Hit and Run repairs

[sam206]

Hey all,

My 1981 GS 750EX was a victim of hit and run on Saturday night. A delivery driver at the grocery store I work for backed right into her, knocked her over flooding the carbs and spilling gas everywhere, not to mention mangling the right side of the bike (exhaust and crash bars were scraped pretty bad). Then he set the bike back up, told no one, and left. After drying out, the bike will start but it turns out the throttle got pretty badly mangled and now sticks wherever I leave it, making it unsafe to ride.

I'm hoping that it will be a simple matter of replacing the throttle tube and grip. I guess I don't really have a question so much as a need to gripe about this somewhere. Oh yeah, and the delivery driver denies the whole thing, claims he "doesn't remember hitting the bike" with his 2-ton trailer, but admits that when he came around the back of the truck the bike was on its side so he set it back up. As it stands, its my word against his so you can bet the delivery company's insurance isn't giving up anything.
Is there anything else that could be wrong in the right side assembly from such a hard fall? The brake lever is also mangled, so I'll have to replace it. Thanks guys.
-Sam

[tkent02]

As it stands, its my word against his so you can bet the delivery company's insurance isn't giving up anything.

Hit and run is a crime, tell this weasel if he doesn't fess up you will get the cops involved. Cops won't give a rat's ass, there's no revenue in it, but he won't know that. There has to be proof, there always is. Something like pieces of your bike's paint stuck on the truck's bumper or something.

[Skateguy50]

If he does a lot of deliveries you could always suggest it would be in his best interest to make you whole and keep the LEO's and insurance out of the picture. Could always pull a bit of a bluff and mentions security cameras, although if they actually have some would be good to check in on as they often tape over the old footage and dont archive more than a few days.

Next thing he backs over might not be a bike, beer bottles (not me)

Jking on that... but seriously some people would take revenge to that level or more so him trying to play it off is pretty bold.

Oh and for your fixes, check if its the throttle itself or maybe the bar is bent so even new plastic might get stuck. Bars are cheap, I would get new bars if your bike fell on them, try to find the throttle assembly used if you can (parts forum here), and get new grips to make reinstall easier. I think I got bars and grips delivered for $40 from Z1. Take pictures, lots of them, then do what you need to to keep riding and save the receipts. I would put a claim into the insurance regardless and put his name and plate number down, also like mentioned look for evidence on is bumper and take pictures of that.

[sam206]

Looking at the bars this morning I noticed they are bent a good two inches in on the right side. I took a ton of pictures which I have sent to the company. The delivery company, a west coast natural foods distributor known as UNFI, actually changed his route so he wouldn't be making any deliveries to our store for a while, I assume to prevent me from talking to him directly. They also refuse to provide me his contact information. A hit and run will definitely cost a driver their commercial driver's license, so I'm hoping that when the police catch up with him (I've filed a police report) he'll get spooked and cut me a check. I'm ordering all OEM parts from the nearby Suzuki dealership with the hope that insurance will come down on my side. I'll keep you guys posted and thanks for the tips.

[Skateguy50]

He would have been much better off to own up to it and settle with you for cash day 1, oh well he had his chance do what you need to do now.

[sam206]

Hey,

The distribution company is denying all liability. I'm going after my employer's insurer currently. Oh well. There is a special circle in hell for hit and run drivers.

My Clymer does not have an exploded diagram of the handlebar configuration. Does anyone know where I might be able to find one? I've ordered new bars and a new throttle grip because the tube was cracked. Also a new brake lever. I'm going to try and find some new turn signals online. With the original 2-1 exhaust now damaged, this might be the perfect opportunity to get into a 4-1 and headers. Thanks again guys. Any more suggestions would be great.
-Sam

[Rick65Cat]

Lol...depending on how big you are, you could subtly suggest to him that he better not meet up with you by chance in a bar.

[sam206]

Rick, I'm not the biggest guy, but I did call the driver a chicken**** and a liar. He's been told to not say a word to me about the incident, and remained surprisingly composed. I was hoping he'd get mad and slip up, but no luck.

Relating to the repairs: In the electric starter housing that attaches to the right handlebar there is a small node that protrudes into a hole in the original bars and looks like it's a ground for the starter. I'm not exactly an ace with wiring, so I might be wrong. The bars I purchased didn't have this hole, so I drilled one in and put everything back together. Bike looked great and started right up, but today when I went to fire it up it sounds like either my battery is drained or the starter isn't getting enough juice. She'll almost start up the first try and then won't even come close again. I'm wondering if it has something to do with this ground. Anybody got any ideas? Thanks.
-Sam

[MikeJ]

In the electric starter housing that attaches to the right handlebar there is a small node that protrudes into a hole in the original bars and looks like it's a ground for the starter.

Actually, it's just a locating pin to immobilize the switch housing, rotation-wise, to keep it from moving when you twist the throttle grip.

I'm not exactly an ace with wiring, so I might be wrong.

You can double-check, but I don't think there are any wires of any kind connected to that pin. And, if anything were to serve a grounding function, the entire switch assembly being clamped to the handlebar does that just as well.

IIRC the starter switch does have 2 wires running from it to the wiring harness - one is the hot lead to the solenoid, the other is ground.

The bars I purchased didn't have this hole, so I drilled one in and put everything back together. Bike looked great and started right up,

Which ISTM shows that this was not the source of the problem that happened later:

but today when I went to fire it up it sounds like either my battery is drained or the starter isn't getting enough juice.

Which usually are 2 ways of saying the same thing. Did you check your battery after the hit-and-run tip-over? It may have leaked electrolyte fluid and be below the minimum level. Check and, if necessary, add more distilled water. You may have to put it on a battery charger to get enough juice to spin the starter, or else do a jump-start from a car battery (with the car NOT running). If you don't know how to connect the cables to do a jump start, ask.

She'll almost start up the first try and then won't even come close again.

Sounds like a weak battery. Have you tried a jump-start? I assume your bike does not have a kick-starter. If she spins and starts just fine with a jump-start, the problem is your battery.

[sam206]

Thanks for the tips Mike, but after fully charging the battery (which is only about 8 months old) the bike still won't start. The starter will turn over but I can't get the bike to fire up. I'm going to check my spark plugs, but if that isn't the problem I'm going to be at a loss. Any suggestions guys? Thanks.
-Sam