Wheels in motion

I'm taking the FZ to the dealer to get the repair estimate written up for insurance. I'd heard several times that any overt damage to the bike's frame automatically results in the bike being totaled. I'm not sure if this is fact or urban myth, but there is visible and overt damage to the frame of the FZ. This may result in one of two possibilties:

1) Insurance totals the bike and I get a check, or
2) Insurance buys a new frame along with the other parts and the bike ends up with either a recon title or a replaced-VIN title.

If they don't total it and replace the frame, the street value on the bike goes completely in the toilet, regardless. It's a "totaled" bike by all accounts after that and won't be worth squat on the street.

This is my worry... anyone know for sure the rules regarding totaling-out a bike with frame damage?

Packing & shipping

I have to get better about guesstimating shipping costs or actually pre-box and weigh things before posting the auctions. A couple of the items in this latest round of auctions cost way more to ship than I had expected, largely due to the unusual shipping containers I had to use. Ah well... live and learn[1]. I still made money at the end of the whole project, but on a couple of the auction items I basically broke even.







[1] - Live and learn - seems to be a trend for me lately. (sigh)

Follow up on the part-out

As mentioned in an earlier post, my son Eddie was helping to part out a Triumph Daytona 955i that I'd bought. My intention was to part the bike out all along, but in verifying its running condition, I kinda fell in love with how the machine delivered power. I waffled on tearing the bike down for several months while I quietly thought about putting it back on the road as a full-blown street bike.

Eventually I came to my senses (that is, I needed the money) and proceeded with the part-out. Eddie did a huge majority of the tear down. The only thing I had to do myself was pull the engine and swingarm off the frame, and to break up some of the small-parts systems.

I gave Eddie a nice chunk of change - $100 - for his day in the garage and he was ecstatic. I've spent the last couple of weeks catalogging, eBaying and packing/shipping the various parts, including palleting and taking the engine to Forward Air for shipment to California. The buyer sent me an email a week or two ago thanking me again for the "great running engine!". He blew his up and is now back on the road.

I've explained my stance on parting out bikes in the past. I think I've got the process down and I think I have the basis for a decent little side business if I can continue to find good-enough deals on older and used bikes. If I can enlist my son and/or daughter to help with some of the work, I can offload some of the tedium and they can make some money. More win/win all around.

Anyway, Eddie's $100 went towards some things he's been pining away for and has been saving up for, so he saw some real and honest benefits to working hard for his rewards. If I can keep this up, he'll understand the real world a little earlier than some kids might.

And I won't have to break my knuckles on every bike I part out. :-)

Frustration...

Due to some personal matters going on in life, I've largely been ignoring a situation brewing for the last couple of weeks. Specifically, I had lent my FZ6 to a friend whose bike was damaged during a track day when the control rider cut him off and he went down in what, by all accounts, was a rather spectacular fashion.

Well, this friend crashed my FZ6 - a low-side on the street. Police were called, papers were filed, etc. The bike needs, as indicated in the photo, lots of work to many sections of the bike. In addition, there's visible frame damaged (a scrape, nothing more serious) which would likely cause the bike to be totaled by the insurance company.

My friend is now complaining that he can't afford to fix the bike for me - I'm guesstimating about a $1000 repair bill for parts and for me to do the work. He's also claiming that for reasons unknown to me, he "can't" turn it in to his insurance. I'm sure this is just his way of staving off any insurance increases.

I'm beginning to get angry, and I'm already frustrated about it. I'm glad he's ok and in the end, it's just a bike and it can be repaired. Shit happens in life. It's how we handle things that matter. I am very, very unhappy about how this is being handled. I had honestly hoped that by now I'd get my FZ back completely repaired, or at least a pile of new parts and an offer to help.

Neither. This marks the last time I lend out anything so important, so expensive or so... whatever. I'm pissed.

The NC trip

For reasons I'm not willing to publicly discuss at this time, I'm not posting up about the recent NC trip just now.

Let's just say that even on my little, under-powered, can't-handle-for-shit girl's bike, I was not the slowest guy on the Dragon that day and in fact several guys on much, much better bikes were holding me up. 80% rider, 20% bike.

Restoration and parts...

So I fixed the FZ6 yesterday. The previous owner had a tip-over in the parking lot at work (we work at the same place). They use a polymer-based seal on the entire parking lot and when it's wet, it's as slick as oiled glass. Someone stopped unexpectedly in front of him one day and he had to stop quickly, under less than ideal circumstances. The bike lay over on its right side and when the fairing touched down, the asphalt cracked the fairing, and took a small section out of it. You actually had to look for it. But there were several other cracks in the fairing that would have only broken further over time. So that's all fixed.

I also cleaned up all the parts I had to remove to get that far, so the whole front of the bike's body work, inside and out, is as clean as new. I found lots of room up in the fairing if I ever want to add certain accessories. There's enough room for a fuse block and other such goodies in there. Nice to know, should there be a need or desire to customize.

I really like this bike... it's comfortable, it's fast, it handles pretty well (not a fan of the OEM tires) and it's a simple, rock-solid engine in a rather simple motorcycle. I don't love it like I love my Sportster, but I do like it a lot. It's worth keeping around, and hey... for what I paid for it, I can flip it if I need or want to and be just fine.

Or use it as a trade-in on a 'Busa next year ;)

In other news, I finally started parting out the Daytona. Or rather, my 13 year old son, Eddie, started parting out my Daytona. I had him disassembling things on it yesterday. It's down to the forks and wheels, engine in frame. Most of the small parts are off it, all the body work is off it, the rear sub frame is off it... most of the wiring, electrical parts, lights, etc... all off it. He's going to share in the money we make off the part-out, so that's cool. And I have to spend less actual time unbolting things.

I've been helping him identify the right tools to use for the tasks, guiding him on the safest way to go about the various parts, explaining what the parts do or are for... it's been pretty cool. He's mechanically inclined, and he's helped me with small projects in the garage before, but so far, this one is all him and I think he's enjoying it. And he's learning a little something.

Pretty cool.

I'll keep the blog updated on how the part-out and eBaying go. And on how Eddie does through the whole thing.

Trading up? No thanks.

So, I was at the Harley-Davidson dealer the other day asking about some XR1200 parts that I wanted to put on my XL883 Sportster. While I was there, I took a moment to drool all over a FatBob. That bike is a sweet combination of classic style, some modern appointments, big-twin power and a whole bucket load of badassery, all rolled in to one.

The dealer had two in stock in the flat denim black. Yes... I did say drooling. Badass!

I casually mentioned that IF I were to consider buying it, that I would trade in my 2008 Street Glide. The salesman - new guy at this place - scurried off to talk to the sales manager, who gave me a nod and that "we'll take good care of you" look. I bought two '08 bikes from him inside a 3-month period... damn well better take care of me!

The salesman comes back and suggests that I don't trade in the Glide, but rather trade in my Sportster since Harley is offering a full MSRP buy-back program when trading up.

BLASPHEMY! You're suggesting I give up my Sportie??? I'd sooner offer a kidney, and tear it out with a rusty spoon... myself... than to give up my XL! NO WAY! As I fed on his spleen and danced on his entrails... in my day dream... I composed myself and took a deep breath in preparing to set this poor, misguided sop straight on the ways of The Sportster.

I let him give me the speech, then thanked him and sent him back to try again with the Street Glide. He came back with a trade-in number that was damn near what I was planning on asking for it on the street. Hmm....

I told him I was going to leave and think it over. And I did... I did think it over. The Fat Bob is a seriously cool bike and it's got everything I'd want right there built in. The fat, sticky tires, dual-disc front brakes and mid controls are all serious wins with me. The Dyna series bikes use the un-balanced TC96 engine which - frankly - torques like a mo' fo'. Very powerful and torquey. Just doesn't rev worth a damn.

Ultimately, I opted to pass on the deal. I'd rather sell the 'Glide outright and be done with the payment. I bought the 'Glide for 2-up riding which I'm just doing enough of to justify keeping it. Trading to a different payment doesn't get me any closer to my goal of debt reduction. So... responsible me said no.

Yay me

Oh, forgot to mention...

Yes.

I bought Steve's FZ6.

2005
1750 miles
Dirt cheap

Win!

Follow up to guilt... elation.

I finally had the nerve to head over to Lisa's house and take a look at the Low Rider. I also returned her 'Busa to her; the work I was doing on it is all done now. I know she's happy to have it back. There were some days she wanted to ride it when the weather gave us a peek at Spring. So... I rode over and swapped out the bikes. I basically knew what I was going to see when I got there because of the descriptions Lisa gave me of the bike, but still... I was a bit heartbroken to see it. She keeps this bike pristine and clean.

The bike is still in good shape. It's filthy... covered in mud from blasting thru' someone's yard or something, it's covered in dirt and road grime, and apparently in dusting powder from the Police's attempt at ID'ing the thief... just generally dirty. The back tire is completely toast from the assclown who stole it obviously doing burnouts all night with it. And there are about a dozen marks on the pipe from melting shoes or boots.

I left the 'Busa in Lisa's garage and brought the Low Rider home. I'll give it a bath, she's buying new tires for it which I'll put on, and I'm installing her alarm for it. In addition, I'm going to do some general maintenance on it while it's here; it's due anyway. Lisa's ecstatic to have the bike back, but I know there still must be some heartbreak there looking at how dirty and beat up it looks right now. I'm going to do my best to clean it up really nice - a challenge for me since I wash my bikes about every 6 months whether they need them or not - and not let her see it until it's all done and sparkly. I feel it's the least I can do.

Note: I should also mention that I'm borrowing her car while mine is in the shop. Between her and my friend Wayne who lent me his Jeep for a week or so, and my friend Keith ferrying me around before I got Wayne's Jeep, I haven't had to worry about a rental car except for two days, and I've never been stranded anywhere or needing to beg a ride. You can't ask for better friends! Well... you can, but they don't exist.

Anyway, I rode the bike home on a local twisty road and really ran it through its paces, taking care to remember the completely bald (in the middle) back tire. The guy really tore it up. The bike runs fine, shifts smoothly and nothing's bent, broken, dented or otherwise damaged. At least he was a considerate-enough thief. (insert picture of sarcastically rolling eyes here)

While I had the bike here, I thought I'd get my daughter Sarah out on it. Sarah is seven and has been wanting to ride, but she's been a bit skittish. I just got a used Child Riding Belt and she's been looking forward to riding with me since getting it. Since this bike is the only one in the garage at the moment with a back rest, and since it's low to ground and should make her feel all secure and safe, I figured it was a no-brainer. Time to get her on the bike.

So, we got her dressed up the best we could; she still needs a purpose-built riding jacket little enough for her and boots, but I have a helmet that fits her, and gloves that fit her well enough. They're hand-me-downs from her big sister who is moving up in sizes.

We started out with just a quick ride around the circle out front, then moved on to a ride around the whole neighborhood, twice. About a mile and a half, all told. I pulled up in front of the house and cut the engine to ask her how that was. Honestly, as worried as she's been, I expected her to decide that was enough for a first ride. Silly me, I should have known better.

"That was awesome! Let's do it again!" Hah!

Don't have to tell me twice!

I fired the bike up, dropped it into first and pulled out, Sarah laughing and yelling WHEEEEEEE down the road. I exited the neighborhood, went down State Road through the big sweeping "S" turn, and turned right on to Rt. 841 South towards 896. 841 has some nice curves and if you take it at a nice clip, it can be a fun and occasionally challenging road. But I was taking it very easy, getting Sarah used to the feeling of leaning. As I rode and she kept telling me she was fine, I dove in a little deeper and increased speed just a little bit with each turn. Before you know it she's laughing about the butterflies in her stomach as I'm diving in to turns at about 2/3 my normal pace on this road.

We ended up doing maybe 8 or 10 miles, down 841, across Pennock Ridge Road, back up State Road, and a few other roads in the area, and another circuit of the neighborhood before pulling into the driveway. She had a ball! I'm so glad she likes it. I certainly wouldn't push her if she didn't, but I wanted her to at least give it a try.

I sent the pictures to Lisa so she could see that her bike is being used and well cared for, and to show her that Sarah has agreed to get on the bike. "Excellent! Good for her!" One day when Lisa was over she mentioned she'd be happy to take Sarah for a ride when she's ready and I think that, too, helped Sarah get over her initial fear; seeing a girl so excited about riding with her. She knew it wasn't something that just Daddy did.

So... the Low Rider is fine and will soon be good as new. Everyone's happy it's back home... well, here now... and in good condition. Things could have been sooooooo much worse. And I'm glad that Lisa doesn't hold me to blame for any of it.

guilty...

I feel like crap.

No, not that way. Physically I'm fine. No, this is something else altogether different. Turns out I was contributory in the negligence that led to a friend's motorcycle being stolen. Fortunately, there's a happy-enough ending, but let me run through the story with you.

So my friend Lisa owns a 2003 Harley-Davidson 100th Anniversary Edition Low Rider, and a 2006 Hayabusa limited. She likes her "special" bikes, I suppose. Her 'Busa is drop-dead gorgeous, pearl white with sliver accents. Very nice. The Low Rider is classic black and chrome. Very stylish.

I've had her 'Busa at my house for a couple of weeks while I've been working on it. Doing some electrical modifications and a few other little things. The type of work that a dealer would knock her over the head for, but I can do in a couple of evenings after work. Why not? I get to tinker, she gets to save a little money and, oh hey... did I mention I get to ride the 'Busa whenever I want? Awesome!

So last Saturday I went and met up with her to grab some parts she had for me. I took her Harley for a little ride, and afterwards, pulled it into the garage for her. I left the key in it. Hopped on her 'Busa and went on my way, continuing my day. Through a series of unfortunate events, the bike ended up sitting in the garage with the key in it and the garage door was left open. Sunday morning, some time in the whee hours, the bike was taken.

Lisa emailed me on Sunday morning that the bike was gone. My heart sank. My first thought was that I was the last person to touch it, and I left the key in it. Lisa assured me it was nothing to worry over - that she leaves the key in it all the time... in the closed garage. But I couldn't think about that. I could only believe that had I taken the key out and handed it to her, she might have taken the extra steps in the evening to ensure the door was closed, or at least the key would be in the house, not hanging out of the bike's ignition.

She called the police, called the insurance company, got everything started and began the waiting game. I can only imagine how she felt. I can only imagine it because I felt absolutely, gut-wrenching horrible about it, and she had to be feeling multitudes worse. It took her a year to order and wait for this bike; the one she wanted, according to her tastes and such. She's had it since new, every mile on it is hers and every scratch, nick and stone chip probably tells some kind of story.

And it was gone. And it is my fault... at least partially.

I spent the next couple of days feeling like this... bouncing between sympathy and guilt, never really understanding how she must actually be feeling. She made a few jokes about how she was going to spend the insurance money and such, but I know she was pretty upset. And she had every right to be at least a little upset with me. I know... her bike, her garage, her job to lock it up... I know. Doesn't mean I still didn't feel it.

Fast forward to Wednesday... I got an email from Lisa that "They found my bike. Leaving work. Talk later."

Awesome news!!! Of course I was on pins and needles all day waiting to hear the good news. Finally she got hold of me... turns out, it looks like it was just a theft of opportunity. The bike was found near by abandoned in someone's back yard; the home owner called the police. The bike was fine, a little dirty and in need of fuel. The key was found in the street at the front of the house.

The police did their crime-scene thing, then released the bike to Lisa. Her husband came and rode it back home (and yes, took the key out and locked everything back up). They discussed new rules for the garage, lock-up procedures each night, etc.

I can't tell you how relieved I was to hear the news, and I can only imagine the joy and relief Lisa must have felt... and must still be feeling.

If there's a lesson to be learned, it should be obvious... always stick to your routine when it comes to stuff like this, and of course, all the common-sense things apply; lock up, don't leave the keys in the vehicles, pay attention to your surroundings, take note of strange cars or people going by, blah, blah, blah.

Lessons learned... guilt felt... happy ending. Very, very lucky.

Congrats, Lisa. And again... I'm sorry for my part in all that.