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After all the advice on this thread, I bought my totaled 97 Fatboy back from the insurance company for cheap and had it delivered this week. First thing I had to do was hose it down (I don't know if they bathed it in dirt at the wrecking yard or what)!
Damage I've been able to see so far:
* Air cleaner is banged up and bent upwards from the bike
* Carb is unattached from the manifold and angled up with the AC. Not sure if it's damaged or not.
* Right floorboard is mangled and bent upward into the brake pedal
* Brake pedal is bent inwards
* Scratched up paint on exhaust (but no dents that I've found)
* Crashbar is bent inward on the right side (this is where I hit the car).
* Gouge on the side of the right lower fork slider
* Windshield on detachable fairing is cracked off
* Frame tab is bent outward
That last one is the most crucial thing in my mind. I know HD considers bikes totaled once that tab is bent. So the million dollar question is whether or not it's only the tab that's bent or if the rest of the frame is out.
Remarkably, the fenders, tanks, saddlebags, fairing, grips and bars all seem unscathed. The only powder coating I noticed missing on the frame so far is at the tab itself. I feel like there's a decent chance that the frame is intact, considering the overall picture and the fact that I wasn't going very fast at the time of impact. If it is, I'm likely looking at replacing minimal stuff and being good to go. But it doesn't really make sense to start replacing busted parts until I know what I've got on my hands.
How do I best go about figuring out if my frame is alright? I know the perfectionist's method would be to strip the bike down and have it checked at a shop. I'll certainly do that if it's necessary, but is it? I'm not seeing any obvious signs of frame damage (other than that tab that I can pound back into place).
I guess you could have somebody to push you while you ride or just aim it down hill....see if steers well, and the pusher should see if you are dog tracking....that's probably not scientific...but you'll know quickly if something isn't right. I am reckoning it don't run now or I'd say just give it a spin around the block...It's scary ferreting out wreck damage but so nice when you get your bike back together!
This is probably a crazy thought, but before I take off the crash bars...
Is there any reason that bending them back to straight (or as close as possible) would be a good idea first? I'm wondering if the frame is tweaked, would the force of pounding the crash bars in the opposite direction that they went in the crash then tweak the frame back towards true?
Btw, I've heard people say that crash bars don't protect you in an actual crash. Well, the driver in this incident entered the street from the right and kept plowing straight through 2 lanes of traffic to turn left without looking. I laid on my horn and swerved as far to the left as possible, but by the time she finally stopped I still wasn't quite out of the way and my right bar hit the front of her car and sent me flying off the bike. Without those crash bars on my bike, that would've been my right leg.
Last edited by rainsong; Jun 29, 2019 at 08:40 AM.
Im guessing some group of moco lawyers dictate the engine guard terminology. They no doubt offer some level of protection in some accidents. I saw a guy go down and slide down the road... the engine guards kept the weight of the bike off of him.
Regarding the bent frame tab, my Heritage was in a crash at 50mph. Crash bar bent bad and bent the frame tab like yours is. There was not as much damage to my bike as there is with yours. Made all repairs and have been riding the bike with the bent tab for many years now with no apparent damage to frame other than the bent tab. So you may be in luck.
Im guessing some group of moco lawyers dictate the engine guard terminology. They no doubt offer some level of protection in some accidents. I saw a guy go down and slide down the road... the engine guards kept the weight of the bike off of him.
That's what happened to me and my nephew when we hit a deer....I had crash bars in front of the engine and in front of the bags.....we went over on the left side and slid about 150 feet holding onto the bike the whole time....the crash bars were in a bad way but they did the job....we got scraped up good, but not totally skinned and no broken bones.
About 20 years ago when I was riding my old Honda Shadow, I saw a guy and his wife go down on an ElectraGlide when they hit an oil patch taking a corner. Bars kept both them and the bike completely intact. I helped them roll it back up and they went right on their way.
I bought crash bars for my bike the very next day.
Start by pulling it down and looking for what's busted, bent or fixable, then start making a list. Do you want it back "like new?" Or "mostly looks good" or "custom?"
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Where would you start?
