Need a little help please. I let my friend borrow my 06 Vinson and he ended up flipping it pretty bad. There is some damage to the racks, the bumpers and the foot peg. The front shock is also showing signs of leaking. He is going to replace the bumpers etc but is questioning the shock damage. He is saying it is possible that it was leaking before. I am thinking it happened in his accident since it is the shock on the same side where all the damage happened. Also I had the atv in a reputable shop a month before and had some work done on that side of the bike and they did not notice any leakage at that time.
So what do you think, is it likely the shock was damaged from the impact of him flipping it? I'm not a mechanic at all so just wondering what the most likely cause was.

 

Boy have I had this happen before at the shop.. Can end in a bad way,just depends on how good a friend he is to you and what you two can agree on. Flipping it could have blown a shock,but unless both of you went over the machine before he borrowed it and can prove for certain flipping it caused the shock damage, then it could have been his fault or it could have been leaking previously and the tech just missed it? Just look for any stress or damage around the shock area. If he's already agreed to the major damage repair on his dime and you value his friendship,then might be simpler to chalk it up to experience and replace them yourself. Having a full blown argument over it may end up with him bailing on the repairs period. Moral of this story is don't loan any machine to a friend, brother in law,next door neighbor,etc. I had to learn that myself years ago.. Just call me Dear Abby..