I slowed down to pull over at the turn off to marysville to do a U-turn, there are a heap of driveways and gravel tracks there and it looked a good spot to stop before heading home.. I didn't think I was going that fast but I obviously was because as soon as I touched the gravel the front wheel disappeared from under me. no major damage to me or the bike other than a few fairing cracks and lots of scratches and me with a sore knee and a bruised ego...
So long story short.. I need to do quite a few repairs to the fairings as currently everything is held together at the moment with the gaffe tape job that was done before riding home.. It is ridable but it ain't pretty... Silver gaffe tape on a purple bike isn't subtle...
I could do a half arse job like last time, fix the cracks and sand down the worst of the scratches but that many scratches ain't gonna "buff out"...
The new damage when added to the old damage makes grabbing some new or second hand replacement fairings an appealing option, only trouble is finding some, my ZZR250 (1993) is a little old and purple is not a common colour. I've checked ebay and there are some semi trashed second hand pieces that are really expensive and there is some Chinese mob selling full sets for about $600 shipped. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Kawasaki-ZZR250-ZZR-250-Fairing-Fairings-/180497476062?cmd=ViewItem&pt=AU_Motorcycle_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2a067ce9de
Question is, has any one ever dealt with these guys? Is it Kwallity with a capital 'K' or are they reasonably good value?
The other question is, are there any wreckers around melb that are likely to have fairings for a ZZR250 of that vintage? And if so how expensive are they? Are there any other places local or online that won''t require me to sell a kidney for some beaten up replacements?
The thinking is that picking up some replacement bits that I can throw on for a few weeks while I repair the originals means I can still ride. I can always throw the second hand ones up on ebay or keep them for next time I use the bike as a taboggan.
The damage is all repairable but to do it properly it is likely to take at *least* a couple of weeks.. That said I also know I'll need to replace or fix everything properly at some point if I'm going to get even vaguely close to what I paid for it when I eventually sell it to upgrade to something with a little more grunt.
... This post started turning into 'war and peace' with lots of pointless details.. so read on if your bored
On Saturday the the bike did the bike equivalent of a face plant. The top fairing is cracked where the mirror attaches and around where it attaches to the lower side fairing along with some pretty good scratches. The side right fairing now has a few more scratches and where I had repaired it previously it is cracked again.
When I bought it the bike had some scrapes up the left side and a small crack near the indicator that is held together with a cable tie.. I added a matching set of scrapes on the right side about two weeks after I got it when I replaced the glazed front brake pads that were dangerously soft and promptly locked the front wheel when I no longer needed to pull the brake lever to the bar to stop from 40km/h..
Last time I used epoxy to fix two small cracks and re-attach the mounting tabs in a couple of places for the left fairing but other than sanding the worst of the scratches out of it it is still pretty dinged up. Poor bike looks like it had a fight with belt sander..
Basically to get it back to a reasonable state and fix all the fairings properly (top, L and R sides) it is going to take a fair amount or work which means the bike it out of action until it is finished.. It has only been 36 hours and I'm already having riding withdrawals.. not sure I can go a few weeks with the bike in pieces while I fix it...
