DAY 3 - wiring harness

Today i disconnected the complete wiring harness from the engine and other components so that there would be no obstructions when removing the engine. I also spent time labeling every socket in the harness so that i would know where to connect the wires once everything is removed. Took a great deal of time to to track down which component the various wires were connect to. Thank the lord i was able to find a complete 98-99 Yamaha R1 manual on the internet. Without that i would be toast.


The major part of the wiring harness along with the battery and a couple of relays. The box with the green label is the bikes control unit.









The rear brake lights and indicators. Unfortunately the front lights and indicators had been crushed by the accident.










the part that holds the forks and handlebars together along with the on-off switch.















the front. Looks pretty nasty after the accident.













The part of the frame that holds the seats. Completely ripped of the main frame. You can see the broken sections. I really wonder how this happened. The rider was probably a huge person and got launched off the bike and fell back on the seat. The seat and the body panels around the seat look perfectly fine, never seemed to have smashed into anything.

The rear end














Some of the tools i use. I wish i had one of those complete tool kits, but they are way too expensive. These should be fine for now.

DAY 2 - starting the engine

Goal for today was to get the engine to start. However the start button did not seem to work. After spending the whole morning trying to figure out the electrics, i found out that the wires in the clutch switch was cut. (the bike only starts if the clutch is engaged or if the gear is in neutral. I was unable to get the gear into neutral because the shifter was not functioning well). Finally after fixing the clutch switch, the start button turned on the fuel pump and the starter motor. Also the entire carburetor assembly is out of place . Tried the entire evening to slot it back in but it was impossible as there was no space to get my hands in and tighten them. Now the only solution is to remove the engine from the frame. For that i need to run to the hardware store to get some bigger hex keys and also find my self a bike stand or else i would have to lay the bike on the floor since the leg stand on the bike ain't providing good support.


carburetor assembly out of place
















way too hard to get my hands in there and tighten the screws















everything squeezed into a tiny place

DAY 1 - disassembly

Got the bike transported to my house. Extremely hard to move the bike as the front wheel had jammed itself into the radiator and could not rotate. Spent 2 damn hours trying to remove the damaged radiator and still the wheel could not rotate cause it was scraping the exhaust pipes. ended up dragging the 200kg bike into my backyard and then began the dismantling process.i keep thinking about the guy who had crashed this bike. feel sorry for him, hope hes alright. looks like he had a head on crash.

some pics from today :-

the bike when it was dropped off on my driveway. looks beautiful







got it into my garage to remove the radiator to get the front wheel to rotate.






failed to get the wheel to rotate, i dragged it to my backyard before my mum comes home and decides to kick my ass for messing up the garage. Striped it. looks amazing




the damaged gauge. surprisingly most of the inside is intact and works except for the LCD screen which is completely ripped.

looks like the radiator has to go. too many dents.


check out the carbs.








very good looking carbon fibre muffler. in good condition too.

my messed up garage.





the damaged exhaust pipes which prevented the fron wheel from rotating. the front fork was slightly bent.

my grandpa checking out the electrics. hes been helping out the entire day.

Auction Day

Finally after a 1 month wait, the damaged motorcycle auction has arrived. Three very interesting bikes. 1- 2003 Honda CBR1100 xx 2 - 1999 Yamaha R1 3- 2005 Kawasaki ninja ZX10R. Unfortunately the ZX10R was sold for $4300, which was way out of budget. the CBR was in the best shape with only the front fork damaged. I was the highest bidder for the CBR with a price of $ 3000, but i canceled it after thinking 3000 bucks was way too much. In the end i landed up with the Yamaha for $1300, a pretty good bargain. A very good bike to start off with, especially considering the price.

1999 Yamaha R1 engine specs

150.00 HP (109.5 kW)) @ 10000 RPM

108.00 Nm (11.0 kgf-m or 79.7 ft.lbs) @ 8500 RPM

weight - approx 64 kg