Well it was a short run- hope it's not indicative of years to come...

[sickopsycho]

Originally Posted by Triple Jim

You could always buy a frame off eBay for a couple hundred bucks. You'd have to mess with metal stamps I guess, but not a big deal.

I'm hoping the frame isnt bent. How would I know without a frame shop? Throw some new forks on it and see if it rides straight?

[Triple Jim]

You can do some halfway accurate measurements with a level and a protractor to see if the head tube angle is still original, for example. If it's twisted, as in the fork tubes lean left while the rear wheel leans right, for example, you can probably sight along it and see it. Also, if it's twisted like that, you'll almost certainly feel it pull left or right when riding it.

[sickopsycho]

Originally Posted by Triple Jim

You can do some halfway accurate measurements with a level and a protractor to see if the head tube angle is still original, for example. If it's twisted, as in the fork tubes lean left while the rear wheel leans right, for example, you can probably sight along it and see it. Also, if it's twisted like that, you'll almost certainly feel it pull left or right when riding it.

Oh it was pulling all over the place when I rode it home from the scene. I was too lazy to pull the tool box out of my girls truck to fit the bike in there, not to mention I dont think I could have pushed it up the ramps. I figured that was just the forks looking more like noodles, lol. You mean with good forks and there is still a pull then there is a good chance the frame is bent?

[CaliGrrl]

Originally Posted by Triple Jim

And I bet you start noticing that you're becoming a safer car driver because of your motorcycle experience, too.

I know motorcycle experience is making me a better driver.

Originally Posted by sickopsycho

I'd like a daily beater that I wont have to worry about dropping until I get some more miles under my belt... then the newgen will be my fun nice weekend weather rider. =)

Nice!

[Triple Jim]

Originally Posted by sickopsycho

You mean with good forks and there is still a pull then there is a good chance the frame is bent?

Definitely.

Originally Posted by CaliGrrl

I know motorcycle experience is making me a better driver.

Very cool.

[sh123469]

In reference to your question about uninsured/underinsured.

In SC, I don't know about other states, Uninsured/Underinsured coverage is required on your vehicle insurance policy. It adds something like $8 a year to the policy cost. It is intended to provide you insurance coverage in the event that you are involved in a wreck and the other driver is not insured or their insurance is not enough to cover damages. In that case, you file a claim with your insurer and they handle paying out the claim. Then, they file suit against the other person involved who was not insured to recover their expenditures, legal fees, etc.

As was said before, if you have collision and the other party is not insured or it is a single vehicle accident such as you ran off the road, you would file with your insurer under your collision policy.

Their insurance company is repsonsible for providing you transportation until your claim is settled. That medical payout should also cover an amount for pain and suffereing as well as any doctor visits/medication. A helmet that has been crashed and rashed up is no longer any good for protection. Always replace it. I guess it would be better than nothing but not much.

I know I'm a little late seeing the wreck writeup. Hope you are well now and you've got things sorted about bike(s).

[sickopsycho]

I was paid for my bike, actually more than I paid for it but about what I thought it was worth (I put a lot of time and work/maintenance into it after I bought it). I can't cash the check yet, because I was advised to buy a replacement helmet first- as if I cash out on the bike, they will settle the claim and not pay for my helmet. Dirty, but that's just what I was told. I've got a helmet in the mail, should be here this week. It's paid for, guess I can go ahead and move on getting the insurance to pay me back for it. I'm going to look at a 2012 with 1100 miles today- it's red, which I don't like, but the price is right and it's ready to ride. =) As far as healing- the bruises are mostly healed. Only thing hurting now is my ego. lol- I'll fix that though by not letting this mess happen again.

[Triple Jim]

Andrew, I'm glad that you're getting a fair settlement, and that you lived to ride again. Learn to love the red... it's a lot more visible than darker colors. I bought my daughter a bright red metallic helmet to match the bright red metallic 250 she rides. Luckily she likes red.

[taz]

good luck on the bike purchase today.

[sickopsycho]

Originally Posted by Triple Jim

Andrew, I'm glad that you're getting a fair settlement, and that you lived to ride again. Learn to love the red... it's a lot more visible than darker colors. I bought my daughter a bright red metallic helmet to match the bright red metallic 250 she rides. Luckily she likes red.

Well, actually I was shooting for that hideous lime green lol. THAT's the color I was looking for because I figured it was more visable. The helmet I ordered is a high-vis green/yellow, and I have a little suspender type high-vis/ light reflect vest thing. Can't be too visable, I figure. Plus to my understanding the highest point on a motorcyclist is the most visable, so having the helmet be a blaze yellow is prolly a good idea. =)

[Triple Jim]

It's a good plan.

[Ralgha]

You made the right choice man, the red bikes go faster.

[CaliGrrl]

Yeah, good to be visible.

[Gregg_VA]

Originally Posted by sh123469

In reference to your question about uninsured/underinsured.

In SC, I don't know about other states, Uninsured/Underinsured coverage is required on your vehicle insurance policy. It adds something like $8 a year to the policy cost. It is intended to provide you insurance coverage in the event that you are involved in a wreck and the other driver is not insured or their insurance is not enough to cover damages. In that case, you file a claim with your insurer and they handle paying out the claim. Then, they file suit against the other person involved who was not insured to recover their expenditures, legal fees, etc.

Under/uninsured coverage is required in VA as well.

[akima]

Originally Posted by sickopsycho

I put about 200 miles on my 2007 Ninja 250- my first bike. I bought it, spent the last month putting blood sweat and tears into getting it perfect.

I haven't read this thread; only your top post. Just wanted to say that it damn near broke my heart reading that.

You seem in good spirits though & have a positive attitude. I hope you heal up and I hope you find a great deal on a newgen.

Are you after the 2008+ 250R or the 2013+ 300? To me, the 2008+ is the "newgen". IDK if people are now calling the 2013+ 300, the "newgen".

[sickopsycho]

Originally Posted by akima

I haven't read this thread; only your top post. Just wanted to say that it damn near broke my heart reading that.

You seem in good spirits though & have a positive attitude. I hope you heal up and I hope you find a great deal on a newgen.

Are you after the 2008+ 250R or the 2013+ 300? To me, the 2008+ is the "newgen". IDK if people are now calling the 2013+ 300, the "newgen".

Thank you! I have healed- Im back in the saddle. I bought a 2012 (the last of the 250s) with only 1,600 miles on it. It's prestine. I love it. Completely different bike... a lot sportier feeling than the previous one. Needless to say, I drive it a lot more carefully. It's the guys in here (along with my dad) who showed me that although the accident wasnt my fault- I should have and could have avoided it. So- I'm loving this bike, though. I can get out and be a little enthusiastic on the empty country roads, but I also ride it to work every day (except in inclimate weather, when I catch a ride in the cage with my girl).
I am a very happy camper and although I miss the earlier bike, I'm glad I learned a lesson that wasnt deadly. As a side note... I kept the old bike rather than have the insurance company scrap it. It was a $300 difference in the settlement, and it looks like all it needs is forks to be back in ridable shape. Sure, the fairings are gone, but I might have a project cafe bike. I want a naked bike for daily commutes. Or, alternately, it will sit in my garage until I move and the next place doesnt have a garage (not likely) and you guys will get a great deal on a pregen motor, frame, wheels etc. lol

[akima]

Originally Posted by sickopsycho

Thank you! I have healed- Im back in the saddle. I bought a 2012 (the last of the 250s) with only 1,600 miles on it. It's prestine. I love it. Completely different bike... a lot sportier feeling than the previous one. Needless to say, I drive it a lot more carefully. It's the guys in here (along with my dad) who showed me that although the accident wasnt my fault- I should have and could have avoided it. So- I'm loving this bike, though. I can get out and be a little enthusiastic on the empty country roads, but I also ride it to work every day (except in inclimate weather, when I catch a ride in the cage with my girl).
I am a very happy camper and although I miss the earlier bike, I'm glad I learned a lesson that wasnt deadly. As a side note... I kept the old bike rather than have the insurance company scrap it. It was a $300 difference in the settlement, and it looks like all it needs is forks to be back in ridable shape. Sure, the fairings are gone, but I might have a project cafe bike. I want a naked bike for daily commutes. Or, alternately, it will sit in my garage until I move and the next place doesnt have a garage (not likely) and you guys will get a great deal on a pregen motor, frame, wheels etc. lol

Ahh! That's awesome on all counts.

That lesson you learnt from the guys in here is something I too went through. It's way high up there on the list of things I think are most important: that being: fully taking control of the situation and making it your responsibility to keep yourself safe regardless of whether other drivers are doing something illegal or "wrong".

As for the 250; it's great you love it. I've had mine a good while and I'm still getting kicks out of it and still learning to ride it safer / faster / smoother. I think I'm going to stick to my long term plan of keeping this thing until the engine explodes

[Triple Jim]

Originally Posted by akima

It's way high up there on the list of things I think are most important: that being: fully taking control of the situation and making it your responsibility to keep yourself safe regardless of whether other drivers are doing something illegal or "wrong".

Nicely put, Akima.

[CaliGrrl]

Yeah. Lots of people are doing a lot of things on the roads, but that doesn't mean you let them hurt you by it.

[Sulman]

Originally Posted by Triple Jim

Obviously the other driver was "at fault", but I hope you understand that you not only could have avoided the crash, but you had better learn from it. From now on, assume that things like this will happen at every possible opportunity. Your only defense is to assume that you're invisible, and that other vehicles are waiting to kill you every chance they get.

I don't agree, actually.

Not every accident is avoidable. In the case of a car being entirely where it should not be, this is very hard to allow for, unless you choose to stay in your house.

I have had cars running at me head-on on the wrong side of the road doing this, and on the two occasions I remember I was lucky. I have thought about it afterwards and outside of a roll of the dice there's little you can do to manage it. One can know that a stretch of road is prone to people doing it, but again this may not help you if they decide to do it suddenly.

Likewise, my personal favourite motorist-is-determined-to-kill-me story was car signalling left in front of me, swinging left to make the turn (about two feet into the opposite lane), then inexplicably deciding to then immediately turn hard-right into the opposite driveway.

You cannot plan for everything, especially when humans do utterly unpredictable and stupid things.

[spent_too_much]

I'm glad that you are OK, and that the insurance seems to have taken care of you.

I would not chance reusing that frame. I assume also that the insurance company has totaled your MC, and you might not be able to register / insure it now.

If you plan to keep it, I would find a clean frame, and transfer the usable parts to it, or buy a complete, "mechanic's special" MC with a clean title, and rebuild that.

Safety first.

Pics of the new bike?

[CaliGrrl]

It's true you can't plan for *every* possible occurrence but you can plan for an awful lot of things. There are a lot of times, driving or riding, that I can see something developing about 30 seconds before somebody does something strange. That's enough time to back off, change lanes, that kind of thing. To stay away from the car that's doing something odd.

For those rare, super-random, highly improbable things, you may have to trust to a bit of luck. Luckily, a lot of what people view as "random" is actually foreseeable to some degree. People just don't see it because they're on their phone, or into their music, or whatever the distraction of the moment is.

[jkv45]

Originally Posted by CaliGrrl

It's true you can't plan for *every* possible occurrence but you can plan for an awful lot of things. There are a lot of times, driving or riding, that I can see something developing about 30 seconds before somebody does something strange. That's enough time to back off, change lanes, that kind of thing. To stay away from the car that's doing something odd.

For those rare, super-random, highly improbable things, you may have to trust to a bit of luck. Luckily, a lot of what people view as "random" is actually foreseeable to some degree. People just don't see it because they're on their phone, or into their music, or whatever the distraction of the moment is.

Agreed. There are usually warning signs before a real problem develops.

All you can do is be super alert and prepared to react in situations where there is no warning whatsoever.

Trust no one's judgement or skill level and always have a plan.

[CaliGrrl]

Yep. Train, pay attention, wear your gear, and rely on luck as little as you can.

[Triple Jim]

Originally Posted by Sulman

Not every accident is avoidable.

I didn't say every accident is avoidable, I said this one was. A good percentage of them are, if the rider is ready for the unexpected.

[akima]

Originally Posted by CaliGrrl

It's true you can't plan for *every* possible occurrence but you can plan for an awful lot of things. There are a lot of times, driving or riding, that I can see something developing about 30 seconds before somebody does something strange. That's enough time to back off, change lanes, that kind of thing. To stay away from the car that's doing something odd.

For those rare, super-random, highly improbable things, you may have to trust to a bit of luck. Luckily, a lot of what people view as "random" is actually foreseeable to some degree. People just don't see it because they're on their phone, or into their music, or whatever the distraction of the moment is.

+50000

I like to think of gear as being my plan B. For those rare situations where an accident is truly unavoidable... that's where plan B comes into play.

[CaliGrrl]

That's how I think about it, too.

[allanoue]

Originally Posted by akima

+50000

I like to think of gear as being my plan B. For those rare situations where an accident is truly unavoidable... that's where plan B comes into play.

Plan A) Stay away from situations that may require emergency maneuvering.

When Plan A fails

Plan B) Have the skills to execute emergency maneuvering.

When Plan B fails

Plan C) ATGATT

Ease of implementing goes in reverse order. Plan C being the easiest and Plan A the most difficult.

[CaliGrrl]

Originally Posted by allanoue

Ease of implementing goes in reverse order. Plan C being the easiest and Plan A the most difficult.

Good advice.

[Yakaru]

Originally Posted by FrugalNinja250

Something for gear that was damaged, including scrapes and scuffs on the helmet, tears and abrasions on your jacket and pants, gloves, boots, etc.

Just to call it out -- it's not "something" for the helmet, the helmet is trashed and needs to be replaced and 100% of the cost of that needs to be covered. Obviously same/like make and model (no grabbing an SR2 from a busted no-name)

[Triple Jim]

I suppose the insurance company would have a valid point if they wanted to prorate the helmet based on a life of, say, 5 years. But Andrew didn't have it very long, so that prorating shouldn't take much off.