I can't beleive they would total it because of that!!!? Good god, let me know what campany it is, so I can get mine totaled out and I can buy it back from them and get another one. Better yet, give me the number so I can call them when they total yours out, and I will buy it off of them>>>>

I haven't check it yet, but If it is internal(which most are) it can be replaced. If it is on the outside and aluminium, your better off taking it apart and welding it to risk not the bearings.

Just checked and it is aluminium. It can be welded, but to be strong, the thing needs to be disasembled and welded, as it will get very hot. It can be made stronger than stock...

 

i feel if this is true there will alot of totalled warriors around b/c I know mine will be

 

There are other things on the bike that need to be replaced. Most are small bolt on things like mirror, brake lever, tail lights, etc. The big things are pipes, rear fender, gas tank, and the rear wheel have some scratched near the hub, and a small gouge. But the frame is the thing that tips the balance. The adjuster told me that they almost never replace a frame; it's just too costly, with frame and labor.

The insurance company is Progressive. Sounds like they are trying to treat me fair, but still! To look at my bike, it really does not look that bad. And I certainly was not ready to get rid of it.

Yes the stop is external. I can see a little rectangular peace that is pulled out on the frame just in front of the lower bearing. I can actually see part of the bearing outer casing.

 

I had a friend go down last year and he had the same issue. Also had the same insurance company. ( v-star 650)

They treated him fairly but they felt that with the stopper busted it was more cost effectinve to cut him a check.

Hans

 

Anyone know where I would find some one to do the weld that Redbullssg mentioned above? I would probably have to drive there and then take it apart. How hard is that? Or maybe I could find a place to do both. I doubt that my Dealer would be able to weld it.

 

If you lived in the Neworleans area, I could do it for you. But I'm assuming that the chances of that are slim to none.

*welding aluminum is NOT like welding steel/iron. Steel gets stronger when you weld it, as aluminum gets a little weaker. I'm not saying that it wouldn't work, just giving a little heads up in areas the may be sensative. I would reccamend leaving the races in the neck while you weld it, and replace them when done. This way the neck keeps its shape better

 

Suddenly Neworleans does not sound that far away!

Good advice on the bearings! So do you think the frame can be saved? I keep thinking, "how often do I actually hit those stops anyway". The only time I can think of is when I lock the forks.

 

t5800, you need to let them total it, and find out exactly how much it is to buy it back. I live in NY, where if the original owner buys it back, the title remains clear and not a "salvage title". This is very important.

Usually if they see the value of your bike as say $8800, then they will take your buy-back costs out (Say $1500), and cut you a check for $7300 and you keep the bike. I dont know how close these numbers would be, but check with them.

They will try to discourage you to buy it back, but it is usually pretty cheap. I have friends that work at local dealers, and I have crashed-bike owners buy the bike back from the insurance co., and then I give them 2x what they paid, plus they get the insurance check. I get a rebuildable or partable bike with a clear title, and they get plenty of cash to buy their next bike to crash. Check it out. If the bike goes completely through the process, it gets a salvage title which destroys its value.

T

 

I agree now about leaving the races in, just replace them. But, the strength issue in some ways I don't. All metals do change there properties when heat is an issue. And aluminum weld can be as strong as original if treated right. Depending on what type of metal it is and the way that it is treated, minipulates the strength. for instance, if you take a large peice of H-13 steel that has been heat treated and weld it without heating it prior, the area welded will cool to fast due to the rest of the mass obsorbing the heat created. This will make the metal britle around the welded area. Aluminum gets soft when you weld it or heat it because it disapates the heat through out the mass or expandes the molecules, so, while it is still hot pouring cool water on it will shock it(cool it off fast), or make the molecules tighter, more dense again. I could go into more detail, but I am prolly boaring you all, blah, blah, blabla blah blah blahhh....

If you can't do it yourself, then you may be better off just totaling it. Kinda sucks, but it may be kinda costly if you have someone else do it...

 

I broke mine off over a year ago when I missed that **** turn and tumbling through a corn field. [/emoticons/emotion-2.gif] Somehow the piece itself didn't fall out. I pulled the front end off and strapped the bike to a trailer. I put the bike on backwards so they could work on it right on the trailer. I have a friend who knows a good welder. As Lenny said this is not easy a lot of welders would refuse to do it for liability reasons. He welded it back on and has been fine ever since. Didn't even break off when I got rear ended this spring.

 

Good advice guys! I know a little about heat-treating steal, but not aluminum. I have a welder, but not MIG or TIG. I'm sure finding the right welder is the key to making this work.

Hey Sangathor, I had actually thought about doing the exact same thing with my trailer. So, you have validated my thoughts. I have many questions. How much trouble was it to take the front end apart? Did you prop the front up on something? Did you leave the bearing in and replace them, or just go for it? Do you remember if the welder did any heat-treating and grinding after the weld?

 

Alloy is trickey make sure if you weld it you used some sort of heat sink to keep the hear from spreading. You do not want a weak head stay.

 

That is for sure!

 

If you could find a racing fabrication shop, they usually do a fantastic job for a cheap price. I have had several things fixed this way. Also, they have always been able to fix me up while I wait. Just another option.

 

Thanks Wolfhound, I just found a place called "Aerospace Welding" that sounds promising. I'm going to try to take the bike by there this afternoon. Without seeing it he thought it would be around $75.00. I would gladly pay twice that if it works out okay.

My insurance company is pushing me now. They have a wrecker service that is trying to schedule a time to pickup my bike. I still need to find out if I can keep it with out a "salvage title". If so, looks like I will have around $4000 to fix it. I'm thinking I can fix everything up and still have some left for custom parts and mods.

 

Be very careful. Have someone very knowledgable go over it with a fine tooth comb. If there's any other frame damage get rid of it. The frame on this bike looks simple but it's pretty techy compared to other cruisers.
I'm not saying there is anything wrong with it but it is certainly worth looking for.

 

What I'm hoping to do is get it welded. Then decide if it is a keeper. If it does not go well, I'll just let it be totaled. If the weld works out, I have some options. I'm going to try to get some prices so I can see how I will come out keeping it.

 

Goos lord I can't believe it is easir to toatl that replace it. Good research on the piece though

 

The welding was done on my bike when I was away, my friend took it to his friend. So I can't tell you how he did it. I never took the bearing out and it was in place when I got it back, so I don't think he removed it.

No, taking the front end apart is a piece of cake. It's putting it all back together that can be tricky, if you put it back together 3 weeks later. [/emoticons/emotion-2.gif] Get a service manual. Makes assembly much easier.

I had my bike on my motorcycle jack when I removed the front. Make sure you have a friend nearby for when you take the forks and wheel off. Otherwise your bikes sudden weight loss can tip the bike back towards the rear tire. We then picked up what was left of the bike with an engine hoist and lowered it safely into the back of the trailer, backwards.

BTW, It cost me $75. Not bad for a "totalled bike", huh?

 

I got my bike to the welding shop yesterday afternoon. He made me comfortable that it would weld up fine. I have taken off the head light and housing. He would rather weld it with out taking the forks off, but did admit that the bearing and seal should probable be replace after. That's nice because I can drive it there and not mess with the trailer. It will be a week before I can get it done, but I think it will cost me $75 also, plus the bearing, overpriced at $39.

I also went by the Yamaha dealer and priced the parts. This is the killer. The parts from the dealer will cost me an inflated $4600. No, that does not include the frame. Still leaves a lot of work for little financial gain. I was hoping this would be a no brainier after getting all the facts together. But still leaves me the option of getting custom replacement parts in place of Yama parts. This was part of my goal. But still got to shave some cost, or I will be upside down money wise.

 

If you can find a place around there that sells bearings, you can take them your old ones and they can more than likely match something up to them at a fraction of the dealership cost. The only problem might be if it is a special bearing size that is not common, which is not likely.

 

Is that $4600 with or without your Star discount? I get 15% on everything I buy from my dealership.

 

Good idea! There are a lot of bearing houses round the Dallas area.

The $4600 number is with out a discount. I ask the dealer for 20%. They promptly said no. On that size order, I think I should be able to get 20% and free shipping. If it comes out of state, there goes the sales tax also, I think. The problem I see with that is that it will come one item at a time to the dealer. But I'm not sure if the dealer will want to handle that many peaces at that price level.

Anyway, I'm hoping to find some of the bigger items somewhere else and save some $'s there. I talking about stuff like the R. fender, tank, Rt. front footrest, cast R. wheel, tail light assembly, break pedal, front pipe and D&D slip-on. As you look through the list, you will see many items I can get custom for a few bucks more then the Yama part. Or maybe find from someone who has customized and has stock parts left over. So, I can see ways to shave the price down some. By the way, does anyone know a good source for a fender and tank? They are two of the highest priced items.

 

quote:Originally posted by t5800512

Good idea! There are a lot of bearing houses round the Dallas area.

The $4600 number is with out a discount. I ask the dealer for 20%. They promptly said no. On that size order, I think I should be able to get 20% and free shipping. If it comes out of state, there goes the sales tax also, I think. The problem I see with that is that it will come one item at a time to the dealer. But I'm not sure if the dealer will want to handle that many peaces at that price level.

Anyway, I'm hoping to find some of the bigger items somewhere else and save some $'s there. I talking about stuff like the R. fender, tank, Rt. front footrest, cast R. wheel, tail light assembly, break pedal, front pipe and D&D slip-on. As you look through the list, you will see many items I can get custom for a few bucks more then the Yama part. Or maybe find from someone who has customized and has stock parts left over. So, I can see ways to shave the price down some. By the way, does anyone know a good source for a fender and tank? They are two of the highest priced items.


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