Went down yesterday evening... boy do I feel stupid. But at least Im alive.

[Loukiii]

Got a little too frisky on an onramp to I75 and ran off the road. Thought I made it but as soon as I got back on the shoulder I hit some loose gravel or sand and the back tire went out from under me (brake pedal side) and I spun across the freeway. Luckily I didn't get ran over and I had my protective gear on.
The bike seems to be in decent condition. A small crack on the lower fairing. Brake pedal is bent against the engine and the throttle is stiff. Probably bent the handlebar. Also lost the little round cover on the right side. Also my right exhaust (Kerker White Tip) has road rash and I probably wont be able to replace it.
Waiting on insurance company to give me an estimate before I decide if I am going to fix it or sell it.
Texted the wife while waiting for a tow and first words out of her mouth were "Is the bike totaled I hope" lol Women.
1986 FJ1200

[red]

Loukiii,

Lucky guy!  Glad to hear there were no injuries.  I'd replace the brake pedal, rather than trust a bent-but-straightened pedal.  For all of that stuff, eBay may be some help.  
Amazon has a number of pipes & ends listed by Kerker.  Click and scroll down.  If you can track down the Kerker company, contact them directly.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Kerker+Exhausts

You may want to post a Parts Wanted ad on this site, and maybe other sites as well.
Best wishes.

[Pat Conlon]

Yes, you are alive....and not seriously hurt. You will learn from this and end up being a better rider.
The hardest part of this experience? It's not fixing the bike, that's easy, it's not dealing with your diminished self confidence, that will come back with time.....it's dealing with your wife's fear of losing you. That is very real.

Super glad you're ok. Let us know what you need for your bike.....You concentrate on your wife.  Cheers!  Pat

[Old Rider]

Good to hear you are okay and was lucky  do a check where the brake pedal sits into the clutchcover if there is a crack or hole there look after oilleaks. My 1100 once did fall over
to the right when standing still and the brake pedal punched a hole in the clutchcover so oil poured out. It happened on a journey into sweden and far away from anything.My friend drove me on his bike to a gas station where we bought some super epoxy glue and some degreaser and sandpaper .Then patched the hole by gluing a swedish coin over the hole and it worked

[Loukiii]

Insurance company (Progressive) totaled the bike. They offered me about $2800 or I can keep it and the will give me about $2200. But they will make me get a salvage title
and jump through a bunch of BS hoops. Also I was not able to take pics of the bike at the scene because it was on a busy interstate. But I know the damage was only on the right side. Well now they are telling me there is damage on both sides of the bike. I think the tow operator might have dropped it or something...
I haven't seen it yet.
My wife says I can do what every I want, obviously lol but I wonder if it is worth the headache of dealing with the bike and my wife. lol You know how they say one thing but  you know what they really mean. lol
I really need to get over and take a look at it first I think before I decide.

[red]

Insurance company (Progressive) totaled the bike. They offered me about $2800 or I can keep it and the will give me about $2200. But they will make me get a salvage title and jump through a bunch of BS hoops. Also I was not able to take pics of the bike at the scene because it was on a busy interstate. But I know the damage was only on the right side. Well now they are telling me there is damage on both sides of the bike. I think the tow operator might have dropped it or something...  I haven't seen it yet.  My wife says I can do what every I want, obviously lol but I wonder if it is worth the headache of dealing with the bike and my wife. lol You know how they say one thing but  you know what they really mean. lol  I really need to get over and take a look at it first I think before I decide.

Loukiii,

Not my call, but if I had the same problem, I'd take the $2200 and keep the bike. 

Talk with the DMV there; a salvage title is usually no big deal, except maybe for the guy you sell it to, down the road.  You can probably rehabilitate that salvage title later, maybe by a sell-and-buy with a friend, and license the bike normally.  The DMV can tell you how.

Either sell the bike to somebody who wants a project bike (they should expect to end up with a salvage title), or fix it and just ride the wheels off it.  Talk with the forum owners (RPM) here; they may have a ready market for the motor, and maybe other parts.

Once you line up all of the ducks in a row, the right choices should be easy to spot.

I would definitely tell your wife that the bike has been totaled, since that is what she wants to hear (and you will be able to show her proof!). 
Then either fix or sell the bike.  Any proceeds can help to buy another bike, later.

[yamaha fj rider]

Loukiii, glad to hear you are ok. Good job wearing full gear.

Motorcycles can be repaired or replaced faster than we heal.

Dealing with the insurance company, you might try offering them you will take little less and keep a clean title. For instance, you will take $2,000 and the title stays as is. It almost never hurts to ask. Should you chose to keep the FJ, check for other fees you may need to pay. Such as, the towing and storage. Hope this helps.

Best wishes

Kurt

[Loukiii]

Well I went and looked the bike over finally. All things considered it is in pretty decent shape cosmetically other than some road rash on the right Kerker and a crack in the lower fairing. Of course the rear brake lever and the footpeg need replacement.
The worst looking part to me though is where a cover ground off. And It looks like the engine case is ground down too. I am attaching pics.
Let me know your thoughts. I have a couple days to make my final decision.

[red]

Loukiii,

I would definitely fix that bike, but that's just me.     Replace the rear brake lever.  If you can't find a round cover for the road rash, make a round cover plate from flat aluminum to cover the damage.  Put a Yamaha brand (the tuning forks) decal on it if you wish, then JB-Weld the cover in place over the damage.  Make a small curved metal bash plate to just cover the damaged part of the pipe, and pop-rivet that cover in place.  Make two such plates, and put one on each pipe, so it looks symmetrical, instead of looking like a repair on one side only. 

For the chin fairing, remove it and clean away any oil or dirt you find with isopropyl alcohol. The crack in the chin fairing can be repaired with a slurry of ABS glue and shavings of ABS plastic pipe, melted by the glue.  Make inside patches of ABS plastic pipe, flattened to fit first by using a heat gun, and then glued inside along the crack.  Do not get the heat gun anywhere near the chin fairing, of course.  Plumbing shops will have the real ABS glue (not generic stuff) and ABS piping.  Sand the repair smooth as needed.  If you wish to avoid painting, consider a vinyl wrap for the chin fairing, but a good repair may not need any paint or vinyl wrap.
Best wishes.

[Pat Conlon]

Definitely Fix the bike. I am not a fan of Kerkers (I've had them fall off) so you can sell the good one on FleaBay and invest in a new set of slip ons that have actual support straps on the cans.

[Urx]

Id be keeping the bike and taking the money
No way is it going to cost you $2k to make that all better.......

[Loukiii]

Thanks for all the unbiased and impartial responses. I am leaning towards getting the bike back. I have been looking for parts and so far think I can fix the bike. The only thing that has me kind of worried is where the ground off cover is.
Pardon my ignorance but what is it? Someone said it is the clutch cover but I thought that is the large cover on the right side not the small one.

Also not surprisingly, when I turn the key now the engine doesn't turn over. I don't think it is shifting either but I didn't spend a whole lot of time with it as the people at the salvage yard were kind of dicks. They said they already took pictures and I was not allowed to take my own. Even though I ignored them and took the pictures of the damaged cover anyway before they told me I would have to leave if I didn't stop. lol

So far I think I have found everything I would need externally except for the cover because I don't know what I'm looking for yet. Even the fairing isnt too terribly bad and looks like it has had some work done on it before anyway.

The handlebars are not bent. The end cap got ground on a bit but the brake lever is fine. Throttle was stiff because it has one of those 80's aftermarket cruise control clamps on it and it got twisted up a bit. I would probably toss that thing anyway.

If I could figure out why it isnt turning over I would be a lot more confident in my decision to fix it myself. I know it will probably require some mechanic work beyond my skillset. I was getting ready to get the carbs done soon too.

[red]

Loukiii,

The battery is probably dead, or maybe a lead tore loose in the accident.  I would not expect to find any engine/transmission damage, but you never know.

[Pat Conlon]

The cover is #4 above...still available from Yamaha, $65

https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/yamaha/motorcycle/1987/fj1200t/crankcase-cover

Before you spend your money, go to the 'Parts Wanted' section and post....perhaps one of us will surprise you.
This happens a lot around here.

Cheers

[racerrad8]

Pat,

You know who else has those covers in stock?


http://rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Crankcover%3A5EA-15426-20-00

Seems to be better pricing as well. I hate to see our forum members overpaying for an item from a corporation that doesn't support the membership.

Randy - RPM