New owner here some general questions....

I go to insurance auctions and picked up a 03 VFR800 that was wrecked. I bid online and didnt see all the damage, didnt really care since it was IMO a great deal. In person I saw that the front fork was busted on the lower portion, not the chrome shaft but one of the silver lower parts.... Im guessing im looking for 02-07 forks only? needs the left radiator and some front and left plastics. I read a post that seems pretty informative and also downloaded the service manual. Is there anything else I should know before jumping into a wrecked vfr? TIA
''Don't forget the steering head bearings. After a hit hard enough to bend the forks, the steering head bearings took one he!! of a hit!! As bad as I hate to say it, Please, check the frame around the steering head for cracked paint, which would be a sure sign of a bent frame . I hope the forks were the weak link, but they are pretty strong and sometimes take other things with them. No matter how the steering feels, be sure to replace the bearings, and races, and check the steering stem for damage. Don't ask how I know all this (it is a looong story and makes me cry) Good Luck!!!''

 

The front boss for the fairing mounting frame is on the front of the headstock too, and can easily be snapped off in a front impact.

= new frame required...

 

Lost a KNUCKLE for the steering assembly once on a suzuki, bike turned great and felt great, only no lock on the steering to prevent it from turning in on itself..I bought it cheap and thought it was a steal..when I went to check on a new set of front forks the dealership saw the broken piece and refused to work on it due to unsafe conditions...any frame damage, or anything that could cause the bike to pull to one side may prevent your local dealer from working on it...Guess its a good thing dealers don't just send any bike out there on the road...Good luck with the rebuild

 

It might be worth checking all of the mechanical fasteners you can get to for tightness, particularly the motor mounts, radiator mounts, etc.. Mechanical impacts have a way of showing up in unlikely places. If you find some fasteners that are looser than they should be, check everything close to them. Also, the 6th Gen uses a lot of "single-use" type fasteners here and there, such as brake caliper bolts. Use them once and throw them away... I still don't get why Honda chose that route, but they did.

By the way, welcome to the forum!

 

Here is a link to some pictures, I actually met someone in my area to help me out inspecting cracks and such.....

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zeropost?cmd=tshow&id=3770571