Sigh, I crashed too!

[GreenNinja]

I have been driving in the rain today for about 5 hours and not a single incident, not even a close one. Then I get about 45 minutes from my destination and here begins my story. I am driving on the left lane of I-85 southbound and this mercedes on the right side all of a sudden jerks to the left and I jerk the bike to the left (which of course is not road meant to be driven on) to avoid her. I slow down and press lightly on the brakes and I'm like "phew" but I guess during that time I must have hit it harder than I thought because the next thing I know, I'm staring at the sky instead of a road. Not a single car pullls over to see if I'm okay. I get up, check myself, bring bike up, look at it, cry inside after seeing the damage, see if it starts and drive home. The only damage to me is a scratched knee and a busted lip. My helmet's visor has a hole to the right side with a few scratches. As for the bike? My front left blinker is missing, when I signal to the left, it doesn't blink the back left - it only comes on. My shifter is slightly bent and the fairings are scratched and cracked. Oh and my screw holding the left handle bar is loose. I am not sure if there is anymore damage but I'm so worn out right now so please excuse me if I sound incoherent. Just from looking at the pictures, would you guys think it would be cheaper to fix it myself or to file with insurance?

[Yakaru]

Aww, poor Ninja I'm glad you're okay. Be sure to replace that gear.

The solid blinker comes from your flasher -- the stock one is thermal, so removing a blinker actually makes it not work. People who install LEDs have the same problem. You can fix it by putting in a new OEM signal or by swapping it out with this: http://www.superbrightleds.com/morei...c-flasher/781/

[skilletmo]

Hope your okay man. If you have plans to sell that front cowl let me know. Im trying to find a cheap cracked or scratchd front cowl so i can trim and put on my bike to make it look like a z1000 front cowl.

[Blystr842]

Geez, glad you weren't seriously injured. Hope you get the bike fixed and rolling soon

[Motofool]

Sorry to read this, GreenNinja, but glad that you are relatively OK.

You can straighten that shifter yourself; no heat, just a piece of pipe as a lever.

[mfresh]

Sucks dude. At least you walked away without any major injuries, in the end that's all that matters.

I swear most people in GA have no idea how to drive. Almost seems like that lady was messing with you but who knows.

Judging by the damage I would say you could probably fix everything up yourself for less than $500.

Checkout http://tyga-performance.com/site/ind...a0419f919a93c3 for some of the parts. Looks like the green cowling would match your bike.

[herbalmnk]

It's always the jerks in the "high end" cages

[GreenNinja]

Thanks for the replies and support. I also forgot to mention that I wear a BRIGHT(neon?) YELLOW helmet and BRIGHT YELLOW vest but I'm sure she wasn't even looking when she turned or else she would have noticed me. I will look into getting those parts to make the bike not so scary looking haha. For now I'm going to take a nap to rest up from the day's events.

[GreenNinja]

I went to a kawasaki shop to get a general estimate on repairs. The guy says it will be over 3000 to repair the damage. Just from looking and not taking fairings to see if there are any internal damages here is what is seen: bent left handle bar, broken left mirror, cracked front cowling,scrapped side fairings,busted rear cowling, bent gear shifter. I called insurance and the agent says it will more than likely be considered a total loss. I guess if that happens, I will join the rank of ninja 300 owners. Not exactly how I wanted to be a 300 owner but when life gives you lemons just smile and make lemonade right?
Oh when I talked to the guy sending out the local claims adjust this is what was said:
Him: So a mercedes drove into your lane but did it hit you or did you crash alone?
Me: The mercedes took over my lane so I had to swerve or else I would have been ran over.
Him: So you didn't get hit?
Me: Are you not listening? I said if I didn't move I would have been hit.
Him: When you swerved did you hit something to lose control?
Me: NOO! I lost control because I was no longer on smooth pavement.
Him: Okay I will send over a claims adjuster to take pictures and to estimate the damage.
Me: Will this be claimed under "uninsured" part of the insurance?
Him: No because you were not hit, you had an accident with yourself and not a vehicle.

From what I gather out of this, they are blaming it on me since I was not hit. I'll let you guys decide whether it is worth it if you should allow that car to hit you. From the pictures I've seen of @Jiggles, I'd rather not be in that kind of pain just to get insurance to cover it.

[Yakaru]

My first accident was very similar (no contact but was run out of my lane); luckily the other driver saw and stopped after the fact and took responsibility. This is part of why I started riding with the Contour Camera, however. If you had video of it, with his plates in particular, you could contest the fault and go after him/his insurance.

[rojoracing53]

Originally Posted by GreenNinja

I went to a kawasaki shop to get a general estimate on repairs. The guy says it will be over 3000 to repair the damage. Just from looking and not taking fairings to see if there are any internal damages here is what is seen: bent left handle bar, broken left mirror, cracked front cowling,scrapped side fairings,busted rear cowling, bent gear shifter. I called insurance and the agent says it will more than likely be considered a total loss. I guess if that happens, I will join the rank of ninja 300 owners. Not exactly how I wanted to be a 300 owner but when life gives you lemons just smile and make lemonade right?
Oh when I talked to the guy sending out the local claims adjust this is what was said:
Him: So a mercedes drove into your lane but did it hit you or did you crash alone?
Me: The mercedes took over my lane so I had to swerve or else I would have been ran over.
Him: So you didn't get hit?
Me: Are you not listening? I said if I didn't move I would have been hit.
Him: When you swerved did you hit something to lose control?
Me: NOO! I lost control because I was no longer on smooth pavement.
Him: Okay I will send over a claims adjuster to take pictures and to estimate the damage.
Me: Will this be claimed under "uninsured" part of the insurance?
Him: No because you were not hit, you had an accident with yourself and not a vehicle.

From what I gather out of this, they are blaming it on me since I was not hit. I'll let you guys decide whether it is worth it if you should allow that car to hit you. From the pictures I've seen of @Jiggles, I'd rather not be in that kind of pain just to get insurance to cover it.

Glad your ok for the most part

yeah its been covered before just sorry you missed it, in retrospect you could have said the car lightly bumped you causing you to crash. Since no one stopped to help there's would be no conflicting opinions. I think in order for this to work you'd have to call 911 and report a hit and run(they'll never find the car anyways) while your still at the scene so you can properly file a report with the officer. It's like @Alex crash on his BMW if he had said he crashed because of the multiple patches of black ice we had just crossed then the claim wouldn't be his fault and not held against him. But because he said he hit gravel it's considered rider error and his rates go up.

Study the ins and outs of your policy and next time( hope you don't have a next time) make a well thought out decision with a cool and calm head.

[BlueHairSar]

I'm glad to hear that you're okay! And hey, at least the grass stain matches the green!

Did you have a full-face helmet? I'm curious how the busted lip happened. And pictures of the helmet?

[rojoracing53]

Originally Posted by BlueHairSar

I'm glad to hear that you're okay! And hey, at least the grass stain matches the green!

Did you have a full-face helmet? I'm curious how the busted lip happened. And pictures of the helmet?

Busted lips and noses are common among the racers I've seen crash with the helmet visually scratched to hell but still whole. Sounds like this crash just earn the rider a new lid because that one is done.

[Jono]

Glad you are alright! Hope you have comprehensive insurance. I would have left the insurance company out of the equation. It may cost $3000 to fix with all new parts but you could get it fixed for a fraction of that with used parts and repairing your messed up body work. Oh well, you live and learn. Hope you get back out there soon!

Originally Posted by BlueHairSar

Did you have a full-face helmet? I'm curious how the busted lip happened. And pictures of the helmet?

Crazy things happen when you hit the ground. I'm guessing that teeth were the cause of the busted lip. When I crashed I got a cut on my chin and had dirt on my face/in my mouth. My visor broke off on one side which allowed debris to fly in my helmet. It was fun!

[BlueHairSar]

Originally Posted by Jono

Crazy things happen when you hit the ground. I'm guessing that teeth were the cause of the busted lip. When I crashed I got a cut on my chin and had dirt on my face/in my mouth. My visor broke off on one side which allowed debris to fly in my helmet. It was fun!

Oh yea, teeth. Thanks Jono and Jason.

[tygapaul]

Let me know a list of parts and I'll see what it will cost if we source them from here in Thailand. The only thing I should warn you is, if it is not showing on our website, sometime there is a long wait of a few weeks. Anyway, hopefully not, and definitely cheaper than 3000 dollars!

[psych0hans]

You crashed on my Birthday!!! That so sucks Sorry for your crash man, I'm glad you weren't injured. Good luck getting your bike fixed up

[GreenNinja]

Originally Posted by rojoracing53

Glad your ok for the most part

yeah its been covered before just sorry you missed it, in retrospect you could have said the car lightly bumped you causing you to crash. Since no one stopped to help there's would be no conflicting opinions. I think in order for this to work you'd have to call 911 and report a hit and run(they'll never find the car anyways) while your still at the scene so you can properly file a report with the officer. It's like @Alex crash on his BMW if he had said he crashed because of the multiple patches of black ice we had just crossed then the claim wouldn't be his fault and not held against him. But because he said he hit gravel it's considered rider error and his rates go up.

Study the ins and outs of your policy and next time( hope you don't have a next time) make a well thought out decision with a cool and calm head.

Thanks I remember reading about it but during the time it happened I did not think about that. The only thing going through my head was WTF!!??? You serious?? And not a single witness stopped to help?? Of course if I would have said the vehicle tapped me, then it would have contradicted the police report which would be bad.

Originally Posted by BlueHairSar

I'm glad to hear that you're okay! And hey, at least the grass stain matches the green!

Did you have a full-face helmet? I'm curious how the busted lip happened. And pictures of the helmet?

Hehe yes I had a full face. If I did not then I would have more than a busted lip hitting the pavement at 50 mph. I'm sure if I was wearing a half face then I'd be missing teeth Although I think my helmet hit the handlebars and then I fell on my back/side because the helmet isn't as badly scratched as I would expect if it hit pavement.

Originally Posted by rojoracing53

Busted lips and noses are common among the racers I've seen crash with the helmet visually scratched to hell but still whole. Sounds like this crash just earn the rider a new lid because that one is done.

Yeah I called my wife and told her I will have to buy that new scorpion exo 750 helmet I've been eying for the past 2 months. Her response? Soooo you crashed so you can have an excuse to get that helmet is that it? Mine: yyyeesss I figured if I crash it would be be so worth it just to buy the 130 helmet. Here is a picture of the new helmet that arrived yesterday afternoon from Revzilla. This helmet is sooo fancy looking compared to my bright in your face helmet.

[Z300]

Hope you heal up fast mate enjoy your lemonade

[nickjpass]

How are you healing up?