Car and Motorcycle

Crashing a bike happens to the best of us, but unless you’re absolutely certain about the damage caused, you’re stepping out into a potential minefield with all sorts of problems rearing their head just when you thought you’d got everything sorted.

If it’s a small crash with light cosmetic damage, then things should be fine and it’s just a case of tarting things back up. But it’s still worth checking for things like wheel alignment, to see if the wheels spin freely, and also if the chain looks distinctively tighter than before. Any odd signs could point to hidden damage.

If it’s been dragged through a field or in the gravel at a circuit, the airbox will have to be checked for debris making its way into the engine. If so, this can lead to a large failure. So remove the top of the airbox and clear the air intake scoops. It’s also worth checking the throttle tube for any obvious symptoms of harm (you don’t want a sticky throttle), as well as things like where the brake lines meet the master cylinder for any sign of fluid loss. If the bike has been on its side for a while and still running, oil starvation could lead
to major engine issues. It won’t take long before big-ends start to go, so an aural test of the motor is a must at the very least.

But if you get into the realms of heavier crashes, like a situation where your bike has snapped or visually distorted the forks, or the front wheel is caved in, you have to seriously think about the cost effectiveness and hassle of rebuilding what was once your pride and joy.

Generally, with a whack like this it’ll be classed as a Cat B insurance write-off and you won’t be able to get hold of it anyway, but if it’s a trackday bike that’s your responsibility, so take great care doing it up again. Go over everything with a fine tooth comb. A great little tip is when metal is painted or coated, and it bends, it will generally flick a little paint off the surface.

Watch out for where the steering head bearings sit. They’re trying to make bikes as light as possible nowadays, so strength has been sacrificed. I’ve had bikes that have come through the workshop that have been Cat Ds and we start stripping it down to repair it, and it actually should have been a Cat B. The steering heads have gone oval where it had such a hard hit from the front-end and the bearings are rattling around loose in there. As everything was done up tight, you can’t see it or really feel it, but only when we get them apart is the damage evident.



Take one of my race bikes from a few years ago. It was crashed at the TT and rebuilt for Al to race on short circuits. Everything was done on it except the front-end, and when we went to slide the forks into the yokes something wasn’t quite right. So we took the yokes out. It looked fine, but thought I’d replace the bearings. Lo and behold, on inspection with a torch there was a fracture inside the headstock and the bearing collar was cracked all around the base. Had we carried on and just rebuilt it the bearings would have just fallen out.

A lot of these new frames are honeycomb castings and, subsequently, you can’t see any damage from the outside. You have to go inside, which means stripping it right down and being very vigilant. We’ve had all sorts of crash-damaged bikes come in and we’ve stripped them to the frame thinking they were OK, when in fact there has been the odd crack. You simply can’t take any risks, no matter how small the hairline crack is. A lot of the time, the insurance companies won’t pick up on cracks to a frame, which is obviously highly dangerous.

It might have a buckled front wheel, but you can still ride it. It might have slightly bent yokes, but you can still ride it. If you think you’re getting a bargain for a crash-damaged bike, my honest opinion is leave it there. That mark against it will always be there. We pick up on these on MOTs and this bad news can often surprise customers.

For arguments sake, if it’s a Cat C write-off (which means it can be repaired and put back on the road) you would be ill-advised to do the repairs without stripping the bike down further and looking more in-depth. When I say more in-depth, I mean take the frame off of it and look at it because it can be broken internally. If you can see more than just superficial or cosmetic damage, strip it – or get someone else to that you trust.

Do the right thing as it may not be just your life at risk. You jump on it and there may not be a problem, but then you sell it on the interweb and before you know it someone else has got on and suffered the consequences.

You’ll be leaving yourself wide open to be sued. That bike will always be categorised. That chassis number will always be categorised, whether it’s got a registration plate or not. And an obvious big no-no is you do not touch bikes with chassis numbers that have been tampered with or removed in any way, shape or form. They are at the very least a Cat B or stolen. Just say no!