Can a motorcycle still be ridden safely after a 60km lowside?

[kirbie]

I'm wondering for insurance purposes, if I should buy my bike back or not. They are offering me $2400 after taxes and the $750 deductible (!@#$!#!!!) and the bike costs $1000 to buy back.

So basically I could get the bike back + $1400 to repair it.

The damage includes:
- Most of the right side fairings (which I don't plan to replace until I have more money, if I don't have to)
- The wires from my heated grips are ripped out
- Right handlebar is bent and the ignition is rotated up.. the metal isn't twisted but it just looks like the buttons are facing the sky rather than the rider.
- (stock) Muffler is scratched and kind of rusted
- Minor, very minor scratches on the rear brake pedal

The insurance company didn't complete a full detailed report on the damages, they just stopped when it became a write-off. But what they did complete of the report was a whole lot of fairing damages (which I don't care to replace right away) and labour.

The insurance person I'm dealing with is like a brick wall. She won't listen to anything I have to say and won't take any input from me. She also interrupts me when I'm talking and I'm finding her very difficult to talk to.

I'm thinking of just taking the settlement... aka letting them win. It's really hard to find good motorcycles for cheap in my area. This one was a gem, and it's hard letting go.

What do you guys think?

[Bigballsofpaint]

The typical mindset here is at long as the forks and frame arent bent and twisted, then its no big deal. Look at all the i crashed reports, and all the people on here who go down at the track. 60kph isnt all that fast. I remember reading your thread but i dont remember if you just laid it down or if you hit the car/got hit. If it was just a lay down then the damage sounds normal, and perfectly fine to purchase back and fix up.

[LoneRonin]

lol...60 km ain't ****. Buy it back and put it together.
I picked one up from my buddy after he rear ended a car on the highway. Front plastics were smashed and so was the birdcage. Got it looking back to new for less than 600 bucks. Got the bike for 1500. It was a 09 with 1200 km

[tooblekain]

Fight tooth and nail and request to see the estimate. You should be able to tell them what to include and not to include. Insurance companies typically will repair a bike to showroom condition and the shop will look to just replace the part instead of painting a scratch on the frame.

When I had my bike claimed under insurance they wanted to total it out. I asked to see the estimated repair order. They basically wanted to replace EVERYTHING on the bike because of a tiny scratch.

I told them to not include the frame, subframe, rearsets, wheels since they were straight. That was more than enough to go forward with paying my deductible and having them repair everything else and get it back.

If you cannot win that way, then ask them how much to buy it back from them and get a salvage title. Hopefully you are not financing the bike as an auto or motorcycle loan. If you are, a salvage title may become an issue

[bkh2]

Low sides typically don't end with structural damage unless the bike hits something really solid during its slide, like a concrete barrier or a raised curb. Putting it back together is generally only worth it if you plan on doing the labour yourself. Shops usually charge outrageous amounts and will bill you for anything and everything they can, especially if the customer doesn't know what's going on.

If you are able to do your own labour, buy back and fix it.

If you don't want to do the labour, you can take the settlement, buy the bike back, and see if you can find a buyer of the bike for more than $1000.

[tooblekain]

I forgot to add...


This is my biggest gripe with insurance companies regarding motorcycles. The shops will do everything they can to inflate the costs for the insurance companies. The insurance companies don't want to put in the work and just want to write it off easily.

Unless you are financing a bike, I don't bother to have collision coverage on my motorcycles...just liability (a high coverage amount), comprehensive (small deductible amount), and uninsured motorist. I don't need rental coverage since I have a car still.

Ive had a couple lowsides on the street and didn't even bother to call my insurance company because there was no other party involved nor damage to another property. Plus, both occasions where I lowsided it would have cost more to pay my deductible than to just buy the parts (used or aftermarket) and fix it myself.

[kirbie]

Yeah, it was a hit and run but it didn't make contact with anything solid like a curb. Just the ground. Sorry it's my first crash (car/bike/whatever)

[Whiskey]

It can, I had a lowside a few years ago at 50 mph, broke off the right foot peg but did no other damage. I rode it for 10 days with my foot on the exhaust link pipe cover while a new foot peg hanger was in the post...

Have a mechanic take a look before you decide what to do

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by bkh2

Low sides typically don't end with structural damage unless the bike hits something really solid during its slide, like a concrete barrier or a raised curb. Putting it back together is generally only worth it if you plan on doing the labour yourself. Shops usually charge outrageous amounts and will bill you for anything and everything they can, especially if the customer doesn't know what's going on.

If you are able to do your own labour, buy back and fix it.

If you don't want to do the labour, you can take the settlement, buy the bike back, and see if you can find a buyer of the bike for more than $1000.

^^^ This mostly

Amanda, can you find other experience riders/wrenchers in your area to help you asses the complete damage or future of the bike? If anything, a few local friends may help offset the majority of the cost of repairs because they don't sound all that bad really.

Maybe some pics in this thread would help us help you.

Best of luck!

[cbinker]

i have high sided and the bike still functions perfectly fine, just cost me some money to repair.

[lgk]

seems like light damage, if the rear set did not break.
i would probably buy it back based on this info alone.

insurance people are meant to be walls really. their goal is to close cases quickly. you can play the waiting game, if you negotiate well.


got any pics of the damage?

[gt_turbo]

To answer your question, nope your bike is done. Just tell them to send it to my house and I will dispose of it.

[kirbie]

Here are some pics, thanks for all of your help everyone!

[cuong-nutz]

Amanda, that is really light damage! Like the previous said, that bike is far from being totaled!

[bkh2]

It's totaled. Unrepairable.

[Jesse8931]

If you shop really smart you may be able to replace all the bad parts if you do all the work for 1400. If it were me I'd get the bike and just ride it as is.

[LoneRonin]

after assessing the damage...WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU CALL INSURANCE?? It looks like you went down on your own and no other vehicle was involved...You could fix it yourself for less than the deductible.

No offence intended but its because of noobs like you that get into these little fender benders then report it to insurance and cause it to go up for all of us young people...

My insurance company increased their premiums 8-10% on smaller CC bikes and new/young riders specifically because of this.

They won't listen to you or take any input from you because they know you obviously don't know jack **** and are an easy target for them to nail.
Once again no offence intended but I'm frustrated having to pay MORE when I have 0 claims a clean record a MORE experience than I did the last year, because of incidents like this.

[Jesse8931]

Originally Posted by LoneRonin

after assessing the damage...WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU CALL INSURANCE?? It looks like you went down on your own and no other vehicle was involved...You could fix it yourself for less than the deductible.

No offence intended but its because of noobs like you that get into these little fender benders then report it to insurance and cause it to go up for all of us young people...

My insurance company increased their premiums 8-10% on smaller CC bikes and new/young riders specifically because of this.

They won't listen to you or take any input from you because they know you obviously don't know jack **** and are an easy target for them to nail.
Once again no offence intended but I'm frustrated having to pay MORE when I have 0 claims a clean record a MORE experience than I did the last year, because of incidents like this.

maybe in canada your deductible is more then us but here 500 is pretty common and there is no way you can fix that bike for 500 even if you have zero labor cost.

So when you factor in the new parts cost and labor it totals out the bike.
and insurance naturally goes up you never hear people people say wow my insurance went down. to give you an idea i was paying for my car 98 a month last year this year its 110 no claims no tickets.

and for you to say noobs cause this increase is bull crap. If some one is paying for insurance has an accident and the cost of repair is more then the deductible what the hell are you supposed to do never use the insurance in that case you might as well self insure.

[lgk]

after much deep thought, i have come to the conclusion that if it was my bike, i would get a new handle bar and use black duct tape on the fairings, and ride on.

these bikes get totaled easy due to their low cost, and fairing damage.

[Jesse8931]

Originally Posted by lgk

after much deep thought, i have come to the conclusion that if it was my bike, i would get a new handle bar and use black duct tape on the fairings, and ride on.

these bikes get totaled easy due to their low cost, and fairing damage.

thats what I would do after I bought it back from insurance.

[Sirref]

totally unrepairable
just send it to me and I'll give you $1200 for it
even with tag and title I doubt I'd drop more than $1600 to repair it to good riding condition (idc about aesthetics as much as usability, at least for now lol besides there is some fun things you can do to your paint job and such after you've dropped a bike)
just get it and do the work yourself, in the end you'll be making money and a large reason this forum is around is to help you do it yourself with any advice needed

[LoneRonin]

Originally Posted by Jesse8931

maybe in canada your deductible is more then us but here 500 is pretty common and there is no way you can fix that bike for 500 even if you have zero labor cost.

So when you factor in the new parts cost and labor it totals out the bike.
and insurance naturally goes up you never hear people people say wow my insurance went down. to give you an idea i was paying for my car 98 a month last year this year its 110 no claims no tickets.

and for you to say noobs cause this increase is bull crap. If some one is paying for insurance has an accident and the cost of repair is more then the deductible what the hell are you supposed to do never use the insurance in that case you might as well self insure.

my deductible is 500 as well. She had 750...a fairing is all she really needed which can easily be found here or on ebay for less than $200. No point making it all mint again because if you had a noob drop once its very likely it will happen again.

And yes, insurance does go down wtf type of dumbass thinking is it that it doesn't? I started at $3500 and am now down to $1900. Why?? because I've stayed clean and have 0 claims while acquiring more experiencing and proving I am a lesser risk. Does that make sense or no? Obviously if you're old and getting older past a certain age it will start increasing again because you're more of a risk being on the road. For example a 65 year old vs a 35 old.

And how do you know whats bull crap? I got a letter from my company stating specifically riders under 25 on 125-400 cc bikes were facing an increase due to a lot more young people taking up riding due to smaller cc bikes being more economic and readily available but crashing due to inexperience and rookie mistakes.

I'll call insurance when I run into someone, cause some serious damage and actually need them to cover my ass, not a dumbass mistake that leads to a lowside...

Stop being a sugarcoating sissy.

[kirbie]

Originally Posted by LoneRonin

my deductible is 500 as well. She had 750...a fairing is all she really needed which can easily be found here or on ebay for less than $200. No point making it all mint again because if you had a noob drop once its very likely it will happen again.

And yes, insurance does go down wtf type of dumbass thinking is it that it doesn't? I started at $3500 and am now down to $1900. Why?? because I've stayed clean and have 0 claims while acquiring more experiencing and proving I am a lesser risk. Does that make sense or no? Obviously if you're old and getting older past a certain age it will start increasing again because you're more of a risk being on the road. For example a 65 year old vs a 35 old.

And how do you know whats bull crap? I got a letter from my company stating specifically riders under 25 on 125-400 cc bikes were facing an increase due to a lot more young people taking up riding due to smaller cc bikes being more economic and readily available but crashing due to inexperience and rookie mistakes.

I'll call insurance when I run into someone, cause some serious damage and actually need them to cover my ass, not a dumbass mistake that leads to a lowside...

Stop being a sugarcoating sissy.

Hi.

This accident was caused by a hit and run. The police was on the scene and I had to report it. I had five witnesses come forward to the insurance company and the police, all before I did, also supporting the hit and run claim. If he had been caught this wouldn't be an issue.

I would have admitted to fault if it was my fault. It wasn't, and I was just asking for some clean friendly advice - which I got, thanks everyone!

Cheers,
Amanda

[kirbie]

Originally Posted by LoneRonin

after assessing the damage...WHY THE HELL
No offence intended but its because of noobs like you that get into these little fender benders then report it to insurance and cause it to go up for all of us young people...

troll much? I thought my fellow Canadians would be nice!

Oh well. Thanks for enlightening everyone with your intelligent speech, Jason.

[YunMing]

If the forks and frame is ok you should be fine

[LoneRonin]

Originally Posted by kirbie

troll much? I thought my fellow Canadians would be nice!

Oh well. Thanks for enlightening everyone with your intelligent speech, Jason.

You're welcome...

Sorry but its just the reality of the situation. I'm not the type of person whose going to bullshit you just to be nice. That's just how I live life.

In 4 seasons I've paid $9400.00 in insurance on a 5 thousand dollar bike and haven't been paid out a single cent. I'm not complaining just giving you the reality of being a new/young rider.

Its better to keep yourself from being another statistic and helping us all in the long run...especially when you don't need to be. Just take this is a learning experience. Take a look at this thread...

http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum...ke#post1951210

Now I'm not condoning his actions or lack of gear but that is the extent some would go to just to avoid the whole police/insurance hassle, and then theres other who call them on themselves...

[beniblanco]

Sorry to see some else with another slide accident. I had a similar thing happen to me and currently repairing my bike.