UGG!! :pissed: Dropped my 98 in my driveway. :sad:
Significant damage is a large dent on top of fuel tank, snapped off aluminum bracket on oil pan for the lower mount of the R/S fairing, & bent brake pedal.
Any repair advice??
UPDATE~ Mr. Insurance appraiser/adjuster comes here today (Mon.) I'm quite concerned he may consider my bike totalled since it is 14 years old. Then I don't know what I would do. Have any of you been told by your insurance co. that your bike is totaled even though it had only cosmetic damage?
The R/S Cowl Panel ($499.99) definately needs to be replaced. Maybe the Fuel Tank ($912.99), the Oil Pan ($131.99) & R/S Lwr. Stay ($8.99) as well. I believe that I can replace all these parts myself.
Your thoughts please....
Update # 2 ~ Mr. Insurance appraiser/adjuster wasn't able to get here today so he says he will be here tomorrow (Tue.) In the mean time, my anxiety grows.
Sorry to hear...
Tank bra, bend the brake pedal back out and forget about the oil pan fearing bracket.
It's what I would do.
Bringing it back to perfect would be mucho dinero.
Anyone know if aluminum can be welded? If not, I'll be replacing the oil pan. Any out there for sale for a 5th Gen? Along with a fuel tank & a R/S fairing?
Also considering checking into if I have insurance coverage for this. Has anyone gone that route?
That said, both my tabs are broken off and I've been too lazy to weld them back on. The downside is I can now drag my fairings when I'm deep in a hard corner. I don't mind it though.
In regards to the dent on the top of the tank, have you thought about trying Paintless Dent Repair. Check with a local PDR shop and see if the dent can be massaged back out, before you spend the money on a new/er tank. Rule of thumb for PDR would be access to back side of dent and no paint damage. I do PDR for a living and have fixed many a dent in motorcycle tanks caused due to the effects of gravity, shall we say.
That said, both my tabs are broken off and I've been too lazy to weld them back on. The downside is I can now drag my fairings when I'm deep in a hard corner. I don't mind it though.
Thanks but I wouldn't want that to happen. And if something were to happen to the other main mount, that could be a bad situation. My bike has made me so proud to be it's owner by the attention it gets at events. I really want it fixed to the way it should be.
In regards to the dent on the top of the tank, have you thought about trying Paintless Dent Repair. Check with a local PDR shop and see if the dent can be massaged back out, before you spend the money on a new/er tank. Rule of thumb for PDR would be access to back side of dent and no paint damage. I do PDR for a living and have fixed many a dent in motorcycle tanks caused due to the effects of gravity, shall we say.
Chuck, Try taking the tank to a Dent Wizard shop, seriously! They took a good size dent and scratch out of my car door in 45 min, in and out of the shop, no painting required and it looked amazing when they were done. I would give them a look at the tank, all they can say is "no can do". Aluminum can be welded, take your pan off during the off season
UPDATE~ Mr. Insurance appraiser/adjuster comes here today (Mon.) I'm quite concerned he may concider my bike totalled since it is 14 years old. Then I don't know what I would do. Have any of you been told by your insurance co. that your bike is totaled even though it had only cosmetic damage?
The R/S Cowl Panel ($499.99) definately needs to be replaced. Maybe the Fuel Tank ($912.99), the Oil Pan ($131.99) & R/S Lwr. Stay ($8.99) as well. I believe that I can replace all these parts myself.
So sorry to hear about your mishap. For what it's worth, after detailing my '98 for the 1st time after purchasing it last year, I had it roll off the sidestand and go down in my gravel driveway, Earlier I had lifted if off the sidestand and pushed it forward a few times while trying to confirm the date of mfg for the tires (note: turns out they were the original w/1998 mfg dates!) Apparently after I moved it the last time the kickstand must have been knocked back slightly and I failed to make sure it was still fully deployed before resting the weight of the bike on it. So after getting geared-up to proudly ride my gleaming steed, as I swung a leg over and sat my butt in the saddle I felt the bike roll forward slightly, then suddenly fall over on the left side w/a sickening crunch before I could catch it or say "...Oh s...t"! :ohmy:
Luckily the only damage seemed to be the addition of a few (more) scratches on the lower left side fairing near the VFR decal. I say "more" because I'm fairly sure the bike had previously suffered a prior zero-speed fall on the left side while still in the hands of the original owner. Thankfully the damage isn't noticeable from more than a few feet away but I was still upset with myself for being so careless.
Last Saturday I unfortunately needed to spend the day at work and since it was a beautiful day I decided to ride over to the office. Since no one else was at work I decided to ride up the handicapped ramp so that I could park my viffer in the shade on the sidewalk where I could keep an eye on it through my office window. That afternoon when it was time to head home I got lazy and careless. So.instead of backing out the way I came in, I decided to just simply ride off the sidewalk and over the ~ 5-6" high concrete curb into the parking lot. In case you haven't already guessed,as I did this there was a "crunch" as the point of the lower fairing directly behind the front wheel smacked either the curb or the pavement on the way down.
*%@#!
Although thankfully the damage isn't noticeable, I was (again) disappointed w/myself for doing something so thoughtless.
.
As far as insurance coverage goes, I'm sorry to say I wouldn't be surprised if the adjuster ends up totaling your motorcycle over the damage. Are you carrying full coverage? I have comprehensive coverage on mine, but to me it didn't make sense to pay for collision coverage on a 14-year-old motorcycle. I don't know if damage sustained in a driveway drop would be covered under comprehensive or collision insurance, but would not be surprised if it turns out to be the latter.
In any case, I can relate to your pain and wish you luck when you meet with the insurance adjuster!
I feel your pain, wrote off the front end of my 4th gen last month. I'm a cheapskate but my advise would be to fix it enough to get it rideable and keep an eye out for a 2nd hand tank. You may even find one the same colour. Unfortunately the insurance co doesn't see your bike the same way you do, they just see a 14 yr old bike that would cost more to fix than it's worth.
If they total it, you can buy it back and get those parts to fix it. There are a few tanks on ebay right now for under $200: http://www.ebay.com/...ssories&vxp=mtr
The only thing is that it will have a salvage title and you won't be able to insure it for replacement after that.
Update # 2 ~ Mr. Insurance appraiser/adjuster wasn't able to get here today so he says he will be here tomorrow (Tue.) In the mean time, my anxiety grows.
Any news on this? What did the insurance adjuster say? Covered? Totalled? I'm in the ins biz myself, and just curious how it all panned out.
Insurance covered it. :fing02: Gave me $1,938 to replace everything. :woohoo: I qualify for "Large Accident Forgiveness" so I don't expect my premium to increase.
Rather than replace the oil pan, my Dad suggested using a 2 part epoxy to reattach the piece that broke off. I was told by a very experienced friend that it is too small to be able to be welded. Any thoughts on this?? I really want it back on there.
:idea3: Also, during this process I'm thinking about having my friend paint the bike a different color. I'm not liking the "arrest-me-red" very much. I'm considering a dark (not black) metallic. Any suggestions??
for a repaint. the 5th gen came out in OEM both in Dark Blue and Dark Green for the lucky euro countries, I'm sure there are pix around here somewhere...
That tab can totally be welded, pull the pan off and take it to your local welder, I don't see it costing more than $25-$30.
If you're the do-it-yourself type, pickup a few rods of HTS-2000 from ebay, grab a propane/mapp torch and fix it on your own. Wouldn't even have to pull the pan that way.
I picked up a pan for $41 shipped off of Flea-Bay... The pan could also be welded for little $$(I have a great TIG, but just got lazy). The tank can be pushed out and/or pulled out with a stud welder. The plastic can be Ebay or new from: http://www.powerspor...COWL/parts.html for $330 new OEM. Your plastic looks cleaner than mine! Let me know if you want to sell it.
I've had the new parts for awhile now & will be replacing them soon. Any advice on the procedure or tips for removal & install of the fuel tank? Same with the brake pedal? I bought a siphoner from WalMart.
Here are some pics:
[image: IMG_3171.JPG]
Bottom of tank:
[image: IMG_3179.JPG]
Insulation?? for bottom of tank:
[image: IMG_3167.JPG]
Brake Pedal:
[image: IMG_3110.JPG]
My original fairing "stay" did not have this cylinder on it. Does yours?
Only because I replaced that exact same bracket on my non-CA spec bike, and it certainly didn't look anything like that. I also modified it to create more clearance for my clear clutch cover.
[image: gallery_554_345_260808.jpg]
However, I know that the charcoal canister resides in that general area on the CA spec bikes, so My Dear Watson.........
When I got my bike, it had the right lower fairing tab held together with two part molded epoxy. It was coming apart by my next oil change so I finished the job and just took it off. I have left it unsecured ever since with no problems.
In regards to replacing the tank, do you have any advice/tips above & beyond what the FSM states? Should I plan to replace and order now (which probably will not be returnable) the fuel filter or just wait to see how it looks once I have it apart? It only has 17k miles on it.
The fuel filter is metal, cannot see inside. I was going to replace mine but Honda wanted 52 bucks for it. I looked for an automotive equivalent in metal and could no locate one. They were all too large a diameter. I replaced my original and carried on. Bike runs fine, 85,000km
End of thread · 40 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 25 Mar 2013