How is this "totaled"? F'n insurance companies.

[paulie]

Crashed my Tiger. Corner was tight enough and downhill enough that I couldn't see the exit, and encountered a big swatch of rain washout which was composed of about 1/4" of sand/silt covered by pea gravel. Yea it was a nice hilly country road here in the driftless area of Wisconsin. By the time I saw the stuff, I was already commited in the corner and couldn't get the bike upright enough in time to avoid a crash. Frontend went out from under the bike as soon as I hit it. I'm fine, one cracked rib. ATGATT and all that, right? :D

Anyway that's not what this post is about.

The insurance company is leaning on totaling the bike. I get that it's older, and OEM parts may be (?) harder to find. But I just don't understand it. I should also mention I pay them extra for the "premium accessories" coverage, which covers any 3rd party accessories. Anyway, I don't even care about the bodywork, I even told them I'd ride it with the scratches if it came to that.

Here's all that broke in the crash:
- clutch lever
- shift lever
- Ma's crash bars
- handlebars bent
- deep scratches in tank and front fairing
- Cee Bailey's tall/wide windscreen
- lower coolant hose

Pics here. Nevermind the extremely cute pic of my cat I had to snap after I came home after the crash.  https://picasaweb.google.com/paul.sadle ... directlink

I rode the bike about 10 miles after the crash, until I noticed the temp creeping up, which then lead to discovering a coolant leak from a punctured cooland hose. I felt no wobble or anything, but admittedly I didn't exceed 50MPH. I don't have a way to know if the forks are still true or not.

I just doesn't seem right that they'd total a bike for some minor stuff like that. Maybe that is normal, I'm not sure. Never had to put a claim in on an insurance policy before. What happens to the bike after the insurance company totals it out and hands me the check?

[paulie]

Also, it seems a bit odd to me that the Ma's bars just totally buckled like that(check the pics). But maybe they are just designed to cushion the impact and are essentually "one crash only" items.

[rybes]

ive heard of bikes in england that have just fallen of the side stand and smahed the fairin. for that, the insurance company has written the bike off. they only seem to price repairs usin new factory parts rather than 2nd hand or pattern parts.

[PeteH]

Seems a bit over the top to right it off...over here there are different categories of right off, if insurance company insist on paying you out see if you can do a deal and buy it back...at a highly reduced rate though.

Also, not the best advert for Ma`s bars..I would`nt have thought they would fail like that, send them a pic of the damage along with a few probing questions.

Also...also..providing you didnt hit anything then the forks and frame should be ok.

[Mustang]

Do you have a loan balance on the bike , that is the key question .
If you still owe money on the bike , the bank/finance company requires a sign off from dealer that bike was repaired to 100% , dealer must do repairs . They get 75-100 bucks per hour labor and parts are huge money for painted items like tank and fairings alone will put the repairs well beyond blue book value .

If you own the bike outright with no balance to pay off you will be in a much better position .


From the looks of the pics , myself I would lose the ma's bars , replace the coolant hose , windshield and shifter and have the frame and forks checked by someone capable (not necessarily the dealer )and call it a day , assuming you owe no money on it .
If you owe money you are at the mercy of the ins. and bank .

[cosmo]

Quickie on checking the fork tubes:

Loosen the triple tree clamps on one tube. Attempt to rotate tube. If it rotates, you're good.
If it doesn't: loosen the other side's clamps. Now try again. The trees may have shifted, binding the tubes.
If they rotate a bit, then bind, new tube time.

They can be straightened, but only if not kinked.

Cosmo

[jwray76]

this is why I only cary the state required insurance on my bikes. I had a get off early in the spring with similar damage and didn't claim it. Couple hundred bucks and she is perfect again other than paint.

[emken67]

You can buy a total loss back off of the insurance company, but they will never insure it again other than 3rd party.  They will also put some ludicrous stipulations about having an engineers report on repairs done etc.  It might be worth considering not claiming, especially if you consider the loss of no claims and the rest.  Insurance is generally a rip off designed to give rich people something to do with their money to make even more money off of us poor slobs!

[PeteH]

It might be worth considering not claiming, especially if you consider the loss of no claims and the rest.

Ditto that......

[Colonel Nikolai]

I was rear ended at a stoplight. Broke the rear body panels, the inner mud guard, rear tail light assy and scratched the muffler. Launched me straight into traffic in a wheelie! Woo hoo! :shock: The was the Triumph Sprint I bought, fixed up and still ride that the previous owner hit a 9-point buck at 50 mph in 2005, replacing everything from the front axle back to the triple trees with ebay parts.

The insurance company totalled it, gave me blue book value on it and let me buy "the wreck" back for a few hundred bucks and replaced my helmet (which never touched the ground) brand new. I did the work to fix it myself.

I think we can assume a few of things from this story:

1) Triumph makes some tough bikes.

2) Insurance companies fear repairing bikes.

[Yankee Dog]

I had this happen to me several years ago when I binned up a Trophy 1200. Bike was still rideable. In fact, I rode it back the 900 miles from where the accident happened to the house. But all the little nicks and scratches brought the damage up to more than the bike was worth. They we going to give me a fair price for the bike, but I didnt have the additional ready cash available to buy a new bike just then.

Anyway, I had a talk with the adjuster and explained my prediciment. He agreed to pay me as much as he could without totaling the bike. I fixed what had to be fixed, had a body shop do some of the repairs instead of buying new plastic and just lived with the rest.

True, I could no longer carry full coverage, but I still considered it a fair outcome.

[Chris Canning]

Some interesting posts thats for sure,I had exactly the same off in Northern Ireland  last year took the gear lever off,my foot peg and the passenger foot peg and gave me 4 broken ribs,my wife managed to bounce much better than me!!I had Touratech crash bars on not only they did what they were supposed to do,Touratech had done their home work as well with the handle bars tucked in  the TT bars keeped them off the ground,so not even a mark on the bar end.

Oh insurance?? never contacted them,cheaper,less hassle to pay out and fix it myself,I have a lot to do with bike breaking game,bikers have this strange idea that insurers are there for them,when in actual fact their there for e'mselves.

This what got us home a spare lever thats been under the seat for 9 years and a CBR600 foot peg kindly donated by a local bike dealer,should have seen the look on his face when we went back this year with a bottle of whiskey for him  :D



And the crash bars that did the job as I expected them to do,having not been happy looking at any other offering.

[Chris Canning]

Oh and what happens to the bike afterwards here in the UK some times the insurer will let you have the bike back with a reduced lump sum,the problem being that bike will be on what is called the 'Register' as either a break only,cat c or cat d,and not the easiest thing in the world ro re-insure or sell for that matter.

Usually they will go to a bike breakers that has a contract with the insurance company,the moment you invoke your insurance policy it's their game not yours,and hence why I've seen so many bikes that could be fixed for peanuts and bikers have the stigma of making a claim on their record for years.

[HockleyBoy]

Oh and what happens to the bike afterwards here in the UK some times the insurer will let you have the bike back with a reduced lump sum,the problem being that bike will be on what is called the 'Register' as either a break only,cat c or cat d,and not the easiest thing in the world ro re-insure or sell for that matter.

Usually they will go to a bike breakers that has a contract with the insurance company,the moment you invoke your insurance policy it's their game not yours,and hence why I've seen so many bikes that could be fixed for peanuts and bikers have the stigma of making a claim on their record for years.

Got to say, some insurance companies are not too bad. Dumped my tiger on its side a while back, wrecked the tank, fairing, top box, engine casing etc and fully expected it to be written off but Carole Nash came through.

They did all the work in their own workshop, replaced every damaged part on my bike including some parts that were scratched prior to the accident (forks) and straigtened/resprayed the passenger footpeg hanger. It would have been far easier for them (and probably justifyable from a financial standpoint) to write off the bike but I asked them not to and they didn't). They even upgraded my topbox (and let me keep the original with only minor scratches) to a top of the range Givi (with brake light kit) when they couldn't source a new Triumph one in the right colour. When I wasnt happy with the finish on the respray they came and collected the bike again with no fuss and redid it to my satisfaction.

Overall they were excellent and I have stayed with them since even though they are not the very cheapest, I feel it's worth paying for service like this when you really need it. Anyway that's the end of my Carole Nash advert, just like to give credit where its due!!

[Chris Canning]

Carol Nash is just a broker,they deal with all sorts of insurance companies,and use all sorts of contractors to do the work for them,but thats as much to do with outside contractor and anyone else,if you don't sign the work off they don't get paid,when the insurance process has started it a fair old food chain,contractor or repairer/CN/Insurance company.

As you've found out,it's the contractor that makes the difference,next time your bike could just as easyly go some were else.