2002 Drifter Knockdown Post Mortum Initial Survey

RockinRollin · January 03, 2018, 09:18:21 AM

On a more humorous note, (it wasn't funny at the time though) last summer during the 1st Northern Rendezvous Andy took us on a route that had a patch of fresh gravel ( he claims it wasn't there the week before ) so when we hit the gravel there was a pathway in the middle of the road that was hard packed that everyone was taking and halfway through the gravel stretch a car was coming the other way so I pulled over to the right and started to fishtail, it was like riding on marbles. Thank God I wasn't going that fast and straightened it out and got back on the path real quick! Probably be the first guy ever to drop his bike on a Drifter get together or maybe not?

greenbarn · December 26, 2017, 20:44:16 PM

Glad to hear it, KW...

kw-retrorider · December 20, 2017, 11:28:02 AM

I make it a rule not to ride in weather...it didn't help me much.

For the good of the order...it's 50 degrees here in MD.....took the W650 out and have no physiological issues (I might have some, but not specific to riding)

Felt good to be back in the saddle....life will go on.

OR Seedman · December 20, 2017, 08:45:57 AM

I used to ride in all weather conditions...day or night...but the worst was getting caught in a major hail storm going from Phoenix up to Flagstaff one spring. Got hit hard by a big chunk in the right shoulder while trying to duck down under the windshield on my Virago 920. Knocked my hand off the throttle, drifted into the median (sage, sand and scrub) at about 60 mph...did a nice tuck and roll and bounce....LOL. Funny thing was, a state trooper was coming up hard behind me to give me a speeding ticket (was going 75 before the tumble). He stopped right behind me and my bike in the dirt....checked me out (lots of bumps and bruises but no broken bones). He told me that he decided not to ticket me under the circumstances....helped me get the bike up and running (left turn signals gone and lots of road rash on the left side), helped me push it over to the southbound lanes and sent me on my way back home....

Now I am a fair-weather rider for the most part....only ride in bad weather by accident...might make me a bit of a wimp...but so be it...LOL

Tfrank59 · December 19, 2017, 19:01:01 PM

Well at night in the rain is about as challenging as it can get except maybe for at night in the freezing rain haha if I find myself in those situations I do go at a snail's pace generally. I have never encountered a deer however but I live in a part of Washington where there are lots of them even in my neighborhood they come grazing and so it wouldn't be anything to encounter one going say 40 or 50 miles an hour. I wouldn't be able to relax too easily either.

rob f · December 19, 2017, 14:20:39 PM

Sure spooks a guy for sure. My biggest riding fear is at night, in the rain, into oncoming traffic. With headlights blinding a rain splattered visor an animal could be standing in my lane and I'd never know it. If I think about it too much I end up going a snail's pace.
Best to get those thoughts out and enjoy the ride. If a guy/gal lives their lives according to the "what ifs" there wouldn't be any fun being had.
R

RockinRollin · December 19, 2017, 09:38:04 AM

I had a close call with a deer last spring at high speed and it took me the whole summer to relax after that.

kw-retrorider · December 18, 2017, 16:02:40 PM

Rob f: Appreciate the advice and will check the stops.

Not 100% physically yet....ready to ride and have a second bike, but waiting on that.

rob f · December 18, 2017, 11:35:38 AM

I know that I am a newbie to the site but have but in my 2 cents when I deem important.
Sorry to hear about your wreck ( not sure on the details).
About 2 years ago I was in a deer collision with my Virago. All 3 of us came out not bad. The virago was just knocked back and slid for a bit. To me it looked all cosmetic but the insurance co decided to make it a write off because of new parts and labor costs. I got paid out and bought it back for cheap. My labor is free and i had access to cheap used parts.
Up here in Canada ( and sure the same in the states) for a bike to be road worthy after being written off in must go through a vehicle re-certification. I got a hold of a shop that did this to see what the scoop was , and the mechanic gave me a heads up and saved me a lot of grief.
Check your steering stops on the frame. If they are damaged in anyway you will need a whole new frame. My right stop was torn half way off which meant she was no good. Sold the carcass for parts.
Hope yours is ok.

Just a side note........ I got over the physical aspect of the crash ok but the psychological part lasted for quite a while. The first couple of months riding was nerve wracking and i drove like Grandma going to church but eventually got over it. Hopefully you will too. Armor yourself up also. Insurance helped out with new gear and I went from heavy leathers to all Sas Tec armored apparel.
R

CDNRatMan · December 17, 2017, 19:00:13 PM

I have a set of stock risers and bars from a 99 Canadian Drifter if they would be of help to you, they are black of course. I have never had a neutral light issue myself but I would check to be sure it is not just a broken light bulb.
Can not help with the light bar as I sold the last one and have not seen F&S light bars since. But please keep us posted on anything you need and I'll for one try and help you find them......good luck.....

Tfrank59 · December 17, 2017, 17:33:58 PM

Wow sorry about that but I'm glad to hear you're going to be done with PT in February. Also glad to hear you're going to jump back in the saddle and ride that horse again. Hope all goes well for your physical therapy and motorcycle restoration. I agree there's something going on with your neutral safety switch which evidently is stuck open at this point. Good luck and tell us what you learn.

greenbarn · December 17, 2017, 15:14:50 PM

Sounds like your neutral switch was either damaged or the wiring to it damaged. I'll be honest, though- I've never had to locate mine, so not sure exactly where it is. Did the foot shifter get damaged/bent at all? Perhaps if it is hanging up on something a little the trans could be going into N, but not exactly to the point where it "makes" the switch.

Doesn't sound all in all like it's too awfully bad. Hope you can salvage her.

kw-retrorider · December 17, 2017, 13:34:42 PM

The machine is back in the garage, so spent some time with it today. Just giving you guys a sense of what I found post accident. Some thing I expected and other I didn't:

- burped the oil system by removing and reinstalling the oil filter
- found neutral, but neutral light not lit
- turned key and all the dash lights came on (except neutral light)
- engine would not crank until I pulled the clutch in
Note: Clutch is disengaging with the lever. That's how we moved it the night it came off the truck. It was still in gear from the accident.
- once I found pulling in the clutch lever would let it crank, I tied the clutch lever in(disengaged)
- pulled out the choke and cranked the engine. It cranked slow, but started right up
- all the dash lights went out (neutral light still not lit)
- headlight and turn signal lights were on. Spots did not work
Note: Judging by how bent up the bar was, my guess is bulb filaments got broken with the shock of the accident. Pulled the fuse, since I couldn't remember the switch position for "off"
- warmed it up thru choke cycle, then wedged throttle on a high idle and ran it in place for over 30 minutes. Engine warmed up, fan came on. No leaks or odd sounds. Everything normal.
- shut it down and fan stayed on, then cycled off as normal.

- pulled the bent up fire and steel engine guard off. Found the left side attachment bolt slightly bent, but it backed out. Easy to replace.
- removed the windscreen, which was undamaged. Mounting hardware bent forward though
- removed bent and broken aftermarket Honda CB chrome mirrors

Handle bars are the only other thing severely bent, but they can stay for now. Wanted to run the engine and remove enough of the damage to have a reasonable storage profile...now I can cover it again.

So the only thing that is not intuitive right now, is why the clutch lever has to be engaged for the engine to crank. I'm sure there is some permissive circuit that got compromised, like the neutral light circuit, which is not coming on even the bike is in neutral....may be telling the ignition circuit not to work, because it thinks the bike is in gear. Just my thoughts...always open to the thoughts of the group on any and all.

Thanks to Old Drifter for the lead on a pair of fork tubes....I am tracking the chop shops for bits and pieces. Also may consider a replacement since insurance settlement was favorable once I provided research on limited production and actual cost of factor accessories. Progressive my carrier with a rider for accessories. I think they were more than fair. Lawyers handling the medical bills and I've got a PT schedule thru the end of Feb.

That's it for now.