I bought my ZX6R as my second bike brand new from the dealership back in 2010. Since then, she was down once or twice with just some scratches, but even with battle scars she was a pretty bike.
This summer, I was driving back from work when a car turned left into my lane. Went into the side of him at about 25-35mph, and messed up my bike pretty good. I was fine, as I just went over his hood. Sorry for the shitty pics, they were on my old phone and this is all I could find.
Initially I wasn't sure of the damage, the front wheel was about 6 inches back and I couldn't turn it because the tire was hitting the headers. I thought it was a bent fork issue. My front wheel was dented and plastics obviously smashed up real good. Closer inspection revealed that the frame shattered where the ram air comes through, with a big crack running through the frame. Insurance wouldn't do anything for me, I had liability only and after a court battle they ruled it was my fault. So I was pretty distraught that I was gonna have to part out the bike, waiting months for everything to sell and taking a big loss on the bike. Especially since the engine ran flawlessly and had new tires and the 10,000 mile service only weeks ago.
Here is a gif of the frame damage
https://gfycat.com/ScaredGlitteringAppaloosa
So my bike sat for months while I decided what to do. Last week, I found a great deal on a salvage frame, and randomly decided to take the push to try to fix it. I've never done any serious work on my bike, but I decided to give it a shot.
I've been taking it slow, labeling every bolt and line with masking tape, taking detailed notes on the order and making a master parts list to make sure I don't lose anything. The bike comes apart surprisingly easy, uses common tools like 10mm sockets, H4-H6 hex bolts, and doesn't take really any special tools aside from a single castle nut socket I had to buy ($50!!!!). The service manual is also very detailed and a huge help.
Starting to come apart:
Subframe removed:
Make sure you take a ton of pictures where the wiring harness goes!!
Lovely throttle bodies, cover them up so nothing falls into them
The frame is coming in tomorrow, I'll be dropping the engine this weekend and pulling off the swingarm and forks. I'm still unsure about the damage to the forks, as the look like they're totally straight, but I'll have to take them off and inspect them. I'll definitely need a new front wheel, but I wonder if the tire was damaged by the impact? I will also be brazing the radiator as there is a small hole in the bottom where it was leaking. Saw a tutorial on youtube and it worked pretty well on a 2007. A new radiator is $850 OEM!!!!! Unreal. Anyway sorry for the long post, i'll post more pics when I get the frame on.
This summer, I was driving back from work when a car turned left into my lane. Went into the side of him at about 25-35mph, and messed up my bike pretty good. I was fine, as I just went over his hood. Sorry for the shitty pics, they were on my old phone and this is all I could find.
Initially I wasn't sure of the damage, the front wheel was about 6 inches back and I couldn't turn it because the tire was hitting the headers. I thought it was a bent fork issue. My front wheel was dented and plastics obviously smashed up real good. Closer inspection revealed that the frame shattered where the ram air comes through, with a big crack running through the frame. Insurance wouldn't do anything for me, I had liability only and after a court battle they ruled it was my fault. So I was pretty distraught that I was gonna have to part out the bike, waiting months for everything to sell and taking a big loss on the bike. Especially since the engine ran flawlessly and had new tires and the 10,000 mile service only weeks ago.
Here is a gif of the frame damage
https://gfycat.com/ScaredGlitteringAppaloosa
So my bike sat for months while I decided what to do. Last week, I found a great deal on a salvage frame, and randomly decided to take the push to try to fix it. I've never done any serious work on my bike, but I decided to give it a shot.
I've been taking it slow, labeling every bolt and line with masking tape, taking detailed notes on the order and making a master parts list to make sure I don't lose anything. The bike comes apart surprisingly easy, uses common tools like 10mm sockets, H4-H6 hex bolts, and doesn't take really any special tools aside from a single castle nut socket I had to buy ($50!!!!). The service manual is also very detailed and a huge help.
Starting to come apart:
Subframe removed:
Make sure you take a ton of pictures where the wiring harness goes!!
Lovely throttle bodies, cover them up so nothing falls into them
The frame is coming in tomorrow, I'll be dropping the engine this weekend and pulling off the swingarm and forks. I'm still unsure about the damage to the forks, as the look like they're totally straight, but I'll have to take them off and inspect them. I'll definitely need a new front wheel, but I wonder if the tire was damaged by the impact? I will also be brazing the radiator as there is a small hole in the bottom where it was leaking. Saw a tutorial on youtube and it worked pretty well on a 2007. A new radiator is $850 OEM!!!!! Unreal. Anyway sorry for the long post, i'll post more pics when I get the frame on.