Putting my bike back to rights after a crash
Posted: Thu May 09, 2019 6:02 pm
Hey all, Slim again. (Sorry if this is the wrong place, couldn't post elsewhere or pm for help)
So, had my first incident with a ridiculously clueless driver this last weekend, and ended up crashing. My insurance said the worth of my bike was something like a grand, and that's my deductible, so I'm SOL. Other guy ran, so no luck there either. Luckily my '98 Seca II is still in pretty good shape, considering, and still starts and runs solid. Lost both turn signals, brake lever, windscreen (blew off but I got it back sans well nuts) lots of fairing damage, but that isn't what i'm really hoping to get help with(honestly, gives me the excuse to do the streetfighter build I wanted anyhow).
A buddy of mine was kind enough to get my bike outta the tow yard and hold it for me until I got out of the hospital. When I went to see it, I couldn't believe how lucky I was that it isn't destroyed. Then I sat on it, and something was immediately wrong. The front right(from a seated position) fork seems to be leaking(pic attached). I can't tell if it still is, or if it was from the accident, or if it's simply out of fluid. I've heard nothing but horror stories on redoing fork seals, and honestly I'm not gonna be physically capable of doing it(let alone ride) for a while anyway, but I have this burning need to figure it out and understand the process, maybe order the parts. Give it to me straight, how crappy is this gonna be? If I remember what the previous owner of my bike said right, you can use Fz07 forks? Is it better to just replace both forks anyway since I highly suspect these and the seals are original? Or should I try doing seals?
I really appreciate any help y'all could give, and thank you for your time
Slim
EDIT: PS, for anyone who might be curious, though I crashed at about 50MPH, the partial dashcam we got shows my bike slid completely on the rider's right exhaust, the brake lever, the fairing. The windshield+l turn signal damage were actually from the towing company. Attaching a pic of the exhaust now. I've already decided I'm keeping it on, because it saved my bike, and I have a plan to repaint just the scratches a contrasting color, and re-clearcoat it.
So, had my first incident with a ridiculously clueless driver this last weekend, and ended up crashing. My insurance said the worth of my bike was something like a grand, and that's my deductible, so I'm SOL. Other guy ran, so no luck there either. Luckily my '98 Seca II is still in pretty good shape, considering, and still starts and runs solid. Lost both turn signals, brake lever, windscreen (blew off but I got it back sans well nuts) lots of fairing damage, but that isn't what i'm really hoping to get help with(honestly, gives me the excuse to do the streetfighter build I wanted anyhow).
A buddy of mine was kind enough to get my bike outta the tow yard and hold it for me until I got out of the hospital. When I went to see it, I couldn't believe how lucky I was that it isn't destroyed. Then I sat on it, and something was immediately wrong. The front right(from a seated position) fork seems to be leaking(pic attached). I can't tell if it still is, or if it was from the accident, or if it's simply out of fluid. I've heard nothing but horror stories on redoing fork seals, and honestly I'm not gonna be physically capable of doing it(let alone ride) for a while anyway, but I have this burning need to figure it out and understand the process, maybe order the parts. Give it to me straight, how crappy is this gonna be? If I remember what the previous owner of my bike said right, you can use Fz07 forks? Is it better to just replace both forks anyway since I highly suspect these and the seals are original? Or should I try doing seals?
I really appreciate any help y'all could give, and thank you for your time
Slim
EDIT: PS, for anyone who might be curious, though I crashed at about 50MPH, the partial dashcam we got shows my bike slid completely on the rider's right exhaust, the brake lever, the fairing. The windshield+l turn signal damage were actually from the towing company. Attaching a pic of the exhaust now. I've already decided I'm keeping it on, because it saved my bike, and I have a plan to repaint just the scratches a contrasting color, and re-clearcoat it.