[LiFo]

Yep. I wrecked my '05 636 on 10/17. Ouch.

I was very lucky: A broken ankle and clavicle. I always wear my gear, I didn't have great gear but I always wore it and I'm glad I did.

Bike, not so lucky. But I had insurance. It's a total loss. GEICO estimated the damage at almost $10k.

Anyway, I didn't create this post just to whine about my wreck, but, does anyone know if it's a good idea to try to buy the bike back from the insurance co salvage and sell the parts off it?

I'm fairly sure these parts are still good: Motor, computer, trans, rear, seats, Scorpio SR-I500SW alarm (yeah...I know).

I have pics if anyone wants to see them (from the insurance co, I wasn't really in the mood for photo-ops after it happened).

Appreciate your input...

Thanks,
Dan

 

[FightingFalcon]

I almost had to go through this process and I gotta say I don't envy you

Couple questions...

1) Do you own the bike....aka have the title? If you don't own it then you really have no say in what happens.

2) What is the insurance company offering you if they total the bike? Usually its a whole lot less than what the bike is worth.

In your case, fixing the bike and trying to sell it probably won't make sense.

10k of damage also makes it hard to believe that anything is salvageable. When your damage is more than what the bike costs....something is goin on.

My advice is to find out what the insurance company is offering you and try to find out what you could get for your motor, trans, rear, etc. if they still work/are in good condition. Some people might hesitate to buy performance stuff from a totaled bike. If you can make more money by parting it out, then get the bike back. Otherwise just take the check from the ins. and walk away.

Either way it really sucks....sorry to hear this. I know the feeling

 

[ben8jam]

well you might as well tell us how it happened....

 

[smittyzx6r]

Totaled my 97 gsxr from looping it. didnt own it and could have bought it back for like $460 but didnt have the time and money to fix it. Probably would have bought it back but the forks where all screwed up. insurance company said there was also $10k damage but's thats total bs since it was a $4000 bike. I say go for it if you have the time and money.

 

[smittyzx6r]

p.s howd you wreck?

 

[LiFo]

Appreciate the sympathy...it does suck...

The bike was financed, so, no, I don't have the title. I guess that answers that question.

GEICO is actually offering me what seems like quite a bit for the total. I had a $500 "accessories" provision on my policy. From what the adjuster told me on the phone it looks like they valued the bike replacement cost at $7600 + $500 (accessories). Minus the $1000 deductible I should get about $7100. For that amount it doesn't really seem worth it to screw with trying to salvage the parts myself.

Here's a pic, for the curious...

 

[the_gooey_1]

If you don't own it then your not getting dick more than likely. The ins. company will probably just pay off the loan.

 

[smittyzx6r]

well with the amount they are giving you will the bike be payed off?

And have they gave you a dollar amount to buy it back?

 

[AzCamel]

that looks like a great track bike and a good down payment on another bike

 

[LiFo]

Okay...Okay...Here's the story...

I had been riding for a few hours and was on my way home, was about 11:15 PM. It had drizzled a little but no serious rain, my visor was fogging up intermittently from the humidity so I kept cracking it, then eating a bug and closing it again. I'm just not a fan of raw bugs, cooked I'm sure they're fine but...

About 2 miles from my house, going down a 4-lane road I have gone down 100 times. I was leaning into a fairly tight turn and didn't see a huge piece of an 18-wheeler's tire tread in the road. When I did see it, it was too late to avoid it, figured I'd just run it over. Well, front wheel slid out from the lateral force for a split second before regaining traction but it was enough to push it outward from the turn half a foot or so which threw me off balance and changed my direction of travel. Tried to correct, probably over-corrected, low-sided, slid about 100-150 feet, from the inner lane to the outer lane, over the curb, grass, sidewalk, grass and into a telephone pole. Luckily I kicked the bike away as I was sliding so it didn't crush me.

Funny how you have time to think while you're sliding down the asphalt. I was thinking "hey, this isn't so bad"..."I wonder if I'll be able to pick my bike up and ride it home after this"..."I don't think anything is broken"...then I looked up and saw a curb coming straight at me...I lifted my head off the pavement and took the force with my shoulder which completel snapped my clavicle. I didn't realize it at the time, thought it was just bruised. Naa, it was completely snapped in half...

I walked around on a broken ankle picking up pieces of my bike before I even realized it was broken. I was talking to the paramedics and cops 10 minutes later and I almost passed out, had to sit down. That's when I realized my ankle was so swolen it had busted the zipper on my boots. Was the size of a grapefruit...

Anyway, that's my first motorcycle wreck story. Hope I don't have another one, but as far as wrecks go, it could have been a lot worse. No cars on that road at that time of night, I didn't hit anyone or anything else, and I was wearing protective gear and had insurance. Could have been a lot worse, but man I miss my 636.

 

[smittyzx6r]

I feel you on the snapped clavical(1 1/2 inches apart). I'm 3 months and still recovering.It hurt like hell for the first week or so didnt it. shit sucks[xx(]

 

[LiFo]

Yeah, the collar bone sucks. The lortabs make it suck less though

 

[6RracerMP]

that bike is so salvagable! Get the frame checked, buy race plastics, new front rim/rotors, have the forks rolled to make sure they're straight, and sell that bitch for 5k as a track bike! I'd bet you could ebay everything for like 1k maybe a little more, plus having the frame checked you're looking at like another 500, fix it up and make 3500 profit! I know it sounds like a lot of work, especially in your current condition (I just got a cast off for a broken wrist, 12wks of a cast sux ass) but if you can recover some funds I say go for it.

 

[motojustin4]

Sucks to hear best of luck on recovery.

 

[BrandonM7]

Unless there's some strange camera angle making the view weird, there ain't much reason to get that frame checked -- look at the angle of those forks, and where the tank meets the frame. The whole steering-head area of that frame is bent like hell, which is probably why they called it totalled.


*EDIT* Upon closer inspection, that definitely isn't a funny camera angle. You can actually see the bent area up at the top, plus the wheel is back into the fairings. That frame is toast.

 

[LiFo]

Yeah, the "top upper frame" was included on the estimate. I guess when it laid down, the front tire grabbed and twisted the forks which twisted the frame. Here's a better picture of the damage to the frame from the insurance report:

 

[GreenEnvy]

When mine was written off, I went and checked it out at the scrap yard. It was almost all cosmetic damage, like fairings and headlights. Some brackets were bent, but the frame was perfectly fine, even the forks looked fine, and it started up too.

I owned it, but had about a year and a half left on my financing. Insurance wrote it off, and when I asked how much to buy it back, they said $450, which is crazy considering they gave me $6000 for it.

Anyway, $150 worth of fiberglass and spray paint, a $30 headlight from an auto store, and I am riding again. it's not pretty, but it works


Buy it back if you can, even if the frame is shot, you can sell the parts for much more they your buy back price.

 

[LiFo]

smitty6r -- 3 monthes on the clavicle?? What'd they do for yours? They stuck me in a rediculously uncomfortable "figure-8" brace. Feels like I'm wearing a really small back-pack 24/7. But before they put it on my shoulder was slumped inward and the bones were overlapping by about an inch. Just one fracture tho. Yours got broken twice?

 

[jpduc]

LiFO, it sure looks like you could make a track bike out of your bike, if the frame is not bent. GMD Computrack has a shop in JAX that can check frames, forks, swing arms. I bought a track bike and it cost me around $400 to have the frame checked. I just bought an '03 636 for a track bike. PM me if you want some more information. Good luck and get well.

 

[smittyzx6r]

no just broke once right in half. the two pieces of the bone were and inch and a half apart.they put me in that same type of brace too. screwed around w/ the doctor for a month.He said they usually heal by themselves.So a month later he says "OH Its not healing right." I was like no shit so he sends me to the bone doctor. SO hes says hes gonna get me this bone stimulator that profesional athletes use(not cheap) beacause its a non union fracture(which means its not healing back together). Soo I came back in a month which was this tuesday and hes says the bone thingys workin and to come back in 6 weeks. SO I have to go back the 19th of december. Now im lookin at 4 months here[xx(]