Bike fell over in the wind, what kind of damage am I looking at?

So Im pretty sure my bike was knocked over in the wind, or someone at my work knocked it over and picked it back up for me.

The kick stand is bent pretty bad, the bike leans at almost a 50 degree angle to vertical. Needs to be replaced.

Also the shift lever is bent badly too, the bike give me fits going into first bear, and stays "pressed down" once I get it there. This probably needs to be replaced too.

I think I can do the kick stand by myself, but am unsure what Im looking at with the shift lever and tranny..... Do you think if I replace the pedal, the tranny wasn't damaged? Worth just taking it to the shop? I only know of 1 or 2 places in Denver that work on Honda's both dealers so it will probably pricey.....?

Thanks for any input.

 

Aggh it happens :doh:

If the bike is otherwise undamaged (no scrapes on the fairings) then you got away lightly, and may want to think about fitting tip over/frame slider protection. Don't waste money on crash mushrooms which bolt to the fairing mounts - on a heavy bike they are for show only and may actually make things worse by concentrating the impact on one section of the fairing which will break off. The frame sliders from R&G Racing work (I have tested them), but do involve swapping out the coolant tank (part of the kit) and making two neat holes in fairing to fit a steel bar direct to the frame.

As for the damaged parts - if you are happy with a wrench and have access to a workbench vice, then it might be worth seeing what you can fix yourself. If you hit trouble then call in at the shop.

Access may be a lot easier if you put the bike on the centre stand and remove the fairing. Unbolt/remove each component which looks wrong and SLOWLY ease it back into shape in the vice. Put some hardwood strips on the vice jaws to minimise scars on the component. The kickstand is reasonably strong, and should straighten up OK, but the metal on the gear selector lever is not as strong, so take your time or it will snap - but then again if it does break you were going to be paying a dealer to fit a replacement anyway.

If you get the components straightened OK, make sure you examine the result closely, before refitting and riding the bike. If there are signs of cracks its best to order new bits - you don't want the gear selector to snap off whilst out riding or the stand fail and the bike lying on its side again.

Hopefully once the gear selector is the correct shape, the gears will operate OK - however if the impact was high, it may have damaged some of the gear box internals. The detent springs can fail (snap/come off) and as a result the selector will not return to centre (although to get the bike to the shop you may be able to simply lift it to the centre position by hooking your foot under the lever).

Good luck - let us know how you get on.





SkiMad

 

Might be best if the "bike" was specified. If the bike is a faired VFR and it blew or was tipped or smacked by some dude in a cage, you can lay money there if fairing damage.

 

Definitely agree with you that it would be an idea to update his forum profile to note the precise year and abs/non ABS version VFR and indeed would be worth adding a location if he is looking for hands on help getting the bike fixed. But he did post in the 6th Gen section of the forum.

I agree that a fall bad enough to bend the kick stand means its likely there will be a few battle scars on the fairing! Another example of a post where uploading a few pictures would allow better input from afar.


SkiMad

 

Sorry to hear about this....sounds to me that someone backed into you....bent stand and all..is there damage on the right side fairing at alll? Hopefully theres a camera in the lot that you can investigate.......good luck

 

Also look around work for someone with a hurt back....non rider doesnt really know how to lift a downed bike correctly...then find there car and check it out........this really upsets the hell out of me....f..ing people...have alittle class and at least leave a note

 

...I was thinking on similar lines - those side stands are pretty strong metal and unlikely to bend just from a fall. A lot more likely if the bike was parked where it might be hit by a car manouvering in the carpark. CCTV may reveal all assuming its not too late and the tape has been wiped. Whatever else its pretty crap behaviour to damage a vehicle and not own up to your handiwork!



Skimad

 

I had a truck back into my viffer when I visited one of my old shops. I walked right by the doode in the truck and wanted to say something to him, but didnt, next thing I hear is that sick sound of plastic/metal (you get the idea.)

Bike stayed upright, side-stand bent, and front fender split in two. Got a replacement sidestand and fender off Ebay and happy ending to a nutty story. I think you could bend the shift lever back and get a replacement side-stand. I wouldnt try to fix that as its an important part of the bike. Levers usually get binned when they get bent, but if you have a nice vice and a big soft bop hammer and wana beat on something, you could staighten it to a degree...

Good luck, sorry to hear about your mis-fortune. I always park in a space not intended for cars...

 

If you end up needing to replace some parts and don't find them on eBay, try "motorcyclegoodies.com" they are amazingly reasonable for factory pieces. Don't ask how I know!
John

 

Thanks everyone. I thought my profile had the bike in it, it is a 2002 VFR.

I didnt even think about the possibility of someone backing into it.

I got away pretty lucky, minimal fairing damage. Because someone stood it back up, it took me awhile to figure something was really wrong. It leaned way over on the kick stand, but I thought maybe I was on a hill or just tired.... Then I tried to put it into first and everything sort of came together. But there is only 2 small paint chips on the fairing, and 1 scratch. Very lucky.

Is it safe to say if I buy a new shift lever and put it on myself and it still doesnt shift correctly there is serious damage to the transmission?

I'll check out motorcyclegoodies.com for parts.

Appreciate the input.

 

No point trying to speculate - if swapping out the lever does not resolve the shifting issue then you are into opening her up, or at least paying someone else. What they find all depends on how much force got applied where. Worse case an impact in the wrong place could write off the whole gear mech - but it could be something as minor as a detent spring come adrift, which needs to be relocated. Tap in your model details and you will find some useful exploded diagrams here...

Honda Motorcycle Parts, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha Motorcycle Parts - ATV, Classic Bike, Dirt Bike Parts

Good luck


Skimad

 

That generation thing is so imprecise it's like the British Peerage. Just from my generational thing alone, six generations would take me back to Victorian England where all kind of stuff went on behind closed doors. Who knows I might be related to Jack the Ripper or even Winston.. Same exact bike for eight years with zero differences is absurd.

I see the OP has some scratches on his fairing. I would suggest removing same enough to inspect internal breakage of tabs ect.

Another tell is bent bars or damage to bar ends or levers.

Depending on the lot and who parks there there is an outside chance that someone saw who dumped this guy's bike. The wind can do it for sure. (Don't ask!) Most places require that "drivers" exchange information about vehicle related incidents. If the damage to this guy's bike exceeds a certain dollar figure and the perp took off, that is hit and run, a high degree misdemeanor in some locales and a felony in some cases.

I know the names of all The Beatles but am wondering if one of you Brit dudes can supply me with the names of The Queen's Corgis.

 

I'll post some picture tonight.

 

I had the same thing happen to me and my CB1. Someone from my work backed over it and, got someone to help them prop my bike back up, and left w/o leaving their insurance. I ended up having to file a police report, and only learned who did it because someone that didn't like that person told me.

 

You arranging a pub quiz??? :smile: You will find the answer here -

20 most asked questions



SkiMad

 

Here are the pics. The more I think about it I think someone backed into it on accident. I dont think the wind could bend a kick stand like that. All in all I got lucky. Minimal damage to the fairings. My biggest concern is the shift lever and tranny.

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From the paint on the peg, it looks like your looking for something red which now has a new scrape low down... If they are regulars in the parking lot it should be easy to spot.

You will be shocked how much it will cost to buy replacement panels for the fairing at which point you will really want to find the culprit and make a claim against their insurance.


Skimad

 

Durn, I was hoping HRH dogs were named Jim, Ernie, Bruce and Ringo..

 

All in all I got pretty lucky. New kickstand, new shift lever, needed a radiator stay.Tranny was fine. Back in business sort of.

Got the bike back and the dealer forgot the second bolt in the kick stand, so it had to go back for that (how do you forgot 1 out of 2 bolts?)
Then they had the coolant overflow tube jammed into the radiator fan, so it wouldn't kick on, that took me an hour to fix (fairings off yipee).

Then somehow they managed to pinch the fuel vent line somewhere because my gas tank now vacuums itself shut if I drive 20 miles. (They did this because I had them do other service while it was in the shop). It's not the lines right under the tank as far as I could tell by lifting it up.... not sure what else might be pinched. Taking it back to them tomorrow.... Little bummed over the service I got.... 3 fairly significant things wrong when getting it back doesnt instill confidence....

 

Yup. I think that shop has some ass kissing to do. That service is like them telling you they are incompetent generally speaking.