Accident bike repairers.

I had a minor mishap with my well looked after Sprint ST. I had come back from a run with my son and had just finished cleaning the bike. Lots of insects about after the rains. I took the bike off the main stand and it fell over away from me. I held on as long as I could but it just got too heavy. There is minor damage, broken front brake lever, scratches to the bar end, scratch on the mirror which luckily folds out of the way, bent foot brake pedal which I have straightened. The worst is some scratches to the side panel of my fairing. Do any of the forum members know any one who can repair minor damage. I don't want to put in an insurance claim. I suspect the excess will be higher than the repair bill. The last time the bike fell over there was a lot more damage and the cost of some of the parts is mindboggling. The bottom part of the fairing was around R6k. If anyone has contacts please post them on the forum.

good idea to contact your bike dealer (in your area) and ask them which company is doing their repairs. They normally have a "preferred" spray painter which has been selected over time.

Don't want to sound negative but good luck.

I ended up having the same panel sprayed 3 times (and paid each time) at 3 different so-called experts before I was happy. Not everybody work on the plastic panels of bikes.

10 x more expensive but the only way to ensure a flawless end product, is to buy a new replacement panel from the manufacturer

I tend to agree with Jamie - dont take your pride and joy to a back yard mechanic. You will have to live with the results and will have it in your face for the time that you own the bike. Will also have a negative impact on your resale value.

Yes, plastic welding is a very specialised trade and there are only a few out there who will do a good job. Then you still need a special spray job because of the flexibility of plastic and on the inside (where you cannot see) it really looks "repaired". I had a few disappointments with my two sons' bikes and would also rather replace than fix if I can afford it. As they say in the classics "Goedkoop koop is duur koop"

When I had my accident on my K1200S over 3 years ago, the dealer where the bike was taken to after the accident decided to have the damaged fairing covers reprayed. My bike was 1 month old with 1000kms on the clock. Some clown in an AUDI T-boned me as he " did not see me "! Wasn't the best Sunday ride I've had !

When I went to collect the bike, while my leg was still in plaster, and still walking with crutches, we noticed that the resprayed side was a different shade of yellow to the rest of the bike !
They acknowledged this as the spraypainter must have used the wrong BMW yellow, I was told by the Dealer Principle . So 2 weeks later we went back , again on crutches, to fetch the bike after the second respray. All they did was respray the good , undamaged side to match the accident side in the same wrong colour - still not matching the yellow on the rims or the rest of the bike. Not only was it the wrong colour, but there were run marks and "orange peel" effect from the poor spraypainting. Brian Canoo actually posted pics of this here on our Club Webpage.I'm sure they have been archived.

At this stage I collected the bike. Informed the insurance company who refused to pay them.Then took it to another dealership who ordered the original parts from Germany. When the parts arrived, they bolted them on and the bike was like new !

I will NEVER go back to THAT dealership EVER again !

Rather replace than respray as it is NEVER the same again !

Thanks for the info and advice. It looks like the only way to guarantee the quality of the repair is to get a new panel. I have replaced the brake lever and have ordered the chrome trim that fits on the panel. Very expensive bike wash.