Auspanglish Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 (edited) Firstly, my apologies to the mods if this isn't the right subforum for such a topic. Secondly, many thanks to those who encouraged me to get the job done and especially to Baileyrock for his helpful advice and comments, I must say, even if it will increase his hat size, that I was inspired by his trackbike reapir thread to finally go ahead and repair my 2003 Lapiz Metallic Blue VFR800FI VTECker. Overall the damages were very similar to his trackbike situation. Except of course, mine has all the road trim and accesories often stripped off trackbikes. In the end I saved 4,000 Euros buying secondhand and doing the labour myself (with the help of a mate, in his garage). Parts replaced: - Front forks, wheel and rotors. - Nosecone fairing, side fairings and headlights. - Front mudguard. . Rear brake pedal and assy. - Windscreen. - Bar end counterweights. - Rearview mirrors - Odds and ends. I took advantage of the fact that I had her stripped down to: - finally install the Powerlet 12V plug in the steering stem (thanks Tightwad). - install rear shockie off an ABS model with only 10,000 km compared to mine's 45,000 km. So now have remote preload adjuster!! Things I discovered mid-op but hadn't acquired parts to remedy: - RHS radiator has a ding, but is 100% functional. - Nosecone subframe is bent upward, just enough to make lining up fairings a little tricky and to have the headlights annoying oncoming traffic. - Gastank has a ding. Things I should have done while I was at it: - install the VTR fan, just as I have done on my 5th gen, but the part hadn't arrived (arrived the day after I finished the repair work, typical)... seeing as I'll be changing the radiator as soon as I find a secondhand one in good nick, I'll kill those two birds with one stone. - change out the side cover as, initially the rash was just aethetically displeasing, but some asshat knocked the bike on it's RHS some time AFTER the accident when I had it parked out the front waiting to transfer it over to my mate's garage. Consequently it has obviously creased a little, to the point where there is an almost imperceptible leak... just looks like a stain, it's not enough to worry over, but I will replace it so as not to tempt fate. The bike ride's like a dream. I also took advantage of the fact I was changing the forks out, to drop the front some 5 mm for easier corner entrance.. sweet. There's just one thing I've noticed, and I only noticed it towards the end of a 1200 km weekend this one just gone by, whilst the bike is leaned over in turns, I can sense (not "hear" moreso "feel", probably through my feet) a sort of crunching, as if the chain weren't lining up, or some bearings were gone bad... it doesn't do it when the bike is upright and if I hold in the clutch and swerve from side to side, I can't notice it while the bike is leaned over... any ideas??? Needless to say, with the help of lots of research, common sense, and the powers of the dark side and some homage to the MC Gods, I pulled it off in 1.5 days flat... now I'll finally have to decide whether to keep the 5th or the 6th gen... oh well, perhaps a little Ouigie board will help with that decision... Anywho... here's a pictorial of the resurrection: By the wayside, due to an error at one of my tyre suppliers', I was supplied with a 190 rear Metzeler Racetec... I had had it on the 5th gen and no worries, didn't notice the difference, but went to put it on the 6th gen and lo and behold, it rubbed so hard up against the swingarm (near the shock linkages) that it polished it smooth. Funny that, on the 5th gen there's still like more than 10 mm clearance... is the VTECker's wheelbase shorter or is it just laid out differently? Edited July 21, 2008 by Auspañol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest unkjj Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Good job glad to see you got it back together. :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Honley Posted July 21, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted July 21, 2008 Mi Amigo, Great pics and a great job bringing your VFR back to life. Mine is not as bad as yours. Just the left side and rear cowl and front fender. Bailey Pm'ed me about an hour ago to let me know he could do the repairs and save me some $$$$$ but I had already given the adjuster the name of the place tha is going to fix my baby. Glad to see your Blue Baby up and going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rivcyko Posted July 21, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted July 21, 2008 MFSCHWEET! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 That's Awesome A! Saving $4000 euros, man that's like $100,000 dollars US. :blink: Glad to see it back on the road my friend! :fing02: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Good job man! :fing02: I love working on my bikes, even if I am my own best customer! :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer skuuter Posted July 22, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted July 22, 2008 Good job Buddy.......... :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer NYMBYSS Posted August 7, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted August 7, 2008 sweeeeeet !!!!!! hope you enjoy riding it as much as working on it,great job!!!!!!! :fing02: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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