Arrgh! First day owning the bike and I drop it.

[Shadowhawk]

So today I bought my 07 RSV and took it for a pretty decent ride to get used to it. So far I really like it. Damn thing runs like a top and looks brand new. Untill.... I went to my friends house. I pull up in their driveway which is gravel, stopped then started to go again and as I started to go I turned the handlebars slightly and hit a small bump making the bike lean unexpectedly. The bike started to go over and I went to stick my foot out to catch myself and my foot rolled across the gravel and I had to ditch the bike because there was no way to stop it. Ended up laying it over gently on its left side. The crash bars did their job and kept anything major from getting damaged except for a few scratches on the chrome of the crash bars. After I got home and looked closer the plastic fairing on the left side in front of the footrest somehow got cracked. How that happened I have no idea because it didn't even touch the ground.

 

Anyway where can I get a new... fairing? Not really sure what else to call it. I guess for the time being I can super glue it back together but I hate having a practically brand new bike with a cracked piece of plastic on the first day of owning the bike. Needless to say this was a pretty embarrassing experience even though nobody saw me do it. I've never had to lay a bike over before and I can't think of a worse time to finally have it happen. It's not a matter of if, but a matter of when.

[Graywulf]

wow bad luck shadowhawk,

they do take a lot of getting used to at parking speeds. hope you can get the bike fixed quickly.

[BlueSky]

Yeah, gravel and big heavy motorcycles don't mix well. I almost dropped my 07 when I ran out of gas and stopped at the entrance of a gravel driveway. Perhaps a member will have something for you. Ebay is the most likely place to visit I would presume. Or call Pinwall. They are constantly parting out bikes.

[RDawson]

I second Ebay and Pinwall. Good chance you can find one in the right color if your bike hasn't been painted.

[Du-Rron]

I guess for the time being I can super glue it back together but I hate having a practically brand new bike with a cracked piece of plastic on the first day of owning the bike.

 

OK... the bike is no longer virgin. At least you got that over with. Do not just super glue it back together.

 

The repair depends if you want to get your insurance company involved or not, how good your eye is, and how well you can do body/frame work, as the correct repair may well involve total parts replacement costing several hundred dollars.

 

The "ENGINE GUARD 1" flexed/bent during the fall and the "BODY, FRONT LOWER 1" cracked/broke.

If you can re-bend the engine guard exactly back to the point it was before the fall, then you can reuse the engine guard, otherwise it will have to be replaced. If you don't fix this part here you will never keep the plastic from cracking because it will always be under stress. Polishing out scratches and rechrome are optional as they are not structural.

 

You can ABS GLUE (obtained from Lowes or Home Depot) the plastic "BODY, FRONT LOWER 1" (we call them lowers) back together, or get your auto favorite body shop to do so, or replace the part entirely. The replacement, which easily bolt on/off, new in in the box from Yamaha, come prepainted.

 

 

I'm not saying you have to buy new from Yamaha. However, if you get your insurer involved they probably will.

If you decide upon used parts replacement, any scratches on the engine guard, however light, may well disqualify it for purchase because it may be bent as the result of a tip over as well.

[bongobobny]

It may have been cracked even before you bought it! They can be repaired easily using a good ABS 2 part epoxy and depending on where the crack is it will be invisible as long as there is no missing plastic. Due to the location of the lower fairing and IMHO the less than perfect way of mounting it, it is very easy for them to get cracked by road debris, etc...

 

I agree with everyone else, eBay or possibly new from places as Partzilla or Boats.net, etc. Pinwall is just a tad pricey IMHO but a good dealer none the less. You might want to check with Mike Eyecamp, the Diamond Cut Guy here on the site (EUSA1) as sometimes he has good ones available. The most cost-effective way is to fix it yourself though!

[Freebird]

The problem is that the crash bars flex too much when they are dropped and they will push back and crack the lower just above the mounting tab. It has happened to MANY people. That is why many of us have purchased the crash bar stiffeners from @Carbon_One They consist of a bracket or rod that bolts to the bottom of the floorboard bracket and then, with clamps, to the crash bar. I had them on my '99 and have them on the '05.

 

This is an old version of them, the new ones are make different, but gives you an idea of what I'm talking about.

 

https://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?8054-Crash-bar-supports

[Flyinfool]

Sorry to hear that you broke it is so fast. Everyone above has given good advice. Notice that NONE of the above comments said to use super glue. Super glue and ABS plastic do not play well together. Super glue is a cyanoacrylate adhesive. Cyanoacrylate a chemical that is in Loctite that makes it eat plastic. If you use super glue on the ABS you WILL be buying a replacement part soon since the cyanoacrylate will eat away at the plastic making it very brittle and it will just crumble away over time.

[etcswjoe]

Welcome to the group and ditto to what everyone has already said.

[cecdoo]

They are BIG and when they start to go, you aint gonna stop them. Best way to keep the shiney side up is to avoid any situation that may get you into trouble. Real careful on gravel, real careful on steep driveways, ramps where your feet dont touch the ground and lots more. This coming from a guy thats 5'5" and had both a first and second gen. You can save alot of money on parts if you think ahead.

 

Craig

[WildBill1]

Don't start, stop or turn around on gravel just drive thru till you get back on pavement. Fix your bike and enjoy the road ahead. Also, add Carbon1 stiffners to those crash bars up front. Yamaha went lite on those front crash bars.

[Shadowhawk]

They are BIG and when they start to go, you aint gonna stop them. Best way to keep the shiney side up is to avoid any situation that may get you into trouble. Real careful on gravel, real careful on steep driveways, ramps where your feet dont touch the ground and lots more. This coming from a guy thats 5'5" and had both a first and second gen. You can save alot of money on parts if you think ahead.

 

Craig

 

Yea I difinatly feel your pain. I'm 5'6" with a 25" inseam. I'm built like a giant midget. After I dropped it I almost thought I made a big mistake by getting a bike this big. But then I remembered seeing people as short if not shorter on much bigger bikes. If they can do it then so can I. I just got to get used to it and know what my limitations are. Sucks I had to find out the hard way. At least just some cracked plastic scratched chrome and a humbled ego is all and not worse.

[XV1100SE]

I recommend the braces that CarbonOne (Larry) makes as well. If you have highway pegs without the braces you'll notice a fair bit of movement in the engine guards. Install the braces and they stiffen up. Better protection for all the bits since the engine guards won't bend then.

 

On the cowlings/plastic....as mentioned you can use ABS glue to put it back together. I tried it once but found that the ABS glue dried out over time and didn't hold. There is a "plastic weld" you can use that basically melts the pieces back together.

 

Here is what was used on my lower cowling to repair the mount where the screw goes in. Still holding together after a couple years. After the ABS glue dried it came apart and a member used Plastex to repair it. http://www.plastex.net/

[cecdoo]

Yea I difinatly feel your pain. I'm 5'6" with a 25" inseam. I'm built like a giant midget. After I dropped it I almost thought I made a big mistake by getting a bike this big. But then I remembered seeing people as short if not shorter on much bigger bikes. If they can do it then so can I. I just got to get used to it and know what my limitations are. Sucks I had to find out the hard way. At least just some cracked plastic scratched chrome and a humbled ego is all and not worse.

 

You can lower the front by moving the fork tubes up in the trees, then look around for a used Corbin seat. After those 2 mods bet you can flatfoot. If you want to get even lower you can have the Corbin re-worked.

 

Craig

[Shadowhawk]

I think I will go and lower the front end to start and see how that does. I hear that helps with slow speed manuverablity. I hate to change out the seat because that's my favorite part of the bike. It's like sitting on a big soft 70 mph couch. One question. I have about lowering the front is will that change anything to where there are clearance issues either in the front fender or ground clearance wise? Also I hear the rear can be lowered as well but that isn't as common. I take lowering the front usually is enough or does lowering the rear have issues?

[Flyinfool]

Any time you lower either the front or rear of a bike it means that your lean angle in a turn will be less before something scrapes. But as long as you know that going in and know both your and the bikes limitations, it will all be fine. Most people to not corner hard enough to drag things anyhow.

[7 lakes]

I recommend the braces that CarbonOne (Larry) makes as well. If you have highway pegs without the braces you'll notice a fair bit of movement in the engine guards. Install the braces and they stiffen up. Better protection for all the bits since the engine guards won't bend then.

 

On the cowlings/plastic....as mentioned you can use ABS glue to put it back together. I tried it once but found that the ABS glue dried out over time and didn't hold. There is a "plastic weld" you can use that basically melts the pieces back together.

 

Here is what was used on my lower cowling to repair the mount where the screw goes in. Still holding together after a couple years. After the ABS glue dried it came apart and a member used Plastex to repair it. http://www.plastex.net/

 

+1 on the Plastex, good stuff. I've fixed fairing cracks from the rear without repainting and left just a hairline in the paint that you had to look hard to see. It's a real repair, you're not just gluing it together.

[djh3]

Sliding the forks up does not change the wheel to fender clearance. You are pretty much moving the whole thing up in the triple tree. About an inch is the most you can get. Be careful you dont get them into the fairing. Change to cornering will be minimal. It was one of the best things I did. Lowered forks, the 130 front tire and handlebar set backs.