Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Bike may be totalled, need advice

So some of your may have read my post a few weeks ago of my America and I’s heroing off-road, airborne adventure. Upon inspecting the bike and talking to some folks it looks like now the bike is probably going to be totally. I’ve never had any experience with anything like this so I need some advice.

The insurance company told me to take the bike to a shop that could do the repairs and they would send an adjuster out to see the bike there and make a determination. What I’m wondering is though, if they make the determination to total the bike, will they just take it from the shop or will I be able to take it back home first? My concern is that if they are going to total the bike I want to strip all of my aftermarket parts off of there first so I can at least get some money back for them selling them on my own because I know the insurance company isn’t going to give me any credit for them.

Also, when going over the bike to determine whether they should repair or scrap, would I be able to specify what I want or don’t want done? Like, I want my forks replaced, but I don’t need new pipes or boards because I already have some sitting in my garage. Trying to keep the repair cost under the salvage limit.

Finally, any idea what the salvage payout might be? I’m thinking between 4 and 5. Sucks since I still owe 6 but not a huge deal.

Any advice from someone who’s been here before would be much appreciated.

i've been through it with an 04 Daytona. if the cost of repairing the bike is more than the bike is currently worth (kelly blue book or NADA guide) it will be totalled. You can usually tell from the damages if it will be. For my instance it was all the "plastics" and fairings that needed to be replaced. those ****** are expensive. Anyhow, with labor charges, the dealership said it would cost nearly 2000 dollars more to fix the bike than the bike was worth. the insurance company paid exactly what the bike was worth (per NADA guide) and luckily it was a few hundred more than what i owed on the lean.

so, if you've got a brand new bike, you may come out nearly even with owing 6. otherwise, i'd let the dealer estimate the damage and if it's more than 7 in damages i'd make it back over to the dealer and yank off those aftermarket parts before they came to appraise it. some aftermarket parts will raise the price of the bike though. so it's a gamble on whether it would be benefitial to try to resell them (i.e. here, ebay)

eitherway, if they total it out, they'll pay a large chunk of that 6 that you owe if not all of it. like i said in my case i actually got paid a couple hundred for wrecking the daytona which i turned around and put on a speedy.

thorn

I totalled my V* 1100 last June. The Ins company paid off all of the bike to the lein holder (yamaha credit card) and paid the rest of the money directly to me. This was State Farm here in PA and they didn't go by Kelly or NADA. The had the dealership quote for fixing, then an adjuster said nope totall it. Then they found what a similar bike would go for in this area and paid out that amount, minus the 500 deductable.

It all depends on the laws where you live an what Insurance company you have.

Next time you start scraping stuff going into corners don't speed up for the next ones slow down.

Sneak into the dealership, drain the oil, and run the bike till the engine siezes. Then you know it's totaled.

Why do you think I have two...?

My 03 was written off (totalled) but I could buy her back and get a settlement. I managed to get enough money on top of the settlement to get the 06 - brand new. I still owe money on the 03 to the bank, but if the worst was to happen and I lost my job, I have loan protection...

Yeah, the bike is an 05 and it really depends on what guide they use for the pricing. kbb puts the bike at 4 and NADA puts it closer to 5. This is the trade-in value, I assume that is what they use.

My bike needs a new tank, fenders, mirrors, lights, and forks. I've got to imagine the parts would be less than the totaling price but the labor... even though to do everything except the forks would probably take about 1 6 pack worth of time for me to do, I'm sure it will be billed as a lot more. Stupid crashing....

Do everything you can to be there when the adjuster looks at it. If it is a write-off, and you are there to talk to them before they decide to dispose of the remains, you can usually buy it back for not very much. If the engine and gearbox are still usable, you could probably use them, whatever settlement you get from the insurance plus a little extra cash (peobably less than buying a new bike) and make yourself a really nice custom bike. It's been done before.

Totalled my brand new America(167 kms on the clock) a couple of weeks ago, Insurance co. wrote it off on the spot, not much damage really but because it was under 12 mths old it had to be replaced.
Already got a cheque for total I paid for it and ordered a new one.
Best bike I've ever owned
Crappy Queensland Roads + Lots of gravel on road + new tyres = Major spill
Hoffo.

If they write off the bike and give you a pay out figure, the bike is then THEIR property and they won't let you take it home and pinch all the goodies off it unless you buy it off them first.

I bounced mine off a traffic island a while back, it landed on the handlebars & sissybar then slid on the right hand side. The repair was almost exactly 1/2 the payout value and it took them three weeks to decide if they were going to write it off or not. I'd actually started shopping round for a Rocket when they told me they'd fix it. Thing is the bike was actually rideable - the major cost was the chrome & accessories I'd bolted on. It pays to have these things listed on your insurance or they just calculate on basic value for the model.

The bike was only 1 week old Sandman,didn't have enough time to add any goodies - didn't loose any money on it though as I insured it for agreed value which is what it cost me.
Ordered another and it will be here in about a week,so I've been told.
Your America is great and so is your website- LED taillights are brilliant do you make them yourself?
Hoffo

When I got rearended last fall. Estimate to fix bike was 120 over bikes value. Had them take saddlebags off <needed new Zippers> They were going to replace them. It went from totaled to being fixed. Talk to the insurance co. They will work with you on the bike,

If you want to keep the bike after being totaled they usually have a buy back figure that can be deducted from your check. If you don't buy it back you will not be allowed to take it home to take anything off. You might be able to arrange it with the adjuster to take the custom stuff and give them the origonals,depends on the adjuster.

Well, I got the word today - the bike is totalled. <sigh> The frame did actually have damage, so I didn't even ask about buying it back. But the payout is going to be a little better than I hoped, so at least I should be able to almost pay off the rest of my loan.

Luckily I did hedge my bets are I stripped most of my stuff off it this last weekend which I will be posting in the classifieds section of the site probably tommorow. So if anyone is looking for some bags with easy brackets, brand new debaffled pipes, tach, rack or risers, keep an eye out for that thread and drop me a line at jedrake72@yahoo.com.

Epilogue:

Back on the road today and back in the family! My dealer got in a 2003 Black standard Bonnie with Staintune exhaust, new tires and tune-up, some other shiny bits and only 4500 miles on the clock yesterday and my buddy who works there called me and let me know I could have it for 5500. I went down and test drove it and done deal. I put a deposit and will be driving it home tonight. Will be taking the loooooooong way home.

EXCELLENT. I hope you and your new bike will be very happy.

I love happy endings. ::sniff::

(Get your mind out of the gutter.)