Versys fall down and go BOOM!

We had just rode a spirited 125 miles. The Versys went over 15,000 miles. Then it needed a nap.

I guess that I have been lucky. I had not dropped a motorcycle in over 10 years. That streak ended a couple of weeks ago. Here is what happened;

Yeeha and I were visiting beautiful Colorado, we were staying in Gunnison and taking day rides out of there. The day that this happened we had ridden down CO114 to 285. it was a beautiful day and we were enjoying the cooler temps and the AMAZING scenery. Next up… Creed Colorado. This is one of my favorite places to visit while in Colorado. We rode up to Creede and I wanted to take a few minutes to park and get Jamie a souvenir T-shirt. Everything went well and I got the coolest shirt for Jamie. I was very happy with myself.

We geared up and Yeeha took off. I was taking my time getting my gloves on, I then put the Versys in 1st gear and took off. I notice a truck come into my peripheral vision, I pull in the clutch as I was going to come to a stop and allow the truck to pass… This is where things go wrong. I put my foot down, but at that moment the sand in the road does not allow by boot to adhere to the asphalt. My foot slips, the camber of the lot was not in my favor and the next thing I know, I am on the ground and my Versys is laying besides me. The kind gentleman in the truck, stopped and helped me pick up the Versys. I was not hurt, unless you want to speak about my pride….

This is the last picture taken of my pristine Versys.

So now I am just mad at myself, for dropping my beautiful machine. I start to access the damage. A great big scar on the right pannier, as well placed scuff on the side panel above the cornering lights and last but not least the scuffed up hand guards. I was not a happy camper, but nothing else was broke, the bike could be ridden and all everything else was good. I knew it would not be cheap to fix, but I was not stranded, I did not hurt myself and I was in beautiful Colorado. Life was good!

The Aftermath

So I contacted my good friends at Plano Kawasaki and Suzuki in Plano to get a quote on the parts needed to get my Versys back to 100%. The damage went as follows;

Right Pannier and color matched panel. This is something I do not understand. You can’t buy just one bag, you have to buy the bags in pairs. I know that they need to be keyed for the bike, but it sure would have been nice to replace the 1 bag and not have to buy the pair. Approx cost $1200

Now I know some of you are saying, that you would try and fix the bag yourself. I get it, but I also know myself and I know my eye would be focused on that darn bag every time I walked out to the bike.

The side panel must have come down and hit a rock, thus scaring the panel. This could have gone unrepaired as no one would see it unless they were looking. However I would have focused on it. Approx cost $300

I seriously thought about not replacing the hand guard, however I was spending a fair amount to get the bike back to 100% and figured that the cost of the guard was the most affordable of the group. Approx Cost $100

So for just around $2300 I will have a complete and non damaged Versys. I will be taking the Versys to Freedom Powersports in Fayetteville Arkansas this Friday for the 16K service, a new back tire and getting the new parts installed and re-keyed. Then she will be as good as new.

Until Next Time everyone – Ride safe!