Totalled?

[Verus Cidere]

Hey guys. Bad news.

No I didn't crash. I wasn't on the bike when it happened. A friend of mine was leaving the theater we are performing a play in. I was parked behind him and apparently he didn't see my bike. He backed right into the front of it. It didn't even knock Fury over, but it smashed the front cowling. He didn't run off and he has insurance that is going to cover it. Biggest downside here is that the damage might be enough to total the bike. I got an estimate today that came to $1950+ (not sure because the paper isn't sitting next to me). I only paid $1900 for the bike, so I figure there's almost no way they don't total it. List of damaged parts: Upper, lower, and inner cowls, windscreen (where it mounts to the fairing), front fender, brake rotor (very slight, but enough to be a bigger problem than the rotor already was), and main fairing stay bracket. The bracket is bent, which caused the damage to the lower and inner cowls as they moved. The main cowl has a nice big hole in the front of it under the headlight. The headlight (which is also attached to that bracket) is turned ever so slightly to the left, but otherwise is fine.

My questions are these as I've never done this before: What are the actual factors they assess when deciding whether or not to total the bike? I know it varies based on the company, but what are the basic factors if there are any? If they do total the bike, do I have to do something special to keep riding it legally? Do they get the bike? I have no idea what's going on as far as that goes. TIA.

[Alex]

Youch, that's alot of damage without the bike hitting the ground!

[Snake]

If the insurance company totals the bike then they will give you a check and you have the option of buying back the bike for "salvage" for a lesser cost but they will not insure it and the title will be stamped "salvaged". Your best option in this case is to take any good parts off the bike such as the exaust and let them keep the bike.

[2WheelGuy]

I'm not an expert but I have done this. Hit a deer at speed years ago.

The insurance company will pay you the cost to repair or the value of your bike, whichever is less. You can negotiate here. The insurance adjuster will usually get the value from Kelly Blue Book. My bike was cherry and I had photos. I sent the photos along with ads from Auto Trader for similar bikes. I don't remember the exact numbers but I believe they initially offered me $1700 for the bike but paid $2200 without question after I sent them the photos and classifieds.

Since the insurance company paid me the value of the bike they then owned it and sent it to a junk yard to be auctioned off. The deal my insurance company (Farmers) had at that time (25 years ago) was that the original owner had the first opportunity to purchase the bike for the minimum bid. $500 for my motorcycle. I gave the salvage yard $500 and got my bike back along with salvage paperwork to re-register it back into my name.

Hope my experience helps.

[g21-30]

One thing that is being overlooked here is your friend's insurance company is the responsible party. You don't have to accept their valuation. You can request your insurance company to negotiate a fair settlement; otherwise, have your company sue on your behalf. Ultimately, your insurance company would have had to pay off, if your friend hadn't told you that he did it.

If I'm completely wrong, please correct me. I think there are some insurance specialists on the forum.

[ninjabrewer]

or, don't if this would pay off or not as I have never done it or known anybody who has. If they total it, buy it back then part it out. May come out ahead. I think that is why some people part out their bikes.

nb

[Verus Cidere]

Yeah, I'm not sure yet. I still haven't heard back from his insurance company after sending them the estimate. If they get the price of the bike based on Kelly Blue Book, I have nothing to worry about because kbb lists my bike at $2400. For right now I'm just waiting. If they do end up totalling it, I've been considering using the cash they give me as a downpayment on a 600. That would be nearly impossible to manage though, as I am 18 and have no credit and my parents refuse to cosign with me. But for now, as far as I can tell I can only wait.

[Snake]

You could always use the cash to put down on a new Ninja 250 and finance the rest which will help you build your credit.
Also don't forget to take that new Area P exhaust off. Some one such as myself may want to buy it from you.

[2WheelGuy]

Seperate topic but my advice is to never finance a motorcycle. Pay cash for a bike you can afford than make those monthly payments to yourself for your next bike.

Financing requires full coverage insurance. I don't even want to think what that would cost an 18 year old!?!

[Verus Cidere]

If it gets totalled, I'll be either forcing them to pay me for the aftermarket parts or ripping them off. I'll have a fender elim, flush signals for the front, integration kit for the back, CSC seat cover, Area-P exhaust, and a pair of Cycle Control levers (the set for the 500 with a fitting clutch perch, brake lever fits). If I do end up doing this, I'll save the exhaust for you.

[Verus Cidere]

>Craig: I have full coverage insurance now. The bike is actually registered to my dad, so it's listed on his insurance. I get full coverage for $30 a month, and I just give my dad cash. That's basically his way of helping me out with it, even though I had to pay for the bike, gear, insurance, maintenance, etc.

[Sailariel]

Michael, I am sorry to hear about your bike---one of the last pre-gens. I hope you get an equitable settlement--after all, it is a pretty new bike.

[Verus Cidere]

Thanks Alex. I hope so too.

[tapdiggy]

Besides the brake rotor, the damage sounds cosmetic.

[Verus Cidere]

It is.

[nate-bama]

had'nt your bike been wrecked before? any way the damage sounds pretty light and maybe getting a chance to cash out and buy it back cheap may be a blessing

[Verus Cidere]

We'll see. I have to call the insurance company tomorrow.

[Snake]

Good luck with the insurance company Make sure they make it as good as or better than before the accident.

[BlueTyke]

Oh man thats a bummer!

[Verus Cidere]

Well, I heard back from the insurance company. They're sending me a check. So now, since 90% of the damage is cosmetic, I have a few options. I could buy the OEM parts, I could fix the bike completely (with cheaper parts on ebay) and still have some left over for mods, or I could fix the mechanical damage parts and sell the bike, then pool that together with what's left of the settlement and buy a bigger bike. The upside to the last plan is that my sister has been wanting to get a bike like mine for a while. I could easily pass down the ninjette to a new learner and move up. But I have quite a while to decide, as I don't get the money at all until late next week, and I won't be making any hasty decisions at all. We will see. Right now though, I'm just happy that they didn't total the bike.