First Wreck and First Time Figuring It All Out (Pics Included)

[RuskiMotorcycle]

Hey All,

Busted FZ6 by Bob Robert | Photobucket Let me know if this album doesn't come up!

I posted a thread or two about this a few weeks ago, and I'm completely new to forums, so please let me know if it's inconsiderate to just start new threads.

The issue with the last thread was that I didn't have picture or hadn't talked to the mechanic at that point. Well, a few weeks later and I have an album for y'all and a conversation with the mechanic.

At this point, lots of cosmetic damage which will results in a naked FZ6. I wanna take on most of the work/ordering myself, so I would really love some suggestions in terms of resources and the like!

Things that need to be fixed
-Right fork is bent
-Fairings
-Right kill switched, brake lever, and overall bar (right side is bent)
-Some cosmetics, though I'll probably buff out/cut off the plastics.
-Right foot peg and the plate it rests on (it's cracked in half)
-Probably some more stuff!

The big thing right now is that front fork, with the bent right side. Mechanic is quoting me ~$700, which seems like a lot of money. Does anyone have a good suggestion for this part? Should I leave it for the professionals, or can I tackle it? If I wanted the bike lowered slightly, should I just get a new, shorter fork?

In case y'all were curious how on how I went down, here's how it happened-68yo man is jaywalking across a 5-lane road, in front of me while I'm leaning through a curve. He gets the classic "squirrel syndrome", stutters, and sprints across. I straighten out, hit the breaks, and meet the curb and the pavement. Might have been able to prevent it, definitely looking into advanced courses once I'm back up. Full gear, except jeans instead of armored pants, wasn't going too fast. Have insurance but I was in between switching them from one bike to the other, so no comprehensive. It's all up to me

I'm very interested in hearing thoughts on turning it into a naked bike, how to interact with the mechanic, and what's the best way to go about rebuilding it!

Thanks Everyone!
-Denis:rockon:

 

[Chaotic29]

Really stinks it happened, but if might be easier to buy a parts bike and swap stuff over.
You could do a naked conversion, and the r6 fork swap.

Glad you are ok.
Good luck!

 

[beatle]

If he wants $700 just to replace the fork, he's taking you for a ride. Replacing the forks is a pretty simple affair you can do with basic tools. That said, I would get an opinion on the frame since it has some significant scratches in it. That may total the bike right from the get-go.

 

[RuskiMotorcycle]

Really stinks it happened, but if might be easier to buy a parts bike and swap stuff over.
You could do a naked conversion, and the r6 fork swap.

Glad you are ok.
Good luck!

Thanks for the advice Chaotic! Is there any benefit to doing an r6 fork swap, or is it just a compatible type of work? Would I have to look for a specific r6 year fork to make it work?

I think going naked is my only solution at this point, aside from scarping it completely.

 

[RuskiMotorcycle]

If he wants $700 just to replace the fork, he's taking you for a ride. Replacing the forks is a pretty simple affair you can do with basic tools. That said, I would get an opinion on the frame since it has some significant scratches in it. That may total the bike right from the get-go.

Hey Beatle,

I agree, the scratches to the frame definitely made me worried. However, I had some interesting insight from the mechanics when we were talking about it. Aside from the frame actually being cracked, the reason (he said) that frame damage usually means a totaled bike is because of the cost primarily of the LABOR to replace the frame. If your frame has taken damage, it usually means the rest of the bike has taken pretty good damage. When insurance is deciding to either pay the shop or just cut you the check and total the vehicle, it usually makes sense to total the bike because it would be so expensive to fix everything AND pay for all of the labor, including pulling the bike completely apart, changing the frame, and then putting it all back together.

In short-$2.5K check or $4K to rebuild a totally smashed up bike=bike totaled, not actually "unsafe" or demolished. Not sure if there's any merit to that, just passing it on.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

There are lots of bikes being parted out here.

Being your on a budget, I'd but one or two, stock, used forks here for under $100. Same with everything else.

Member "Scooter65" has one or two bikes he was selling out....

Check the for sale section, post in the WTB section,

It'd easily be 1/4 (especially you doing the labor) as most of what I see is cosmetic.

As noted above, you can drop the folks in a half hour going slow...

 

[beatle]

R6 forks are fully adjustable for preload, compression, and rebound. They work very well on the bike and are not terribly expensive. Since you have a 2007+ with the upgraded brakes you just need a straight set of forks, R6 axle, a kit of custom hardware, and a little time with a dremel to cut some small slots in your fender. It's a relatively simple job.

I'm in the process of returning my bike to stock, so I'll have a nice set of R6 forks and the mounting kit available soon. PM me if you're interested.

 

[Chaotic29]

Thanks for the advice Chaotic! Is there any benefit to doing an r6 fork swap, or is it just a compatible type of work? Would I have to look for a specific r6 year fork to make it work?

I think going naked is my only solution at this point, aside from scarping it completely.

I have not done the swap, but seems like a lot of people do the r6 fork swap. I do not know the years that work with the fz6 either.
I think going naked is going to be the cheapest option for you at this point. But epoxy worked great to get my plastics back together when my bike fell against a workbench from someone else knocking it over. But mine was a lot less damage compared to yours.