Forums > Maintenance > Dropped my baby

Sorry to hear it.  Inevitably something on two wheels will tip over someday.  I believe that relatively inexpensively you can drop off the lid to a local auto painter and let them refinish it at their convenience.  During the winter this is especially easy.  It may be cheaper if you do some of your own wet sanding to get rid of the scratches.  You might even try your hand at spraying it yourself.  The more steps you do yourself the cheaper it will be.  They can just hit it with a final coat and it is done.  Matching up the paint might be the toughest part.  If you want more detailed advice just ask.  There are a few of use here who have some experience with it.  Good luck!

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SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES .. . . THEY ARE NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING, BUT THEY STILL BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN YOU PUSH THEM DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS.

Hey Bill.  Sorry about the drop.  I don't have any advice on cost/repairs - just a little empathy for your "accident" ....

I've done the same to two of my bikes in the last ten years...

My first BMW - R1200C - pulled up in a friend's drive to show her off.  Sat there waiting for him to come out the front door. He did.  Next thing I knew.... I was picking that beauty up...

My Duc Cafe Racer; she fell on me as I fell into the bushes right out in front of my house.  Luckily, not a scratch on the bike.  There is still a "hole" in the bushes where the bike and I were laying to remind me from now on...

Put the kickstand down you dummie.... (talking to me, not you)! 

Good luck with the repairs....

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******Mike****** "We choose our joys and our sorrows long before we experience them."

Do not worry, It happens. I am the king of dropped bikes. I just have someone help pick it up and go. I have lost count of how many times I have dropped my K1200rs. On one of the drops, I scratched my saddle bags (custom painted to match the bike). I started putting stickers of every place I've ridden to. The scratches are buried underneath them 

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Why are you reading ths?

 

that's pretty much what I did with my R12RT about two weeks into ownership. Only what happened was I *did* put the kickstand down, just not quite all the way and the springload caused it to bounce back up.. so as I began to dismount in my garage I realized something horrible was afoot. trying to stop an R12RT from dropping with one foot on the bike and one foot off is a slow, futile experience.

for me though the only damage was to the cylinder head. a small dent where it rested on the floor as my touratech guards hadn't arrived yet.

nowadays I always kick the stand with my foot before dismounting to make sure it's still there.

perhaps you could call the service dept at Foothills or BMW of Denver and ask them for advice/recommendation.

Firstly, don't feel too badly.  I well remember Nut's bush story.  As I recall, weren't you stuck in the bush and needing help to get free?

My R75/5 met the asphault several times at 0 mph; my RT has yet to make that trip, but it has been close.  Last year, putting her on the trailer, I forgot the kickstand and sprained my wrist when I had to muscle her back up from about a 30 degree angle-hurt for 4 months or so.   Just last week I put the kick stand down but scooted forward a couple of feet and it got partially retracted.  I almost went over with her.  So, it happens.  Now I try to be doubly sure the stand is down and fully in place.

Replacement is an option of course.  As for repair, any scratches or deep gouges can be filled with body filler (Bondo or the ilk) and/or spot putty.  Then, sanded and primed with a build primer.  The color coat can easily be mixed by a paint shop.  You need the 'color code'.  On a car, this is in your glove box (on a sticker) or under the hood.  I don't know about an RT but the dealer should be able to help find it or they'll know it.  I like Nason "Ful-Thane".  It is easy to paint yourself once you know how.  An experienced buddy is crucial here.  I have taught many people to paint their own vehicles but it would be a tough job going solo the first time.  But certainly, a body shop could whip it out quickly.

Too bad you live so far away, I like a paint project from time to time....If you can find an experienced buddy to help, it is a good skill to learn and yours is a good simple project to begin with.  If you don't give a darn about aquiring the skill, then just hire it out.  Good luck with it, either way and let us know what you do and how it turns out.  If you decide to learn the skill, realize it will cost more since you need to buy tools (guns, respirators, air compressor, etc.).  After that, you're set.

Here's some pics of my last paint project, my 1989 Chevy.  Turned out beautifully.  I later sprayed the bedliner in.  That I won't do again.  Imagine a tar volcano erupting in your shop....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

R,

Ahh....can I sent you my bike

E

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Why are you reading ths?

K12RS?  Sure, I'll paint it free.  But it will take me about 6 (warm) months and don't write down the odometer reading before you ship it!

 

Rob --

When you are done with E's ride, I got a couple scratches on my RT too...(dropped at 0 mph).  

I'm just askin'....

- Jack 

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"There ain't no Devil, there's just God when he's drunk." -- T. Waits

 

 

Age is teaching me the futility of many endeavors.  I'm making a list . . . let's call it The Futile List.  On the surface that would seem kind of sad, wouldn't it.

However, the good news is that the list of endeavors that are not futile grows shorter every day:  let's call this list The Short List.

I'm thinking that The Short List is probably what counts for each of us in our short time on this spinning rock.

So we each have to decide for ourselves whether maintaining a bike's factory-perfect finish deserves to stay on The Short List.

I'm just saying . . .

You know . . . 

C

 

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401K? Retirement? Ha! Don't be ridiculous!

"I'm thinking that The Short List is probably what counts for each of us in our short time on this spinning rock.

So we each have to decide for ourselves whether maintaining a bike's factory-perfect finish deserves to stay on The Short List " -- C-man, 2008

Have you seen your Triumph?

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"There ain't no Devil, there's just God when he's drunk." -- T. Waits

 

"Have you seen your Triumph?"

As with all my bikes except one, the everyday Thrux is a mess.  I don't recall ever washing it.  The track bike is approaching perfect, albeit it carries some normal wear scars.

I keep the bikes oiled and mechanically sound but couldn't care less about paint and rain washes are just fine.

That track bike will stay on The Short List mostly out of necessity mixed with a pinch of pride.  It's a matter of discipline, as dirt might hide a cracked weld, or a loose fitting; and an oil leak is quickly traced by touch on a clean surface.

I'll habitually touch every nut and bolt, weld and connection on the bike, and completely wipe every tube and every surface on the bike before an event.  This is probably more Zen than necessity.

However in my humble opinion there's just no place for a dirty bike at a track.  Some oil and grease and scrapes and scars, sure, but no dirt.  I'd avoid another track rider on a dirty bike.

I guess that's why we each have to craft our own Short List.

C

 

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401K? Retirement? Ha! Don't be ridiculous!

I'm with Charlie on this one.  Bikes are meant to be ridden.  Yesterday while nooding around town, waiting for my daughter to get out of a birthday party, I am waiting for a guy on a bike to exit the freeway.  

As he flashes by I get a a glimpse of the ugiest paint I've ever seen on a Beemer, a bicycle style springer seat, plunger shocks and Lord knows what else.  

Of course I give chase.  Catch up to him a couple of blocks away as he pulls into a local chopper shop.  I roll down the window and wave the latest copy of BMW-ON at him so he'll know I'm not dangerous.  

We start talking.  His bike is a R52/3 in an R60 frame, from the early 50's.  The guy literally got it out of a shed for a six pack of beer and has been restoring it.  It is his rider, he also has toaster tank that he said he is making into a cafe racer.

Point being, the guy is riding this thing on a great sunny day, living his passion.

Bikes are made to ride.  If you want to polish get a Har...........oh you know.

Bob 

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"Go out, things happen. Stay at home, they don't" .....................Ted Simon

My little blue roadster got keyed about three days after I drove her home from Washington, DC, a couple of years ago.   There was a time I would have cussed and swore and been pissed off for days.  But, surprising even to me, when I walked up to her for a second look, I kinda winced and just really felt sorry for the poor bastard that was doing so poorly, he had to resort to destroying someone else's property to feel good about himself.  I might be off on the psychoanalysis, but I'm just saying, for some reason, I just kinda smiled and counted all my blessings.......

 

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******Mike****** "We choose our joys and our sorrows long before we experience them."

That is a great attitude and ultimately more satisfying in the long run, and healthier, than throwing a fit and throwing something.  That "something" is usually expensive, or it hits something expensive, you get the idea. 

Maybe for the sidecases there is a chrome molding strip or something that can cover the scratches.  Or painted to match.  I like the travel sticker idea.  But not everybody would.  On my 1200 GS I have some stickers from the places I have been too.  I also remember the first week I had it and I found out how delicate those aluminim cases are...

Another idea I have seen is to have two sets of bags.  Expensive, but you use the scratched set for everday and the new set for when you are showing it off.  Its only money.

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SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES .. . . THEY ARE NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING, BUT THEY STILL BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN YOU PUSH THEM DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS.