Curious how long that "new bike" feeling lasts where it is pristene and you clean it twice a day with your tongue...
Did my 15 hour fork service today and, despite care, I have a few lever marks in the paint at the top of my stantions. Thats it now. Next time I am out, I can smack 'em on the nearest tree and wont give a hoot; they are already soiled! (NB under the seals was clean as a whistle and the foam rings were nice and juicy...may leave it a few more hours next time)
what was yours?
mine is still close to immaculate after almost a year. i like my bike to be smart.
Scuffed headtube (how the heck'd I manage that! 
) and another scuff under the downtube when my forks rotated in the same crash. Not nearly so bad as the damage to my knees though which still haven't healed almost a month later 
Me
most of my bikes are usualy scratched before I've even ridden them and TBH I couldn't really care, the only part that scratches actually make any difference to are fork stanchions.
oh.. and what forks have painted stanchions or levers that can scratch them?
packed the bike into the back of my mates golf carefully .....
went in the house to get something and see him shoving a table into the back with his foot ramming it into my bike ....
scratched seatstay
Some chainsuck scars to the chainstay. It was pretty anoying at the time but it's suprising how a few scratches and scars help you stop worring about it and get on and ride.
A while ago my Cove Stiffee was resprayed under warranty because it had pealing flaking paint. Fair play to both Silverfish and Argos, the resprayers, excellent service all round.
Anyway, the frame arrived back immaculate in it's new paint, I'd cleaned and polished all the components and rebuilt it to shining perfection, everything just so, various new bits etc.
Less than a week later I put it into my van to drive to a ride start point, got there and found that a steel protrusion in the van had been rubbing against the seatstay all the journey, there was a large raw gash in the new paint. Gutted.
Managed to chip mine soon after I got it getting in the workstand. In fact most of the damage on it has been due to non biking incidents / humping it in and out of cars and bike racks.
I had a brake hose rub against my Chris King headset on my new 5 Spot on its first ride. Wore clean through the anodizing. Bummer.
When I built up my six pack, I had it in the work stand, headset and forks were fitted (Fox Van 36). putting the cables and hoses on, I turned the bars to check the length and found that the rebound adjuster in the fully out position was just enough to cut into the paint under the down tube. The worst part is, with the rebound set where I like it, it just clears. If only I'd set the forks up first!
Still, second ride out I got a huge rock bite on the downtube just in front of the bottom bracket and it's been like that for the last 4 years!
I know of a chap who take a screw driver to a brand new bike and intentionally puts the first scratch in so he doesn't have to worry and can just get on with riding!
knocked it over while getting other bike out toppled and manages to get spot on the DMR pedal pins of my wifes bike, about an inch and a bit gouge out of mt seat stay paint!!! Doh!!!!!!!!!
Scratched my handlebars going AOT on The Bad Step at Mabie after I first got my bike. Now there's more chips on it than I care to mention - every one tells a story!
Group buy of helicopter tape anyone?
I lifted a new Clockwork into the boot of the car outside Riks Bike Shed at Mabie (yes, it was a few years back), and gained a 10cm scratch on the downtube....
I despise scratching my bikes in the back of vans. Crashes and stone chips are fair game, but transport scars are a no-no.
oh.. and what forks have painted stanchions or levers that can scratch them?
They are Fox Float 140. Paint is so soft you could bite them and leave teeth marks
Bike less than month old, cock leg over TT & scrap it with cleat - gutted 
Dancake - Memberoh.. and what forks have painted stanchions or levers that can scratch them?
They are Fox Float 140. Paint is so soft you could bite them and leave teeth marks
Erm, that's your lowers. Stanchions are the bits that slide in and out.
Took my spanking new 456 build out it's first ride.
Without a chain stay protector on.
Erm, that's your lowers. Stanchions are the bits that slide in and out.
you got me there, dude.
Lets change the subject. This morning I found a dead bird AND a dead mouse in the kitchen.
I despise scratching my bikes in the back of vans. Crashes and stone chips are fair game, but transport scars are a no-no.
I quite agree.
It's always cable rub for me - brand new Fox 36s already got some nasty cable rub but never mind.
Battle scars - little visual reminders of trails ridden, days with friends, places, countries, ups and downs and over the tops. No willful damage, but otherwise, no, take pride in the knocks.
What! I think mountain bikes are for riding, and falling off, so even my 8 month old whyte XC bike is covered in scratches and cable rub, the rear wheel has been rebuilt already, I don't expect to get more than 3 years life out of an mtb really.
My shiny new steel road bike is a different matter, I hope that looks like new in 15 years 
rock dent on the down tube - first ride
I think about 5 rides in with the Soul, I was doing fine then thoughtlessly threw it on top of my mate's Malt in the back of the car, when we got to glentress it was mauled. Ah well. Chicks dig scars.
Chainsuck on a brand new Moots. Felt sick when it happened but like the OP says, at least it got all that out of the way.
rear gear cable rubbed right through paint on top of front fork - answer; some black car paint and insulating tape. More scratches, dings, scrapes now anyway
forks hitting the downtube because the u-turn leaver wasn't flip down.
with my Alpine i covered all the cable rub spots i could think of. it turns out i didn't get all of them. slight rud on the headtube.
also got a slight gash on the toptube. not sure how.
i found an old road frame and spent ages sanding it down and then throwing several coats pf paint plus lack over the top. attached it to my bob trailer to take it to the bike shop in order to put it together. when i go there i realised the bob wheel was touching a seatstay and had burnt through the paint. the paint job looks a right mess now due the DIY paint job and various knocks. it's good because it means i couldn't give a flying monkey if it gets damaged now.
I always hit mine a few times with a hammer when I buy them.Saves the pain later.
Snapped the forks and bent the rear triangle on the first one after a month.
Hit a tree at about 30mph one the second ride of the replacement.
Bit of Cable rub on my 5 spot. Now, 5 years later it has many mahy war wounds and scrapes, but still rides as sweet as the day I bought it.
My lovely BLT2 was about 1 month old. Over the bars on the black at Laggan, clipped in, broke the carbon bars. Literally left holding the RH grip with brake and shifters attached to nothing.
I am pretty anal about keeping my bike in good nick but am quite happy with all the minor battle scars picked up over the last year
New Singular Swift with paint scratched to buggery on non drive side chain stay, due to grit finding it's way beneath plastic Rohloff cable clips.
Propped same bike against iron traffic bollard type thing, only for it to slide off and put very small dent in top tube. Still fuming over that one, bikes done maybe 250 miles. 
Dancake the next time you service your forks why not take your lowers off with th bike upsidedown removing the basenuts, so no need to damage the lower levering the seals up.
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