1st stunt attempted... FAIL. Is this fixable?

[FizzySix]

I completely snapped my leg in half, tib/fib both snapped and my leg was bent at a right angle. I couldn't walk for 4 months and I still have a hard time climbing up stairs now and then and my leg gives out on me. I have a titanium rod from my knee to my ankle with 6 pins.

Holy crap dude...you still ride? I know you can get injuries like this riding a scooter, but still...

How do other countries where 2-wheel vehicles are very popular get along with this anyway? Are the speeds slower and accidents less severe with fewer interstates, or less frequent due to awareness...? As someone who has traveled a bit, these things perplex me....

 

[knightrider]

I had Motovation frame sliders.

Yamaha FZ6 600 Fazer Frame Sliders 04+

Me too. And the same thing happened. I say frame sliders are a danger to your bike in any real crash. They end up totally the bike, destroying the frame. That's what happened to me. Was a big bummer.

Sliders might be good for a driveway tip-over but other than that, not so much. I'm personally done buying frame sliders.

 

[Extremity]

Holy crap dude...you still ride? I know you can get injuries like this riding a scooter, but still...

I'm 22 so my parents still have a pretty strong influence in what I do (they help pay bills and stuff) and they were determined to not have me ride again, reasonably so, but I was determined to. About a month after I was comfortable walking again I picked it up from my Uncle who had gotten it fixed for me and started nervously riding around again. That was about 5 months ago and while thinking back to the accident is scary, I still love getting on my bike as much as I did day one.

 

[Kazza]

Included bonus awesome xray pics of my leg! This is after they straightened it, I have other pics that are waaaaay worse.

Please don't post them

Glad you're recovering well now :thumbup:

 

[fureinku]

Sliders might be good for a driveway tip-over but other than that, not so much. I'm personally done buying frame sliders.

ugh these post bug me

thats exactly what frame sliders are for, they arent designed for high speed wheelie crashes, anyone who thinks so is misled

heres the deal, have frame sliders, drop the bike at low speed, frame is fine, bike is fine, crash at high speed, frame is toast

no frame sliders, drop the bike at low speed, frame takes damage, tank takes damage, engine cover takes damage, crash at high speed, frame is toast

ive never thought for once frame sliders would keep my bike in one piece if i wrecked it, yet, i have them.... my bike tipped over in the garage, not a scratch.... ill keep my sliders on

 

[Extremity]

ugh these post bug me
thats exactly what frame sliders are for, they arent designed for high speed wheelie crashes, anyone who thinks so is misled

This. Not getting them because you think they're going to increase damage during a harsh wreck seems foolish to me. If you're dumping hard enough to the point where these literally rip a piece of your frame off, you were probably going to have considerable damage with or without them. To me there are two situations:

A) Frame sliders
-Protection from low impact, low speed mistakes/drops/whatever.
-Possible damage from significant incidents

B) No frame sliders
-No protection from low impact, low speed mistakes/drops/whatever
-Possible damage from significant incidents

Unless I'm missing something, I'd much rather go with A. I've seen no evidence to suggest that the sliders will actually contribute to and increase damage to my bike in anything less than a crash that would cause substantial damage regardless.

 

[Cmayer31]

Wow, I haven't seen that damage from frame sliders before.

Now I'm totally split as I have the motivation sliders on my bike.

1. IMO, most insurance companies will seriously consider writing off any bike with frame damage; including scratches/gouges.

2. I've had friends that ride track have their frames completely saved by sliders.

3. My coworker had his frame saved by sliders on a lowside as well.

So, if my frame is going to take damage one way or another and risk it being salvaged by the insurance co, is it worth it to have the slider on? From the looks of it a slider works on low speed drops and slides, but not when it impacts something at speed. I'd think a slider catching on anything would result in the damage pictured. It's not mean to withstand a tearing motion, just a sliding motion.

 

[Wavex]

ugh these post bug me

thats exactly what frame sliders are for, they arent designed for high speed wheelie crashes, anyone who thinks so is misled

heres the deal, have frame sliders, drop the bike at low speed, frame is fine, bike is fine, crash at high speed, frame is toast

no frame sliders, drop the bike at low speed, frame takes damage, tank takes damage, engine cover takes damage, crash at high speed, frame is toast

ive never thought for once frame sliders would keep my bike in one piece if i wrecked it, yet, i have them.... my bike tipped over in the garage, not a scratch.... ill keep my sliders on

+1 If your crash is bad enough that it snapped the frame sliders off of your bike, your bike most likely would have been toast anyway. Saying the sliders are the problem is missing the point imo.

+1 on Motovation.... they saved my FZ in my 2nd crash.

FWIW, Buell has the best frame sliders around (and god knows I need them lol) No risk of snapping anything...

 

[dcdruck]

A few updates...

For those curious posters, the frame slider manufacturer was Street Bikes Unlimited, who, from what I'm reading, make cheap (inexpensive and cheap quality) frame sliders. As I previously stated, the only reason I even have them is that the previous owner included them in the sale and I didn't know any better. Next time I'll think twice.

Contrary to what I was expecting, the insurance company is going to cover my bike in full which works out for me.

I found my next bike; a 2006 FZ1S in Shift Red. Normally I'm not too fond of red, but for some reason I'm liking this red. Bike looks sweet. Hopefully picking it up this week!

And definitely will NOT be wheelie-ing for a loonnnnnng time. At least not on my own bike. Maybe I'll practice on my friend's CBR 600 F4i. He crashed a while back and has just been using the bike for fun ever since.

 

[Hellgate]

Yeah well FZ1s wheelie by themselves. Just pin it above 7,500.

 

[dcdruck]

Yeah, I'll have to respect the additional power for sure. I decided that I like the side exhaust and the two-piece seat of the FZ1 more than the FZ6 counterparts. I love both bikes though, and the added power should be pretty cool too.

 

[deeptekkie]

@Fred: Yeah tearing the bike down won't be fun, but if it salvages my bike without costing me an arm and a leg than I don't mind. I haven't searched yet, but is there a decent tear-down guide available here or elsewhere online or should I just get the factory repair manual?

@YamahaMAXdRPMs: Thanks for the link. That's something I'll consider. I freaked out at first because I checked the price of the frame new from a dealer and it was something in the neighborhood of $1,200+.

@maverick1970: I think I agree with you that the frame sliders were the reason the frame broke there. However, I do also think the sliders saved other parts of the bike from enduring any more or any damage at all. Of course the only way to be sure would be to crash it again without the sliders, but that's one experiment I'm not planning to do.

If I'm going to try to get someone to weld it back up, what type of place should I look for? Just a place that specializes in welding aluminum or should I look for a place that specializes in welding motorcycle frames? I'm not sure how I'd go about finding a place like that, but I guess I'll start looking around...

Dave

JMO:
Most aluminum can be welded, (except for cast aluminum. It can be welded but you do not have much after you weld it). The thing about welding aluminum is that it gets EXTREMELY HOT and retains this heat longer than metal. (Make allowances for plastic, rubber, gasoline, oil, brake fluid, and electrical around this area) It also uses high frequency, (unless you stick weld it which I do not recommend), so it may be a good idea to unhook the battery before you do any welding. (DO NOT clamp a ground clamp to a fork, rim or axle or you will ruin your wheel bearings) The other thing is aluminum is dirty! I do not care how shiny it looks aluminum is dirty. The cleaner you can get it the better the weld will be. If you do this be careful, good luck, and let us know what happens.

 

[Geoff]

I haven't read every exact post on this thread yet, but however you do go about replacing it or welding it, its going to be a total BUMMER. Every thing will have to come off it seems like because it all connects to the frame. Its like taking it all apart for 3-5 inch break. At least you will know how your bike will totally dissemble now, in-case you haven't yet. I have always thought about trying a stunt, but not on my current bike. If I ever get my hands on a second "Toy" bike I might give it a whack. You got balls +1 for that!

 

[thieu]

Hi dcdruck
I do welding full time as a profession - i specialize in precision TIG work with odd/difficult alloys. Even have my cert and have done work for internal nuclear reactor parts. welding zirconium is really cool!!

Can your frame be welded? Yes 100% it can, will it be as good as new? 100% it will not be - not even close. To do the work will require a complete teardown as the entire area around the weld will need to be preheated - this is after extensive cleaning of the area to be welded. A fixture would need the be made so the mounting point will be in the proper place when the work is done - and ideally this fixture will hold the arm with enough offset to compensate for the cooling contraction of the aluminum. Also to avoid cracking and stress in the weld area the proper filler material will need to be sourced - which means knowing the alloy yamaha used in the frame. Then there is the density difference between the weld and the cast frame - even with yamaha's "control fill" casting tech the difference is substantial and will provide a point from stresses to focus. In short i would not even do it, and i like my job and i am damn good at it.

Oh and you still need to have the frame powder coated again.

the used frame is a much better option - and could be cheaper then the weld and powdercoat- unless you have some hack work at it for 30 min instead of the proper 2 - 3 hours to really do the job "right" - as least as right as it could be.

 

[DefyInertia]

I have good frame sliders that have saved my bike in several different scenarios. They also double as leg rests They can help, and they can cause problems...it just depends. But if you loop your bike pulling a wheelie, it's going to take a beating either way.

If I were the OP, I'd just get a new bike.

 

[Evitzee]

But if you loop your bike pulling a wheelie, it's going to take a beating either way.

If I were the OP, I'd just get a new bike.

Exactly right. You have to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. Unless the owner has infinite time and patience, and access to the proper people, jigs and tools to do this job it is time to just move on. You have learned your lesson to not do dumb things on the street that is over your skill level. Salvage what you can and get a new machine. Just my opinion.

 

[dcdruck]

Hi dcdruck
I do welding full time as a profession - i specialize in precision TIG work with odd/difficult alloys. Even have my cert and have done work for internal nuclear reactor parts. welding zirconium is really cool!!

Can your frame be welded? Yes 100% it can, will it be as good as new? 100% it will not be - not even close. To do the work will require a complete teardown as the entire area around the weld will need to be preheated - this is after extensive cleaning of the area to be welded. A fixture would need the be made so the mounting point will be in the proper place when the work is done - and ideally this fixture will hold the arm with enough offset to compensate for the cooling contraction of the aluminum. Also to avoid cracking and stress in the weld area the proper filler material will need to be sourced - which means knowing the alloy yamaha used in the frame. Then there is the density difference between the weld and the cast frame - even with yamaha's "control fill" casting tech the difference is substantial and will provide a point from stresses to focus. In short i would not even do it, and i like my job and i am damn good at it.

Oh and you still need to have the frame powder coated again.

the used frame is a much better option - and could be cheaper then the weld and powdercoat- unless you have some hack work at it for 30 min instead of the proper 2 - 3 hours to really do the job "right" - as least as right as it could be.

Thanks for the info, but insurance is totalling the bike and giving me the value of it. If I were going to fix it I would've replaced the frame with a used one. Instead, the insurance company is taking it and I'm picking up an FZ1 tomorrow if the weather permits, which at this point it looks like it should.

 

[dcdruck]

Going a little off-topic now, but the new bike I'm buying is an '06 leftover. No miles. My concern is with the assembly lube mainly. How long is that stuff supposed to be good for? I'm going to ask the dealer to give it a fresh oil change before starting it up at least, but there's nothing they can do about the assembly lube, so I was just wondering if you think it'll be an issue or am I worrying too much over nothing?

 

[thieu]

Thanks for the info, but insurance is totalling the bike and giving me the value of it. If I were going to fix it I would've replaced the frame with a used one. Instead, the insurance company is taking it and I'm picking up an FZ1 tomorrow if the weather permits, which at this point it looks like it should.

Sweet! all the best!

 

[mattcox1987]

had no sliders on mine just ended up wit deep scratches in frame