I have a 2004 Ninja 250R and I let my cousin ride it. It was his first time riding a bike, and he hit a pot hole on a gravel road, and laid the bike down. He broke the right front turn signal, and put a few scratches on the front fairing and right exhaust pipe. Also, the handlebars are turned slightly to the right when the wheel is facing straight. I already purchased new flush carbon fiber turn signals.

I have included pictures of the scratches.

My questions are this:
1) Is there a cheap way to buff out the scratches? I've never done work on a bike, so I really have no idea what I am doing. There are no dents, just scratches.

2) How do I fix the misaligned handlebars? Can I do it myself? Do I need new parts? Do I need to have it checked by a shop?

Thanks in advance, and let me know if you need more information.

 

If the scratches arent deep you might be able to buff them out, but I wouldnt count on it. Easiest way is to replace then, but you can also get them resprayed.

If the bars dont match the wheel you might have some serious problems. The forks could be bent or the triple could be tweaked. Replacing the forks can be done with standard tools, the triple will need a spanner wrench. But the parts arent cheap. If you cant figure out what is bent I would take it to the shop to get an idea of what parts you need, but the actual work you can do yourself.

BTW: DO NOT RIDE IT!!! If the steering is bent you need to fix it before you ride.

Good luck on the fix, and welcome back brotha!

 

Sorry to hear. So, what hospital is your cousin in?
It's POSSIBLE to straighten your front end (but by no means scientific) by putting your front wheel between two immovable objects (on either side) and bending them back to their former position. Take off the front cowl and use a ratchet strap or a fence stretcher (often called a come-a-long) to basically leverage the top angle against the bottom angle, until they match again. (Hey, I grew up on a farm.) DOUBLE CHECK (i.e., MEASURE) your lengths and angles to make sure everything is true.
As for scratches, start with the least abrasive stuff and work your way more aggressive. That prolly sounds butt-backwards, but it keeps you from causing even MORE abrasion. Might suggest shop grade 3M polishes, or Meguiars. I'd avoid the Wal Mart variety stuff; always a crap shoot.
Send the receipts to your cousin with his get well card.

 

wow, is the front end that F'd up? Generally, loosen all of the clamps and set the front wheel to the straight position, then tighten the clamps. a pot hole induced tweek is prolly all there is to that.

The scratch thing: Depending on how deep and if anything was broken. A scratch can be filled and use the same paint pen for finishing. I am still new to this as well. lol I will post up a how it goes with making fairing repairs on my mighty EX500 soon.