Day 1 of learning to ride Buell XB9R. . . spilled it

[Jimmy216]

Hey ya'll, as you know I'm a beginner rider and I love Buell, so I went out and bought a 05 XB9R
. . . harder than I thought to learn to ride, dumped it going about 30mph in a parking lot [mad] [sad]
yeah Ik, I suck, I feel totally defeated. Had to call up my gf's dad for pick up

so here's the damage and I'm looking for any help ya'll can offer such as price of the parts I'll be needing, thanks!!

1.) pegs on both sides snapped off, luckily I put the passenger ones on for now
2.) the shifter ( the black rubber part) that also snapped off
3.) the clutch is lose, like I can wiggle it back and forth, but still works
4.) the accelerator might be broken? it still works but does it usually turn back by itself when you let go? because now when I let it go, it gets stuck right where I leave it

that's most of it i think, the paint (thank God) was not scratched up, it's a custom blue job, but the steel part now has a dent in it, and there are other cosmetic damages, but nothing I'm concerned about

any help ya'll can offer me would be great, I'm just trying to ride

the bike i think is fine though, my gf's dad actually rode it back to my house for me (without the rubber shifter thing lol) and I actually dumped it twice today [sad]

so thanks again everyone!!

 

[d_adams]

Bummer about the spill. I've always advocated learning how to ride (and crash) on a dirt bike since they're typically a LOT cheaper to repair and there's less chance of getting hit by a car out in the woods. Sure, trees do move around some and all that, but they're slow.

 

[iman501]

are you teaching yourself? if so, i'd suggest finding somebody who already knows how to ride give you some lessons. Most of your damage sounds cosmetic, except the dent in what i'm guessing is your frame/tank. I'd get some metal filler, or bondo and fill it back out, then put the frame pucks on it.

 

[Jimmy216]

thanks for the tip for the dent!

my cousin and my gf's dad is teaching me kind of, I guess I just need more experience and get comfortable on it. . .

 

[deathandtexas]

Do yourself a favor and just take an intro/safety class... most states will require you to anyway and you'll get a discount on insurance.

Similar thing happened to my buddy: he bought a brand new GSXR 600 and couldn't wait for his class. Ended up driving it into a fire hydrant at ~20 miles an hour, got freaked out and sold his bike and now I don't have anyone to ride with.

[mad]

 

[Stevenc150]

I started out on a Buell too and it's definitely not the easiest starter bike. Trust me and enroll in an MSF course before you dump it again.

 

[CrazyTexan]

The throttle is probably just being "held" by the bar end. Look at the end of the handle bar....see if theres an adjustment screw. Loosen it up, then re adjust it and snug it back in but not too tight or you will have it grabbing the throttle tube again.

I have an extra clutch lever if yours is broke. They typically are a little loose and wiggle, but I'm not sure how to tell you I'd yours is bad I'd not.

 

[xtreme]

I gotta beat 5-0Dro to the punch. Here is a website that will help save those parts from breaking, might be a good investment!

http://www.5-0dro.com/

 

[Jimmy216]

thanks everyone! I was told to enroll in the rider's courses too, but I didn't want to because i wanted to learn to ride by this Tuesday (moving back to school, planned on taking bike with me) but I don't think I'm cut out for it. . .

@ CrazyTexan, I'll check out what's up with it, i just know when i dumped it, the end bulb part snapped off

@ xtreme, i'll be sure to check it out thanks!

 

[squidbuellie]

Sell your Buell....and buy a honda 80 scooter.

 

[jaimz]

Good thing your safe. Don't be afraid to fall.

My xb12s is my first bike, I've had it for 3 years now (maybe two... it's early and I haven't had coffee yet)

Although when I was younger, I'd ride small dirt bikes and four wheelers (you know the basic hillbilly collection of things)

But then the day I got my bike, I didn't quite know what I was buying! I started it up in my garage, with the clutch pulled in because I drive manual cars so it's a habit. Little did I know, the guy I bought it from left it in first gear.

So, here I am with this torque monster of a bike, in my garage on the kickstand, running, in first gear, clutch pulled in, facing the back of my garage (where there's a brick wall)

I revved it a few times, and as it was coming back down (around 3k) I let off the clutch to step back and look at the marvelous machine that I now owned. That's when I quickly learned, the hard way... no green light on the dash means I'm in gear!

The bike tore ass about 5 feet before the stand finally caught on the floor knocked the bike over on the left side. It shattered my two left foot pegs, busted the nub off my shifter, smashed my mirror to bits. and scratched the shit out of my swing arm.

Ever since then I've always had a smallish leak around the spot where the shift lever goes into the engine cover. An immeasurable amount of fluid loss, like an ounce a year. But I still see that dark wet-ish spot, and it makes me remember "don't be stupid"

At least you got to sit on yours before you busted it.

And here's how I fixed my shifter. I drilled out the lever, shoved a bolt in and put some rubber grommets on the bolt. it's about 2 1/2 inches long. I actually like it better than the stock. and you can see my leak!

 

[christianmb]

I am in the same boat as some of the other ones here. My '07 XB12STT (now converted to a 'bolt) is my first bike. I bought mine and got "the itch" before I even had plates on it. My parents have about 1/4 mile blacktop driveway, and I took it out of the garage and put it on the kickstand to go shut the door. I forgot to pull it back once on the stand, and it fell, breaking the turn signal. Then, I picked it up, disgusted, and got on, slid the clutch, so as to not be too aggressive first time out. Since it was about 30 (-1 C) outside and it was blacktop, there was black ice about 10 feet in front of me. Dumped it on the other side, smashed the puck, broke the other turn signal, rider peg and broke the nub off the shift lever too. Just a couple of things like Jaimz said, it reminds me to not be stupid. Keep your chin up, and remember, patience and baby steps. Definitely take the course too.

 

[BuellRiderX]

Go on youtube a watch some beginner videos. I was surprised how much I learned from those before I even started riding [up]

 

[jaimz]

Go on youtube a watch some beginner videos. I was surprised how much I learned from those before I even started riding

I second that! Also go watch some motorcycle wreck videos, you learn a lot from that as well.

 

[sprk_sprd]

Some of you here give the most idiotic advice ever. Youtube? Seriously - wtf? Maybe you can teach yourself how to knit a sweater by watching youtube videos, but not how to ride a motorcycle! The only good motorcycle videos on youtube are the ones where idiots wreck their pretty motorcycles doing stupid crap they shouldn't be doing.

OP - do yourself and your bike a favor and register for a beginners rider course. You can find them at local community colleges and even some dealerships.

 

[jaimz]

yeah a rider course is great. But watching youtube isn't idiotic advice.

There's thousands of people on there with experience and tips. How can you say that listening to what someone on youtube has to say is any more idiotic than reading your text on this forum suggesting a rider course?

I'd suggest taking a look at this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Proficient-Motorcycling-Ultimate-Guide-Riding/dp/1889540536

It's stories of real life accidents and what caused them... then again reading a book about it might be idiotic also.

 

[CrazyTexan]

Twist of the wristII is on youtube! Helped me w. body positioning & cornering! Definatly a must watch.

 

[Jimmy216]

thanks again everyone for the advice
I drilled into the shifter and put in a bolt, so I am good for that now
but still having problem with the throttle, it doesn't spring back after I accelerate, I have to manually ease it back, I tried the screw advice Crazy Texan gave me, but that didn't solve it [sad] any other suggestions would be great

thanks everyone!

 

[Bolty]

Look and see if the handlebar is bent

 

[oh9bolt]

jaimz you should replace your kicstand pin before you find your bike on its side.