Advice Needed: What to do with my totaled 1986 VFR500 [PICS]

Last Summer I made a big mistake and let a friend ride my 1986 VFR 500. 10 minutes later he came back with my motorcycle, bleeding and struggling to keep my Interceptor driving straight. He was ok, aside from some cuts and scratches. However, I would soon discover my bike was totaled.

I didn't see him wreck it, but he says he somehow dropped it and it slid into a curb. Unfortunately, that impact cranked the handlebar into the gas tank and really messed up the front wheel alignment. We had the bike looked at by a mechanic who said the damages far exceeded the value of the bike.

I'm not mechanically adventurous and honestly, I'm just not interested in gradually pulling parts of this bike, which is taking up valuable space in my small garage.

The mechanic did not provide me with a list of the specific damages, but I believe they are all related to the front of the bike, along with some cosmetic damage to the right side (see pics).

Good:
* The engine runs fine and has 23,000 miles.
* New brake pads/calipers
* New fork seals

Bad:
* Front fairing is in pretty bad shape
* Instrument panel is crooked and front of bike is whacked out of alignment.
* Gas tank has a massive dent where the handlebar slammed into it.
* Engine only runs when the battery is jumped. I'm assuming the battery is dead.

So, I want to get rid of this bike, without just giving it away if I have valuable parts. Is it a good idea to call a salvage yard? If so, what should I ask?

Any other advice is greatly appreciated.

Photos:

 

doesnt look NEARLY that bad. most of itis cosmetic, and new forks/triple tree plus axle, you'd be able to ride again no problem.

 

Im sure there are more than a few of us that have enough spare parts to get you back rolling.

 

yea, I have almost all the front suspension stuff alone. ... forks, tripples ect.

 

Said friend would be buying a wrecked bike.

 

in my world, said friend would be buying me OEM parts if available to rebuild wrecked bike. or would be handing the keys to his over.

 

Thankfully, The friend who wrecked it paid me a big potion of the bike's value and handled all the legwork and expense to get the damage assessed, so we're good.

As for those parts you mentioned: Blue Book value on the '86 VFR 500 (in Excellent condition) is $1300. That seems really low, but regardless, wouldn't the cost of labor and parts far exceed that? I won't be doing any of the work myself.

 

I can appreciate your position Duke, as I'm not much of a mechanic myself.

But there comes a time in a man's life when he needs to step up to the plate, and get the shit done. No more paying someone else to do it. They will rip you off, bend you over, break out the sandy vaseline, and not even kiss you first. (That was my Donald Branscom rant - inside joke).

Seriously though - having someone do the repairs for you is probably going to be too costly. If you want to keep the bike, you're going to have to do this (or at least most of it) by yourself.