Cloned
Tiger Trainer
Some of you may remember when I wrecked a few years back. (See this thread: http://www.600riders.com/forum/hall-shame/8823-just-got-out-er.html) Also, here is what it looked like before: http://www.600riders.com/forum/attachments/hall-shame/8238d1222241340-just-got-out-er-img_0454.jpg
Well, I've been putting this off. I didn't want to post until I got her completely ready and perfect, but I realized that's never going to happen! I got the bike ready and have been riding since June, but I still have some things left I want to do to her, but I think I've taken too long to post!
Here's the story. I wrecked the bike in September of 2008. The body shop told me it was a total loss, it would cost 9k to fix. No problem, I thought, the dealership sold me GAP insurance. They told me GAP would pay off the balance if the bike was totaled. After waiting for 6 months, I get the check and realize that what GAP is at all, they only pay off the balance minus what the bike is worth, so really just accessories and stuff. Thinking it's totalled, but not having full coverage to pay it off (idiot :spank: ) I stuff it in the garage and forget about, making minimum payments so as not to ruin my credit. I stopped coming to the forum because it depressed me. I almost sold what was rest of the bike last summer before I traveled to Thailand, but my friend convinced me not to, he was still pressuring me to fix it.
Fast forward to January of this year. My friend has been pressuring me to fix it, even though I told him it's totaled. I also decide to have another friend (who is a motorcycle mechanic I just met) come take a look at it. He tells me it would be an easy fix, and relatively cheap at that. That day I log back into the forum to see if anyone is selling parts. Lo and behold, jbwaterman84 has some forks in the freebies section, starting me on the rebuild, and the rest is history.
I slowly bought parts as I found them on here and ebay, trying to spend as little as possible (I was unemployed at the time, but acquired some money from grandparents). I did all the work myself with a little help from a friend (the one who told me to fix it). It was hard, since I had never worked on a bike before, and I didn't have any of the necessary tools! Much of it was being creative and working too hard. You should have seen us with a hammer and chisel trying to pound off the bearing race from the steering stem, there were sparks flying! It took a few months, but I finally got her ready and rideable in June!
Here's what was damaged and had to be replaced:
Entire front end
Lower triple clamp and steering stem
Front wheel (rim was bent)
Front fender
Forks
Radiator and hoses
Handlebar
All handlebar switches and assemblies
Tank
Right foot peg
Rear subframe (still haven't installed new one)
I put on an FZ1 bar, and the mirrors are integrated signal mirrors off ebay. The headlight is of course Buell, and the fork brackets, which are REALLY hard to find BTW, are off ebay as well. I had to do a little chopping of the Buell bracket to get them to work right, but I love how they look.
I still need to put on the rear subframe, you can tell the one that's on there now is a little bent (which is actually what lead me to believe it wasn't fixable, it made the whole bike look twisted). I painted the top triple clamp and handlebar black, but I forgot to clear coat it
. I'll be powder coating that in the winter. I also want to paint the bike white. I kind of like the mix and match blue and black, but I think white would really stand out.
Big thanks to jbwaterman84 for the free forks that got me off my butt and started the rebuild. Also to Alan W. for the tank (sorry, don't remember board name.) And of course, thanks to everyone on this forum! If it weren't for you guys I would never have been able to fix this. All the help I got from posting threads here made this whole thing possible.
Well, I've been putting this off. I didn't want to post until I got her completely ready and perfect, but I realized that's never going to happen! I got the bike ready and have been riding since June, but I still have some things left I want to do to her, but I think I've taken too long to post!
Here's the story. I wrecked the bike in September of 2008. The body shop told me it was a total loss, it would cost 9k to fix. No problem, I thought, the dealership sold me GAP insurance. They told me GAP would pay off the balance if the bike was totaled. After waiting for 6 months, I get the check and realize that what GAP is at all, they only pay off the balance minus what the bike is worth, so really just accessories and stuff. Thinking it's totalled, but not having full coverage to pay it off (idiot :spank: ) I stuff it in the garage and forget about, making minimum payments so as not to ruin my credit. I stopped coming to the forum because it depressed me. I almost sold what was rest of the bike last summer before I traveled to Thailand, but my friend convinced me not to, he was still pressuring me to fix it.
Fast forward to January of this year. My friend has been pressuring me to fix it, even though I told him it's totaled. I also decide to have another friend (who is a motorcycle mechanic I just met) come take a look at it. He tells me it would be an easy fix, and relatively cheap at that. That day I log back into the forum to see if anyone is selling parts. Lo and behold, jbwaterman84 has some forks in the freebies section, starting me on the rebuild, and the rest is history.
I slowly bought parts as I found them on here and ebay, trying to spend as little as possible (I was unemployed at the time, but acquired some money from grandparents). I did all the work myself with a little help from a friend (the one who told me to fix it). It was hard, since I had never worked on a bike before, and I didn't have any of the necessary tools! Much of it was being creative and working too hard. You should have seen us with a hammer and chisel trying to pound off the bearing race from the steering stem, there were sparks flying! It took a few months, but I finally got her ready and rideable in June!
Here's what was damaged and had to be replaced:
Entire front end
Lower triple clamp and steering stem
Front wheel (rim was bent)
Front fender
Forks
Radiator and hoses
Handlebar
All handlebar switches and assemblies
Tank
Right foot peg
Rear subframe (still haven't installed new one)
I put on an FZ1 bar, and the mirrors are integrated signal mirrors off ebay. The headlight is of course Buell, and the fork brackets, which are REALLY hard to find BTW, are off ebay as well. I had to do a little chopping of the Buell bracket to get them to work right, but I love how they look.
I still need to put on the rear subframe, you can tell the one that's on there now is a little bent (which is actually what lead me to believe it wasn't fixable, it made the whole bike look twisted). I painted the top triple clamp and handlebar black, but I forgot to clear coat it
. I'll be powder coating that in the winter. I also want to paint the bike white. I kind of like the mix and match blue and black, but I think white would really stand out.Big thanks to jbwaterman84 for the free forks that got me off my butt and started the rebuild. Also to Alan W. for the tank (sorry, don't remember board name.) And of course, thanks to everyone on this forum! If it weren't for you guys I would never have been able to fix this. All the help I got from posting threads here made this whole thing possible.
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