Dumping at 35mph is expensive

Fire-medic · Sep 21, 2014

I avoid lane markings like the plague. Like the tar snakes they use to patch the road, just too-little traction to use as a road surface. I'm surprised that there hasn't been a series of lawsuits across the nation because of the no-traction that markings cause. They don't have to be wet either, I steer-around them in the dry, too.

Another warning sign that gives me pause: "uneven road surface." These are usually posted where they are doing road repair. MY suggestion: cross them as-quickly as possible. Be prepared for the handlebars to 'whip' as you strike the edge w/your front wheel. In my experience, it's always a 'step-up' instead of a 'step-down.'

On a couple of recent trips to the midwest, I was in WI and MI and the secondary roads , and some of the higher-capacity roads, were in unbelievably-poor shape. Patches on-patches, it reminded me of 'roads' in the Bahamas on Grand Providence or Abaco Islands. I bet they sell a lot of shocks & struts, assuming people replace their worn-out components.

ImCannibal · Sep 24, 2014

Just got word from the dealership... $8000 repair estimate. Woof. Hello insurance money.

PATMAX · Sep 25, 2014

$800
Bills sounds incredibly LOW to me. I had an 86
brand new get totalled out with less damage. I was thinking $800 just in parts. Are you sure that's right?

D-Max2012 · Sep 25, 2014

$800
Bills sounds incredibly LOW to me. I had an 86
brand new get totalled out with less damage. I was thinking $800 just in parts. Are you sure that's right?

I think you missed a zero..
$8K??. I'd buy a nice used one for that cash and use what parts I needed and still have money left over. Just MHO.

HyperPete · Sep 25, 2014

When I got hit on the freeway on my M109R in 2009, the estimate came to well over $8,000. The insurance company was going to total it, but I talked the adjuster into removing some items to get it down to just about $8000 so it was not totalled. Most of the damage was superficial (IE, no structural damage, but it did need a new cowl, gas tank, and rear fender as well as some small items (mirror, footpeg, etc.)

I disassembled it myself, sent all of the body parts out for custom paint (rather than replacing body panels because they were scratched) and did all of the repairs myself. I ended up with a few thousand in the bank and a fully repaired and somewhat more customized bike!

I hope that you are able to do something like that, and get the bike back to how you want it with some cash left over. I'm also glad to hear that you were not badly injured.

Cheers, and good luck!

ImCannibal · Sep 25, 2014

Oh it's going to get totaled out, but there's no way I'm going to get $8k for a gen1... But dealer costs + labor is going to add up fast. I know I can get the parts I need in good shape from you guys for a way more reasonable price than a dealer can sell to me.