Motorcycle Caught Fire

G

gtacycle

Active member
Motorcycle Caught Fire

so i started my motor cycle up today and i wanted to let it warm up, its my first time starting it since nov

anyways. it started up fine.

i quickly ran inside to get something to drink come back out and the right Fairing is on fire. i douse the flames.

now im at a loss. what should i do?

i have liability coverage with insurance but i think it may cover fire.

should i go through insurance. the right fairing is completely gone.

they were aftermarket fairings.

The bike it self is intact, a glans looks like all of the damage was done to the fairings. i cant tell if any tubing was damaged. I havent turned it on since.

I have not told the police or anyone.

what are the steps?!

what should i do?
the bike is a ninja 250r, i bought it for 3000$.

I want to recover my money. that is my ultimate goal now.
 
Basic liability insurance IS NOT "comprehensive" also known as "fire and theft". You don't have comprehensive coverage unless you are paying for it.

Even so ... Comprehensive coverage always has a deductible associated with it. If only that part is damaged then it will probably be better to just buy the replacement part. It probably costs less than the deductible on your insurance, which makes it not worth filing a claim.

More important is to find out WHY it caught fire, and whether there is damage as a result of the fire. Was the fairing touching the exhaust system? Electrical problems?

Take all the fairings off that could possibly interfere with the exhaust system and start it up again ... but this time, keep a constant eye on it.
 
That's a comprehensive claim I think. Do you have comp/theft or liability only? If it's liability only you're screwed.
 
pictures....or I call ********. Not to say it can't happen but I've done just about everything in 60k km on a Ninja 250, bit it just catching fire is pretty unheard of.
 
LoneRonin said:
pictures....or I call ********. Not to say it can't happen but I've done just about everything in 60k km on a Ninja 250, bit it just catching fire is pretty unheard of.
Click to expand...

Could be the previous owner screwing around with things - if they're willing to change to aftermarket fairings, maybe they felt like they could rewire the bike for one reason or another...
 
whoa that sucks man. Maybe something flammable fell behind the fairing over the winter or possibly a little furry critter? Exhaust seems the most likely culprit but I'd expect the pipes would just melt the plastic, not set fire to it. Maybe there is a leak near your headers that is spitting out flames?

I'd inspect it thoroughly and if an obvious cause can't be seen I'd take it over to a shop to have them examine it. Burnt hoses should be easy to identify but melted electrical might be harder to see.
 
Is the bike carbeurated or fuel injected?

If it's a carb bike, it's possible that you had a stuck float and fuel was leaking out of the vent, and if it dripped onto the exhaust because the vent tube was missing or routed incorrectly it could easily catch fire. You need to be really careful about this stuff when storing your bike for the winter especially if you drained the carbs when you stored it.
If the fire damage isn't to bad you can bring it down to our shop and we can look it over for you and get you an accurate estimate on how much it will cost to get you back up and on the road.
 
LoneRonin said:
pictures....or I call ********. Not to say it can't happen but I've done just about everything in 60k km on a Ninja 250, bit it just catching fire is pretty unheard of.
Click to expand...

Really. I ve seen a Ducati 1098 catch fire in front of my eyes, due to a fairing placement issue.
 
Like many other posted have noted, I would concern myslef so much with the insurance aspect until you find the root cause. If you are unable or lack the skillset to do this yourself, your best bet is to allow a dealer or mechanic look it over. This is not a problem you want to see repeated.
 
Squirrels and mice are notorious for buildings nests around engines, inside of air boxes...whatever. I've had an ATV catch fires as a result of this. I have had to take apart many air boxes because squirrels have filled them up with acorns. If it was stored since November and you hadn't done any work to it I would look for Speedy Gonzales remains.
 
not to mention the China aftermarket kit's dont come with heat shield...and if you or the previous owner didnt install the heat shield proper from the old fairings this may have caused it...
they are also inferior quality plastic obviously too
 
What does a replacement panel cost? $200-$300 used?

Go the replacement route.....unless a lot of other stuff is damaged...
 
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