08-03-2015, 09:44 AM
I'm like you. I have the black side cover damaged when I laid her down on day in the Woodbury TN square. I came up to a stop sign on the square and the road angles down on the left side into a drain, enough that when I dropped my left boot down when coming to a stop it leaned over past the point of no return and down she went. I learned a lesson never to stop on a road that dips at that angle. Other than her left side cover that was all she suffered and there is no dent, just a scrape. I thought about sanding and painting have decided to do it after the riding season just in case I decide to lay it down again this summer. 
I've locked the rear up in low speed emergency stops and remembered the lessons taught me in riding schools to ride it to a stop keeping her locked to keep from high siding and frankly after I practiced several hours in the local school parking lot, practiced emergency quick stops, I've gotten real good in stopping her without locking and also locking the back when safe. I bet I practiced such stops thirty or more times before I was happy. I've never locked the front and these brakes are so easy to control without ABS that I am almost afraid to get a bike with ABS for fear it will take over the braking for me and not letting me control her as I decide. I was coming down a longish downhill twisty road just north of Pikeville Tennessee, coming off the plateau, and the road suddenly twisted left in a 45 degree turn with a straight up bluff in front and a drop off to the other side. I downshifted and applied the front and rear almost to a lockup before the turn, came of both and give her gas to lift her up and flipped her to the left in a hard lean, this bike has a lot of clearance when you bring her up off the suspension with a little gas, and she turned and stayed up and then came upright as if nothing happened. This is a great bike. I also don't know if I want ABS on my next bike. It scares me that I won't have total control of the brakes.
Oh, I likely will replace the side cover with new to keep her in undamaged condition rather than try and sand and paint. With yours, that puppy is dented pretty good so replacement is required I would think. Sooner the better in case the metal is weakened by the stress of this impact. I suspect the points are to replace the bolts in their original locations and tighten them in the order and at the correct torque specified by Honda. When I do this, I draw and outline of the side cover on cardboard and punch a hole in the outline where each bolt goes and then when I remove each bolt I place it in the correct position in the outline. Then when I replace the cover I take and tighten each bolt in the order Honda specifies. One place to find this is the manual or someone who has one.
I've locked the rear up in low speed emergency stops and remembered the lessons taught me in riding schools to ride it to a stop keeping her locked to keep from high siding and frankly after I practiced several hours in the local school parking lot, practiced emergency quick stops, I've gotten real good in stopping her without locking and also locking the back when safe. I bet I practiced such stops thirty or more times before I was happy. I've never locked the front and these brakes are so easy to control without ABS that I am almost afraid to get a bike with ABS for fear it will take over the braking for me and not letting me control her as I decide. I was coming down a longish downhill twisty road just north of Pikeville Tennessee, coming off the plateau, and the road suddenly twisted left in a 45 degree turn with a straight up bluff in front and a drop off to the other side. I downshifted and applied the front and rear almost to a lockup before the turn, came of both and give her gas to lift her up and flipped her to the left in a hard lean, this bike has a lot of clearance when you bring her up off the suspension with a little gas, and she turned and stayed up and then came upright as if nothing happened. This is a great bike. I also don't know if I want ABS on my next bike. It scares me that I won't have total control of the brakes.
Oh, I likely will replace the side cover with new to keep her in undamaged condition rather than try and sand and paint. With yours, that puppy is dented pretty good so replacement is required I would think. Sooner the better in case the metal is weakened by the stress of this impact. I suspect the points are to replace the bolts in their original locations and tighten them in the order and at the correct torque specified by Honda. When I do this, I draw and outline of the side cover on cardboard and punch a hole in the outline where each bolt goes and then when I remove each bolt I place it in the correct position in the outline. Then when I replace the cover I take and tighten each bolt in the order Honda specifies. One place to find this is the manual or someone who has one.