About two weeks ago I wrecked my 97 VFR. I still don't know exactly what happened because I lost consciousness when I was hit by an oncoming truck (according to the police report). Looking at my gear, which is still in rather perfect condition (all except the helmet of course), and considering the twisty section of road where it took place, it was rather low speed. Aside from a broken arm and some broken ribs, I'm doing just fine and am expected to make a full recovery (plus I'm on winter break right now so all I'm doing is watching football anyway). As with any motorcycle accident (regardless of speed), the bodywork gets trashed, so I was wondering if you guys have any valuable resources for either custom aftermarket parts or used parts in good condition. I haven't actually seen the bike, but from the pictures it looks like I'll need new fairings on the front (including a new headlight fixture) and sides (upper and lower). The left fairing is totally trashed, but the right side may be salvageable with a new paint job. Also, does the bodywork from any other Honda models fit mine? My local dealer is doing a complete assessment to see if I need anything else, but I'm hoping I don't need anything expensive, other than plastic! My only worry is the front fork is bent, which may cause me to sell the bike for parts, but I'll be keeping my fingers crossed! Also, now is the time to do cool things like blue LED light guages, etc so let me know what you guys think!
Sorry for your accident, sesand, you can take a look at Airtech's website, they make fiberglass panels for these bikes. They'll need to be painted, but it'll be cheaper than Honda parts.
If the truck was at fault, they should cover your damages or total it out, if they had insurance. If they total it out, buy it back, and fix it or sell it for parts, you'll make out in the long run.
There is aftermarket bodywork out there but it takes a little bit of work to get it all together, www.sharkskins.com and www.airtech.com My dad has a 97 that we picked up totalled and re-did, we used the airtech fairing, it looks good. Best of luck in your recovery.
sesand, Dec 31 2006, 05:22 PMAbout two weeks ago I wrecked my 97 VFR. I still don't know exactly what happened because I lost consciousness when I was hit by an oncoming truck (according to the police report). Looking at my gear, which is still in rather perfect condition (all except the helmet of course), and considering the twisty section of road where it took place, it was rather low speed. Aside from a broken arm and some broken ribs, I'm doing just fine and am expected to make a full recovery (plus I'm on winter break right now so all I'm doing is watching football anyway). As with any motorcycle accident (regardless of speed), the bodywork gets trashed, so I was wondering if you guys have any valuable resources for either custom aftermarket parts or used parts in good condition. I haven't actually seen the bike, but from the pictures it looks like I'll need new fairings on the front (including a new headlight fixture) and sides (upper and lower). The left fairing is totally trashed, but the right side may be salvageable with a new paint job. Also, does the bodywork from any other Honda models fit mine? My local dealer is doing a complete assessment to see if I need anything else, but I'm hoping I don't need anything expensive, other than plastic! My only worry is the front fork is bent, which may cause me to sell the bike for parts, but I'll be keeping my fingers crossed! Also, now is the time to do cool things like blue LED light guages, etc so let me know what you guys think!
I certainly wouldn't sell the bike for parts simply because the fork is bent - unless the headstock is damaged or the frame compromised in some other way - forks are relatively cheap, and it's an ideal opportunity to fit some Firestorm(superhawk) forks or some from an F2 or whatever you call CBR600's stateside. No Honda panels other than for the bike generation you have will fit without modification. Most panels can be repaired anyway. Upper fairing parts are the most difficult to acquire second hand.
Glad to hear you are relatively OK. Have good New Year.
Well, the bad news is that the estimate to repair the bike is about $4-5k with used parts, and close to $9k new. As it turns out I'll need a new front wheel, front forks, and everything behind the front console, including speedometer, and most of the bodywork. They also told me I'd need a new gas tank, which I'm not totally sure about, but I don't think my dealer would steer me in the wrong direction, considering my loyalty. I'm hoping they can give me a couple grand for parts and look towards buying a new bike. If anybody is interested in buying it before I sell it to the local parts dealer, send me a PM. I wouldn't mind putting it back together myself if I had the workspace or the time, but I don't really have either. Thanks for the advice, guys!
Snafu, Jan 2 2007, 04:24 PMSorry to hear about your accident. Heal up quick! Just wondering...how long does it take for a broken arm and ribs to heal?
I'll let you know! I've made good progress so far, and it has been two weeks this past Sunday. Once my ribs healed up enough where it wasn't painful to take a deep breath, the shoulder and back pain have been the worst of it. I played enough football growing up that I'm no stranger to this sort of pain, so its not all bad. I haven't even been taking the morphine that was prescribed. I just hope I can get back in the saddle sometime soon. This warm weather really has been a teaser since I'm both unable to ride and don't have a bike! You guys will have to take a ride for me during the next couple of months until I can get a new bike lined up.
If money is an issue and you will not be able to afford another bike, then keep the one that you have and go at it with a custom one off job. It will be a better bike in the long run and between this site and ePay, you should be able to rebuild it for a song.
Just my $.02 (IMG:style_emoticons/oldemoticons/warranty.gif)
End of thread · 13 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 1 Apr 2007