It's a perfect fall day here in Pennsylvania. A little on the cool side, but the sun is shining and a nice breeze is blowing. I had no idea my day would turn out like it did.
I went to the local Target to buy some batteries and I parked out in the middle of no where so my bike would be safe. I planned to be just a few minutes, but it seemed worth the walk to keep the VFR out of harms way.
As I approached the entrance a van went buy and I watch as the driver cut a round my bike and clipped the back end and knocked it off the side stand and over on it's side. I could not believe this was happening to me. Last year a girl in a Honda Civic BACKED out of an intersection when the light changed and pushed me back a few feet, but I just rolled backward and the bike never dropped. That was supposed to be my BIG chance to have serious damage and I got of easy. She wrote me a nice big check to cover the scrape in the cowl.
The soccer mom was on the phone and simply didn't look where she was going. 5 miles per hour and she hit just hard enough to... well you guys know. Take a look:
http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/uploads/1222864519/gallery_5799_4193_338200.jpg Crash Damage Hard Side Case
I am a little sick right now. Insurance information was exchanged and she didn't seem to have a worry in the world. No remorse - No apology - just business is business as if the accident could not be helped. When it was all over she picked up the cell phone, redialed and drove off in the opposite direction.
The cops did not get involved because it was in the parking lot of a business and the damage was quite limited.
OK GUYS... where do I go from here. It looks like the cowl AND the Side Case(s) need to be replaced since nobody paints this stuff any more. Will GEICO come through for me and replace the damaged plastic?
I've never submitted a claim, esp. from someone else's negligence, but her insurance company should handle everything 100%. As far as I know, your insurer shouldn't be involved at all, unless her policy is expired or lapsed due to unpaid premiums.
IMO, replacements are in order, not just fixing it. Depending on customer paint shops in your area it might be cheaper to replace those items anyway. See if the insurance company will cut you a check for MSRP for the damaged items and then buy them yourself cheaper.
BTW, if she hit your rear wheel or any part of the frame or subframe you should get the bike looked at by a pro.
Really sucks man. Almost the same thing happened to me about 5 years ago. Except it was some squid on a 1200cc bike that hit my bike.
Not sure about PA, but in Jersey, the cops wont do a police report because it is on private property (parking lot). The other insurance company wouldn't pay me without a police report. I had to claim it on my insurance under my collision coverage. My insurance company paid me and later they went after the other insurance company for reimbursement.
The damage was only about 300 bucks, and the claim is still on my insurance record as an "accident" I told them I was inside the dang store when it happened - doesn't matter. If I had to do it again, I would have just fixed it myself, and tried to negotiate with the person for some cash...
Her insurance should cover everything, but I would definitely get back with the P.D. and get an incident report! You'll need all the proof you can get your hands on. You may have to go through your own insurance and put out your deductible, then have your ins. co. go after hers... ?
[image: View Post]TimC, on Oct 2 2008, 12:52 PM, said:
Wow, that sucks. Sorry to hear about it.
I've never submitted a claim, esp. from someone else's negligence, but her insurance company should handle everything 100%. As far as I know, your insurer shouldn't be involved at all, unless her policy is expired or lapsed due to unpaid premiums.
IMO, replacements are in order, not just fixing it. Depending on customer paint shops in your area it might be cheaper to replace those items anyway. See if the insurance company will cut you a check for MSRP for the damaged items and then buy them yourself cheaper.
BTW, if she hit your rear wheel or any part of the frame or subframe you should get the bike looked at by a pro.
:+1: on having it looked at by a professional in case of frame damage. It looks like you got off pretty lucky. Any car bodyshop should be able to match the paint, but I would recommend going to a dealership as much as I hate to say that. It's too bad your not in San Antonio, I know a guy who got an check from an insurance company for the damage, then went to our mutual friend who owns a bike shop and got it fixed much cheaper.
That really blows. I dropped my bike in gravel in the keys a couple years ago; my hardbag took the blow. :ohmy: It sucked SOOOOO bad. I lived with it for awhile but ended up having it re-painted last winter. So, that is an option. It wasn't difficult to get the paint codes for the guy either; especially with all of the help around here. :fing02:
Since your situation is COMPLETELY different, I would be sure to have an incident report drawn up and have a reputable dealer give your bike a thorough look over. I would hold onto that written estimate (maybe even get a second one for good measure) and be sure that the insurance company isn't trying to stiff you one when it's all said and done. You can bet that they will seek to repair versus replace, especially with the cost of the hardbags.
I'm sorry that this airhead ruined your day.... Some (okay MOST) people shouldn't be given the priviledge to drive! :pissed: Thankfully, the damage seems to have been cosmetic (at this point) and you weren't hurt! :fing02:
You know those two spots when ya have the bags on always get hit and the damage is almost identical. I think it may be worth it to throw a bit of clear tack tape on each of the spots. I'm going to, right now... Thanks for the post, sorry you had to make it.
Sorry to read about what happened. Sometimes it can be really tough to avoid lousy drivers. I have a couple in my family.
If Geico does replace the bags for you, I will be interested in purchasing the old ones off you. Take care of your business, and pm me if you have any interest.
The cops did not get involved because it was in the parking lot of a business and the damage was quite limited.
OK GUYS... where do I go from here. It looks like the cowl AND the Side Case(s) need to be replaced since nobody paints this stuff any more. Will GEICO come through for me and replace the damaged plastic?
I will keep you posted. This sucks.
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almost makes it worth the risk of complaint or citation, strategically parking closer to entrance awnings, walkways at non-moto friendly locals.
I had a very small scrape last year when the Honda lady pushed me back out of an intersection. Her bumper made contact with the other side of the cowl near the turn signal and she was MORE than happy to write me a check and walk away without an AT FAULT accident on her already poor record. The local Honda dealer provided a quote for the cowl and the total was around $700. I touched up the blemish with a little help from ColorRite. Ah... I spent the rest of the cash on cheap gas and fast women.
This is a little more than touch up paint so I'll replace the cowl for sure if they let. I'll need a pair of hard bags to make this right and I hope the estimate will have a couple of buck in there for labor.
I have an incident report from the LEO on duty. Cut and dried. No question as to at fault and she admitted to the crash to the people who were there. I was ALMOST able to lift the bike up - another couple tries and I might have "got er done".
Thanks guys.... and yea it could have been a lot worse. If I had been seated on the bike and the circumstances were the same I might have been injured. So there is some consolation there.
OK - I have a LEFT 05 Silver Hard Case for sale. Or WTB a RIGHT 05 Silver Hard Case. Whatever.
The insurance company won't make me paint over this damage.... will they???
sorry to hear about the ignoble fate your ride endured. that stinks.
definition of accident: A harmful event involving one or more motor vehicles on the public roadway including injury and or property damage.
you see this one gets alot of people. It is civil becuase it occured on private property, but you insurance covers only civil liability. The insurance cares who was at fault, but the police really do not. The exception is drunk driving and manslaughter.
But if this ever comes up for you, you can request a "Damage to Property" report, amd 99 times out of 100, that is more than enough for the insurance weenies.
No complications YET. My would be Lady Crasher was quite accepting of the fact that she ran over a motorcycle. And it seem like a regular part of her day. Her papers were in order and she promised to make good on the damage and did not deny the event.
I ride when I can. If I can't ride I'll rub on my bike and I've added a few choice modifications. So I am happy I didn't get squished by a van today and mad that my previously UN-violated machine was damaged.
I will do what I have to restore the bike to it's original condition. And then I'll be happy. This is the kind of thing that you could never predict. It could have been worse. Oh well.
When my bike gets damaged, I just drop it off at the dealership and call the insurance company. The dealer takes care of everything and just calls me when it's ready. Never cost me a thing and the bike is 100% when I pick it up.
[image: View Post]solohvs, on Oct 2 2008, 02:14 PM, said:
The insurance company won't make me paint over this damage.... will they???
It will most likely depend on the insurance company... probably have to wait and see. I would guestimate that it would depend on a whole heap of things; one being whether or not the hardcase structure &/or mounting hardware has been compromised. Usually if it's simply cosmetic damage, insurance companies will do their best to repair versus replace since it's the least costly avenue. However, if the structure of the bag is not any good a repair is out of the question, so replacement would be the only option. Keep us posted... I'm curious what the insurance company proposes. :fing02:
Heck, when I had my bags repainted to repair the scuff (comperable cosmetic damage to yours) it cost me around $200 to have them prepped, sprayed, and sealed. I had both re-painted, because... well, yes, I am that picky. :rolleyes:
[image: View Post]jasonsmith, on Oct 2 2008, 02:43 PM, said:
You know those two spots when ya have the bags on always get hit and the damage is almost identical. I think it may be worth it to throw a bit of clear tack tape on each of the spots.
That's a great idea. There's a company that makes clear plastic (or vinyl?) cut-outs to apply to motorcycle gas tanks to keep them from getting scratched up. You can hardly tell they're on once they're applied. Might be a great addition to a set of hard bags. :fing02:
[image: View Post]timmythecop, on Oct 2 2008, 03:23 PM, said:
definition of accident: A harmful event involving one or more motor vehicles on the public roadway including injury and or property damage.
you see this one gets alot of people. It is civil becuase it occured on private property, but you insurance covers only civil liability. The insurance cares who was at fault, but the police really do not. The exception is drunk driving and manslaughter.
But if this ever comes up for you, you can request a "Damage to Property" report, amd 99 times out of 100, that is more than enough for the insurance weenies.
Yet one more cool thing about having LEOs on the forum. I know you guys take a lot of crap, Timmy, but your expertise on stuff like this is very valuable around here. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us! ;)
So I get this letter from the IRS saying that the rest of my disputed tax refund will be sent and $1,904 is deposited to my bank account. I DON'T want to drop $500 of that on a deductible. I can make this right but it still sucks. So guys - thanks for your comments. I didn't end up in the hospital or anything like that but this is unexpected and I'm pissed off for not having any control of the situation.
Yep, as said, her insurance should cover everything. As was mentioned, might want to get the bike looked at by a pro if the rear wheel, or frame was hit hard enough.
Here in SoCal....we have a law which makes it illegal to talk on a cell phone while driving....it worked, for the FIRST WEEK, and now everybody and their brother talks on them again.
Sorry to here about that. I am glad that you were not on it, as it does not seem that the inconsiderate dope would have noticed or cared. I have little experience with the insurance co's. I have been hit however and it was totally the cagers fault as her first words out of the car were "I did not even see you" followed by "I will pay for all the damages". Then she must have went home and talked to hubby and all of a sudden I am being sued for damages to her car and Her"MEDICAL EXPENSES". Take it from me get the police report and go through her insurance and do not try to be a nice guy. Have a Honda Dealer go through the bike and replace anything with a nick on it. Maybe next time she'll pay attention. I doubt it though.
Ok, here is an insurance question. The parts list shows a PART NUMBER for just the hard side case, listed as a saddle bag RT and LT. So Honda has parts for BOTH sides but the dealer wants me to buy a pair and the insurance guy has a pair listed also.
Has anyone out there ordered ONE OEM side case .... as in a left or a right?
I was NOT able to attend SEB's Catskills Ride - the premier touring event for the east coast. I packed my bags on Saturday after lunch and headed for the Interstate. After a few miles the throttle began to malfunction. The bar end throttlemeister began to stick and I had a hard time keeping the throttle at an even level. I stopped to evaluate the situation and decide to go home and perform the repairs.
I missed the whole ride. I adjusted the throttlemeister the night and made a short run up to Port Jervis only to see the Catskills guys coming BACK on Sunday afternoon. I missed the whole ride. Whoa - OFF TOPIC.
Can I order ONE RIGHT SIDE BAG ?
End of thread · 29 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 12 Apr 2010