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Tell the other guys insurance that they are lowballing you, and that your own insurance company rated the value higher.  If you can find some sales showing a higher value that would help.  

It's crazy to bite the bullet on a bike that old and refuse a settlement.  If you love the bike take the money and fix it.  It's not going to be worth that much anyway, so the delta between clean tittle and salvage won't matter much.  

BTW. one time my car got hit and the other guy's insurance lowballed me.  They knew that the damage wasn't too bad and that I may just keep the money and fix the car myself or not at all.  I complained and they told me to take the car to a shop and that they will "work with the shop" to make sure the car gets fixed.  This didn't help me though because they were right in that I was going to fix it myself.  In the end I did fix it, but because of the low ball I got sub-market value for the damage.  

I'd take the money. 

Knowing the settlement and bike appraisal amounts would help.  If they only offer $400, a clean frame and parts are more than that. Keeping your frame with a salvage title will reduce the value.

Sound advice/comments guys. I’m leaning towards taking a settlement, since from what it sounds like I can still insure it once I get a rebuilt title. Who knows how long that’s gonna take, but having the settlement money will certainly speed things up. 

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BTW. one time my car got hit and the other guy's insurance lowballed me.  They knew that the damage wasn't too bad and that I may just keep the money and fix the car myself or not at all.  I complained and they told me to take the car to a shop and that they will "work with the shop" to make sure the car gets fixed.  This didn't help me though because they were right in that I was going to fix it myself.  In the end I did fix it, but because of the low ball I got sub-market value for the damage.  

As far as I can tell this is standard operating procedure.  The insurance company gives a very low estimate (based only on "visible damage") with the expectation that the actual repairs will be much more expensive.  If the owner pockets the money and doesn't fix the car, the company saves a bunch of money.  If the owner takes it to a professional shop then the shop works out the details with the insurance and comes up with a new quote.  The insurance company has no reason to give the owner anything but the absolute bare minimum repair estimate.

Not being from your state Im wondering about  something .
Based on Michigan 
1. If you receive a settlement from either carrier  and retain the bike  , the title is not rebranded as you are not surrendering the title. 
So how are they  saying the bike is branded as a  total loss / salvage vehicle,,???
2   If my logic holds true   I would believe the safe bet is argue with the  cars insurance carrier for the best settlement  and fix your bike.
3 If you get paid by the cars carrier you are in  reallity dropping your claim with your own insurance company .
4 Upon completion of your repairs  your company / agent  can  reinsure your bike as they now have physical proof it was fixed and NOT totaled.
 Just my 2 cents 
Good Luck 
Dave

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Not being from your state Im wondering about  something .
Based on Michigan 
1. If you receive a settlement from either carrier  and retain the bike  , the title is not rebranded as you are not surrendering the title. 
So how are they  saying the bike is branded as a  total loss / salvage vehicle,,???
2   If my logic holds true   I would believe the safe bet is argue with the  cars insurance carrier for the best settlement  and fix your bike.
3 If you get paid by the cars carrier you are in  reallity dropping your claim with your own insurance company .
4 Upon completion of your repairs  your company / agent  can  reinsure your bike as they now have physical proof it was fixed and NOT totaled.
 Just my 2 cents 
Good Luck 
Dave

I think you’re correct, just a misunderstanding of (me, not) describing things well in an online forum format. So…

1) The title at this time is still clean, because I have not yet accepted any settlement. Them saying it is a “total loss” now is just them saying what it will become if I accept a settlement. I guess Washington state law is different, perhaps. My understanding is that by accepting a settlement I am surrendering the title automatically, but I have the option to buy it back as a salvage.

Here anyway, I’m not sure about other states, but salvage-titled vehicles cannot be legally driven/ridden/parked on public roads. The only reason to even own a salvage vehicle is to sell it, use it for parts, or repair it. If you repair it, you can then apply for a rebuilt title, which is as good as a clean title in seemingly every way, except when it comes to selling the vehicle. 

2) Seems like the general consensus here is that I may want to press the other guy’s insurance to come at me with a better number. 

3) Correct. 

4) Also correct. The difference being that it will now be insured on a rebuilt title instead of a clean one. It’s is still yet to be determined whether or not it would be insure as for the same amount, as I suppose they need to see the repairs completed first. 

Can you replace your bike with a satisfactory equal  for the amount offered ?   Remember, you did nothing wrong, you are now without your bike and want it either replaced, or enough compensation to replace what you had, nothing less... I've fought insurance companies before with this exact same argument and won, then you go after them for injury,  pain and such....

Hi Stereorinary, I don't know about the USA but in the UK a vehicle being "on the register" as a total loss (anyone can search on line and find this information against the registration number) would normally effect the re-sale value by approx  25% to 30%. Which given the age and type of bike isn't a huge sum of money. As I understand it you want to keep and modify the bike anyway so it's future value will be "what ever somebody is prepared to pay for it". Personally I would fight for the best price you can get from the insurer then take the money and fix your ride. It is worth keeping pictures of the damage to show a future buyer so you can be transparent as to why it was recorded as salvage. My wife's current car was on the register but I saw pictures of the damage and could make my own appraisal of the quality of the repair.

The laws concerning salvage titles vary quite a bit from state to state. I wonder if it would be possible to sell it to a friend in a different state who could get a clear title, then buy it back and register it with a new clean title in your state?

Typically  in a insurance settlement  if you dont surrender the bike ( and title )  for a payment in full value   less salvage value there is no title transfer or rebranding to salvage  title..
Its a internal function  of accounting  . Check as a total loss full value = 5000 Dollars  , Less salvage   1000 Dollars  = they write a check for  4000 Dollars    ( Made up amounts )
Insurance company doesnt see or care about title other than to check to make sure there is no lien holder 9 Bank )
Look at all the projects and  topics here that are  junk bikes or frames that are sold and restored to like new and dont have salvage titles

 

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Can you replace your bike with a satisfactory equal  for the amount offered ?   Remember, you did nothing wrong, you are now without your bike and want it either replaced, or enough compensation to replace what you had, nothing less... 

I suppose it depends on the definition of "satisfactory equal." In my opinion, looking at CL, CycleTrader, and OfferUp, I can't find any bikes that interest me anywhere near as much as my Zephyr in the price range I'd be settling for. There are some bikes that I think I could be happy with, and a few that actually excite me, but they are all significantly more money.

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Hi Stereorinary, I don't know about the USA but in the UK a vehicle being "on the register" as a total loss (anyone can search on line and find this information against the registration number) would normally effect the re-sale value by approx  25% to 30%. Which given the age and type of bike isn't a huge sum of money. As I understand it you want to keep and modify the bike anyway so it's future value will be "what ever somebody is prepared to pay for it".

From what I'm being told, that is essentially the same as it is here. If I take a settlement, keep the salvage, repair the bike, get a rebuilt title, it's all sort of back to where it was, except the resale value is probably not as good. If I keep it forever, that never matters, but if I sell it I would probably not get back what I have into it.

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The laws concerning salvage titles vary quite a bit from state to state. I wonder if it would be possible to sell it to a friend in a different state who could get a clear title, then buy it back and register it with a new clean title in your state?

Now there's an idea...

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Typically  in a insurance settlement  if you dont surrender the bike ( and title )  for a payment in full value   less salvage value there is no title transfer or rebranding to salvage  title..

I guess that's kind of what we are all debating here. I'm in Washington state, and so far haven't found anything that doesn't say that if I take a settlement the bike will be reported as salvage. Afaik, that only way I can keep my clean title is if I cancel my claim, and don't take any money. But I would love it if there was another way.