Im so sick I could puke! YJ damaged bad. (Great News today)

Started by YellowJacket!, July 21, 2008, 08:13:49 PM

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Lucky

Quote from: h2olawyer on July 22, 2008, 02:18:43 PM
I wonder if those 12x12 concrete pavers would work in place of your carbon fiber pad?  That may give you enough surface area to keep from sinking in to the ground & still use your side stand.  It may take 2 of them stacked if they tend to sink, but it could be an inexpensive option.
H2O

there is a problem with this idea:
if the side stand is on a paver, & the tires sink into the mud, the right side will end up on the ground.

likely the only proper solution would be to pave, actually concrete, an area with marked stalls.  included in this plan would have to be proper drainage, & if this road is well off the beaten path, that's going to be a costly option...  plus, you'd be out in the rain again unless your proposal includes awnings.

on a positive note, I have 2 spare t/s for dave that came off Cafe.  i was saving them for spares if (when) i dropped one of them again, but if i do, & i need one, i know you guys will be there.

i also have 2 good looking tank emblems, as well as a set of gloves for him i bought that were too small (never worn)

--Lucky
1982/3 XZ550 Touring Vison, Gold on Black

YellowJacket!

#21
Quote from: Brian Moffet on July 22, 2008, 05:07:45 PM
When it's in soft gravel?  Probably not very...  Other than that, a wind of around 120 or so will probably  *lift* the bike and hover it...  I think I read someplace that the terminal velocity of most motorcycles is around 120...

Brian

From the way the center stand marks were where the bike first stood (before the nurses tried to pick it up) it had sunk down to the level of the tires - 2 to 3" maybe.    Even the dogleg on the left part of the stand had sunk down. The vector of the wind was west to east and the right side peg on the centerstand dug out a hole so it looks like a combination of the high wind and muck that my bike was on.
Lucky - for reference, it is much finer gravel than the lot at ace.  Looks like a mix of beach sand, granit dust and some rocks.  When its wet, it has the consistency of soft concrete.  I should probably add in the cost of my $80.00 Merrils in my complaint to the hospital but I'm not gonna push it.  :o

David


Living the dream - I am now a Physician Assistant!!   :-)

Brian Moffet

Just as a side note, when I was living in Santa Cruz, the heavy storms we got would get winds blowing upward of 40 mph.  Here in San Francisco, 20 mph is regularly seen, and I wouldn't be surprised to see 40+ mph winds during a storm.  I remember one gusting to 70 a couple of winters ago, and in Jan this year we saw gusts of 80 mph at Pillar Point.

What I actually suspect happened to you is the bike sunk, and then got pushed over initially by the wind. 

Brian

Night Vision

if it ain't worth doing it the hard way....
it ain't worth doing it at all - Man Law
;D


if it ain't broke..... take it apart and find out why


don't give up.... don't ever give up - Jimmy Valvano

zore

I just had my driveway repaved and use a 2' by 6" piece of ply wood under my bikes at all times due to the soft tar.  I feel your pain and it's one of the reasons i paved my driveway.  I came out one night after a rain and saw the bike laying on it's side but I lucked out.  No damage.

I'm sporting 4 of these on my vision.  It updates the look just enough with out looking to modern.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ducati-996-Rear-Turn-Signals_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35621QQihZ016QQitemZ260265286895QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
1982 Yamaha XZ550
1995 Ducati M900

zore

I had been thinking about this thread and i felt i'd add some more.  A few years back, I'd bought a brand spanking new set of keihen fcr41 carbs for my monster.  They were probably in the neighborhood of 700 bucks or so.  I'd just installed them with a new set of pod filters and decided to go for a test run.  I went about 10 miles when I came up to a construction sign.  Not really seeing any danger there, I turned and gave it some gas.  What else would you do with a new set of carbs but give them some gas?

So now I'm doing probably 40mph in a very short distance when I notice some road work that doesn't look quiet as finished as it should be.  Seems they buried a pipe but didn't feel it necessary to cover it completely with pavement.  I hit pretty hard and felt the rear wheel bottom against something.  I tooled down the road another mile thinking about how bad that sucked.  I hit the rear brake pedal and it just fell clean off.  I stopped at the stop sign and had a look and noticed some oil on my boot.  The rest is history.


http://www.scrunchkin.com/iu/Motorcycles/Monster/Broken1.jpg
This is just blatant carb porn.


The moral of the story is.  It's broken, you will fix it, and it will be better and look better than before even if it costs you a poop load of money.   ;D  It's just the nature of how these things work sometimes. 

PS..

It best look pretty by the time i make it down there in May.

1982 Yamaha XZ550
1995 Ducati M900

Rick G

I feel your pain!  I haven't mentioned this yet, but about a month ago , I arrived at my gate after dark , the stupid motion sensor didn't see me and left me fumbling in the dark to get the gate open. I only opened the right gate,  as that is usually room enough to ride in. My left arm clipped the gate latch and not only ripped my forarm open through my jacket , but pulled my hand off the  grip, liberating the clutch. When  the bike lurched forward it  jerked me backward and my right hand advanced the throttle . Kathleen headed straight for  the Blazer!!  I have a policy when my bike does some stupid like trying to center punch my own car , I bail out . Rather than  hit the car I threw the bike on the ground. New paint and all!
It cost me a left turn signal, a clutch lever and gouged up the fairing and the lower on that side .
I said many foul words!
This almost compares to my dropping my bike , in front of several Visionaries , while fumbling with my new helmet, at the CAROV '05 fall ride. I said several foul words then too!
I have the same ,(soft ground ) problem here , when calichie gets soaked it turns to slop and bike stands sink into it . I have several 8" x 14" pavers set in the ground as well as some cedar fence remnants to put under stands . I suggest you pick one up and bury the thing where you park at work.  Put you side stand on it and you bike will stay up ,until the water goes over the handle bars , then all bets are off.!!
Rick G
Go soothingly on the grease mud, as there in lurks the skid demon
'82.5 Yamaha XZ550 RJ  Vision,
'90 Suzuki VX800, 1990 Suzuki DR350.
'74  XL350   Honda , 77 XL350 Honda, 78 XL350 Honda, '82 XT 200 Yamaha, '67 Yamaha YG1TK, 80cc trail bike

inanecathode

I dropped the 83 taking it out of storage this spring. I leaned it a bit too much and it just kinda went went went and fell over into the side of the cut of snow i was bringing it out of :)
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If you can't tell your friend to kiss your ass then they aren't a true friend.
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Aelwulf

Glad it's not as bad as ya thought, I'm sure YJ'll be up & goin' before ya know it. :)

I had mine do another 'set-down', at the dealership of all places. :p Part of it this time is I'm used to the Meanie leaning more and having twice the footprint on the stand.  The other part of it is I still suck sometimes at really slow, tight turns in parking lots (especially to my right).  Just like the one other time I caught it so it didn't clatter over but coudn't keep from setting it down.  Makes me glad it's got a while before it gets painted.  That and no one was out back just then.

Ah, such fun to be out riding...
*thunk*
What was that?!

'82 Yamaha Vision XZ550RJ
'07 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Mean Streak Special Edition (VN1600B)

GT @ oh.

F*&@! :'(.....hate hearing that......I know how it feels.... like when mine fell over while trailering it....I'm gonna be afraid to put the newly painted body parts on while riding (if I ever get them back).

Tiffanator

Hey Dave, really sorry to hear about the bike. Good that it isn't as bad as you initially thought, bad that it happened at all. I've been wanting to get my Z painted, but am hesitant cause I'm already nervous enough doing slow maneuvers with it now and it has been laid down once... don't want to think of how nervous I'll be with nice fresh paint.
Hopefully you guys can come together and find a solution to the parking lot. When I read what happened I was thinking, yeah, a 4X8 sheet of 3/4" plywood would suddenly appear in my parking space. Yes, it would look a bit trashy, but if they want a nice clean looking parking lot they need to pave and stripe it.  :D

Tiff.
Tiffanator
First time restorer

YellowJacket!

Hi Tiff good to hear form ya again!

Got a little good news today.  I spoke with my employers risk management department and she got in contact withthe administrator.  They are going to discuss paying for any damage that is less than my deductible. ($500.00)  So, that covers the windscreen and repairing and painting th e fairing, which is good.  Vicki and I got in a big fight last night over me spending any money on my bike.  The sad part, is that I don't want to spend anything because that essentially wipes out all the money I saved on gas.
I also spoke with several of the other bikers at work today and of course, bikers being the wonderful group of people that we are, are behind me 100%.
The irony about the lot is that they do tru to paint lines on it.  Once a month they close the lot on the weekend and dump a few trucloads of gravel then run a steamroller over it to pack it down and fill in the holes.  Once that is done, they paint new lines on it....yup, you heard it....lines on gravel.  They usually last about a week or until the first rain.
The lot is also very large.  Holds over 1000 cars and is about the size of three football fields.  The awning I park under, which is for keeping people who are waiting on one fo the three shuttle busses in the rain dry.  The busses run 24/5 about every 10 minutes.  So if you miss one, you are late.  Its sad, because the hospital is literally dumping tons of money in teh lot to keep the gravel suitable beause the landowner won't let them pave it.  Doesn't make sense.
Also spoke with my insurance agent who said the hospital *could* be held liable for the damages.  He said he would have to look into it.  Also sending an adjuster out to look at the bike.

David


Living the dream - I am now a Physician Assistant!!   :-)

YellowJacket!

Well, just spoke with the insurance adjuster.  NADA for a 1982 Vision in "excellent" condition is $1400.00.  Mine is considered "Very Good" and comes in between $900.00 and $1000.00.  My deductable is $500.00.  Damage estimate is of course high at $400.00, but 100.00 below my deductable.
Breakdown of cost:
Windscreen: 117.95
Finish and repaint fairing: 200.00
Incidental - (Buff and repair paint on tank $75.00)

I'm going to wait and see what my employer will cover which hopefully will be to replace the windscreen and redo the fairing.  I just don't have the time or money to do it myself right now.

The funny part was that he kept the estimate low so the bike wouldn't be "totaled"!!  :o  :o  :o

David


Living the dream - I am now a Physician Assistant!!   :-)

YellowJacket!

OK, things are looking a little better.  I took the fairing off yesterday and no cracks.  It was a long gouge from a stone that looked like a crack.  The windscreen will still need to be replaced and I'm waiting to hear back from Leif Gustafsson from bikescreen.com as to if he will cut me a deal.
Lucky is coming over today with a new turn signal for me and I have to bend the rear bracket back into place.
I also have to figure out how to pry the crash bar back out about a 1/2 inch.
I gently coaxed the emblem back in place with a little heat and a smidge of glue and buffed it out.  Also buffed the smudges out of the tank.
Gonna have to take the MAC's off at some point.  They needed repainting anyway.

I finally got to talk to the two girls who picked her up out of the mud.  They are both about 5'2" and I asked them how they managed to lift it.  The smiled and said "we lift fat ass patients all day....it was nothing"

Lastly, I'm waiting to hear from the hospitals insurance company about payment.  Main thing is to get the windscreen replaced and the fairing repainted.  YJ! just looks like a naked standard without it.  Looks kind of pitiful actually.  Now more of a YellowBike! than a YellowJacket!.

David


Living the dream - I am now a Physician Assistant!!   :-)

YellowJacket!

Lucky came over today and we got YJ back in shape and more.  We adjusted my carbs a bit and found an exhaust leak.  Replaced the broken turn signal and straightened out the signal tabs.  I also buffed the rest of the scuffs out of the tank.

YJ looks like a standard now without the fairing but at least shes rideable again.  Gonna finish the MAC's up and repaint them.  I have to get the second baffel out which is pretty stuck in there.

David


Living the dream - I am now a Physician Assistant!!   :-)

Aelwulf

Cool beans, good job gettin' 'er up & goin' again already. :)

Ah, such fun to be out riding...
*thunk*
What was that?!

'82 Yamaha Vision XZ550RJ
'07 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Mean Streak Special Edition (VN1600B)

pumps

I think I would go with the "bring some concrete stepping stones and make a solid  ;)motorcycle parking area myself" method.
In Kansas City,MO

abogado68

I have an extra pair of turn signals and I think brake and clutch levers I will recieve by next Monday, I will be more than happy to give them to you if you send me your mail info. I will ship them out of Mexico, no problem at all.

YellowJacket!

Disappointing news today.  The hospitals insurance will not pay for the damage to the bike.  They say the parking lot is not their responsibility....even though it is mandatry that I park there and will be towed if I park anywhere else.  I made an appeal to administration to pay out of the hospitals funds.  I think its a small price to pay for someone who has worked for them for 21 years!
Backup plan is rallying the 50 or so other bikers that work for the system.  The hospital does two BIG fundraisers a year that kick off with bike rides.  I'd hate for no one to show up for the next one.  :o  :(
Backup plan #2 is to have the other bikers join together and approach administration about a viable solution for the problem, seeing as I have it documentied in an email from risk management...they know a problem exists.
Then of course, my own insurance company can subjugate or I can contact an attorney.
As for parts, I'm set and thanks for all the generous offers.  The main thing I want fixed is my fairing and windscreen and thats what I'm asking the hospital for.

David


Living the dream - I am now a Physician Assistant!!   :-)

Brian Moffet

Quote from: YellowJacket! on July 31, 2008, 02:44:14 PM
Then of course, my own insurance company can subjugate

Let your insurance company deal with this.  The whole thing of insurance, as I have come to believe it, is that you are paying for a bunch of attorneys to be on your side to get the money you deserve.  Yeah, if it's your fault they'll pay you.  But if it's not your fault, they make sure you get paid, even if only acting as a proxy.

I don't even consider hiring my own attorney for a case like this, I let the insurance company deal with it.  By reporting to the insurance, you have gotten your part done.  My insurance company even went so far as to get my deductible back when my last accident was not my fault.

Brian