had a fire this morning.

[3W-lonerider]

went riding this morning and stopped to do allittle car shopping. walking back to the bike i notice a screw in the left rear tire.

well the tires were down in tread so dropped the wife off at the house and i went to the tire dealer and got new tires on the back.

backed the trike out of the service bay at the tire dealer and proceded to go up the street to get the state inspection done.

after pulling out of the tire shop i started to smell smoke, kept looking around to see where the building was on fire. did'nt recall hearing any fire engines.

so i pull into the inspection station and the smoke bellowed up around the gas tank, one of the guys came out with a fire extinguisher and sprayed it. we got the positive off the battery.

they left me borrow a truck and trailer to haul it home.

getting ready to pull the tank and check the damage. first time in 20 years my bike has been on a trailer. sure looked sad back there.

 

[peteg59]

Sorry to hear this.

Hopefully the damage is not too severe, and your insurance covers it...?

 

[3W-lonerider]

went riding this morning and stopped to do allittle car shopping. walking back to the bike i notice a screw in the left rear tire.

well the tires were down in tread so dropped the wife off at the house and i went to the tire dealer and got new tires on the back.

backed the trike out of the service bay at the tire dealer and proceded to go up the street to get the state inspection done.

after pulling out of the tire shop i started to smell smoke, kept looking around to see where the building was on fire. did'nt recall hearing any fire engines.

so i pull into the inspection station and the smoke bellowed up around the gas tank, one of the guys came out with a fire extinguisher and sprayed it. we got the positive off the battery.

they left me borrow a truck and trailer to haul it home.

getting ready to pull the tank and check the damage. first time in 20 years my bike has been on a trailer. sure looked sad back there.

well got the tank off and all the wiring is fried between the center cover and battery. it melted the clutch hyd. hose melted the tilt sensor and center cover. almost every part i look for is discontinued and the only way to get it is buy used.

i really don't think i'm going to fix it. i think i'm ready for a new bike. or just give up riding.

 

[Gorilla]

sorry to read this. what were you riding? I can not tell from the photo

 

[3W-lonerider]

sorry to read this. what were you riding? I can not tell from the photo

99 honda valkyrie with 214,000 miles on it.

 

[ol' school]

Wow Rick, I am really sorry to hear your sad news! You and your ride have been together a long time.

 

[Warlock]

well got the tank off and all the wiring is fried between the center cover and battery. it melted the clutch hyd. hose melted the tilt sensor and center cover. almost every part i look for is discontinued and the only way to get it is buy used.

i really don't think i'm going to fix it. i think i'm ready for a new bike. or just give up riding.

Man that sucks, excuse the language, could you possible tell what caused the melt down. Here I am just bought a used one. I guess anyone of them can do this. Don't give up on riding. Check at Pinwall on some of the wiring. He has a lot of Valkyrie parts.

David

 

[Lee H. Mann]

Rick, that is awful news to hear. Was it electrical or fuel related ? Keep optimistic and look forward to the fix or a new one.

 

[3W-lonerider]

It was electrical. Glad it was behind the center cover or it woulda melted the fuel line then the boom woulda happened. It did melt the vent line off the back of the tank.

 

[Warlock]

It was electrical. Glad it was behind the center cover or it woulda melted the fuel line then the boom woulda happened. It did melt the vent line off the back of the tank.

Sent you a PM over at the VRCC to give me a call when you get a chance.

David

 

[JaysGone]

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

But I totally rebuilt my 99 Valk mostly with used parts off of ebay or from PinWall Cycle parts.

They are out there. Including a full harness which was one of the 1st things I replaced.

It can be done.

1st pics what I started with.

2nd was the bike 8 months later and 98% restored to stock with all NOS or PinWall parts.

 

[3W-lonerider]

the thing of it is. i turn wrenches 50 hours a week, i'm getting to the point that the last thing i wanna do when i get home is turn wrenches if ya know what i mean.

 

[rhino 2]

the thing of it is. i turn wrenches 50 hours a week, i'm getting to the point that the last thing i wanna do when i get home is turn wrenches if ya know what i mean.

Sometimes with a vehicle fire, It would have better if the guy with the fire extinguisher, Didn't find one.....Then just collect the insurance [Totaled out]......And then move on in any direction you want...:Shrug:...

 

[3W-lonerider]

Sometimes with a vehicle fire, It would have better if the guy with the fire extinguisher, Didn't find one.....Then just collect the insurance [Totaled out]......And then move on in any direction you want...:Shrug:...

yep, i agree. but in a matter of minutes it would've melted threw the gas line. with 4 gallons of gas in the tank. i think they are going to total it anyway. because theres parts like the tilt sensor and radio that are no longer available

so far iv'e come up with 2 grand in parts and thats not including the parts i can't get. plus even if i was doing the wiring harness i think i'd be looking at 16 hours at 50 per hour that would be half of what the bike shop would charge.

 

[Sidecarbill]

yep, i agree. but in a matter of minutes it would've melted threw the gas line. with 4 gallons of gas in the tank. i think they are going to total it anyway. because theres parts like the tilt sensor and radio that are no longer available

so far iv'e come up with 2 grand in parts and thats not including the parts i can't get. plus even if i was doing the wiring harness i think i'd be looking at 16 hours at 50 per hour that would be half of what the bike shop would charge.

You may want to see what they'll give you. It may not even be close to what it costs to replace. A bike that old with that many miles probably doesn't book out for much. Around here if it totals you won't be taking it back and repairing it.

 

[JaysGone]

Thanks bike rode and ran great.

I did it to use the bike as my trike.

But since no shop down here was willing to make me a custom kit for a Metric bike. Reverse was the one thing I had to have.

I gave up on the idea and eventually sold it.

Its now someplace in Norway. That was 5 to 6 years ago.

I bought the GoldWing trike instead.

I still have a lot of parts left over sitting in my garage.

Even with an Interstate a lot if things can be as they say "left" out. Ex: tilt sensor the 1st part id not even consider replacing. Tons of them can be had not new but they are out there.

At my present age and shape. I don't think I could/would do this again.

 

[3W-lonerider]

Just calculated everything thing up. Looks like 2500.00 in parts. Plus my labor. Been looking at the new yamaha transcontinental but nobody is making a trike kit for it yet. Don't know how far along they are at doing it. So i might be doing this anyway. Looks like the main harness isn't that difficult. Btw you done a great job on that valk.

 

[JaysGone]

Just calculated everything thing up. Looks like 2500.00 in parts. Plus my labor. Been looking at the new yamaha transcontinental but nobody is making a trike kit for it yet. Don't know how far along they are at doing it. So i might be doing this anyway. Looks like the main harness isn't that difficult. Btw you done a great job on that valk.

A lot of the parts on these bikes are more or less plug N play. As long as you don't have to do any real mechanical work. As in the engine or say clutch.

Its take off old part reinstall new one.

Now being realistic. Insurance wont pay you squat for your bike. 214K is just about the breaking in point of the 1500 motor some say.

Ive always thought of the 1500 engine as a 250K mile motor. So your fairly close to what would be my personal sell by date.

As for the new Yamaha. Do you really want to spend $25K plus a kit.

Kits will be out soon enough.

Honestly. There are so many bikes out there for sale now. Its a buyers market.

Id like to put my 2010 GW / Motor Trike kit up for sale. I'm afraid it wont sell. Too many used trikes out there.

Im in need of a car too.............my 2 cars are also a bit aged. But I use the bikes more then the cars so its a personal dilemma.

Im not ready to give up riding yet.

It might make ALOT more sense for you to look for a used trike at this stage in the riding game. So many used out there.

 

[3W-lonerider]

thats deffinatly sweet.

talked to the insurance person today. i have full coverage with no deductable.

after she found out what my bike is worth even with 214,000 miles on it she was shocked.

they are sending a person to my house that has knowledge of vehicle fires to do an estimate. so i still have to wait on them. should know something by the end of the week.

 

[Marc H]

Just calculated everything thing up. Looks like 2500.00 in parts. Plus my labor. Been looking at the new yamaha transcontinental but nobody is making a trike kit for it yet. Don't know how far along they are at doing it. So i might be doing this anyway. Looks like the main harness isn't that difficult. Btw you done a great job on that valk.

My opinion here but with the way kits for bikes other than Harley or Goldwing seem to be going away I wouldn't hold my breathe for the engineering dollars being spent on the Yamaha.I think it would be a cool bike but I just don't see it happening.At least not by the big conversion companies.

 

[3W-lonerider]

Insurance adjuster coming tomorrow. I'll keep everybody updated.

 

[3W-lonerider]

insurance adjuster just left, he took pics and said the same conclusion i came to. the main cable going to the alternator is what caused it. being the hefty wire that it is. once it started melting there was no fuze blowing that was going to stop it.should know what is gonna happen by the end of next week.

 

[3W-lonerider]

I just realised i left this thread without an ending. We ended up totalling the trike. Insurance gave me 15,400 for it. I'm getting a 2019 kawasaki voyager with a csc kit. Its at csc right now being triked. Should have it in a week or two.

 

[paws]

I just realised i left this thread without an ending. We ended up totalling the trike. Insurance gave me 15,400 for it. I'm getting a 2019 kawasaki voyager with a csc kit. Its at csc right now being triked. Should have it in a week or two.

Actually... somewhere you did post this info as I was SHOCKED to read at the time that the insurance gave you so much for that trike. That settlement was unheard of! Be sure you stay insured with that bunch!

A Merry Early Christmas wish to you! :stockings:

 

[JaysGone]

Why would you be so surprised??

Id expect to get the replacement value of the bike. Plus the cost of the kit installed.

Im reasonably sure that is how mine is insured. At least that is how I understand it to be.