2008 Down and probably out

Well 6xxx miles later and on the 21st of last month Someone elected to cut me off and may have terminated my enjoyment on the VFR. (I have had little spills before but this is a First BIG DOWN.)

I really hate drivers that insist on being in the faster lanes and have to cut people off to do so.


Accident details are hazy as I don't really remember much. A toyota? Carolla/Camry Late 90s earlier 00's made a choice to move to the #2 lane from the left coming from the #3 lane which is on the right.

I was with in the speed limit But not sure of exact speed. When I grabbed a hand full of brake and layed the bike down on the left side as I avoided hitting the Car. I can't say weather the car stopped. I hit hard. Having massive impacts but have been blessed with strong bones.(Nothing broke)

People stopped and Im lucky I did not get ran over by traffic behind me.

Riding in all the right gear it did its Job to include the new X-12 Helmet. Helmet was a sure life saver.

I was alert after the accident and refused the ride to the hospital in the the truck.


I loaded the bike in the back of my Families truck after waiting around for him to show up he was about 40 miles away.

I rode the bike off the freeway didn't think there was that much damage to it. Guess the plastic on these bikes will total it out.

When to the 24hr Vet hospital that night and got checked out just in case

Its been about 10 days and I'm still having bruising show up.

The Highway Patrol was cool and didn't write a report because they wanted to give me the choice of reporting it or not.


I love riding but I might have to commute in a car Los Angeles is getting to stupid to ride around in.

The next question Let the company take the bike and pay off the loan or buy it back as a salvage and fix it enough to use as a commuter/weekday and get a nice bike for the weekend.

 

Thats a shame to hear Bryce, really glad your ok though. I told you the traffic out here was nuts. Have you contacted your insurance about it at all?

 

Good god, stupid cagers all over this week. Glad you're allright bub.

 

Glad to hear you bounced. Sorry about the bike. I am sure you will be sore for a while, take it easy.

 

The insurance company is USAA they seem to be pretty good I called them on the 23rd going up to the MotoGP race and told them. Dropped the bike off for inspection. Looks to be 4-6k on parts without labor. Tank has a small ding in it an retail on that is 850 dollars. They are covering my riding boots, jacket, helmet, and gloves. Pants were high quality denim but they said they aren't riding pants.

Backpack is trashed and Cracked my netbooks screen debating to claim those on my renters insurance policy.

What pisses me off is after 8 years of riding I figured I'm ready to treat myself to a new ride and someone has to screw it up not even past the 90 days yet.

Talking to the Dealership about if the Unlimited mileage warranty will carry over if I buy the bike back as a salvage or Can i get my money back from it that was 1500 bucks.

I Still don't get how the person couldn't see me. I always ride with my brights on even if I'm blinding people at night I don't care. I want to be seen.

 

"I Still don't get how the person couldn't see me. I always ride with my brights on even if I'm blinding people at night I don't care."

My unscientific analysis is they don't see you because they're not looking; too busy texting or entering the phone number for their next cell call. Alas it is also not unheard of here to see people reading books and magazines while they're driving.

This is the reason I reluctantly don't commute on my bike. Here in Connecticut people are a bit sleepy in the morning but paying what attention they have left to their driving on the way into work. Going home in the afternoon is a completely different story. My (again unscientific, not justified with numbers) observation is that the number of serious accidents in clear weather on dry roads has skyrocketed as drivers have fully embraced the concept that the automobile is a communication pod that requires only minimal intermitent attention.

Sorry to hear you were swept into the vortex of inattentive drivers; very glad to hear that damage to you was relatively mild (easy for me to say, I'm not the one with the bruises). I hope you heal quickly and that the bike/insurance/$ thing is resolved quickly and in your favor.

 

Sucks that your dream bike was trashed with so few miles. As others have said, glad you are ok. I've got about 150,000 miles on bikes, and have had my share of serious and not so serious crashes. As I have gotten older I have gained an appreciation for headlight/tail light modulators, rfelective clothing and white helmets. Every little bit helps.

If your bike does end up getting totaled and you don't buy it back, I have been having a helluva time locating a set of passenger grab rails for my new-to-me 02, if they survived and you don't need them, I'd definitely be interested in putting them to use.

 

Most important thing is you are OK. Bits of plastic and metal can be repaired or replaced, but the squishy bit is unique!

When I see these sort of threads my first though is for the rider and the second ... whether or not it is a good idea to be discussing this sort of stuff on an open forum at least until the lawyers and any insurance issues are resolved. Sadly even in Europe we have a growing body of ambulance chasers who make their living off others misfortune, and in the process ensure the cost of insurance soars for everyone.

A worrying trend is for insurers to employ consultants who constantly monitor forums such as this for any evidence which might help reduce or evade claims. I have no issue with people taking steps to stop fraud but if the "other side" realises ... Accident details are hazy as I don't really remember much... they may be tempted to revise their official report, to make it look like you are wholly or at least partially at fault... I know in the immediate aftermath of something like this we may be tempted to share our experiences with others, but please be careful what you say and how you say it, as it just may come back to haunt you.

Good luck - hopefully it won't be long before you are riding a VFR again.


6thGen Militia #218