New to me VFR gets dumped in gravel half an hour after purchase by a friend. Sigh

Update on PG2

This is a hell of a first post, and its been a long day. I drove 2 hours to get a gorgeous and mint condition 2000 with 41k on the clock. After a test ride a deal was made and we were on our merry way. I stop with a friend to take a few pics of the gorgeous new machine, when he asks for a picture on it. He has riding experience and really wanted to take it up and down the road. Being that he's mature and I trust him, I let him go for it. He rides straight into a gravel parking lot and grabs too much throttle= my VFR laying sideways.



Thankfully the damage appears to be cosmetic, but I can't find any used good yellow fairings for sale :uncomfortableness:. Damage includes the front cowl w/ mirror and turn signal, right lower cowl, and some light scraping of the engine cover. Just very disappointed about this as the bike was perfect with not 1 scratch.

Now another thing, my rear brake stopped working completely after this incident. I tried searching the forums and didn't come up with much. What can I possibly look for? Lever isn't bent and has normal pressure, it just doesn't work at all. Thank you for any suggestions!

 

No good deed goes unpunished! Sorry to hear about the mishap but you can check the classified section here and on VFRDiscussion, maybe another rider is selling some stuff you might need. As far as the fairings and cowls, you just have to be patient and check ebay, craigslist and the classifieds often. Be careful on what you buy and don't be tempted by the Chinese fairing kits sold on ebay, they are not all they appear to be! It's best to to be patient and find the right OEM bits you need.

Cheers and Welcome to The World!

 

Can't HE buy you new Honda stuff?(the Dude who tipped it over) If you check around, including at dealerships, you may be surprised at how affordable it is. My local dealership had some really minor marks on some bodywork a long time ago that had been sitting in the attic for years. If you talk to an old timer or Manager/Owner, he may just know of something.

 

I will be hounding all the possible outlets where I can pick up OEM bodywork, but the chances of finding good/ excellent condition OEM yellow fairings are pretty damn slim :frown:

He is paying for the damages, however there are no new cowls available (Online at least, I'll call my local dealerships. Thanks for the idea!). Also I would REALLY want to avoid dealing with paint/ body shops as I've been down this road before with a few cars and every damn time they find a way to do a sub par job. I hate letting anyone work on my machines. Not to mention the color will never match the rest of the body work which is 15 years old now.

I'm considering just doing a naked conversion (This was my intention all along, I looked for laid down VFRs) but I was really struck by this one in person, it looks so much better than in the pics when you see the details in the bodywork.

 

yeah, unfortunately it looks like the 2000 fairings are no longer available (1999 and earlier are still available)

however, there is still this as an option: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yellow-ABS-...-00-/131267007675?hash=item1e901f94bb&vxp=mtr

I've heard hit or miss things regarding the chinese bodywork kits. but if your friend's buying....

 

Re: rear brake....does brake light come on at all?

Do you press the brake pedal and the rear brakes don't engage at all?

 

Even if a matching cowl is found the paint will be a mismatch. IMO fix the busted pieces and repaint the whole bike.

Stay away from paint and body shops that do crappy work. Seems like you know who they are anyway.

The Chinese fairings are as described..

 

:mad-new::frusty::argue2::yell::vfrshorty:



:welcome:

 

No, no, no. That's Always the answer to the question, Can I ride your bike. I don't even let people, and I mean no one , sit on my bike. For my arse only. Body works going to be a crap shoot. As said be patient and keep your radar up. You may find it in a different color. As for the brake not working, is it not physicaly working or the light not working. Check to see if a solid brake line is pinched shut from the fall. Caliper damage, soft hose pinched. If its just the light then look for a lose wire connector , bad bulb.

 

The light comes on, correct there is zero engagement. Its very odd, and its been raining/ supposed to rain the next few days so I can't inspect/ play with it :distress:

Can the fairing be repaired with filler? The front cowl just has light rash, but the right lower is mashed in and one of the mounting bolts is bent. I'm hoping its fine underneath when I get to take it off. As I was riding home I'd smell some light burning when the bike got warm and I stopped in traffic, probably the fairing sizzling a bit.

Thanks for the welcome!

 

Sorry aboot your mishap, don't let anyone sit on your bike unless you got cash in your hand, all bets are off if the wife wants to warm the seat. The doode that painted my bike only painted bikes, he had a paint booth and all the stuff. Cheers good luck

 

Give this guy a call. Awesome work.

https://www.facebook.com/AndrewSwensonDesign

 

Right aboot letting anyone ride yez bikes. Had the mach 1 91 since it hit the states. Two besides me on it ever. Both were super wrenches and experienced riders. Same on the back, only never. Like most here that don't have to be 24/7/365 hero/fast guys with 37 motorcycles I can get in enough deep shit without any help.

First thing to check on that brake light is if it goes on when the front brake is applied.. A dump might have just enough force to cause the brake filament to come loose.

Some pix of the fairing damage off the bike will tell the tale of a fix. Filler for ABS plastic is and can be a whole bunch of things.

ridervfr nailed it.. Find a bike painter. Car painters sometimes do bikes but ask to see some previous work and make sure they have a booth.

If unfamiliar with the "fixing" procedures and drills, invest or check oot a book from your local library and don't believe the ads on the net aboot the latest "wonder product" .

 

Check the radiator and radiator mounts. These can easily be damaged, even in a tip over!

 

I feel your pain. I bought a brand new yellow sv650 and let my friend sit on it on the 2nd day and yes he dropped it. Must be a yellow thing.

 

I took both side fairings off and the damaged one popped back into shape. So far the only damage is the bracket that holds it on. Now the question is, do I start calling around/ finding a reputable shop and do a full repaint. Or sell all the fairings and go naked (Which I prefer to be honest), but I don't have it in me to fab up a subframe and do all that jazz now. Its summer and I want to ride.

I took it for a quick romp around the neighborhood. The brakes act like they're de-linked now. If I put my entire weight on the rear brake it actuates 5-10%, not even enough to stop me from rolling back on an incline but it grabs. What gives??

Also I dunno how accurate the gas gauge is.. But I filled up yesterday and 70 miles of highway riding later I'm at half tank, thats after maybe 5-8 little WOT bursts mostly cruising at 75mph.

 

sliders can save a lot of damage, but vfr are made to fall down-face facts, that's why sliders should have came with the bike from the factory.out:

 

I feel your pain but it seems to be all cosmetic. Could of very well been much worse. You would be surprised the stuff that you can fix yourself with a little paint and elbow grease. Everything comes off and is repairable or replaceable. I've only had my VFR a year and have had most of the bike torn down a few times already. Look to download or purchase a manual online. You don't know what you can do until you try. Cosmetic parts are an easy fix. Now anything to do with the motor, I don't touch it. Lol. Good luck.

 

There can be a couple reasons for excessive fuel consumption...most common being a stuck open thermostat. What engine temp does it run?

Another cause, albeit less common, could be a leaking fuel pressure regulator. This would cause raw fuel to be dumped into.the intake via the FPR vacuum tube.

 

To do proper paint/ body work requires a level of skill, experience, equipment, and a booth/ garage/ enclosure that I don't have at this point. I do all of my own mechanical work, not to mention if I would've want a project bike I would've bought one and gladly put the work in. At this point the objective is getting it back to 100% ASAP so I can enjoy whats left of the season.

The t-stat doesn't appear to be open, runs between 185-220ish (Cruising on the highway and gets over 200 in traffic). I'll run out the tank to empty and see if its the gauge just being wonky first . I'm more concerned about the brakes, I haven't found anything like this happening on forums yet either.