Well she almost made it throught the summer...

Yesterday was a rough day ! Set out with a local sport bike club on a great ride to Mt Baker WA but never made the peak. A sharp left hand hairpin nearly whiped the rider in front of me and it did get me, I laid her down low side ... I am pretty upset about the whole thing. I dont think there is much I could have done different but it doesnt make the reality any easier to swallow.

So here is the list of parts I know I need ...

windscreen
nose cone
left fairing
right fairing
tail fairing
left mirror (however I have the gsxr mirror swap all ready to go so no need to buy parts here, lucky i didnt get around to installing them yet.)

And whats worse, I thought at first it was cosmetic damage only but on the way home I noticed that the bike runs in a straight line with the triple clamp off center to the right and when i got home I can see the front wheel vs. fender alignment is off so there is some other damage. I am no mechanic but I think that can only mean forks or fork damage, can forks be straightened if they are only slightly bent or is it a replacement only kinda thing ?

Also what is the paint code/name for the silver 03's ? Is it sword silver ?

Anyone know of a good source for parts ?

Oh ... and as far as rider damage, I got off lucky, although I wasnt traveling very fast anyways. I caught my left foot between the bike and the road so that punched through my boots (thank god I wear riding boots) so I have a cut and a sprained ankle. I bounced onto my back then somersaulted to the side and sprung to my feet (the guy behind me said it looked pretty cool) so I have a little rash where my jacket rode up and not another mark on me. My helmet has a small nick in it and my brand new jacket has a dull spot on the back where it rubbed the road for a few seconds only so nothing major there.

I am not worried about the cosmetics but the fork damage has me really concerned. The thought of calling the insurance company has occurred to me as I am sue in their stupidity its a write off but I know the cosmetics are under :frown:

 

ouch, glad to hear your ok... if your able post up pictures of the front end and lets take a look at it

 

The 1st thing is to loosen up the triple-tree and,finder,the axle/nut,and the pinch bolts. Allow it to re-set itself. then re-torque.... That may be the only thing needed...... BEFORE LOOSENING ANYTHING MEASURE HOW MUCH THE TUBE COMES OUT THE TOP TREE, SO YOU'LL HAVE A STARTING POINT WHEN RE-TORQUING

 

Sorry, but good that you're OK.

Group rides seem fun....... but are actually far more risky than riding alone !

 

Squirrelman you beat me to it. I always think group riding is potentially more dangerous than riding alone. Its too easy to get sucked into thinking that if the guy in front can enter a corner at speed that its going to be OK for you as well.

Sadly it seems you have learned the hard way that we all need to ride our own ride, all the time, and never base your actions on what others have done. The good news is that you survived OK. If you take that parts list to a Honda Dealer you will end up crying. Over here every now and then Ebay carries offers of replacement fairing kits - made in China/Hong Kong. They are not brilliant quality but may offer a reasonably cheap solution to some of your parts list.

Good luck and ride safe.


Skimad4x4
6th Gen Militia # 218

 

+1 on the fork comment. My project VFR750 had exactly the same issue. I got the front wheel off the ground, loosened all 4 bolts that hold the forks as well as the main bolts that hold the whole triple tree together. I was able to get everything lined up again with no problems.

Good luck, glad you are OK.

 

Keep some in reserve, folks. Live to ride another day.

 

Jeez another VFR down.... is there a full moon out or something?

I'm thinking of starting a betting pool on who's gonna crash next, any takers?

 

Thanks for the kind words all. It turns out that there is a local guy who has those Chinese replica kits and he will even install them so as to avoid install issues so I am thinking about going that way with a custom paint job now. Sucks though as that will mean painting the tank too which is more $$$. Just seems silly to go through the new fairing purchase and not get something unique.