So I've been around here less than a month. Only had a handful of posts before having to report my less-than-a-month old Ninja is dead. Was out riding to Petit Jean from Conway on Sunday with some buddies. Had an awesome ride. We all got back to town a parted ways for home. I didn't make it. I was preparing make a right hand turn on to Davis Street (traveling from left to right on the map); started signaling between the first and second driveway on the map. I commit to my turn line and see white in the side view mirror. Next thing I knew, I was flying off the left front of my bike and sliding across the asphalt towards a telephone pole. I slid 50+ feet and stopped about 6' away from the bike. The drive of the Yukon? Yeah, he kept driving - acting like he was trying to decide to come back or not. Fortunately there were many witnesses and one of them chased after the Yukon to get the tags. Several minutes later they showed back up at the intersection with the famous line "I didn't see you". My response was "No ****. Neon green. 200' of turn signal and you couldn't see me". Long story short, he was tailgating me and told the cops he couldn't even see my blinkers. He tried to throw me under the bus and say I stopped to make my turn. The cop then educated him about how motorcycles turn and if I stopped I would've fallen over. He got screwed.

After a trip to the ER, I have a sprained right wrist, bruised left calf/achilles, small rash on inner right thigh, and a smashed bike. All the safety gear did its job. Had some Bilt Trackstar riding gloves, Alpinestars leather jacket and boots. My helmet was a Fulmer N3 and took it's slide well. Face shield came off though.

The good thing is my wife said I need to get another bike. We'll see how all this pans out with the attorney and the other driver's insurance.

<iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&amp;hq=&amp;hnear=1325+Old+Morrilton+Hwy,+Conway,+Arkansas+72032&amp;ll=35.099116,-92.447669&amp;spn=0.001918,0.002258&amp;t=h&amp;z=19&amp;output=embed"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&amp;hq=&amp;hnear=1325+Old+Morrilton+Hwy,+Conway,+Arkansas+72032&amp;ll=35.099116,-92.447669&amp;spn=0.001918,0.002258&amp;t=h&amp;z=19&amp;source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small>

Only had 696 miles on the odometer and I just did the first oil change on Saturday because I knew I was riding on Sunday. FML

Sorry to hear about your experience , glad your not to badly hurt. Some cagers can be inconsiderate to motorcyclists. Most here in Cali are pretty leanient toward MC riders and make way or give a good 3 second rule cushion in case you eat **** and they wont run your ass over. Some here are jerkoffs like the guy that hit you, bad luck of the draw man..

He was tailgating and then replied he didn't see you! I'd check his cell phone records to see if he was distracted. Get a good attorney. This guy doesn't deserve a break. Make sure you get everything you can.

Sorry to hear that bud. Good to hear you aren't seriously hurt.

Glad you are relatively ok all things considered. Hopefully his insurance covers getting you a new bike.

The problem with Arkansas is that sooooo many people do NOT have insurance, even though it is required by law. I've never been in a wreck, but in the 3 my mom has had since we moved here 20 years ago, not a single one had insurance.

In the last incident, some guy rear ended her and tried to take off before my father(former marine) managed to reach in and grab him by the neck. The sheriff showed up and filed a report and everyone went their way. The other driver has since fled the region. That was 2 years ago, I don't think they have found him, but he's the insurance company's problem now.

Long Story Short: If you live in The South, carry uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance.

In the short time I've been riding, I've found that cage drivers are pretty intolerant of motorcycles around here. I get tail-gated more on my motorcycle than I ever do in my Jeep. Learning to ride is like learning an all new level of patience and focus.

That blows! Glad you're mainly OK, and best of luck in making it through the legal fight and settlement process in a way that compensates you fairly. :thumbup:

/thread moved to General

Good luck taking care of the aftermath. Glad to hear you had minimal damage, to yourself at least.

damn man im glad to hear your ok...metal and plastic can be replaced. Hopefully he quits being a jerk and fesses up and you can have a easier time getting everything replaced.

Good to hear your ok, I agree with the others; Make sure that you tell them (lawyers / judge, w/e) he fled the scene of the accident until he knew someone could identify him, then he returned because he knew he would get caught either way.

So glad you're ok. And also glad it's not going to stop you from riding in the future. I'm so sorry about such a rude initiation to the two-wheeled world. So many jackass :asshat:s to watch out for!

OMG! :eek:

This is horrible! Glad you're alright. Sad about the bike. I do hope the insurance covers everything.

After replying to this thread, I called my insurance agent to make sure I had uninsured and under-insured motorist coverage. I had one, but not the other. I quickly added it.

Let's hope I don't need the coverage, but if I do, thanks for posting this thread geeker.

Glad you're ok... I hope it all works out for you and your wife...

man, glad yer just bumped up..sue that fukn assclown.

it's the same **** here man, 4 hit and runs on my car..mother ****ers think they can get away with no insurance...sue his dumbass and i agree with above, bet his cellphone would show what he was really doing.


new bike, some cash and some heal time. get a good attorney:thumbup:

Glad you are ok. Sorry about your bike, that is a shame. I am glad there were plenty of witnesses to make that dumb@$$ come back. I hate that there are people like that. No integrity... plain and simple. They won't even take responsibility for their own mistakes. Makes me sick.:mad:

The good thing is my wife said i'll have to get another bike. LMAO. Sorry you have it and will have it so rough for awhile bro. At least you had two great gals in your life, and still have the numero uno, God bless and keep you and yours bro.

Thanks for the well wishes everyone. I'm hoping all of this works out okay. I was asked to get the bike to the dealership so they could estimate the damage. Just got done trailering it up there. Not looking forward to riding the legal roller coaster. The insurance adjuster is supposed to be checking it out tomorrow. Hopefully the property portion of this goes quickly / smoothly.

I think you need an attorney.

I think you need an attorney.

Have one.

kind of an off topic question...the black on your side and tail fairings, is it painted or just a big decal?

kind of an off topic question...the black on your side and tail fairings, is it painted or just a big decal?

Oddly enough, Kawasaki chose to paint it black. The green is vinyl.

Oddly enough, Kawasaki chose to paint it black. The green is vinyl.

that sucks...we don't have that colour scheme in Canada and I was thinking they're decals. Then I could order them and put them on my red bike

The dealer just called with the results of the crash estimate. The sum of the parts and labor is much greater than price of new; over $6600. :eek:

Did you honestly expect differently? That has become pretty common among cars, and from what I have read has been common among bikes for a while.

You have to remember that those bikes are put together, and then sold, in mass quantities. While there is a large mark-up of individual parts, the parts do cost money, more when buying less. Add labor to that cost, particularly labor for fixing something that isn't going to simply bolt on, and it is cheaper for them to buy a new bike than fix the old one.

Did you honestly expect differently? That has become pretty common among cars, and from what I have read has been common among bikes for a while.

You have to remember that those bikes are put together, and then sold, in mass quantities. While there is a large mark-up of individual parts, the parts do cost money, more when buying less. Add labor to that cost, particularly labor for fixing something that isn't going to simply bolt on, and it is cheaper for them to buy a new bike than fix the old one.No. Not surprised at all actually. I knew the body parts and frame alone were going to run in excess of $2900 by looking at http://www.bikebandit.com, My understanding is once you reach about 50% of the value, vehicles get totaled.

I definitely understand the pricing since I work in sales. Supply and demand. I got the supply and you have the demand, therefore my price is my price. :thumbup:

So, then, the next question becomes: What do you do now? Another Ninja 250? CBR250R? Wait a bit before you purchase another one?

So, then, the next question becomes: What do you do now? Another Ninja 250? CBR250R? Wait a bit before you purchase another one?

Good question. I haven't been able to find a dealer that has any Ninja 250s available in central Arkansas now. Kawasaki Sports Center has like six of them on the floor and they are all spoken for already. Might have to branch out my search. I did some window shopping this afternoon looking at a 2011 ZX-6R, 2009 CBR 600RR, and a 2010 R6. I wasn't really looking to go to a 600, so I might hold out until I can get another 250. Both Honda dealers I visited today said they have yet to get any CBR 250s. The first one said they finally got a confirmation of their order after 8 order attempts. The second one said they didn't intend to carry it at all. I'm in a holding pattern until insurance settles the property loss though.

Yeh Arkansas is pretty dry on 250s. I got mine in North Louisiana, they seemed to have a few in mid-April. I bet there are a few in Memphis or NWA.