I bought a 2001 Honda CBR 929RR with 5,000 miles and a clear title for 4,700 last summer

Click - Before

I was very happy with the deal that I got. The only nuisance was the rapidly rising coolant temperature in traffic, caused by a fan that was disconnected to prevent it from hitting the fan frame which appears to have been bent when the previous owner downed the bike. A poor fairing repair prevented me from removing the fairing to resolve the issue until I had some time to deal with it this winter. So our personalities were a perfect match - neither the bike, nor I, liked sitting in traffic.

Then the inevitable happened. I was stupid and took the bike out of storage on an early morning ride in January. Going through "Dead Man's Curve," in a suburb of Boston, I slipped on some sand and lowsided the bike at about 55 mph. [sm=smiley29.gif]
I slid about 400 feet gathering the oil behind the bike, took my helmet off, and counted my blessings for lack of oncoming traffic and the presence of a fellow motorist behind me to summon some assistance. Everyone got there really quick and off to Mass General I went. We stopped a few times on the way due to a bumpy ride, but we made it. Chick-chick went the scissors through the remainder of my gear and clothes and that is when the ER doctor took advantage of me and stuck her finger up my butt. I came in at 6 am, woke up by 11, and limped out at 3:30 pm with 6 fractures (wrist, shoulder, and ribs), a bunch of cuts, and a destroyed helmet in hand. I love US healthcare - get them in, get them out : )

Here is what the bike looked like when I climbed out of bed in a few days [sm=smiley18.gif]

Click - After

The biggest concern are some cracks going through the casing that surrounds the clutch assembly.



Would that be the engine casing?

The insurance company declared the bike to be a total loss. The appraiser told me he got up to $8,000 and stopped counting. He said that just as I, he does not know all that much about bikes, but he did not believe that there was any frame damage. I offered the insurance company $600 to buy the bike, but they declined, citing an Adesa / Copart average of a $1,400 salvage value.

For those with experience rebuilding bikes, is it worth it to pay them $1,400 given the damage involved? Would I be able to restore the bike for around $1,600 to net me an overall cost of $3,000, or should I just let Copart pick-up the bike tomorrow and move on?

Thank you for your input.

 

sorry you wrecked and as for the bike I would just move on!! Even if you buy the bike back you will have a salvage title right? if so that will hurt the resale value and plus it costs alot to fix a wrecked bike of that extent of damage.I would say my prayers give it a funeral and move on!!

 

i'm gonna vote to move on also. i rebuilt a zx-6 last fall for a friend that laid it down. although95% of the damage was cosmetic, we still spent around 800.00 on parts, and that was scrounging ebay and salvage yards for most of it. i think your damage will be much more costly and now that your insurance has totaled it, it will be very hard to unload it down the road because of the title history.

 

jb weld!!!! doesn't work there... i bought my bike with a salvage title.. come to find its because of a crack on the lower side of the engine block right below the stator. well after the jb weld fell off and my bike started leaking oil and thats how i found out about it. after that i had my dad clean it all up and put some new jb weld on it.. well it didn't hold either. so we ended up just making a plug out of some high temp rubber with some silicone. and made it big enough so the stator cover would keep it pushed on.. anyway its worked great ever since. the engine is part of the frame meaning for them to repair it they would have to put a new engine frame(?). but since that part of the engine holds no load you can just make up a plug or try and have better luck with the jb weld. You could also have it welded but the hardest part with that would be to make sure that its clean and doesn't have any oil on it. also for a good aluminin welder to do it would cost around 60+$ an hour...


I have to ask.. did you have frame sliders on it? also would it be possible for you to strip the bike before they take it?

 

get another bike

 

Rebuilding it sounds like more trouble/money than its worth. New bike bud!

 

I would just take the 8k and buy yourself a new toy. That would make you much happier, and save yourself a lot of headaches!!!!!

 

LikitySplit: Yes, the bike would get a salvage title, hence the targeted overall cost of $3,000. However, the general consensus seems to fall right in with your advice.

Thank you for your advice, ride4sport.

QuinC: Thanks for sharing your experience. Actually, saying that there cracks in the casing is a bit of an understatement - there rather large chunks missing out of it. I did have both bar ends and frame sliders. I had an embarassing tipover once when I tapped the front brake with the handle bars turned while rolling slightly forward, and they did their job perfectly - not a scratch. During the crash, the right bar end got ground down about halfway and the right slider snapped right off along with the bolt. Unfortunately there was not much left to salvage. I got the undertail, leather bra, and helmet net. The exhaust tubing is a little crunched and the muffler has a vertical scuff as can be seen in the pictures. I still have the bike until early next week, but I do not think it is worth taking off, given the damage. I also have two brand new unmounted Dunlops.

Thanks, L8X.

scotty8583: Seems to be a unanimous vote!

1998f3: $8,000 : ) Don't I wish! You know insurance companies, when it is time to collect, here they are. When it is time to pay, they are in the bushes. As I am a dealer, I got what I paid, less a $1,000 deductable, so $3,700, plus the reimbursement of some improvement expenses.

 

Why don't you part the bike out on ebay? You would make your money back and more. Wheels, tires and rotors alone would most likely get you $600 to $800 or more. People need parts for the same reason you are experiencing. You could end up making 2 to 4 grand.
Glad you are okay. We'll call you "Sand Patch" from now on. LOL Was the ER Doc cute? Good luck.

QUINN C- Dude, use the gun on someone your own size. Not good advertising. We need to protect the *****.[8D]