Shiny Side Down :( Wreck and the ensuing repairs and upgrades :)

Grab a drink and settle in.

About two weeks ago I went down...

THE WRECK: I was leaving my neighborhood which requires a tight left turn across traffic that is going 50-60 MPH. I usually have to sit a few minutes then get a gap and quickly join the road. Usually no issue but this day the rear end violently kicked out... cold tires, old tires, and SAND. There was a fine coating of sand from a wreck, the sand was used to adsorb fluids leaking from the cars. I saw the particular wreck a few days prior, it was nasty, about 10 cars in two separate areas all played bumper cars, the wreck was 50 feet from where I turn but sand must have had been tracked there so.

blah blah blah, tire kicks out to the right, so I counter steer (not sure what I do with hands, probably grab clutch), being cognizant there is a fast approaching SUV, then wham tire shoots out to the left. Im probably going 10 mph when I set it down on the right side, SUV stops.

Broke the left side of windscreen (I believe I punched it out with my fist), cracked right farings in a few places, mostly by bolt holes. Turn singal pops off, led turn signal on the ground. Foot ended up under header.



Few people stop, I picked up bike right away. Start it and throw newly departed bits in my saddle bags (which mostly protected rear faring).

Go home, assess damage, fix signal and ride to work. Only noticeable damage is bent rear foot brake lever. Rides fine. AGATT so i'm OK save my shoulder which aches fdor a week (probably from wrestling bars and punching out windscreen)



NEXT DAY: Smell coolant when almost at work. Then pull into garage (work at a hospital). and bike is puking coolant, steaming up, fan is off (unless I over ride it). Can see coolant is leaking from near thermostat housing (where I cant get to). Spent lunch refilling rads with (super pure DI) water, limp it home using fan over ride switch.

Snowpocalypse 2016 was looming so bike goes in the living room (rads are filled with water). I remove plastics, seat, tank, throttle body, wheels.

I ordered: New hoses to thermostat housing, thermostat (for good measure), thermostat housing gasket, hose clamps, Pilot Road 4 tires, zero gravity touring smoked screen, Regina chain and sprockets. $500 total probably.



Yesterday I got it all back together. Coolant leak was from the thermostat housing hoses. Not sure how related wreck and leak were. My fan would randomly stop working before, so I wonder if it was leaking slowly all along and creating an air pocket that would keep sensor from heating. The throttle body was the hardest to remove. I used some silicone spray and pried off using a 2x4 with a notch in it.

Working good, still need some cosmetic fixes for the little cracks in the farings. My plastics are ruined already, (PO let it bake in the TX sun), I covered up the pink/white parts with plasti dip previously.

Any input on replacing or repairing plastics (or anything) is welcome! Rode in today, rode the best it ever has. After riding my klx250s in the meantime it feels like a rocket ship. Saved about $1000 in labor doing everything myself (I got quotes to do it all!).

Ride safe!
-H0ki3 from VA USA

 

Glad you are OK and that aforementioned SUV didn't turn you into a pancake.

 

Sorry to hear about your accident but glad that you're OK. As far as doing the work yourself, saved many dollars by doing the same. As long as your able to do it and can do it right, nothing wrong with grabbing a wrench or two! Regarding plastic repair, same difference here too. If you have the time and patience, plastic welding can save you some cash. Although the 5 Gen hasn't been made for sometime now, you can still find OEM plastics every now and then on the forum, ebay or craig's list, even some aftermarket kits available too but ultimately there's always a catch with whichever route you go.

I bought a plastic welder from Harbor Freight and have been practicing with some scrap body panels and different filler materials, ABS strips, zip ties and even some scrap body plastic. Once you get the hang of it, it's really a simple process, it's the getting the feel of the iron and plastic melting point that takes time to learn. There are plenty of videos on Youtube that show how to do it. Some are really good others are just cursory explanations. Never booked marked any links unfortunately but they aren't hard to find. I'm sure there are a more than a few post here on the forum that might help too.

 

Plastic welding is intriguing. I have a 3D printer so I was thinking of designing some brackets to go around the damaged areas. Then I could epoxy to the inside for reinforcement. Fill cracks with epoxy and sand. Just ideas, not sure if will work. Will need to paint after.

For paint I was thinking all white except where I have the black already. I'm not thrilled with the V on the front wheel faring, might do that all black. Might try it with plasti dip and see if I like it.

Alternatively I see some plastics on ebay with cosmetic scratches I could buy, then sand and paint.


...and yes, pancake free: the way to be!

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

 

Why do VFR's always leak coolant from the most inaccesible spot???? Good on you for replacing the thermostat while you were in there, I wasn't that smart so I got to pull the throttle bodies out twice.

Regarding plastics, I bought painted parts from Auctmarts and while they're not perfect, they're pretty darn good for the money and I'm really happy. I had a right side low-side on oil at about 60mph and beat up the side and top fairing, plus I think my boot cracked through the rear fairing as well. I shipped Auctmarts a piece of my Italian Red R-157 fairing and they did a great colour match. The photo below is of the bike with new parts fitted, the tank, left side and seat cover are all original, the top fairing and tail are the new bits. I only ordered the bits I needed, not the whole package. http://gundamhost.com/auctmarts/sho...=4825&osCsid=644271bf6bf16c5894ddf677fbe888d4.

They might seem a bit dodgy over email but they came through for me.

 

My brother hit some floor dry left in a corner after an accident. The county ended up paying for the damages.

 

I thought about going this route. If it was on a road VDOT (Virginia dept of transportation) controlled I would consider it, they will settle up to 5k out of court. Unfortunately it was a road Arlington County controls, so I would have to lawyer up. Also I was crossing a double yellow, so maybe not totally legal. There is no sign saying you cant turn left but there is no break in the yellow either. Route 50 is stupidly hard to get on during rush hour. Now I just sit at a light for 1-5 minutes and turn there.

 

PAINT IDEAS:

Cadbury- that looks really good! Did you only purchase some of the fairings (you said they matched color)? Or were you trying to get it to match the tank?

My tank is pretty faded as well, so I was thinking of doing a full respray (fairings & tank). I've had good luck with plasti dip with a top coat (made by rusteloium). Not permanent but gives you an idea before you commit to spraying real paint.

Anyone done orange and black? Orange and Maroon?

I really like how I did the black on my side panels. All red is too much for me... I admit... I've never been a "red guy" other than my beard sorry! I love Honda's tho!


The black on the tail and front fender I like OK, but not in love with. Basically I was covering up all the pink spots from where the sun stripped the paint. I can actually see down under the paint into the black primer in some places (front fairing for example)

Also some pics of fan over ride switch and gold regina chain and PR4. Just because.
I'm getting clip on style master link replaced with clamp style at dealership today. Clip was just to get to the shop, and keep in saddle bag as a backup.

 

For inspiration here's one with some orange and black.

http://moto.zombdrive.com/image-trim/6688-honda-vfr800fi-interceptor-2005-9.jpg.html




Here's a cleaner design example although it is a Ducati:

http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/ducati/2005-ducati-monster-s2r-14643.html

 

I actually really like that color orange (both pics) not full on traffic cone. I'm also partial to "Burnt Orange" being a VT alumni. HMMM. A pumpkin bike may be in my future.

http://www.amazon.com/Pack-Plasti-P...sr=8-2-spons&keywords=orange+plasti+dip&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/Dupli-Color-C...=1454422968&sr=8-9&keywords=orange+plasti+dip

I know people hate on plasti dip, but it's kind of fun. 1 day's of work and $50 material and your whole bike is covered. My friends couldn't even tell the black was not really paint. The trick is masking it off well (I use the really thin masking tape 1/8 inch thick or 1/16. Also when removing tape I use a razor blade and run it along the side of the tape., essentially cutting the rubber it so it doesn't pull.

My buddy has offered to paint it with real paint once I decide on a scheme. Any other fun paint ideas?

Saw this one on ebay... very....different http://www.ebay.com/itm/J-02-09-HON...ash=item2ee79287cc:g:gtEAAOSwA4dWKPPz&vxp=mtr

 

"My house is on the median strip of a highway. You don't really notice, except
I have to leave the driveway doing 60 MPH." -- Steven Wright

 

Orange

View attachment 34873

 

link not working.. liking the orange idea. Maybe a darker red would be nice, like a dark cherry / wine red. My bike is like a washed out red almost pink, and the rear fairing is a light off-red. Not the prettiest, but I got it for cheap so np to me. Considered ordering some Chinese fairings but I'd feel so vain dropping 500 on something for looks.

 

You might have to log in HO

 

Login to VFRWorld or something else? I got "Invalid Attachment specified" from VFR World.

 

Maybe too large a file

 

The black you are seeing may be the color of the actual fairing parts. Sounds like your bike has spent time in the sun.

For an orange and black paint scheme, a shitload of Harleys or for VFR. the fastest VFR in the known universe, my mach 1 91. Black and Fire Orange..paint by Martin-Senour/Sherwin-Williams.

For color combinations both analogous and complimentary start with basics. Trying to determine names and formulas of colors by accessing custom painting websites will drive you right up the wall. It's paint and paint can be modified in so many ways that there ain't a dude on the planet that knows it all. Maybe the one guy who painted those meat on the hoof critters on those cave walls in France when stuff was less technical when it was only doing lunch that was muy importante..

 

My 99 was in great shape before I crashed, so I wanted to restore the bike back to that condition or as near to. On my bike the paintwork is not badly faded at all, the tank has zero fade probably due to the clear coat, even the side covers are only a little faded at the very tops. I cut a small piece from the vertical part of the my crashed side cover and got them to match to that, and they got it 99% right. I only bought the top, right side and tail fairing, US$360 delivered.

 

Yes, the black dots are the actual faring color or maybe a primer coat. My bike came from Texas (2 owners ago) and it seems to have sat in the Texas sun for quite a while...the right faring is worse, because it gets more sun exposure on the side stand, the headlight fairing is bad too, but at least isn't pink. Especially on the headlight fairing you can see lots of blacks dots under the paint showing through. It looks dirty, but believe me it wont wash off. Also the plastics are very brittle, which is why they cracked so easily when I went down. In the end I got a good deal on the bike ($1700) in my opinion, using the bad paint as a bargaining chip. And I knew the immediate previous owner took pretty good care of it, he had all receipts from (overly expensive) oil changes etc, as well as a mosfet R/R, and pictures showing him adding a ground to the headlight harness.

I liked how it looked before I went down, with the black plasti dipped side scoops. Looked good from 5 feet away. With all the cracks it's now a 10 foot / 10 mph looker haha.

Might try out orange with black scoops and black front wheel fairing- using plasti dip. I think all orange might bee too much, kinda like all red is too much for me. I really like the RWB but would be hard to pull that off with plasti dip (lots of masking and cutting). I dunno why but solid color full faring bikes end up looking plasticy to me. ?? dunno why

 

Large masses of a single hue tend to fool the eye. A complimentary color including black (big fucking argument on whether black is a color or not) breaking up the mass is a good thing.

If the paintwork on a given bike is in good condition, the entire bike (or car) doesn't need to be repainted to effect a unique look. Way too much yada-yada on the color of wheels and not enough on tasteful and well thought out paint licks. A bit more than two centavos worth for the work.

Same argument aboot white too.. This does not include the Academy Awards show or opinions from Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson who have had more than their allotted fifteen minutes of fame.