There’s an old saying in motorcycling: It’s not if you’ll crash, but when. At some point, your number will come up, and it’s important to know what to do in the aftermath: What organs to get checked out, which bones to mend, whose insurance to deal with for months on end until it almost doesn’t feel worth it any more. Oh, and how to get your bike back up and running from all that damage.
Luckily, Ari Henning over at RevZilla has some help for that last part. In the latest installment of his Shop Manual series, he’s got the details on how to get your wrecked bike back in prime-ish condition — a process he’s all too happy to demonstrate on his own crashed Gixxer.
Henning’s subject for the day is Dave, the K5 Suzuki GSXR 1000 that famously whooped a 2020 Ducati Panigale on track and in the process won both the seemingly unwinnable contest and the hearts of RevZilla’s viewers and hosts. Henning appears to have crashed Dave at some separate track day, and used the lowside as an excuse to show viewers how to piece their broken bikes back together after such an accident.
His process is a simple one: A quick scan for damage, a deeper scan for issues surrounding the marked spots or in other, less visible areas, and then getting it all pieced back together. The repair process itself involves Henning’s best tips for finding parts online, as well as his recommendations for which parts can be safely cheaped out on. He’s a fan of aftermarket plastics, if you were wondering.
The result, after Henning’s work, has Dave looking better than ever. Sure, the frame is still gouged and the engine case is still scuffed to all hell, but everything appears to be working — and in better cosmetic shape than the Gixxer’s rough beginnings. Just remember, after all is said and done, to replace the helmet you crashed in. It’s done its job.
