wealthy that I could so easily do the same for a $50k motorcycle, which is what it would have cost me if I were still living over there, for the same damned bike. It would have required more meticulous financial planning to afford the same bike that's in my garage right now, simply by virtue of being in a different country.

It also means that Ducatis are ridden only by a certain socioeconomic elite, whereas here in the US, they're not so expensive that we can't have a little economic diversity within this community. So the OP is going to come off a certain way.

Perhaps not the best analogy, but what if any of us had hit a massive pothole while driving our pride and joy Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, with an impact that bent the rim. You might hear "dude, just replace the wheel and drive", but you'd worry about the suspension linkage, front subframe, and if you might have made it impossible to perfectly align all four wheels. You'd care because, well, if you haven't seen or driven an F12 Berlinetta, holy shitballs, it is as awesome as it is out of my price range. And if I did mortgage my house and my kids educational futures to buy one tomorrow, I might be more than a little OCD about that car!
 
Depends what you bought the bike for.
If it is meant more as a show piece than an instrument of pleasure then I get you.
After I dropped mine thinking the hard to operate kick stand locked in the downward position but did not, I realized .... will happen.

Hit birds, rocks and scuffed the soft clear coat with the wire that is running from my helmet to the radar detector.

I don't love her any less for the blemishes since she has given me pleasures I never imagined :D
 
Seismic said:
On a practical note - when would you change a handlebar from a drop/crash? It is common knowledge that materials like alu will snap after a (sometimes) invisible stress fracture while steel will bend first.
Click to expand...

If it can have invisible damage and you don't plan on having it scanned with an electron microscope just buy a new clip-on and enjoy the bike.

Aluminum does fatigue and can stress fracture which can result in catastrophic failure. If that concerns you make sure you also verify the torque on the clamping bolts. That is the most likely failure point after a drop or if the clamp has been over torqued.

Just be careful - you could be riding a ticking time bomb! ;)
 
Indiana Jones said:
I think we're all a little abrasive because we've been there and we want to drive the point home that the bike is fine. Besides the worst that could happen is your handlebars fall off at 100mph...in which case you still have a rear brake and clutchless downshifting available :p
Click to expand...

Nah, we're just .........

:D
 
kismetcapitan said:
he could be a new-ish rider. He's also Asian. Having lived in Asia for nine years, while his sentiments sound completely crazy to an American, it's not completely out of line in an Asian culture, although probably on the anal side of things nonetheless.

There are other factors too. Ducatis are crazy expensive in Asian countries. While walking into my dealer a couple months ago and writing a check for $28k was no issue for me, I'm not so wealthy that I could so easily do the same for a $50k motorcycle, which is what it would have cost me if I were still living over there, for the same damned bike. It would have required more meticulous financial planning to afford the same bike that's in my garage right now, simply by virtue of being in a different country.

It also means that Ducatis are ridden only by a certain socioeconomic elite, whereas here in the US, they're not so expensive that we can't have a little economic diversity within this community. So the OP is going to come off a certain way.

Perhaps not the best analogy, but what if any of us had hit a massive pothole while driving our pride and joy Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, with an impact that bent the rim. You might hear "dude, just replace the wheel and drive", but you'd worry about the suspension linkage, front subframe, and if you might have made it impossible to perfectly align all four wheels. You'd care because, well, if you haven't seen or driven an F12 Berlinetta, holy shitballs, it is as awesome as it is out of my price range. And if I did mortgage my house and my kids educational futures to buy one tomorrow, I might be more than a little OCD about that car!
Click to expand...


Looks like he lives in Singapore. In Singapore, it is quite hard to obtain a car...its really expensive (approval to own one). Gov do this to keep limited # of cars in the city. So for him to own a Ducati...he is probably very very well off.

I've been all over Asia and from Japan, Korea to Thailand...Ducati is very expensive (almost double price).

Cant wait to come back to USA to buy me some more bikes. :D
 
I am sorry that you had a little mishap with your bike. Sounds like you suffer a little from anxiety. To others this would appear a minor thing and so they wouldn't give it a second thought and to them for you to not want to ride the bike for fear it's damaged is ludicrous.
When we see someone with a physical injury broken bones etc most of us are sympathetic. Unfortunately, with anxiety or OCD people aren't as sympathetic because they can't see or understand it!
My advice would be have the bike checked by a qualified mechanic that you have faith in. Meanwhile look at anxiety management and try and overcome your fear. With positive thinking you can. Indeed your half way there in that you yourself recognise you have a problem and you have asked for help in effect here on the forum. Hope this helps. Let me know how you get on. I hope you will soon be back on that beautiful red dream machine
 
Seismic said:
Hi Guys, thanks for the feedback - both to the guys who thinks I am a troll (or just ridicilous ), the guys who think I should grow balls (will try and see if I can make them grow further - even though it will not improve the bike much) and to those of you who tells me the gear will be ok and I should just move on. Regardless of your take, it is all appreciated.

On a practical note - when would you change a handlebar from a drop/crash? It is common knowledge that materials like alu will snap after a (sometimes) invisible stress fracture while steel will bend first.

thanks
seismic
Click to expand...

If your concerned about the bar replace it as it's not that expensive. I would get the set of Ducabike bars since they cost the same as one OEM bar. Unfortunately I know this from experience. Let's just say I was a ....... and knocked mine off the rear stand. All that broke was the bar but scratched the fairing, lever, and rear wheel (stand got caught in the wheel). That was over a year ago and haven't had any issues after track days and normal road riding. Now that you've got past the initial scratch you can use the bike as it was meant to be used with out crying over a small imperfection.
 
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Ride it broken and your trust will sky rocket.

The first time I went down, albeit not on my Duc, I landed on the freeway concrete at a little over 60mph. My bike was still running as it slid to a stop 150 feet in front of me.

8 hours later after a release from the hospital, still shaken up with road rash, bruises and what not( luckily no broken bones) I hopped on it, never being more afraid ever before in my life and rode around my neighborhood a few times.

You will be surprised how much they can be ridden even when going down, and in a case like yours- its minute. The attention that is put into the assembly of these bikes can be understood by just going over the service manual.

Its very hard for integral components to be detrimentally damaged during such a light and insignificant drop. Its made to drop, its a bike, it will drop. Just remember, every little scratch, nick, bump gives your bike its own character.

I will always be proud of the fact that my old R6 had to have gone down about 3 times in significant accidents, and probably many more before me. Yet it was still able to ride like a bat outta hell!

Good luck and wish you the best/
 
Hi Guys,

Again, thank you for all your replies. There are many valid points here.

Yes, in Singapore a Ducati (or any other MC) will cost you around the double compared to the US - so will spare parts, maintenance etc. That is due to taxes and a general high price level. This of course makes the investment a bit more significant and damages (especially self-inflicted) a bit harder to cope with.

@Kismetcapitan - I think your description is pretty spot on.

I am not complaining about imperfection here - no problem with that. The bike is being used for sure and that is visible. So the comments around being too an#l when it comes to scratches/wear&tear or suggestions like "just drop it on the other side" etc seems a bit OT. My concern was more towards the actual damages of the bike due to the drop. A few of you have mentioned clip-ons, rearset etc, so I will have a look at those parts. Thank you.
 
Seismic said:
Hi Guys,

Again, thank you for all your replies. There are many valid points here.

Yes, in Singapore a Ducati (or any other MC) will cost you around the double compared to the US - so will spare parts, maintenance etc. That is due to taxes and a general high price level. This of course makes the investment a bit more significant and damages (especially self-inflicted) a bit harder to cope with.

@Kismetcapitan - I think your description is pretty spot on.

I am not complaining about imperfection here - no problem with that. The bike is being used for sure and that is visible. So the comments around being too an#l when it comes to scratches/wear&tear or suggestions like "just drop it on the other side" etc seems a bit OT. My concern was more towards the actual damages of the bike due to the drop. A few of you have mentioned clip-ons, rearset etc, so I will have a look at those parts. Thank you.
Click to expand...

Refer back to what I said above. Take a look at either service manual or whatever you can grab that has the Ducati specifications for assembly. Notice the massive amounts of torque required on each and every bolt in places that are crucial.

After taking a few physics mechanics classes and understanding the necessary stress to break apart such junctions, or even entire pieces of metal, (Such as the swingers) it can only help to show that the bike will endure. A simple drop is nothing......

Hey man sorry I totally didn't see you thanked me on the last post thought u just skipped it :p With time. Keep at it, if she's a beauty queen after 5 years then did you really ride her at all??? ;)
 
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Didn't deploy the sickstand properly and drop my pani in the garage, fortunately my left leg dampened most of the hit, no damage to the bike. Only time in 3 years.

Drop my old R6 numerous times for being stupid, in the garage, backing up from a space, standing on the side of the road over some dirty. One time, forgot to put the bike in gear, it started rolling away before falling over on the side. Still put 33k miles on it, and never had a single mechanical issue. But that's a Yamaha.
 
My comment only came because I dropped mine on both sides.

First time after a few weeks also because of kickstand stupidity, and 2nd at
The tail of the dragon- while standing/sitting on it. Buddy approached me and I leaned, slipped and fell.

Panigales drop quite well. Check your steering stop (guess that has also been mentioned)

Cheers,


Phil
 
You should take this as the perfect opportunity to upgrade! Go ahead and get yourself new rear sets (well worth it), get some new bar ends (take some vibrations out), if you think your clip on may be damaged, get some sweet after market clip ons, you will want to eventually upgrade those in the future. As for the mirror, I believe some after market mirror makers are nice but I like factory... So you can always buy one off a member here who has created a track bike out of their new bikes.

Look at the silver lining, UPGRADES are in your future!
 
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