I was riding to work this morning, and I noticed the stop light walk sign up ahead, it said 6 seconds. I figured I could make it in that time. However, it turned sooner than I expected, or traffic was slower than expected. I braked fairly hard but not too hard, or so I thought. As I approached the intersection, the front wheel slid to the left, and I fell to the right (basing this on evidence.) I wasn't moving very fast, the bike made it about 6 feet at the most into the intersection.
When I realized where I was (which was very soon), I did a quick check and picked myself up. I looked to see if traffic was doing anything stupid (it wasn't) picked up the bike and moved it off onto the side street. I had several people ask if they could help, if I had been hit/tapped. No, I slid... My front tire needed replacing, you can see grooves but they are not completely bald. Perhaps just bald enough to cause problems.
I found that I was dripping oil, and determined it was the small hole in the oil-filter housing. I also ground down a little of the water pump housing, and the rear part of the exhaust. The fairing dented the tank on the right side, there is no more front right turn-signal or reflector on the fairing. I have no idea where the right running light went to. I need a new brake lever...
The rear of the bike looks fine, I think the shorty stalks saved my rear turn signals.
Personally, I have a scraped kneecap. It doesn't want to bend much now. I called a local bike towing guy by the name of Dave, beard, old guy, bandanna. Cool towing rig though :-) He pointed at my front tire, "looks pretty bald to me." But a nice guy nonetheless.
I should be able to fix it up. I need to straighten out the fairing brackets. The right side is pushed in somewhat (as would be expected.) Replace some parts, and figure out how to fix the fiberglass body work (mostly scrapes) and how to fix the gas tank.
That's the story of the first time this 1983 vision went down.
Brian
Glad to hear that you are alright. Now go and repalce that front tire with one that has more skin on it than your knee. ;)
Sorry to hear of your incident. Hope your knee heals fast!
Those Italian tires will get you every time. (Baldinis)
H2O
Funny thing is, I think the tires lack of tread only played a very small role with it. It was doing fine until that last inch or so when it went down, and it didn't slide forward at all.
Ah well.
Tyres with insufficient tread will get you every time! A couple of years ago , I stopped at a stop sign before turning left , as I started to accelerate , turning left I hit a bit of sand , not much , but I guess enough , because the rear tyre started to spin. All I could do was try to straighten it up , stick my left foot out and flat track it around . I ended up doing a 180 going off the road and dropping the bike on the left side. The result was a broken left front turn signal, a broken clutch lever , scrapes on the lower part of the left outer engine case and gouges in the fairing.
I did a post mortem on the accident , to try to avoid the occurrence again. The rear tyre had fairly good tread , until I spun it . The opposite side was as completely bald, as my head. The tyre had worn on one side and not the other !!!! Best to spin the tyre for a good inspection!!!
I've got a spare oil filter housing if it will help, Brian.
I don't have your shipping address any more so if you want it, PM me.
I'm glad you are OK.
;)
Coil
my biggest fear while riding is a front tire blow out. i had a belt brake a few years ago on the V after coming home from the dragon. i was only a few blocks from a bike shop. i had stopped at my grandparents house to visit. when i came out i happened to look down at the front tire and seen a bulge sticking out the side. i rode really slow to the shop and got it replaced. i wasent planning on replacing it that soon. i need a rear tire really bad. there was no tread on the center of the tire at all. but i had to buy a front so the rear had to wait a few weeks till i got paid. the guy at the shop was really suprised to see me ride up with a tire that looked like that. i sure did notice a big change in how the bike handled after that.
Funny thing. I took a look and there isn't a single mark on my Jacket, boots, gloves, or helmet. There is just a tear in my jeans on the right knee (which looks a lot better by the way.). Thanks for the offers, I'll be taking you up on them and hopefully be able to help someone else out later. I'll PM people soon.
Thanks,
Brian
So sorry to hear about your fall. Pretty amazing to have so many miles and no minor incidences like you described. These are certainly the best case scenarios we can hope for when, and if, we do go down. I hope everything mends well on you and the Vision.
You know generally intersections are notorious for being low traction zones. The road scum that accumulates in that area can often not withstand even normal braking, and will break a tire loose such as you described. Cars drip oil there and it gets absorbed into the asphalt, condensation can make it ice-like. Late braking into an intersection is always a crap shoot because of this, and while we sometimes have to do it, it may also be the best call to breeze on through on the orange.
What you described can pretty much happen to anybody and unless the rubber was really old your tire was probably not the main issue. Available traction at the intersection was probably the biggest threat.
It sure makes you think as a rider who has to keep everything balanced on only two wheels!
Glad to hear you are in good shape after the experience,
Cdnl
Sorry you wrecked your perfect record, Brian. It is a reminder to all of us, on how fast it happens. I hope you feel better soon.
You can see the larger images here (http://www.pbase.com/moffetb/first_accident)
| (http://www.pbase.com/moffetb/image/107578870/medium.jpg) |
(http://www.pbase.com/moffetb/image/107578871/medium.jpg) |
| (http://www.pbase.com/moffetb/image/107578872/medium.jpg) |
(http://www.pbase.com/moffetb/image/107578873/medium.jpg) |
| (http://www.pbase.com/moffetb/image/107578874/medium.jpg) | (http://www.pbase.com/moffetb/image/107578875/medium.jpg) |
| (http://www.pbase.com/moffetb/image/107578876/medium.jpg) |
Sorry to see your damage , I had a similar result in 2003 , which bent the frame and necessitated starting over with a different bike. You do have your work cut out for you.
I don't think it's as bad as a bent frame. ( I look at all of the smiley's and they are all too hyper for me without my coffee...)
Looking at it, the tank is the big issue. The fiberglass is repairable. Not sure what I am going to do with the right mirror. if I can get the parts (I have turnsignals ordered already) I should be able to have it fixed by the end of January. Thankfully it was a very low-speed slide. I can bend my knee again which is nice :-)
Brian
Glad to hear you're mending Brian :). On the mirror issue, I think that it is very possible to have a piece of glass cut for it. Plain glass for sure, and maybe even the original type glass if you look around in the right place.
For the tank dent I would go with a body shop that has an electric stud gun to weld to the dented area and pull it out. I saw one of them recently for $100 at Harbor Freight in Buffalo, NY and thought that some day I am going to need one of those for this same type of work. You can then use a sliding hammer on the studs to pull the dent out without cutting open the tank. Of course, the final finish will be with a good quality bondo, but to reduce the dent to its smallest size is the goal. If you have a coating inside you will probably need to freshen that up after the dent pulling.
One piece at a time. It's never an easy task, but certainly a worthy and very doable one.
The ability to genuflect is always nice. ;)
The levers Yamaha now sells for the V are a matte black finish instead of the coated style originally supplied on the bike. When I broke a clutch lever 18 months ago, I ordered one & it didn't match, so I ended up ordering the front brake lever so they would look the same. if I'd known that tidbit, I'd have ordered both at the same time.
H2O
Quote from: h2olawyer on December 30, 2008, 03:51:51 PM
I ordered one & it didn't match, so I ended up ordering the front brake lever so they would look the same.
I actually ordered two off the turn signals just in case they didn't match the original I have on it. They were under 40.00 each, so it was a pretty good deal (1/2 of what a dealer was asking...)
Yes, I can walk again, always good :-)
I'll probably get both brake and clutch lever at the same time because of the mismatch problem. Thanks for the advice on the mirror.
Brian
if you're not allergic to non-nos parts...... these work nicely....
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Parts-Accessories_Motorcycle-Parts-Accessories__Yamaha-XZ550-550-Vision-XZ550R-Black-Lever-Set-NEW_W0QQitemZ230276631979QQddnZPartsQ20Q26Q20AccessoriesQQadiZ2863QQddiZ2811QQadnZMotorcycleQ20PartsQ20Q26Q20AccessoriesQQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotorcycles_Parts_Accessories?hash=item230276631979&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A543%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
may have to "tap" some paint out of the crannies, but you can't beat the price... and they came cross country in like two days
I bought a spare set for the next throw down
Brian,
The filter housing will be delivered to you on Monday by an agent of the Government of The United States.
The postage was $5.05 USD. Paypal the ROV five bucks and we'll call it even.
Get a new tire on the front and then practice stopping in the wet on a parking lot. Slide the rear, not the front.
$0.02
;)
Coil
Thanks for the link NightVision, and I'll paypal as you requested Coil, I appreciate it. (Is that what I did wrong??? ;D )
Brian
On the ebay levers NV, I finally gave up trying to get a set that was correct for the Vision. Are these the proper Vision fit? Good to know :), because there are quite a few mislabeled ones out there and these do match nicely. The ones I had ordered were the plastic covered, but I could only use the brake one after a few minor modifications. The other one for the clutch was simply wrong, probably a Maxim 550 lever. This is definitely something to keep in the spare parts drawer, right next to the stator ;).
A tip to all FWIW: I always carry a spare clutch lever in my '83s' tool compartment. The lever is one that got broken to a short length during a Zero speed drop many years ago. However, it's still long enough to to be fully functional. Should the sad day ever come when the installed clutch lever is somehow broken off to an inoperable length, I'll have my spare to get me home.
You can get by without being able to operate your front brake. You can't get by without being able to operate your clutch.
Another tip: A Vise Grip tool might be able to serve as a temporary clutch or brake lever if enough of a stub is left to grab onto.
It was a stopped tip over that broke my clutch lever a couple seasons ago. Broke clear down at the hinge. No stub at all. ::) I was at a fuel stop a couple blocks from home. Managed to ride it home - but had to come to a stop once @ a stoplight. Just hit the kill switch as I came to a stop. Shifted to neutral, waited for traffic to clear and walked it around the corner. Put it in second gear and gave it a push start. From there, I needed to perform only one rolling stop before I made it home. Glad I wasn't clear across town!
Ever since that time, I've carried a spare clutch lever, too. Its great advice.
H2O
I get my levers from a guy on flea bay, he,s in Victorville Ca. I've bought from him for 5 or 6 years and they have always fit. He usually has polished aluminum of black levers . His name is Jody Moruzzi . I forget what his flea bay name is . I'll find it and post it here.
I am waiting on the levers, I'll toss the old clutch lever into the tool area... I already have the oil-filter cover (and new filter), new front turn signals that I will put on my old stalks. I'll have to buy new bulbs, but those are easy to get.
Anyone use JB Weld on exhaust? I'm thinking that would work well to smooth out the scrape on the exhaust... It claims to be good to 600 F.
Brian
Haven't tried JB on exhaust, but in that vein, you might take a look at their stick type product. I made a new float post out of the stuff & it is quite sturdy. Not sure if it is rated as high temp, but it is worth a check. the JB Stick is just like those two part putty epoxies - except it is JB metal. Cut off what you need, knead it until uniform color and put it in place. It can be machined, drilled, sanded, etc. The hole I drilled in mine came out great.
I found JB Stick at either Autozone or Checker (Kragen).
Figured I'd give you more to consider. Wonder if Lab Metal would work?
H2O
Quote from: Brian Moffet on January 02, 2009, 08:39:34 PM
Anyone use JB Weld on exhaust? I'm thinking that would work well to smooth out the scrape on the exhaust... It claims to be good to 600 F.
Brian
I have on the cross over plenum. Did not do a fancy job. It only lasted about 600 miles. I think I am going to try it a gain only do an obsessive compulsive prep job.
I do feel that those sort of fixes are only temporary... but if temporary lasts a couple of years so be it. ::)
The plenum would certainly be hotter. Mine is at the very end of the exhaust, and is pretty much cosmetic only. But, since my exhaust is 1983 stock, I don't want to go hunting down another one :o
Who's heli-coiled the bolts for the oil-filter cover? It's a 6 mm bolt, and doesn't look too difficult.
Thanks,
Brian
Quote from: Brian Moffet on January 03, 2009, 02:17:44 PM
The plenum would certainly be hotter. Mine is at the very end of the exhaust, and is pretty much cosmetic only. But, since my exhaust is 1983 stock, I don't want to go hunting down another one :o
Who's heli-coiled the bolts for the oil-filter cover? It's a 6 mm bolt, and doesn't look too difficult.
Thanks,
Brian
Brian,
The Heli-coil will work fine, just keep it straight as you can; use one of the good holes in the old filter as a tap guide. Just bolt in on with the other good hole and it will give you a reasonable alignment.
Personally; I would just run an 8mm tap in the stripped hole and drill the hole in the new cover for clearance. But, I'm not keeping an original 83 pristine and I have a questionable sense of aesthetics ;D
The pipe scars; those are beauty marks, badges of courage, similar to, in an earlier time, having fencing scars on your face. But... see above regarding my sensibilities.
$0.02
;)
Coil
J-B Weld will definately handle the heat. I've been using it for many years to extend the life of my factory '83 exhaust system. You might be able to shape your patch to match the exhaust tips' curvature and then use hi temp gloss black paint to hide the repair.
I have a 6 mm helicoil kit , there indispensable . Aside from the oil filter they are useful on the stator cover area too. Coils description is accurate, so I won't elaborate.
Quote from: Night Vision on December 30, 2008, 09:23:42 PM
if you're not allergic to non-nos parts...... these work nicely....
may have to "tap" some paint out of the crannies, but you can't beat the price... and they came cross country in like two days
These look really good, and while I haven't put them on yet, they look like they'll work very nicely. Great shipping as well.
Brian
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Yamaha-XZ550-550-Vision-XZ550R-Black-Lever-Set-NEW_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a543Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3911Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem270324312932QQitemZ270324312932QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessoriesrian
The fairing came off today. The only bracket that bent was the one that held the right lower fairing on. It bent back with no problems. The fairing needs quite a bit of work either with surface scratches on the right side or where the fiberglass cracked. A little epoxy and fiberglass tape should work fine for that.
The clutch and brake lever need cleaning up before they will work easily, the clutch lever drags a little and the brake lever needs to have the threads cleaned out and the spring hole enlarged a little bit.
Brian
like I said....
"you may have to "tap" some paint out of the crannies"
I forgot about the spring well.... sorry....
"but you can't beat the price"
You're right, you did mention it. :)
It should be no problem, and should work fine.
Brian
The new oil filter cover has been installed, including perma-coil on a stripped hole. While scary, it went fairly well. There was a point where the bolt stopped sooner than I expected, but applying a little pressure got it into the hole deeply enough. That's the one part where I was not willing to even consider starting the bike until it was fixed. (Thanks Coil)
The rest of the parts (major ones at least) are here and as soon as I pick up the parts to do the fiberglass work will go back on the bike.
I'm healing fine, I'll have a little scar on my knee, and I keep a lot of room between me and the car/stoplight during wet weather, but that's doable.. :-)
Brian
:) Damn Brian, we are a fine pair, eh!!!
Good to know that you are on the mend...a war wound scar is always good for a grand kids story or two :o :D :D :D :D :D
We will both be back up and running sooner, rather than later my friend... 8)
8).......TIGER....... 8)
Quote from: Tiger on January 25, 2009, 08:36:13 PM
a war wound scar is always good for a grand kids story or two :o :D :D :D :D :D
The only problem now is that I have 4 major scars. One on each elbow, one on the right knee, and one over my left eye...
That's gotta be good for 3 stories at least! ;D
So, I've been thinking about replacing the reflectors on the fairing (behind the turn signal in the photo below) with lights. Anyone look into this? I've got power to the fairing, so that electrical shouldn't be a problem. (I'm missing the right side one now, the reflector part was scrapped off.)
Thoughts?
Brian
(http://www.pbase.com/moffetb/image/94197716/large.jpg)
http://cgi.ebay.ca/LED-MARKER-LIGHT-BLACK-BASE-CLEAR-LENS-RED-LEDs_W0QQitemZ130261583732QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotorcycles_Parts_Accessories?hash=item130261583732&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14
The above are a little narrower and a little shorter in length.
Quote from: Brian Moffet on February 02, 2009, 01:54:16 PM
So, I've been thinking about replacing the reflectors on the fairing... (I'm missing the right side one now, the reflector part was scrapped off.) Brian
:) I have one spare...send me your address Brian 8) unless you wanna go with light ::) :D :D :D :D :D :D
8).......TIGER....... 8)
So, I put in new oil, put it on prime, and coaxed it to life. It took much longer to start than it usually did, but it has been sitting for a while. But it did start, and ran fine as I let it idle. Once it got warmed up, it handled the throttle fine. To test the rear brake light (the front lever is off) I pushed down on the rear brake lever with my foot and heard a "tink".
I looked down and saw the foot press for the rear brake lever sitting on the floor.
Apparently, it also hit the ground and I can now see a little scraping on it. I guess when it hit, it fractured the area just under the weld.
Anyone have a spare I can purchase off of you?
Thanks,
Brian
Brian is yours a '83 or a '82 with fairing? I have one for a '82.
1983. Night Vision has offered one, thanks. But I now have a front brake lever on, brand new and all of that :)
Brian
:) Hey Brian, how are the repairs going with you
and your Vision... ???
8).......TIGER....... 8)
Unfortunately, slowly. I've been exhausted after work, and away during the weekend. I hope to do quite a bit of work on it this weekend. It's in a running state now, and I just need to put misc pieces back on after repairing the fiberglass. The upper fairing is scrapped along the right edge, I need to replace some of the nylon bolts holding the windscreen on. The lowers are cracked and need much more work.
I'll wait on the tank until later in the year. Wife's temporary job went away, but came back after a little while. Now the renters in the house we own in Santa Cruz have moved out, so we're not bringing in that income until we get new renters... But other than the tank, the rest I can pretty much handle.
Brian
:) Brian, as "The Mistress" fell on her left side and shattered the left side lower (among other things!!) and I have now installed another full fairing, lowers and all, I have a perfectly good right side lower with a working vent system. However, it is in Pearl Orange finish and would need painting...Make me an offer via PM or email, if your interested ;)
8).......TIGER....... 8)
:) Right side fairing lower now on its way to a warmer climate, from the "Frozen North" :o :D :D :D :D
8).......TIGER....... 8)
Today was fiberglass day. I put on the rear brake lever from Night Vision, and started the bike. It took a little while, but within a minute was purring happily. I let it warm up and then to check things out I took her down the street (about 1/4 mile or so) and back up. Everything was running great, though there was more wind since I was riding it without a fairing... I took special care because I didn't have turn signals either.
Then, came home cleaned up the oil on the garage floor and opened the Bondo fiberglass repair kit. I was expecting a different type of glass cloth, a woven kind like you would use in making airplanes. The nice thing about that is that you can align the strands with the needed strength. Instead this cloth was a mat of sorts. It will do though. I poured out 2 ounces of epoxy, some 24 drops of hardener and mixed them thoroughly. I saturated the two pieces of glass mat I cut, one for the upper fairing and one for the lower side. I have Tiger's lower which I may end up using, depends on how it all turns out. I don't have a lot of hope for my lower side, but since I was playing with epoxy anyway...
They're downstairs curing now. I'll take a look at them in a couple of hours. I still need to repair the rear exhaust scrape, and I'll try doing that with liquid metal epoxy.
And yes, all of the above epoxy work was done with latex gloves on. I don't have any desire to get an allergic reaction to the stuff..
I imagine after this I'll have to paint it....
Brian
Today, after spending a lot of time (not today, just over the last few months) I put the fairing back on, the turn signals, and all of the miscellaneous parts that go into the fairing. Unfortunately, I am missing one bolt, the one that goes on the fairing right below the heater vent with the very large flat screw head. I have another one on there now, but it doesn't look very good. The fairing has been patched, filled with epoxy/micro-balloon filler, but not painted yet. The tank is still dented of course. Thanks to all who helped, I really appreciate it.
Clicking on the photos will get you to larger versions.
Brian
(http://www.pbase.com/moffetb/image/111508232/medium.jpg) (http://www.pbase.com/moffetb/image/111508232)
Filled in and smoothed out the lower fairing.
|
(http://www.pbase.com/moffetb/image/111508230/medium.jpg) (http://www.pbase.com/moffetb/image/111508230)
Same with the upper fairing.
|
(http://www.pbase.com/moffetb/image/111508229/medium.jpg) (http://www.pbase.com/moffetb/image/111508229/)
The tank is still dented.
|
(http://www.pbase.com/moffetb/image/111508227/medium.jpg) (http://www.pbase.com/moffetb/image/111508227)
The new mirrors look nice.
|
Oh yes, as to whether and how well it runs. It runs great. Started right up, and ran very smoothly.
I look forward to riding it again, though I'll have to wait to get it painted. My car was broken in to, they broke out the passenger window and swiped my stereo. I have insurance, but the premium is still going to hurt a little.
Brian
being robbed must suck
Good work, Bro!
Quote from: Night Vision on April 19, 2009, 07:24:12 PM
being robbed must suck
I don't recommend it. Although it is sucky, I'm taking it in stride. The insurance will pay to have the door fixed (they tried to pry the door handle off, it's a flat insert type of door handle, when that didn't work the shattered the window). I'll put the original stereo back in it rather than an after-market unit. I plan on selling the RX-7 later this year, it just doesn't make sense in San Francisco. Like the Vision, I am the only owner of it...
Brian
And, 75 degrees out this morning, sunny, great day to ride into work...
Brian
Hey Brian and all,
I dumped my bike a few years back too... :-[
I used this ding king thing to get a baseball sized dent out of my bike.
http://www.asseenontvguys.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=49&HS=1&gclid=CLK1kuD__5kCFRBbagodswmmFA (http://www.asseenontvguys.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=49&HS=1&gclid=CLK1kuD__5kCFRBbagodswmmFA)
It works great!!! I had pushed my signal dead into the tank. On the commercial they take a Ferrari or something with a big dent in the side and bang "It's Just Like new!!"
It took me four hours and a about four feet of the glue to get it out but it looks great now!
Check it out. 8)
PLUS it's endorsed by Billy May... ding king indeed!
dry ice is supposed to work too.. I saw one on the web with a large det in thin body panel of a car,, they heated t up with a blow drier,, turned an "air duster" upside down and squirted the dent,, few seconds and BAM popped out on its own.. I tried that with a gas tank,, didnt work,, too thick,,
I think dry ice wouldn't work, the steel in the tank is really heavy.
I've been riding it to work all week, and one of the things I've been doing is looking at how I ride and how that may have contributed to the accident. I noticed that I ride without using my rear brake. The twin-line galfers really help braking, but there's a point where the front wheel will lock up and I was still not getting all braking capability out of thee bike.
So, I'm relearning to use the rear brake.
By the way, there was an interesting little thing in AMA about measuring braking on bikes, and how the people who can stop the fastest actually modulate the front brake a little.
Brian
I have heard many a biker say, "rear brakes are useless on a motorcycle"!! :o
Don't you believe it!!!
Human beings can be as good as anti-lock brakes in panic situations... The trick is to stay calm and in control! Never stop trying to get out of trouble!
I have been modulating the brakes forever... I remember when anti-lock brakes started to become prevalent in autos, I thought, "what a good idea... who needs a machine to do that? Besides flashing the brake light couldn't hurt! 8)
Also, braking is the only way to load and unload your suspension front to back. I am way too lazy to explain what i mean by that - for those who don't know what I mean there are plenty of courses and books on the subject.