You know you're having a bad day when...

[Frostbite]

You're getting dressed to go for a ride and someone knocks on your door and tells you that your bike is on fire. Brutal!

The bike was leaning against the step flaming away when I opened the door so my first reaction was to kick it over to get away from the house. That made the fire worse. My vent hose regularly freezes and cracks off at the gas cap, and it had on my last ride. When the bike tipped over gas was spilling out, making the fire worse. I ran back inside and grabbed a bucket of water but it didn't do much, so I had to pick the bike back up. me and the kid that knocked on the door threw snow on it until the flames were out.

Very lucky for me that kid was riding by on his sled and saw the flames.

Block heater overdid it.

[husqvarnarider]

Dude, that sucks!!! How bad was the damage?? I hate to see a rider as dedicated as you, struck with this misfortune. I've read alot of your posts, and have mucho respect for you

[Frostbite]

Dude, that sucks!!! How bad was the damage?? I hate to see a rider as dedicated as you, struck with this misfortune. I've read alot of your posts, and have mucho respect for you

I looks like it's mostly plastic damage, but I'll have to take a good look tomorrow in the daylight. The gas was gurgling in the tank so it was pretty hot, but It looks fairly intact except for the decals. The side cover, rad guard and back fo the front fender are melted. There may be some wires melted.

Luckily I have spare plastic. Ironic, I just bought an 07 450 and am picking it up in Phoenix next weekend. Maybe the ol' girl was jealous and spontaneously combusted. (Haha, just trying to cheer myself up)

Definitely gonna affect the resale value - not much physical damage, but this is a very small town and 1/2 the population aleady knows it was on fire.

[husqvarnarider]

Have you figured out how you're getting it back from Phoenix?

[tweav]

so was this the 07 wr450 your mailing to yourself or the old one ? So is the bike Ok? Or Toast ? If it's the 07 I have a tank and shrouds I could send you.

[Frostbite]

Have you figured out how you're getting it back from Phoenix?

I'm sending the dangerous goods by cargo and the rest is going in my suitcases and by mail.

so was this the 07 wr450 your mailing to yourself or the old one ? So is the bike Ok? Or Toast ? If it's the 07 I have a tank and shrouds I could send you.

It was the 99 400. I'll know more about the condition when it's light tomorrow. At first glance it looks mostly like plastic, and my clutch cable is a bit sizzled. Thanks for the offer on the parts.

[tweav]

I was Out riding the other night and it was a smoking hot 14 degrees as far as you are used to , my bike was running like crap in fact I had to choke it because it was leaning out so bad ,but then I thought to myself . "Hey does that guy run a thermostat ?"

[brad the best]

alot of ice racers run card board . sorry to hear about the bike , i have always had a fear of mine burning down . it looks pretty fixable though , just expensive .

[tweav]

wow man , that plastic is trash. I was at work earlier and can not see pics on that computer . I would check the wiring closey . I would be so bummed out . but it just looks like a flesh wound and will heal up just fine . and not cost too much. HOLY POO it does have a block heater. now I've seen it all. does that thing have hand warmers too ? If so how did you do the twisty?

[Frostbite]

I was Out riding the other night and it was a smoking hot 14 degrees as far as you are used to , my bike was running like crap in fact I had to choke it because it was leaning out so bad ,but then I thought to myself . "Hey does that guy run a thermostat ?"

Haha, sounds tropical!

I don't think installing thermostat would solve the problem. The air flowing into the engine would still be cold and lean out he mixture. Before fuel injection came along in cars, they had a "stove" pipe running from the exhaust mainfold to the air intake, which would preheat the incoming air.

[Frostbite]

wow man , that plastic is trash. I was at work earlier and can not see pics on that computer . I would check the wiring closey . I would be so bummed out . but it just looks like a flesh wound and will heal up just fine . and not cost too much. HOLY POO it does have a block heater. now I've seen it all. does that thing have hand warmers too ? If so how did you do the twisty?

While the fire was definitely more spectacular looking, it's probably going to be much cheaper and easier to fix than snapping a valve or blowing a clutch basket, but it was definitely more exciting.

I have a spare set of grips with handwarmers, but I haven't used them lately. I installed a set of Renthal bars on my sled a few years ago, and bought a complete WR 400 throttle assembly from Yamaha and tied it in. I never did like thumb throttles and that way I'd only have to keep one set of spares, same parts fit bike and sled. Since I generally don't get nearly as much of a workout on the sled, I though I'd better install handwarmers.

My sled was a Polaris, so I bought 2 factory hand warmer elements from Polaris and plugged them in. One element stuck right to the bar end and the grip slipped over it, and the other went between the grip and throttle barrel. Handwarmers can get smokin' hot and I was worried that the adhesive would melt and the grips slip, but my sled had 3 heat settings so it wasn't an issue. What was an issue was the wire from the heater on the throttle side. Although it was made for the sled, it wasn't made to move every time the throttle was twisted, and it eventually cracked in the cold so I disconnected it and rode without. Since the bike would have no control over the heaters, (unless I got a control from a sled) I didn't bother using them on the bike.

When the wire for the throttle side broke, I bought another heater, but fastened it to my GPS mount. My Garmin still functions at -40, but the LCD screen freezes at about -20, and it's hard to use if you can't see the screen. Eevn though the screen is frozen and the unit looks like it's off, it's still recording a track which you can use if you get in trouble and need it, and I have.

[chevytrkn1]

sorry man thats sux

[byggd]

Bratha that sucks. My condolences on the loss of your best friend. Hopefully your and resurrect her from the ashes.

[Frostbite]

Bratha that sucks. My condolences on the loss of your best friend. Hopefully your and resurrect her from the ashes.

Thanks for the sympathy.

Here is the damage report:

The gas tank is toast. (Still have stocker)

There is a hole melted right through it so the gas wasn't just flowing out of the gas cap. It's a 4 gallon IMS jug and was 1/2 full, and the hole was at the corner above the rad, higher than the level of the fuel. A few more minutes may have melted down to the fuel level and caused a much worse fire.

Front fender, rear portion dissolved. (have spare)

Rad cover and air deflector dissolved. (have spares)

Diamond headlight I probably won't re-use, but will get new bulbs and keep for a spare. (have spares)

Cables - Throttle, clutch, decomp need replacing. (Those were my spares)

Front brake hose singed but may be OK. (If not I have a spare)

Rad is looking singed but may be OK. (If not I have spares)

Wiring near the steering head is cooked, and the rectifier is not looking good, and the CDI box looks warmed over. (have no spares)

Like I said, it could've been a lot worse.

[Rich_in_Orlando]

That's a sad thing to see. Poor '99.

[Rich_in_Orlando]

Hey Frostbite, what kind of stator do you have on that bike? Does it have any problems running with grip heaters? Seems like the stock electrical output is barely enough as it is.

[Frostbite]

Hey Frostbite, what kind of stator do you have on that bike? Does it have any problems running with grip heaters? Seems like the stock electrical output is barely enough as it is.

The stator is stock. I haven't used my heated grips for a few years, but didn't notice a problem when I did. Actually, I did notce a bit - I have a rear brake light hooked up and when I step on the binders, the headlight takes a dive, so it is starving a bit.

[SXP]

Frosty - Sympathies on the 400. Get her fixed up and keep her as a spare. Here's a little secret I'll share with you - I find myself taking the 400 out more than the 07 450! Anyway, good luck with both bikes.

[Frostbite]

Frosty - Sympathies on the 400. Get her fixed up and keep her as a spare. Here's a little secret I'll share with you - I find myself taking the 400 out more than the 07 450! Anyway, good luck with both bikes.

Very interesting SXP, I wonder why that is?

I'm definitely restoring it, and I may keep it, if only as a momento of my adventures up here.

[SXP]

Very interesting SXP, I wonder why that is?

She fits me like a glove and for sentimental reasons. Also, I'm in sheer awe of the reliability of this bike - NEVER once let me down in 7000 miles of ownership; not to mention the merciless flogging she received in the hands of the previous owner for god alone knows how many miles!

I just haven't spent much time trying to personalize the 07 to my specific needs, not that there's much that needs to be done. Just need more saddle time on the bike.