Just got a 99 and layed it down

Bought a 99 VFR the other day with 2800 miles on it, yup the miles are real . Bike is awesome. I Was out the other day and while braking for a stop light the bike just went down. I had no clue as to why until someone that helped me saw the 3foot wide 1/4 mile long oil slick in the road. The front end just washed out in it. Luckily I was almost stopped and wasn't going that fast. I'm a little bruised but alive.

The left side of the bike was pretty banged up and cracked but no metal damage less a bent bar end. I've already ordered the replacement plastic; upper cowl, left side cowl and new rear cowl. Anything else I should look at? The bike was stuck in gear and it took a few minutes of rocking it and moving the shifter by hand but then it freed up. I was able to ride home and all shifting seemed fine. Forks look good and the bike is relatively unhurt minus plastic. Can't wait to get it all back together.

The local police caught the guy in the dump truck who dropped all the oil everywhere and now the road has sand on it. Didn't even see it. All I remember was braking a little harder than usual because every car in front of me was on the brakes hard because they were sliding too. Thank God that the lady in the oncoming traffic lane was able to get out of the way and not run me or the bike over as I slid right into the lane.

Any help on what I should look into would be great. As of right now I haven't had the chance to give the bike a shakedown but the ride home around 30mph seemed okay with no issues.

 

Ok I'm convinced I caused bad Karma by arguing over oil in another thread, serves me right and you have my apologies.

In all seriousness, sorry to hear about that. There have been two "new bike, went down" threads recently. I think we need to reverse the trend!

What to look for? Well you already looked over the forks and all other damaged areas. I think you would have known immediately if there was something amiss with the front end. Things like that tend to stick out like a sore thumb, to me anyway. You're probably OK since it was a low speed impact.

Best of luck in your, and in your bikes recovery.

 

One thing I do need to replace is the VIN sticker. When it went down the fairing kinda tore it up alittle. Can a Honda dealer order a replacement sticker?

Also amazed is how quickly I was able to take ALL the plastic off the bike. Had the entire thing apart in under 30 minutes. Probably take 2 hours to get it all back on though.

Where can I get frame sliders for the 99 too. That would have SAVED me big time. Thanks

 

That is a good question! I have no idea if you can get another VIN sticker?

A quick search shows the sliders are out there...somewhere! http://vfrworld.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/82/cat/502

PM the member, maybe he can direct you to a place to purchase. Give the almighty Google a shot also.

 

This reminds me of a ride in West VA years ago..coming over mountains in light rain, me and my best friend hydroplaned at 20mph up and over one mtn. Almost crashed like 10 times, literally. Coming into town I stopped scared shitless and getting gas I asked the clerk if all of a sudden I forgot how to ride. She frowned shook her head and said "no dear, we lose poor bikers every year on that highway in the rain due to chicken shit that pours out the back of the trucks from local plant onto the highway." Slick as glass, can't even see it. If you see signs for a chicken plant nearby BEWARE!

 

I went down the other day with my 2001 VFR 800 turning right. Some idiots threw a full bottle of water onto the road. Did not see it. Not too much damages. Now, not only will i be looking for cars, objects on the road can kill you as well. Good luck.

 

Don't worry too much about the VIN sticker. The VIN# should be stamped on the frame as well. The sticker on my '91 Honda XR250L blew off at the car wash a few years ago. The dealer said not to worry about it. It would take an act of congress to get a new one.
You could get a friend to ride along beside and behind you to see if the bike looks straight and true while riding straight and through turns. If it rides straight w/no hands, your probably OK.
The guy w/the truck should pay for all your damages. Be sure to get the police report and his ins. co. to recover your expenses.

 

Yes I agree the vin. sticker is not a big deal what is good is that your ok, well now you know what to look for. like when i lived in oregon and was late to work and learned what black ice was. stay safe (speed)

 

What else to look for? Umm, how about a lawyer to go after the asshat who dumped the oil all over the road.

 

Ya in califorina if a police officer says that the person that he dropped the oil he is dead meat in court , of course the real thing is to try to avoid the oil ?