I was involved in an incident 6 weeks ago whilst riding my 1250rs.
Stupid mistake for somebody that drives about 80k miles a year saw me rear ending a stationary car at 25-30 mph. Over the handlebars , rolled off the back of the car and landed next to the bike which was on its side. Sprained wrists, sore shoulders, bruised shins(feckin boxer engines) bruised back around the sides of the back protector, black and blue bollocks and surrounding area, pelvis was clicking and uncomfortable for a couple of weeks but seems to have sorted itself out. X-ray, cat scan and other tests show no lasting damage. Dodged a bullet I think.
Bike suffered bent forks and the suspension wouldn’t move up/down and the forks were weeping oil past the seals, the forks flexed sufficiently to smash the front fender extender on the engine but then flexed back into shape( almost), loose head bearings which are a concern because I can’t see how slack can be created unless something is out of shape or cracked,, damaged offside valve cover, pannier lid, smashed front mudguard, headlight lenses were intact but strangely the reflectors had holes in them (presumably on the rear mounting points) , screen smashed to shitrags as I launched through it, front panels around the headlights cracked. Tyre stayed inflated but who knows what damage was done to the carcass, wheel appears straight but again, who knows.
Anyway the bike was duly collected and taken away for inspection. I’ve spoken to the guy that was doing the inspection. The first time he just wanted to establish what had happened to gauge the likely areas to have been damaged.
Spoke to him again today and was told that the damage was slightly under the cost threshold for economical repair so they would be seeking permission from my insurance company to go ahead with repairs.
To say I was gobsmacked is an understatement— circa 350kgs of bike and me coming to a dead stop from 25-30 mph is a hell of a lot of energy to be transferred into the forks etc.
Although I’m sure they’ve had a bloody good look at the bike I’m really not happy about having it back. To my mind it should be written off completely. The decision to declare it repairable seems to have been based on the cost as much, if not more, than the mechanical side of things and whether it’s suitable to be used again.
A mate of mine buys Cat N bikes, tarts them up and sells them on again . Some of the bikes he has turned round have been written off for the sake of a few bodywork panels. A recent 850 gsa needed £800 spent on it for example. I just can’t square the two extremes of these examples — one written off for a few panels and mine having had such a serious impact. Ultimately they’re both back on the road but I can’t figure out why the 850 gsa for example would be written off( as far as the owner is concerned) yet mine will be returned to me.
Anyway, to get to the point of the thread:- assuming the insurance company authorise the repairs can anyone advise if I have any rights to reject the bike and receive an insurance settlement instead, based on my first hand experience of the crash and the severity of the impact? I really don’t want to ride it again knowing exactly what happened.
I own the bike outright, there is no finance company stake in the bike.
Your thought please chaps.
Mr Wapping are you there?
Thanks
Stupid mistake for somebody that drives about 80k miles a year saw me rear ending a stationary car at 25-30 mph. Over the handlebars , rolled off the back of the car and landed next to the bike which was on its side. Sprained wrists, sore shoulders, bruised shins(feckin boxer engines) bruised back around the sides of the back protector, black and blue bollocks and surrounding area, pelvis was clicking and uncomfortable for a couple of weeks but seems to have sorted itself out. X-ray, cat scan and other tests show no lasting damage. Dodged a bullet I think.
Bike suffered bent forks and the suspension wouldn’t move up/down and the forks were weeping oil past the seals, the forks flexed sufficiently to smash the front fender extender on the engine but then flexed back into shape( almost), loose head bearings which are a concern because I can’t see how slack can be created unless something is out of shape or cracked,, damaged offside valve cover, pannier lid, smashed front mudguard, headlight lenses were intact but strangely the reflectors had holes in them (presumably on the rear mounting points) , screen smashed to shitrags as I launched through it, front panels around the headlights cracked. Tyre stayed inflated but who knows what damage was done to the carcass, wheel appears straight but again, who knows.
Anyway the bike was duly collected and taken away for inspection. I’ve spoken to the guy that was doing the inspection. The first time he just wanted to establish what had happened to gauge the likely areas to have been damaged.
Spoke to him again today and was told that the damage was slightly under the cost threshold for economical repair so they would be seeking permission from my insurance company to go ahead with repairs.
To say I was gobsmacked is an understatement— circa 350kgs of bike and me coming to a dead stop from 25-30 mph is a hell of a lot of energy to be transferred into the forks etc.
Although I’m sure they’ve had a bloody good look at the bike I’m really not happy about having it back. To my mind it should be written off completely. The decision to declare it repairable seems to have been based on the cost as much, if not more, than the mechanical side of things and whether it’s suitable to be used again.
A mate of mine buys Cat N bikes, tarts them up and sells them on again . Some of the bikes he has turned round have been written off for the sake of a few bodywork panels. A recent 850 gsa needed £800 spent on it for example. I just can’t square the two extremes of these examples — one written off for a few panels and mine having had such a serious impact. Ultimately they’re both back on the road but I can’t figure out why the 850 gsa for example would be written off( as far as the owner is concerned) yet mine will be returned to me.
Anyway, to get to the point of the thread:- assuming the insurance company authorise the repairs can anyone advise if I have any rights to reject the bike and receive an insurance settlement instead, based on my first hand experience of the crash and the severity of the impact? I really don’t want to ride it again knowing exactly what happened.
I own the bike outright, there is no finance company stake in the bike.
Your thought please chaps.
Mr Wapping are you there?
Thanks