Your experience with damaged bikes...

Hey all,

Posted my new bike some time ago. It had some rough idling problems. So I brought it to the shop (Not the one I bought it from). They synchronized the carbs and setup the mixture. It starts and runs clean now.

But there are some things I overlooked when I bought the bike. The mechanic showed me the radiator. It has a big dent in its right side, which is clearly visible trough the grill. He said I shouldn't worry about it as long as it doesn't leak. It cools the engine fine, even at 95 ambient temp. He also noticed that the steering head has some clearance. If I brake and dives there is nothing, when it goes back up I notice a cracking sound. It's not hard or too bad, but it worries me.

The radiator:



When I asked him if I bought the wrong 750, he said the bike rides well and for the price and age of the bike it would be rare, not finding some damage. When I came home, I searched for more damage. There is some minor damage and scratches on the brakelever and brakepedal.

I love the 750, but I can't help feeling I should kick myself in the head. What is your experience with bikes that were damaged? Should I be worried about the steering head? Is it safe to keep riding?

 

I wouldn't worry too much about it if I were you. I've bought several with hidden damage, it's gonna happen. If it was mine, I'd replace the steering head bearings with roller bearings if it hasn't been done already. Even if it has, it's a good idea to inspect them and re-adjust. It's not difficult to do, just a little time consuming. I'd also pull the fairings off and check for any other hidden stuff. If it rides good then I wouldn't stress too much about it.

 

Don't worry about the little damages. No problem.

Stearing head is a different story........change the bearing !! You'll think you have a new bike !

 

Don't sweat the small stuff, as they say. The items you mentioned are definitely not worth kicking yourself in the head about. Any '95 model is going to have some wear and tear. That is completely normal. Gives the bike character.

However, I would do something with the steering head bearings. You know they are worn now and you're gonna have to fix them eventually anyway. Might as well do it now and then you do not have to worry about it anymore and the bike should handle better too.

 

+1 on everything noted.

The steering head is the only thing I'd worry about and get it fixed right away.

If the rad is dented but not leaking, just inspect the actual cooling tubes, straighten the fins as best you can and ride on.

 

Thanks for the replies!

Maybe it's a good thing that the bike has some dents. It's my first bike and it's going to fall anyway some day. And this way I'll learn something technical about motorcycles. Already ordered some small parts for the bike to replace.

The mechanic told me that if I want to keep riding the bike as much as I do now, I should go back in a few months (before winter starts). He'll service it completely, fluids, suspension, bearings, brakes, valves, carbs... The whole thing. I'll ask him to replace the steering head bearings.

 

Personally, I wouldn't wait until the winter. The job doesn't take long to do, a few hours and some beer and it is done.

Don't mess around with something important like this.

 

Hey Jeff,

I'll get into it this week!
I'm curious about the technical side. What could happen if I keep driving? And what are the symptoms of a worn steering head?

The beer part is covered. I live in the part of the Netherlands where it borders with Belgium and Germany. So there is a lot of beer around here!

 

Its one of the most important parts of your bike (and neglected by many).

It affects your steering and handling. It connects your front end to your bike frame .... pretty important, right?

 

What can happen if not repaired is what is called "headshake". Get it fixed! The symptoms can be an uncontrollable oscillation of the entire front end of your bike.

 

In most cases you nearly see/feel any symptoms......untill it's too late. Bad bearing effects stearing and braking very NEGATIVELY...... You feel the big difference after changing the bearing. .
And then you know what te symptoms were...;-)

(sorry....my English is not very good)

 

I replaced the steering bearings on my bike a few years ago and what I can tell you is that a worn steering bearing will cause the steering to feel difficult. There were times I had to push harder than normal in order to steer and when I replaced the bearings the bike felt much easier to steer.

 

I purchased my bike knowing it had been down on the left at least twice and on the right at least once. I completely dissasembled all plastic & checked torque on ALL key bolts/nuts. Found this past winter after 2 riding seasons & 22,000 miles that the bolts that hold the swingarm on were only torqued to @ 20 INCH Lbs (supposed to bb= 93 ft lbs)!! Pucker moment!! as I've had the bike over 150 mph more than a couple of times~

The point being if you have a bike with spotty history & unknown maintenance, check it out thoroughly....you'll learn a lot in the process. I am now an EXPERT at removing the throttle bodies & swapping wiring harness~

 

I can only compare the VFR with the bike I had drivinglessons on. That was an XJ6. It steered quite easy at slow and normal speeds. With the VFR I have the feeling the bike is lost in slow and tight corners. The steering indeed feels heavy like Joey said. Also at higher speeds, but that's easier to compensate.

I also noticed that the VFR dives quite a lot. I've read an article from this site about the pre-load and damping. The previous owner set everything on hard, but how I understand it, it's merely the ride height that is changed with the pre-load. Damping I have to try out. I'm going to set it up according to my weight.

I'm just beginning to learning the technical basics. This forum helps massively, it has a lot of people with years of experience! And I like the fact it's international!

 

If you have some mechanical ability, you'll definitely save yourself some money. I have neither mechanical ability or money, so not a good combo. That being said, its possible as well that with your head bearings being shot, you may be due for some new springs in the forks - or at least changing the oil and seals. If the front suspension was/is bottoming out, that's not exactly going to help those head bearings.

How are your tires? In decent shape and not squared off? Check the manufacture date on the side. If they are old/worn down, that won't help your turn in either.

Its very easy for me to spend your money.

 

I'd never again buy a bike that's been laid down. In my excitement, I didn't look it over like I should have. Two of the exhaust headers where crushed about 50% and I even looked under the cowl but didn't spot it. Installed a $100 set from ebay. Major pita. Didn't get a close look at the brake pads. They were shot.

The biggest thing is I think either the frame or the motor mounts are bent. The airbox cover won't fit. It was off a little when I had the tank off but I think the PO(S) pulled the carbs up on one side to compensate to get it to fit.

Live and learn.

 

I wouldn't shy away from a bike that wasn't a stranger to the asphalt. I would pass on dented nasty frames and steering stops that were busted off.

 

+1

When I bought my '99 VFR it only had 1,500 miles, never laid down but I ended up with a rusty fuel tank because it had been sitting for nearly 10 years. And I not only had to remove and re-line the fuel tank I had to replace the fuel injectors and pump as well due to the gas going bad just from sitting so long.

The lesson here is that you can have problems even with a mint bike, the best you can do is give it a thorough lookover and be prepared for possible issues. I even do this when buying an used car, I always set aside at least a grand for potential problems.

 

Steering head bearings on your bike should be good for at least 25,000 miles. If they've loosened up due to wear, they can be regreased and readjusted by someone who knows bikes. If they're near or over that mileage, plan on replacing them with OEM parts.

 

Your English is fine. The worst English on the WWW is by Americans. As an example, www. craigslist.com/ rants and raves. Choose any locale.. Then we have SOW who speaks in tongues to his gas tank.