Buddy Dropped My Brand New OEM Side Case...

I finished installing my side cases last weekend AND my new Leo Vince Exhaust and the bike looks great. A friend was checking it out yesterday and while fiddling around with the side cases, managed to drop it on the cement, paint side down. This left some scratches obviously, but the side case is just fine otherwise (no cracks, etc). He immediately offered to pay for it, and honestly, considering this was my big purchase for the summer, I'm about to take him up on it. I've spent some time looking around and I can either get a single replacement one or buy a whole new set.

So here's my question:
How much might I get for my almost new, but freshly scratched black 6th gen left side case? (Left side of the bike from the seated rider's point of view)

The other option is that I buy a whole new set and just swap the side cases (this makes keying a lot easier). If I were to do this, how much might someone be willing to pay for a set of slightly scratched black side cases with brand new mounting brackets and full lock set?

Anyone looking for a set of side cases or just a replacement left case?

Wouldn't it be cheaper to have a shop respray the scratched case?

Sounds like fixing it would be the cheapest route.

I'd agree with getting the lid repainted........
IMO...... Option for the bill, Pay half/half for the repaint..........

Scratched bags? They're useless now. I'll offer you $50.

Haha, I know... Just sucks to see my brand new cases scratched up because he wanted to play with them.

I would definitely not make my buddy buy a new set.  Accidents happen.  I would let him out cheaply and just get them fixed.  Would probably just need some sanding and paint.

Two things to offer:

1) Chances are - you will have scratches on the bags at some point - to what level is unkown.  I had my side bags repainted a couple years ago and on the first ride with them - I decided it was a good idea to stop my bike DEAD in its tracks by trying to squeeze into my driveway between my wifes Odyssey and the enclosed trailer - while forgetting  I had hard side bags installed.  Needless to say - the right bag hit - I stopped instantly.  The bag paint got mucked up - so right now it has some rash - but I really don't care.  Adds character?  :)

2) If a friend of mine scratched my side case up - I'd be more concerend about getitng it fixed up with as little pain to them as possible.  The guy probably feels like shit for dropping it already.  I value my friends - they are too hard to find!  Help your buddy out and go the repaint route - in the end you'll feel better about it.

Just my 2 cents and 2 points.  :)

[image: View Post]KanadianKen, on 01 April 2012 - 10:50 PM, said:

I value my friends - they are too hard to find!  Help your buddy out and go the repaint route - in the end you'll feel better about it.

+1 to that . . . let the little things go.   Now if your friend had been sleeping with your sidecase, that would be an entirely different matter . . . :laugh:

My brother called and asked if I could come over and give his sons a spin on the VFR and I brought a brand new XS helmet that I had picked up for my then very young daughter to use. As soon as his youngest hopped off my bike, he removed the helmet and rather than set it down carefully, he tried to throw it into the grass along the driveway, missed/came up short and it hit the driveway and rolled about 30 feet down to the gutter at the street. My bro can be a tool and I knew his boys could be distructive and I just chalked it up to another learning situation for myself. He never offered to cover it and I haven't given rides at his house since. Having someone acknowlegde their misstep is worth a lot all on it's own. I think I would just have him pay for a repaint on the bag. Gloss black should be easy to match. If it's the bass-boat glitter black, that might be more diffficult.

I've been looking at some of the scratch removal options. Might be worth a try to see if I can get it looking good enough without new paint or replacement. Not sure what the cost of repaint would be, but I was figuring it'd be in the $100-120 range? If so, and if I could get $175 or so for the scratched case, then it'd be in the same ballpark as a replacement (about $390). By my math, that'd mean he'd hand over about $120ish and I'd cover the rest.

Do whatever you feel is fair but as others have stated if he is a true friend then a few scratches are of little concern.

Getting a matte black case goes a long way to hiding scratches as opposed to gloss (if that is what you have).  These things will get hit by road debris, bugs, accidental drops, etc so expecting a gloss coat to hold up over the miles is kind of a waste of time...but that's my opinion.

And finally, you should easily be able to ask a higher number for the side case if it is only a week old and has but a few scratches.  Personally I would just have it repainted.  If you sand it a body shop could spray on a fresh coat for a very reasonable price.  Again, just my opinion.

Sorry to hear what happened to your bags. Although I can understand how you'd prefer to simply have the bag replaced, I agree w/the others that getting it repaired would seem to make the most sense.

Over the years I've come to realize that none of my friends or family members will be as careful about taking care of my stuff as I am.

Just some examples:

1) When I'm riding my ST1100 and have switched mounts with friends I always make a point to ask them to be please be careful to avoid dragging their boot across the ST's (relatively high-mounted and glossy-black) saddlebags when swinging their leg over while mounting and dismounting. Even so I can't remember how many scrapes and scratches I've found necessary to repair or buff out after I've let others ride my ST over the years, or how many times I've had to bite my tongue in lieu of giving people hell after they proceeded to do exactly what I had just asked them not to do!

2) Some years ago while riding hwy 56 over the Blue Ridge near Montebello two riders went down in a corner while following me. One unfortunately ended up making a trip to the hospital and the other followed that rider off-road and ended up shearing off the left footpeg from his Kawasaki Concours. He ended up buying some quick setting epoxy to attempt a repair before making the 2.5 hour ride home with nowhere to rest his left foot. While I was holding the part and waiting for the epoxy to cure for some reason my friend decided to move my Aerostitch Darian jacket-and proceeded to lay it on the seat of his concours-right on top of the piece of cardboard where I'd mixed the epoxy! Needless to say the resulting stain looked so nice against my red Aerostitch!

3) Last year I decided to offer one of my motorcycles to a friend who was "bikeless" so that three of us who had ridden together in the past could again make a two-day ride to the mountains together. The next day after our last stop for gas before arriving home, I watched in horror as my friend stalled my immaculate '98 viffer while preparing to pull out on the highway and he came REALLY close to dropping it, but (thankfully) did not.

4) Over the years my philosophy when it comes to my helmets has become "if it's left on the ground, it can't fall down". So as a general rule when I park my motorcycle I usually lay my helmet carefully on the ground slightly under the bike and just ahead of the sidestand. Now you might think this s/b be a safe position, yet I had a rider kick a (previously) un-scratched helmet across the parking lot after he failed to look where he was walking.

Friends or no friends, this year I intend to give more consideration to the potential consequences before I put any of my motorcycles in the hands of others and more thought to where I may place my helmets and riding gear.

I had a reputable shop working on my bike that scratched BOTH my hard bags while putting my bike in their shop. I was pissed, but they repainted both. Not sure what it cost them, maybe $150-200. MUCH cheaper than replacing.  Once painted I would also recommend putting on the 3M clear film to protect at least parts of the bags that are prone to rock chips, bug splats, etc.  Thats what I did and mine are still looking great.

Wake up call ..... its a motorcycle, the bags are luggage, luggage gets dinged now and then .... and then there is item #1 its a bike eh!!.. and unless its a trailer queen or a garage farkle its going to get every thing from road rash to dead bugs and stone chips....Let it go.

[image: View Post]Suitcase, on 02 April 2012 - 09:40 AM, said:

Wake up call ..... its a motorcycle, the bags are luggage, luggage gets dinged now and then .... and then there is item #1 its a bike eh!!.. and unless its a trailer queen or a garage farkle its going to get every thing from road rash to dead bugs and stone chips....Let it go.
A big :+1:   to that.
Just smile and say: "Don't worry about it, bud."
And every time he sees the scratched bag, he'll remember the nice gesture and have a strange urge to buy you a beer :beer:

Agree with the wisdom of the board on this.  Being the colour they are, (black) and the fact they will certainly get future character marks, humbly feel it's best to take the high road with friends. :smile:

[image: View Post]Suitcase, on 02 April 2012 - 09:40 AM, said:

Wake up call ..... its a motorcycle, the bags are luggage, luggage gets dinged now and then .... and then there is item #1 its a bike eh!!.. and unless its a trailer queen or a garage farkle its going to get every thing from road rash to dead bugs and stone chips....Let it go.

Yes, bags are bags, and they also sometimes act as wonderful frame sliders to save your plastic from being all scratched up! Bottom line, it's only plastic and plastic is NOT a noble material in my mind. You can always try and buff it out though.
C

I bought a used red top case, and had my paintless dent remover guy repaint it to match my bike for $100. The match was perfect, and he used environmentally friendly water based paint.

I hate to hear that about your bag.  If it was me, I'd probably repaint it.  I might let him pay half if he insisted.  I value my friends more than tainting a friendship over something like that.  Besides, if that had happened to my bike, it probably wouldn't be long before I f'ed up something myself (and hopefully not something that doesn't belong to me).  We're all human.

Chuck

[image: View Post]Suitcase, on 02 April 2012 - 09:40 AM, said:

Wake up call ..... its a motorcycle, the bags are luggage, luggage gets dinged now and then .... and then there is item #1 its a bike eh!!.. and unless its a trailer queen or a garage farkle its going to get every thing from road rash to dead bugs and stone chips....Let it go.
Yup, but if he does replace it, make sure he gets the old one so that he can re-sell to recoup some of his cost. Only fair methinks.

So I'm reading this thread thinking 'April Fools' joke, right?  Reply after reply, the good folks of VFRD are playing right along, keeping a real straight face the whole time.  Ten posts later and everyone is still hanging in...man you guys are good.  So I'm starting to think, maybe this is for real...

BUCK UP sport...sh!t happens...

Now you know what that whole 'flat black' thing is all about.

Sorry that it bothers you so, but I got over that 'shiny new toy' thing when on the third day I owned my new '06 I dropped it, rashing the right side and busting the mirror and clutch lever.  Never worried about scratching it again, kind of a relief actually.  I could say that I 'feel your pain', but I don't...

...and welcome to VFRD...

Brian

[image: View Post]DDO-VFR, on 02 April 2012 - 10:01 PM, said:

So I'm reading this thread thinking 'April Fools' joke, right?  Reply after reply, the good folks of VFRD are playing right along, keeping a real straight face the whole time.  Ten posts later and everyone is still hanging in...man you guys are good.  So I'm starting to think, maybe this is for real...

BUCK UP sport...sh!t happens...

Now you know what that whole 'flat black' thing is all about.

Sorry that it bothers you so, but I got over that 'shiny new toy' thing when on the third day I owned my new '06 I dropped it, rashing the right side and busting the mirror and clutch lever.  Never worried about scratching it again, kind of a relief actually.  I could say that I 'feel your pain', but I don't...

...and welcome to VFRD...

Brian

DOH!, you got me...

Decided to go with slapping on a new clear coat, then wet sanding and waxing. Based on what I've read it'll all be cleared up. Then comes the protective shields since it sounds like everyone expects plenty more scratches.

For the record, I'm over it. Just getting it as good as it can be and moving on.

Initial scratches, after cleaning:
[image: Posted Image]

Filled the scratches in with clearcoat (thankfully only the clearcoat was damaged, some scratches made it to the paint, but that's being fixed...

First, a coat of clear in each scratch:
[image: Posted Image]

Then a step that looks backwards, use a soft plastic blade to remove the clear that didn't set deep enough. (A second, thinner application to follow which will hopefully fill in even the smallest scratches)
[image: Posted Image]

After I fill it in with the thinner clear, I'll let that dry and then comes the sanding. I'm just posting up pics with the hope that my finished job will look pretty much good as new. If it does, the step by step will be here for anyone that wants it.

Ok, refinished it today. The paint is smooth, looks like very minor rock chips now. I may wait a week and refinish it once more after the clear coat has hardened as much as possible.
[image: Posted Image]

[image: View Post]DDO-VFR, on 02 April 2012 - 10:03 PM, said:

[image: View Post]DDO-VFR, on 02 April 2012 - 10:01 PM, said:

So I'm reading this thread thinking 'April Fools' joke, right?  Reply after reply, the good folks of VFRD are playing right along, keeping a real straight face the whole time.  Ten posts later and everyone is still hanging in...man you guys are good.  So I'm starting to think, maybe this is for real...

BUCK UP sport...sh!t happens...

Now you know what that whole 'flat black' thing is all about.

Sorry that it bothers you so, but I got over that 'shiny new toy' thing when on the third day I owned my new '06 I dropped it, rashing the right side and busting the mirror and clutch lever.  Never worried about scratching it again, kind of a relief actually.  I could say that I 'feel your pain', but I don't...

...and welcome to VFRD...

Brian

DOH!, you got me...

Ha!  Too funny DDO!

Obviously not funny about the drop and scratches.  Hope everything works out in the end for you Terc.

[image: View Post]Terc, on 02 April 2012 - 11:09 PM, said:

Decided to go with slapping on a new clear coat, then wet sanding and waxing. Based on what I've read it'll all be cleared up. Then comes the protective shields since it sounds like everyone expects plenty more scratches.

For the record, I'm over it. Just getting it as good as it can be and moving on.

Initial scratches, after cleaning:
[image: Posted Image]

More to come...
I found I could minimize the scratches with the 'coloured' wax kit.  On the bright side, black is the easiest colour to find.

Brian

Updated with step by step repair.
Decided to go with slapping on a new clear coat, then wet sanding and waxing. Based on what I've read it'll all be cleared up. Then comes the protective shields since it sounds like everyone expects plenty more scratches.

For the record, I'm over it. Just getting it as good as it can be and moving on.

Initial scratches, after cleaning:
[image: Posted Image]

Filled the scratches in with clearcoat (thankfully only the clearcoat was damaged, some scratches made it to the paint, but that's being fixed...

First, a coat of clear in each scratch:
[image: Posted Image]

Then a step that looks backwards, use a soft plastic blade to remove the clear that didn't set deep enough. (A second, thinner application to follow which will hopefully fill in even the smallest scratches)
[image: Posted Image]

After I fill it in with the thinner clear, I'll let that dry and then comes the sanding. I'm just posting up pics with the hope that my finished job will look pretty much good as new. If it does, the step by step will be here for anyone that wants it.

Ok, refinished it today. The paint is smooth, looks like very minor rock chips now. I may wait a week and refinish it once more after the clear coat has hardened as much as possible.
[image: Posted Image]

You may wonder why I didn't stop at the second step. That left a completely uneven surface that is way more noticeable than what I have now. This only shows up if you find the angle the paint reflects an image from... and even then, it takes just the right angle.

Nice job!  And now you can rib your friend endlessly every time he comes over to oggle your bike.   :laughing6-hehe:

First, let me say I am a neurotic perfectionist when it comes to my cars & bikes.
I had a set of perfect, red, OEM hard case bags for my 2005, red, VFR800A, but wanted
more black in the color scheme (less red). I consulted my local Atlanta auto body paint
store. They recommend I use a specific black spray can paint. I Scotch-Brited the cases
and then taped them with painters tape. The paint went on beautifully and I am glad I didn't
pay the $200+ for a high-end auto body shop to do them. My paint was approximately $7.
If you are interested I would be glad to revisit this auto paint store for the specifics.

Also, if you decide to replace the bag there is a Honda dealership in Iowa that could possibly
get this bag for 50% off what other dealers would offer. Could locate that info. if interested.

Kevin in Atlanta/Marietta

Had my bags painted ($200) from silver to blue to match my 07 Anniversary.  Took about two weeks for me to scratch the right one. I forgot they were on there! I tried to squeeze between two of my own cars in the drive. I rather like my new scratches!  I don't have to worry about it happening later.  It's done and over with! A little character on the bike now!!!!