First tip into the rhubarb

Hi everyone, I'm a long time member but infrequent poster. Just thought I might relate my August 23 experience, on a bike trip with three friends, I was leading after 10 hours and daydreaming 15 miles from our cottage rental on Lake Clear near Lake Placid NY. Went into a turn marked 25 mph doing 65! Let no one doubt that the ST1100 ('98) can cling to the road, I made it 2/3 of the way thru, scraped almost through left boot leather. Finally off right side shoulder into the sandy soil with grass. Held it up parallel to road about 5 feet from the treeline, made it about 60 yards. Lost speed quickly but hit real soft spot and it flipped sort of lengthwise, threw me clear. Sore ankle, knee and rash on forearm from inside of Joe Rocket. Moral of the story No Daydreaming lol.
Bike damage; both mirrors and signals, smashed one saddlebag, many cracked plastic parts, bent that framework that supports instrument, cluster and fairing. Field stripped at cottage and put her back together sans mirrors and windscreen. Have subsequently done 500 miles around Adirondacks, very nice.
Mechanically fit, 31,000 miles on it. Going to rebuild, new plastic or used plastic and repaint? Any rebuilding advice? P.S. I'm very grateful after 34 yrs this was it!

Glad you are okay.

Thanks, just ego.

There, but by the Grace of God, go I.

Glad it's booboos that will heal and parts that are replaceable..

Well first off we are glad you are OK and still posting here. The bike looks like it needs a lot of plastic. Take a look around on ebay and see what you can find. Good luck with the rebuild.

Also I think you posted this in the wrong category as this was not a tip over!!

Glad to hear that you are in one piece.

If you unbolt the instrument stay from the frame, you should be able to bend it back using a vise. You'll need to check the metal bracket that the rear rack bolts to, it may have shifted to one side. Some plastic may be recoverable by buffing out the scratches and then spraying with off-the-shelf black paint. Fiberglas and epoxy for plastics worked good for me for fixing broken mounting tabs.

970mike said:

Well first off we are glad you are OK and still posting here. The bike looks like it needs a lot of plastic. Take a look around on ebay and see what you can find. Good luck with the rebuild.

Also I think you posted this in the wrong category as this was not a tip over!!

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I wondered, the few entries I looked at were literally tip overs. Sorry if it is considered bad karma to post on a wipe out. Cautionary tale I suppose.

Dave Weeks said:

I wondered, the few entries I looked at were literally tip overs. Sorry if it is considered bad karma to post on a wipe out. Cautionary tale I suppose.

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No big deal, glad you are good enough to post and ride again.

You mean you put all the plastic back on and rode? (Minus a few pieces).
I don't know about the 1100, but on a 1300 when the plastic comes off, it's broke.
BTW... glad your OK.

Glad you're ok
The Angels and Gremlin bell were watching over you
Unless you have collision insurance and get replacement parts or bike from insurance, I'd be thinking Bobber; plastic on the ST is as expensive as chrome on a Harley...
Grizz

Lol, since I'm traveling I did put broken plastic back on after inspecting, with liberal use of tape, the alternative was riding half bare. Now at a glance it passes for semi normal.

Glad you are okay, it sounds like you had an "interesting" ride. I've done something similar twice and luckily the side of the road was empty and firm so I just rode it out with little drama.

The most important part is that you are OK.

Glad you are ok! I had an "experience" a few months ago at OH-STOC It was an eye opener (and a giant godzilla sized ice-breaker at the STOC ) and it made me realize my limits.

My bike didnt have as much damage as yours, but I got great tips/inputs from Gary (GreenZR) and others on this forum. Gary had restored a very damaged bike a few years ago, there's a thread here that tracks all the progress.

Ultimately, its a blessing that we all are here safe, reading & posting on this forum. Living is something to be immensely grateful for! Riding is extra icing on the cake !

Regards,
Vishnu

I too, have taken the scenic route on occasion. As pilots say, any landing you can walk away from is a good one. Glad your OK!!

Rayjoe

When you do the rebuild post lots of pictures to bring us all into your operation theater. This is also the time you look at your bike's color and wonder if it needs to be customized.opcorn

If you have the big pieces, you may be able to put them back together. There is a plastic repair kit out which works well. You may find some of the parts on eBay or at a motorcycle salvage place. You can also fabricate new mounting tabs with repair kits.

Failing that, make a streetfighter out of it.

so glad you walked away. I had a similar slid and tumble a few years ago. New parts in the 3 stage red paint on my 97 is the most expensive. New parts in your black are the cheapest.

Wow I thought this was going to be about an RTE to get pie! Glad you're OK and sorry to hear about your bike. Best of luck on your rebuild.