43000+ miles until it fell

[Brian Moffet]

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

[vadasz1]

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.  ;)

[h2olawyer]

Sorry to hear of your incident.  Hope your knee heals fast!

Those Italian tires will get you every time.  (Baldinis)

H₂O

[Brian Moffet]

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. 

[Rick G]

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!!!

[Coil Coyle]

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

[ps2/bikevision]

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.

[Brian Moffet]

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

[Cdnlouie]

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

 

[supervision]

 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. 

[Brian Moffet]

You can see the larger images here

[Rick G]

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.

[Brian Moffet]

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

[Cdnlouie]

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. 
 

[h2olawyer]

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

[Brian Moffet]

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

[Night Vision]

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

[Coil Coyle]

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

[Brian Moffet]

Thanks for the link NightVision, and I'll paypal as you requested Coil, I appreciate it.  (Is that what I did wrong???  ;D )

Brian

[Cdnlouie]

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  ;).