Triumphrat

Pops · 02-14-2009, 10:28 PM

I went to see a friend today and he has a gravel drive. Deep pea gravel. I was careful pulling into the drive when I got there and kept the rubber side down going in. He has a concrete pad under his carport so I pulled up there to park. I stayed a couple of hours and we talked a few minutes while the bike warmed up and I got my gear on to leave. Luckily he went back into the house as I started backing out so I didn't have that embarrassment to deal with. I am back peddling down his drive with the bike in neutral to get where I could turn around and ride out. I hit a spot of especially deep pea gravel and my left boot started sliding. When it started sliding the bike started leaning and the more my foot slid the more the bike leaned. Get the picture? I am trying to hold the bike up while doing the splits with one leg and the bike is going over in slow motion.

I decided that I would let the bike go before my hamstring snapped. I have good news about the homemade bar end mirror conversion from stock mirrors. They will not snap off with the bike on top of them. The clutch lever will bend however. Anyone know if the clutch lever can be straightened back out or if the stress will snap it? Also, do you use heat or ice for a shredded hamstring? Valentines Day and I was going to get lucky tonight.

Well at least the Bonnie is mostly Ok.

Pops

diamonddog · 02-14-2009, 11:21 PM

I laid mine down in my driveway the first and last time I mixed alcohol and riding (forgot to put the kickstand down). Yeah, I was pretty drunk and stupid. Anyway, you might make sure that it's your shifter and not the actual rod it mounts on. That was the case with mine. There's no bending that thing back and I ended up just taking my shifter off and pointing it down a bit.

Pops · 02-14-2009, 11:31 PM

Well I wish I could say I was drunk when it happened but I was just clumsy. It is not the shifter that is bent. It is the clutch lever. It just kind of curled it forward from the ball towards the cable. It did not hurt the bracket where it hinges so I can still use it but only with 3 fingers instead of 4. I was afraid that the stress of trying to straighten it again would break it. It must be pretty soft alloy to have bent under the weight with no impact. I was close to ripping my leg apart but I was not going to drop the bike hard. It did not hurt the stock turn signals, the stock mirrors that are now bar end, or the shift lever. The deep pea gravel cushioned some of the impact with me dropping it slowly. My wife is disappointed that no one was able to video it. She thinks it is the funniest thing ever and she didn't even see it.

Pops

diamonddog · 02-15-2009, 12:38 AM

Oh. I always confuse the words lever and pedal for some reason.

CAPTDON · 02-15-2009, 10:14 AM

If you got a pre 05, they will straiten out well (4 timesfor me). The newer ones are designed to break!! Replace w/ unbreakab;lle ones!! They aint cheap!

Sands · 02-15-2009, 10:26 AM

For the hamstring its first ice for the swelling then you do heat

Pythas · 02-15-2009, 10:43 AM

If you have the 05 and later that come with the break off cut out you can try applying a bit of heat with the lever in the vice. Apply the heat about an inch past the bend and all the way to the ball. Then using pliers adjust the lever in the vice so you can straighten it.

Has worked 2 out of 3 times for me.

This was with the levers on the 750 Breva, but a lever is a lever.

geolpilot · 02-15-2009, 12:19 PM

I straightened my 05 clutch lever cold with no problem. It wasn't bent badly.

Flyingmerkel · 02-15-2009, 02:12 PM

I learned how to bend aluminum after my last little get-off. Heat it to approx. 5-600 degrees F. with a propane torch, quench it in cold water, and you have 4-24 hours to bend it back into shape before it hardens up again. My wife bought my clumsy old a*s a set of crash bars for Christmas.

Pops · 02-16-2009, 02:23 AM

Thanks guys. My Bonnie is an 06 so I may try the heat it up then bend it directions from Pythas. I am surprised that it bent like it did without breaking if it was supposed to break. It really just curled up. It may be that I let it down easy and did not really drop it. I am still paying for that today but it was worth it to keep it from really messing anything up. It was a chore standing it back up with one leg out of commission but I didn't want to call my buddy back out for help and have to explain why my bike was taking a nap in his driveway. I looked at some of the breakaways but they are not in my budget at the moment. I have been working on the wife for a mesh riding jacket for summer and have not gotten those funds approved yet!

Pops