While tipover bars aren't 100% foolproof, chances are my bike would be in much better shape today if I had bought them when I had the chance.

I had this evil plan, you see... I didn't like the rounded tubular look of Murphs bars, so I intended to make my own, which would look more streamlined, and with a crossbar across the front (just below the nose fairing, utilizing the upper front bolts of the side fairing to attach this crossbar to).

Anyways, since I didn't get around to actually doing this, and after some drunk guy knocking my bike over on it's right side, plus a few low speed spills, some on slick roads (caught in a freak snowstorm on the way home; midjudged the weather forecast), not to mention the higher speed spill involving an unexpected ice patch, well it isn't pretty...

BTW, the clear tape on the right turn signal lens is covering a hole which resulted from the spill involving the drunk guy.  This keeps water from getting into the lens...

(p.s. had a recent windstorm blow dust on the bike, so yes it's a bit dirty...)

The left sidebag had it's backside crushed in a bad spill involving an ice patch.  I managed to gaff tape it mostly into structural conformity, but had to add the eyelets so I could bungee it in place so it woudn't fall off.  Said spill also bent the muffler upwards (see pic above) and broke off both the driver and passenger pegs.  Welding the passenger bracket didn't take; I have a way to fix this, but haven't felt the need...

You'll see my 'custom' mirror brackets below.  These are essentially 1 1/2" conduit straps.  I tried using smaller ones, but after a few thousand miles and a few bumps by inattentive people, vibrations caused stress cracks and they would eventually fall off - thankfully I had ample warning on this (sagging mirror), so I was able to grab/remove the mirror before the strap broke completely.  I'm hoping the 1 1/2" brackets, which seem sturdier, will last longer.  I bought a four pack, so I have 2 spares (already pre-drilled) in my trunk.  I"ll probably paint these if they seem like they will hold up for a decent amount of time, but in the meantime it might give y'all ideas on how to temporarily attach a different mirror.

Incidentally, my right Connie mirror is still intact (the left one was smashed in the ice spill), but I like having a matching set of mirrors.  That being said, the Connie mirrors had a LOT more surface area, hence a much better view of things behind me.

More pics:

The missing right peg (note temporary peg/threaded rod sleeved with fuel hose, above) is also courtesy of said drunk guy knocking over my bike.  I have the right peg, with the missing peg mount piece still attached to it; I just haven't found a new aluminum welder guy locally that I trust yet and that won't simply say 'that's pot aluminum, so no way jose' when he sees it (I've had that reaction a few times now).

I used to have Millerized Highway Pegs as well, but said bad ice spill ripped the left mount completely off (it had already been bent back once before in a previous low speed spill).  I had driving lights attached to the peg bars; all have been removed except the right peg bar (Mr. Drunk Guy bent this bar btw), simply because I haven't felt the need to try to fish a wrench back between things to get it off, plus I'm not sure what I did with the original engine mount bolt...

In the meantime, my bike is still functional, so I'm getting by well enough.  Needless to say, once my employment/monetary situation improves, I have a significant list of somewhat expensive parts to buy...

The moral of this story is, don't be proud - get tipover bars.  They may not help as much in moving spills, but will likely save you a LOT of damage from stationary spills (from people, a gust of wind, etc. accidentally knocking over your bike).

Well, two good things can be taken from your mis-fortune with your '06.. 1st, she keeps on ticking, even with the abuse she received, and 2nd,
you'll be a shoe-in winner at the National for the Rat bike category!

Dag! Two Skies  a few low speed spills and 'the higher speed spill"?

I got caught on ice when I was about 19 and fell 4 times in the same spot.  That was a 350 Honda and my only transportation.  I still had no business out in the middle of winter to hang out on the corner drinking and then try to ride home.  But it was fun & I had no cares.

Fast forward 42 years.  You are very fortunate to have no serious injury.

None of my business at all but if I was you I'd park that hog until your employment situation improves to your satisfaction.  How bad would it be to get a call & can't go because you're hurt.

Not my place to say how to run your life but I'm kind of nutty about work.  For me right now I look at every pay check as another month to cruise after I don't want to work anymore.

Good luck to you and stay safe hope it all works out for you.

Dag! Two Skies  a few low speed spills and 'the higher speed spill"?

I got caught on ice when I was about 19 and fell 4 times in the same spot.  That was a 350 Honda and my only transportation.  I still had no business out in the middle of winter to hang out on the corner drinking and then try to ride home.  But it was fun & I had no cares.

Fast forward 42 years.  You are very fortunate to have no serious injury.

None of my business at all but if I was you I'd park that hog until your employment situation improves to your satisfaction.  How bad would it be to get a call & can't go because you're hurt.

Not my place to say how to run your life but I'm kind of nutty about work.  For me right now I look at every pay check as another month to cruise after I don't want to work anymore.

Good luck to you and stay safe hope it all works out for you.

A lot (almost all) of the right side damage was the result of the aforementioned drunk dude knocking over my bike and falling on top of it.  The right side was in pretty good shape before then.  Right peg, right turn signal lens, and now fixed right saddlebag bracket are all his doing, as are some of the fairing cracks... he also broke my right handlebar lever off just above the rounded end, but this hasn't been a problem as I still have plenty of lever to work with.

The left side was all me.  Pretty much all of the permanent damage was a result of the ice spill.  I ended up fracturing my left wrist on that one, and was knocked unconscious about immediately.  I remember following the bus in front of me while turning onto a road from the freeway exit, and the next thing I remember is looking up at paramedics asking me questions; they just happened to be driving the opposite direction when they saw me go down.  I was sore and woozy for a few weeks after that spill.

I replaced the left handlebar lever after that fall as well.  Whomever here recommended packing needle nose vise grips I owe thanks to (I needed a temporary lever to move the bike onto a trailer at the impound yard).  I have a fair amount of tools in my trunk, including jumper cables(!).  Said tools have come in very handy several times when canyon chasing with buddies who needed to make field repairs.  I even helped a guy repair his seat vinyl with gaff tape once (I always pack some).

FYI, the roads were dry that day, but some water had dripped down from the bridge above, forming a small ice patch that I didn't see... ambient temps were around 25 degrees farenheit.

My other low speed spills (3-4 of these) involved trying to turn around on a slope with stubby legs.  I had to learn the hard way to continue on to the next level spot before attempting this.  The bike survived these pretty well, with only a few scrapes and a broken sidebag bracket (said bracket has now been welded twice in two different locations).

Then there was the trip home months later, where a freak snowstorm arrived early, and I had to contend with several inches of very slick snow in a very short period of time.  I got off the freeway OK, but some guy decided to come directly at me, crossing into oncoming traffic.  Swerving wasn't an option, but I tried to go right anyways, and as expected, the bike went down.  As soon as I went down and leapt to the right, the oncoming driver, in full control of his vehicle (he didn't slide into my lane) swerved around my bike to his right and never stopped.  The center of his front grille came within 25 feet of my path of travel, and I strongly suspect he was aiming for me deliberately.  Fortunately, another driver stopped and helped me right my bike.  It went down one more time in the quarter mile it took me to find a suitable parking lot to leave it in. 

Other than the mirrors getting bumped she came out more or less OK.  Right side driver's peg survived this one without incident, although my Millerized peg bracket on that side was bent slightly.

A nice  policeman gave me a ride home (I was within about 5 miles of home).  All of said snow was melted by the following afternoon (warm temps), and I drove her home without further incident.

I also have a no freezing rule now.  If the temps are expected to drop below 35 degrees at any point during my trip to and fro, the bike stays home.  Also, I avoid snowstorms in warmer weather now too.

That being said, 40+ mpg (I've averaged 45 before, depends on the conditions) is much better than less than 15 MPG (both of my other vehicles are throwbacks to the 70's/80s), so the bike gets used often.  I've put around 47K on her myself (bike had 1538 miles on it when I first bought it), and I do very well on her actually.  Again, it just took some new lessons in top heaviness to teach me what NOT to do on a Connie (namely, not turning around on an incline if it can be avoided, especially with my mere 30" inseam - this comes up when canyon chasing, which I haven't done in over a year now).

All that being said, I eventually plan on getting a lighter bike for casual commuting when things finally turn around for me.  Something that gets over 60 MPG would be attractive, depending on the options and ability to hang at 75+ MPH.  At 140 LBS, manhandling a Connie off of the ground isn't easy for me to do.

Hi- I took my broken antler to the local college welding program instructor. He welded them for  teaching opp /welding challenge. Did a nice job.
might be worth a try.