Damaged following hit and run

[Gidds]

Hi, apologies if this has been answered in a previous thread - forums are new to me!


I have an 03 fazer (in silver) and someone has done me the absolute pleasure of knocking it over outside my house and driving off (no witnesses unfortunately).


They've left me with a dent in my tank, the front and rear fairing damaged (cracked) and an indicator is mullered too!


What are peoples thought on:
replacing the tank / getting it repaired or resprayed and which is cheaper - seem tanks on ebay for £60.
Could it be pulled? are they single skinned tanks?


Buying replacement fairing and getting that sprayed OR doing a naked conversion (how hard is it to convert to naked? I like the aesthetic of fairing but there's less to damage if it's naked should it happen again - i do live on a busy road in Bristol.)


Any advice on what to do to stop this happening again i'd be grateful for too!


Thanks in advance


G.

[HydrocarbonPrimate]

Pretty sure mostodern bikes are double skin, mine had similar damage, filler will eventually crack / shrink n show through paint no matter how good a job is done.


Buy a tank go naked is what i'd do.

[Disorderlypunk]

i would look for a replacement tank, if your lucky and willing to wait a little then you might be lucky and get the same colour


as for the fairing damage you have to make sure the cage isnt bent
mine went naked because it was twisted and trying to straighten it became a nightmare


as for paint i found ford moondust silver to be a pretty close match and its available in rattlecans from halfords

[Gnasher]

Pretty sure mostodern bikes are double skin

Very few tanks if any have been double skin for the last 50 odd years if ever!  I certainly can't think of one main stream bike, quite a few had false tanks older Goldwings had side opening tanks, but not double skin.

mine had similar damage, filler will eventually crack / shrink n show through paint no matter how good a job is done.

Not in my experience, vast majority of dent's can be pulled out and filled, if done by skilled people you'd never know it was there.  I work on bikes that are 30 odd years old that I know have had repairs done, you can't see the repair.  As with all things that get damaged, repair isn't just about can it be done, it's is it worth it, i.e. a replacement of the same colour be that new or second hand could well be cheaper than quality repair. 

Going naked, well that's the cheap way out and will change how the bike feels, frames and firings can be repaired.

Hunt around, go with recommendations and do your sums.  Obviously if you can't afford the work you've got little choice, but naked not only will it not ride as well it will sell much lower than standard. 

[Gidds]

Thanks for the input everyone.


After a bit of assessment I've managed to bodge the indicator lenses back on and everything seems square...


I think i'll keep an ear to the ground for a silver tank and fairing but leave it tatty for a little while in case it happens again. IF anyone has a silver foxeye on it's last legs... i'm your guy.


Can anyone recommend a bike bodywork place in the South West (long shot) for this ding in the tank? I was quoted £300 quid earlier, I nearly crushed my phone!

[John Silva]

Nice to see you managed to get on here Gidds.
You can try Ace of Sprays he is highly recommended for your damage tank. (He is on Facebook)
I might have my old indicators if you want them.

My bike was crashed/dropped and I put it back on the road by going down the naked route.
It did feel a lot different at first but I've had her so long that I couldn't break the ole girl up for parts.

[Middy2000]

Your damage sounds to be pretty much on a par to what I suffered when i binned mine coming out a petrol station at low speed.


My experience is:-


I put a dent in the tank from where the handlebar hit it.  I spoke to somebody who said in reality it couldn't be pulled out.  In the end I had it filled and sprayed.  Cost about 80 quid and you cannot tell.  The paint codes are no longer recognised these days but they have the ability to scan your current paint and they can mix it to match. Like what you can in B&Q etc...  The match is perfect.
It's not shrunk or cracked as yet.


The front fairing frame does bend as mine did, I didn't notice until months later.  However it's about half an hour job to remove everything and expose the frame.  I removed it, put it in a vice and using a 6ft length of box section steel levered it back straight. 


Front fairing for me was a punt on one from Ebay that comes from Poland.  About 120 quid.  Quality replica.  The only difference being the back of it is rough fibreglass and not smooth like the original.  When fitted you don't see much of this.  Everything aligns as it should. 


Probably cost me around 400 quid in total to completely restore her back to pre accident.  That included replacing indicators, mirrors, alternator cover etc...