Some what new here

So I've been wondering around the forum for a while now and I've finally decided say hello! First of all, awesome forum. It is amazing to see so many people willing to go out of their way to help others. and the amount of inforation and knowledge in here is outstanding.

So...
About 5 years ago the wife (girlfriend at the time) and I decided that we wanted a bike. We both agreed to take the safety course and had every intention on purchasing a bike shortly after. Well we decided to get married instead so that put the bike idea on hold.

In spring 2015, my father in law called us to tell us that he bought a newer honda goldwing and was wondering if we would interested in his old bike. Which is a 77 kz1000 b1 ltd, all original to my knowledge. So I said to the wife, if the price is right then why not. Well let's just say that we (by we I mean me) are the proud owners of a 77 kz1000ltd.

I immediately fell in love with this beast. Though I do agree it is way too big of a bike to start out with, I couldn't be happier with this thing. Which brings me to my new issue. About half way through the 2015 riding season I hit a patch of gravel on the road which sent me into the ditch. From what I can tell there was only cosmetic damage, turn signals, gauge bracket and a small dent on the tank. Me, well, I just got the wind knocked out of me and a sprained ankle (I know I got lucky and yes I was wearing a helmet). I put the bike away and now I want to bring it out for this season but the boss lady says that I can't ride it until I have it looked at to make sure there is no structural/frame damage. I will be calling around to see how much it will cost me to get her looked at. So if any one know of a place near washington/ dodge county are I would greatly appreciated the suggestion.

Again awesome forum and I hope to continue learning from everyone here, since the motorcycle thing is all new to me.

Welcome to the site.
Good luck on the inspection. Hopefully the bike is not too banged up...!

Thank you.

I hope she's fine too. I can't wait to stay riding again. I will post pics of her once I figure out how to.

Ok hopefully this works

Welcome, nice bike.
Steve

So a bit of an update. I've called a few of the local ships and no one seems to have a way to inspect the frame on the bike other than just visually. Las night I took the bike to the fire station for training night. During the entire training I kept thinking to my self "I hope I left the bike in gear" since I had parked on a bit of an incline. Well when I went to go home. I always start the bike standing next to it before I put my helmet on. Well guess what? The bike was in gear. As soon as I let go of the clutch the bike went forward and on its right side. I wanted to punch my self in the face. What a stupid mistake. I can't believe I forgot to check to see if it was in gear. I managed to crack both the inside and outside point covers and scratch the newly replaced rear turn signal. That actually scared me more than when I dumped it last year. Now I'm wondering if I should take this as a sign. Maybe I'm not meant to ride.

If I stopped riding my bike after some bone head mistakes, someone else would be riding it and I'd be stuck in a CAGE. :dry:
I ride the piss out of my bike. :woohoo:
Steve

The points housing and points cover is very easy to change. Just get replacements off of ebay. They don't have to be new and shiney. You can wet sand and polish them (with a drill attachment if you don't have a buffer) to look like new. As for making mistakes, I still leave the side stand down when taking off from time to time. I have also bumped the starter button many times when in gear but was lucky to be sitting on the bike. Too bad these earlier bikes don't have side stand kill switches which won't allow the bike in gear if the sidestand is down. Would have avoid your problem.

I think everyone here can relate a story to you of similar situations involving their "new" bike that end with the feelings of anger and :blush: ...

At least you are smart enough to be taking a motorcycle safety course and you have already experienced the most common newbie "accidents" - dropping your bike and hitting loose gravel on a 2 wheeled machine. Thank goodness you were unhurt in either of the situations.!

As for the bike's safety here's a few things to try:
- Have your father in-law drop by if possible to review it with you. He knows what the bike's condition was before & can probably recognize anything "not right" now.

- Pour some water on the ground and the ride or roll the bike straight thru it and 20 feet past. Look at the wet tire marks to see if the are in-line & leaving the tire's center pattern (as opposed to edge etc). This will help identify if the alignment got thrown off in any of the accidents.
Of course you wife's Dad can also ride it and probably tell you if it isn't responding the same too.

- Look really closely at the frame & all the points where it's welded together. Be critical in your observations for any indication of cracks in the paint or weld beads. You didn't mention the speed you were going when you hit the gravel so hard to say what, if any, damage may have been sustained.

Ultimately there is almost nothing you cannot fix or repair from the 2 incidents you have described and your full face helmet goes a long way to hiding your blushing face from any "Doh!" moments

Welcome and congrats on a nice bike!

Thanks for the words of wisdom everyone. I will start looking for the replacement parts and see how I feel then. I know I would regret it if I got rid of the bike.

Wrenchmonkey
Thanks for the advise. I never thought about asking my father in law to look at it. I will take the gas tank and all the covers off and inspect the frame.I will try the water trick also. As for the safety course , that was one of the most exciting and fun class I've ever taken. And I learned a lot specially to never underestimate the small toy looking bikes. Boy those Buell blast can sure move.

Again thanks everyone

Nice LTD and Welcome to KZR
So I take it you are a firefighter , since you went there for training , Right ?
Then I know you are smart enough to learn survival in hazardous situations , Right ?
Then dont let a few minor setbacks turn you away from enjoying the gift the Wifes Dad bestowed on you. Just learn from it and move on .
Frame is probably ok , but look it over real carefully and make sure the front end didnt tweak in the triple trees. Go thru the factory service manual and check all you can and you should be fine with Dads blessings
Signed Street Fighter LTD ,
Retired Deputy Chief of Fire Operations Hamburg Fire
Dave

Yes sir. I am a volunteer firefighter/EMT for 5yrs now and loving every minute of it. I really appreciate your input. I never looked at it that way, but you're absolutely right. I've always been able to face my fears and this should be no different.

swest wrote: If I stopped riding my bike after some bone head mistakes, someone else would be riding it and I'd be stuck in a CAGE. :dry:
I ride the piss out of my bike. :woohoo:
Steve

LOL! I have not owned a single bike that I haven't dropped in the driveway, stumbled turning around in the street, started in gear or slid on some gravel and rolled off it in slow motion. Etc.
The only time I ever had a frame issue is when I got center punched by a F***ing drunk driver. That bent the frame.
All others have always been minor nicks and bruises, broken turn signals, bent levers, tweaked handle bars and misaligned triple tree... Etc
I really think riders that say they have not had anything happen are either liars, don't really ride much at all or are personal friends of Jesus.