Dead rocket

[planedick]

The XJ I spent time on fixing the tranny problem is dead. That XJ was the hottest bike I have ever ridden. Hard to keep the front wheel down in 1st gear and almost wants to lift off in 2nd. It was a completly stock machine with no modifications I could find. Everything was stock and in prime condition showing 17K on the clock.

Aaron (NYCxLA) said he was hit from behind on the freeway and the bike was totaled. He was lucky and got away with a few minor breaks and bruises.

[3Phase]

Right on, I'm glad he's mostly alright: freeways suck!

[soccer4m]

Ouch

Too bad,,the xj is a great bike, and I really hate to see another one down as they are pretty rare to find and rarer to find a decent one. However, a downed bike is a better trade than a downed human body. May the xj rest in xj heaven. I think I am going to have a talk with my xj and thank the beast for many good miles.............Mike in Sun Diego

[CatatonicBug]

Wow! Another one down?! It is good to know Aaron's on the mend though. Maybe he can part out the leftover bits and use the cash to get another XJ?

[psycoreefer]

I'm looking for a decent running motor...any chance?

[jmnjrpa]

Hmmm

Frames, wheels, etc.. can be replaced. What about the engine? That is the heart of the beast. Rear ended may have saved the engine.

[planedick]

Peices

The tow company has the bike and daily charges ar adding up. They are: Eddies Tow, in Newbury Park, 559-298-6680 and the lein sale is due on 08/09/10 @ 10AM.

It is a really good engine with 17K on the clock and was truly a rocket. I don't know why he was only going 60 MPH on the freeway. I guess you know I'm not likely to get hit from behind.

[CatatonicBug]

That sucks... That's just up the road from my Dad's place in Camarillo. If I still lived there, I'd pick it up for him... They sure don't give him much time to recover before making things worse...

[3Phase]

Planedick, I'm only 15 minutes away from Newbury Park. Does he want the bike saved/rescued from storage so he can fix it or what?

No, you're not likely to get rear-ended on the freeway, it's hard to keep up with you sometimes but fun to ride with!

[planedick]

Totaled

He says it's totaled, but I'm sure most is OK and probably repairable. I imagine that the sale is the best time to get it at less cost. Most scrap yards won't give them much and probably can pick it up for very little. $200 tow + $30 a day for 20 days is lots...

[DGXSER]

Yep, it is amazing how quickly it adds up. But they will not tow it to your place, only to their lot. Then charge you for it being there. Scam in my opinion!

[crazy steve]

Yep, it is amazing how quickly it adds up. But they will not tow it to your place, only to their lot. Then charge you for it being there. Scam in my opinion!

Depends on who calls the tow outfit. I know here, if the cops call the tow outfit, it goes to their yard, end of story. But if you call them and are there when the tow driver gets there, they'll tow it wherever you want, even if the cops show up.

Of course, if they've hauled you away in an ambulance, you're out of luck...

'78E original owner

[3Phase]

The Dead Rocket

Here is the bike. I picked it up from the towing company today and I'm just posting one picture with a link to a slideshow for the rest so I don't hammer Planedick's thread with a bunch of pictures. The bike is totaled but it doesn't look too bad from ten feet away after a wash:



Slideshow

[crazy steve]

The bike is totaled....

Slideshow

Yep, that one's definitely toast. Looks like a fair number of good parts are still left though...

'78E original owner

[3Phase]

Yep, that one's definitely toast. Looks like a fair number of good parts are still left though...

The brake disks are good and so is the alternator, that's why I picked up the hulk after seeing the shape it was in at the towing company. Anything else I can use is a bonus.

It's difficult to see from the pictures but everything on that bike is bent. The ignition key is bent, heck, even the paint is bent!

I'm going to take the engine apart and use the 18K mile innards and jugs to rebuild the '79 Special I picked up today with 123K miles on it. This should be fun!