Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Final tally of my high end collision during the GA

1: Broken left wrist and arm
2: Sever bone bruise to both of my upper thighs
3: Torn Rotator cuff left shoulder
4: Bruised right kidney
5: Moderate concussion
6: Hurt all over thank god for Vicodine

But the best thing about it is I walked away from a 50 mph high side crash

Need some advise the insurance company totaled the bike.

They will give me $5163.65 less $500.00 deductible

They will sell it back to me for $900.00

I know the forks were bent the rim, tire and front fender are toast along with my light bar, I found a rear peg in all my stuff that snapped off.

Did anyone notice any other major damage to it JR and Charlie would not let me get up so I never really saw the rest of the bikes damage.

My question is do I take the money or buy the bike back and fix it up on my own. I have no idea what a set of forks cost or a rim, I guess I can buy all the parts I need to fix it off e-bay and the site and still come out ahead.

What do think I should do?

Hurten in GA.

If I understand it right, you would get the bike back and a little over $3700 bucks? You could almost buy a higher mileage used America just for a parts bike with that, take off what you need and part out the rest online and make some more money back. I think that's what I would do.

Glad you're still with us

As for resurrecting your bike, BSA Bob's your man to talk to

Personly, I'd consider buying it back as a long term project while also having a nice new or newish bike aswell

Is this an either or scenario? Or will they give you the pay out AND let you buy it back?

I think there was some debate as to if you had frame damage or not.

If they'll give you the payout, let you buy it back, and there's no frame damage ... I'd consider doing it and see if Chy will work you a deal on parts from his salvage bike ;-)

take the money,get another bike with out all the bad mojo attached.

Wow John,

I heard references of a wreck at the rally, but didn't know who. I'm glad to hear your well & mending.

I was in a somewhat similar deal last July, even had a couple Triumph guardian angels looking out for my well-being.

A few weeks later the insurance adjuster offered $3,900 less $500 deductible (02 BA). From FJ's description, the bike had a badly torqued front end, plus lots of cosmetic damage. I could have bought it back for $900, but it sounded like frame damage was a very real possibility. So I took the checque. I lost potential dollars in the aftermarket add-ons, but distance & my personal condition last fall made retrieval problemmatic at best.

In the end, I found a better-than hawkeye deal on a used 07 speedmaster. I'd be tempted to take the dollars and watch the ba.com classifieds or used outlets. Good luck man

jh

good thing you had on good gear. i want a full face lid now.

Another thing to consider is the title. If you are going to keep it forever, rebuilt or prior salvage may not be an issue. I would definitely look at the bike before buing it back, though. There are a lot of good deals out there.

Good to hear you are on the mend. I personally would buy the bike back and build a chopper out of it and use the rest of the money to buy another stock bike. Probably have to add some cash to the pay out to get another bike but then you would have 2 toys. That is assuming your old bike isn't too badly smashed, have to determine that first.

Glad to hear you're still on the sunny side of the dirt John.

While a partial wreck for $900 sounds like a good deal to me, I would want to believe that if the frame is tweaked, it might not be worth the trouble to have it fixed. If no frame distortion is readily evident, I'm not sure how to go about getting the frame professionally checked out in a reasonable manner, or where the bike is. Perhaps a body shop that handles motorcycles could shed some light on the subject of bent frames. With your proximity to Atlanta, there must be a body shop or two that does bikes. I've seen flipped over bent frame dump trailers repaired, in fact, I even flipped one when the load froze up in the nose, but that's a whole other story as a drawn vehicle without steering geometry.

The good news - if you don't want to go brand new bike, there are so many great used ones that it boggles the mind.

http://www.cycletrader.com/

This is an awesome deal too
http://www.bonnevilleamerica.com/forums/...true#Post451470

'Lot to be said for fuel injection, buh golly.

Dang John, I read a comment about someone going down at the rally, but didn't know who it was. I'm glad you're on the mend and wish you a speedy and complete recovery. I don't really have any advice for you about the bike...if it was me, I'd probably take the payout and look for a used bike to replace it. But that's mainly because rebuilding a bike is more than I would really want to take on. Good luck with everything.

Will

John, it's good to here from you and hopefully you are on the road to recovery. It sounds like you may be out of the saddle for a period so you have time to reflect and decide what’s best.
I too would want my bike back but as someone mentioned it is now salvage titled bike and would be difficult to sell.
On the other hand if you plan to keep it I would give it a serious look. Hire a pro to access the condition; probably cost a couple of bills to have someone look at the bike.
Looks like Triumph may have a couple of new bikes for 2011.
Take care of yourself my friend and give the wife and son a hug every day.
Mike

Get well soon John!

Take the cash. Let'em sell the motorsickle to pinwall. Given the priority of mending up, you won't feel like parting it, nor will you be inclined to rebuild it anytime soon. Convalesce by searching out another ride. Turn the dream of riding before the season ends into a time certain date.

Good luck on your mending.

Take the pay out and put it up. Mend well first, then start looking for a replacement ride. That pretty Mulberry is a hard color to repair and you'd drive yourself crazy trying to replicate the original bike.

John, Sorry to hear about the crash, hope you heal up OK. As far as the bike is concerned you could buy it back, but as others have said you'll end up with a salvage title. If its a 790 I'd buy the cams from you if you go that route.

Very good advice has been given here. Glad to hear you are mending.

Give the insurance company the bike. Get better and get another one.