[PinkEagles]

So I hit this car with my bike and feel really stupid/terrible about it. Anyways, I bent my handlebars just a bit and was wondering if it would be OK to drive to the dealership to get it fixed or if I should get the bike towed. I drove it home from the accident, but that was only a couple of blocks.

[skippersusie]

You ok? If it were me, I’d have it towed, just to be safe. But there are lots more folks whose experience and opinions I’d defer to.

[Gary856]

If all the controls function normally then it’s usually no big deal to ride it. After a low-side deep in the hills with a bent handlebar, levers, mirrors and busted gauges, I rode my bike maybe 30 miles home at a chilled pace, then to a shop. I’d get things promptly fixed, but there are people who ride with a slightly bent handlebar indefinitely.

[TrialsRider]

I’ve ridden lots of bikes with bent bars before, feels really wierd. I’m guessing there is also a little scar on your front fender too, yes?

Biggest danger is with your throttle hanging up, so check that out before you ride it again, usually the levers get bent too and you might be looking at new grips if the left grip doesn’t come off the old bar easy and stay tight on the new one. A few bikes have the electric wiring routed inside the bars and there is a possibility of wiring or controls being damaged on those bikes, this should be obvious with some visual inspection. Make sure the kill switch works first, then put her on the center stand (if so equipped) and with it running at idle, make certain it doesn’t rev up when you turn the bars from lock to lock.

Bars are one of the easiest things to change if you have some tools and mechanical aptitude. It won’t be cheap to tow it to a dealer and have them do it, but that’s your call either way. I’ve even removed and bent my bars straight so I could finish a competition event. Note: these were very expensive alloy bars and not cheap steel ones.

Once the bars are replaced, it’s easier to visually inspect the front forks for damage, that is something you should look for if you went straight into the car, as opposed to a glancing blow.

Take it easy for a while, an incident like that can really shake your confidence. Bent bars or not riding the bike will feel strange for a bit.

[PinkEagles]

Yeah I’m definitely OK, but the lady in the car ended up going to the doctor. Any other tips on good ways to handle a situation like this? I’m pretty sure it was my fault.

[TrialsRider]

…might want to del that last part:(

[Munch]

What happened to where you hit the ladies car? Lane splitting? Not paying attention? She darted out in front of you?

The handling part should be left to the insurance. That’s why you got it.

One thing I don’t understand though is what she went to the doc’s for. You hit her bumper…not her. Unless you cart wheeled into her door and managed to face mask her on your way by.

[Jeff in Kentucky]

Sometimes people will get whiplash- a neck injury from sudden movement during a crash- it is rarely from a low speed crash. Liars will sometimes claim fake whiplash, to try to get free “massages” from a chiropractor and big amounts of cash for fake pain and suffering, in an attempt to scam the insurance company or the other driver in court.

[PinkEagles]

I was coming out of a parking lot, moving straight across a couple lanes of traffic to turn left. She was in a left turn lane and I was just looking the other way for traffic. She said she hurt her arm…?

[TrialsRider]

The way I read it you hit their passenger side and rode away with minimal damage. If you were traveling anything less than 80 mph, at most you hurt her feelings and I bet the insurance people arrive at the same conclusion. Sounds like it might have happened even if you were driving instead of riding, so don’t sweat that part. You learned way more from the experience than the other person, she doesn’t even recognize a failure to see the danger and maybe next time it will be a Tanker Truck.

Chalk it up to experience and in future; anticipate that anyone within a mile might be out to run you down. ( or even just get in your way ) BTW: did she signal left in advance of entering that left turning lane, or lead you to anticipate she was traveling straight through ? Which goes to show you, fault is seldom so clear and you should never volunteer liability at the time of an incident. …You should have maybe anticipated she might drive straight at you without warning, that happens too.

One thing about riding a motorcycle, if you must take a longer route to avoid a dangerous traffic situation ( such as making left turns across a busy multi-lane roadway ) at least you get to ride more

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