Parking lot Fender Breaker

It looked like this was going to be the last rain free day for a while, so I decided to do some errands on the KZ. I rode to the bank and parked in a far corner of the lot in the shade all by my lonesome and went in. I was in the bank for about 10 minutes when an employee came over and asked if that was my bike outside. She said I better go out and check it because it looked like a customers car was very close to it. I ran out and found a too old to be driving lady in a very dented Olds standing next to her car and my bike.

She yelled at me to move my bike so she could get her car out of the lot. Well, her front fender was ripped open and wedged against the rear brake lever and points cover. I tell her that it looks like she may have done some damage to the bike and her car and I didn't want to move anything until it could be inspected. She then yelled some more about how she needed to get going and nothing was broken and I should get my bike out of her way at which point I had had enough so I called the cops.

The local shows up and immediately figures out who was at fault. He does about a half hour of paperwork and then helps me unwedge my bike. He tells me that the police report will clearly lay out that she was at fault, and gives us back our papers. She leaves, we chat about vintage bikes for a bit (he has a early 80's 750 Honda), and away he goes.

Anyway, the most obvious damage is to the now bent up brake pedal, and the cracked points cover. But what I am more concerned about is if she may have bent the frame. The bike was on the sidestand which took a lot of the pressure from her car, and when I look at where the sidestand is attached to the frame, the frame looks slightly bowed in. I rode the mile back home and didn't notice anything unusual, but I didn't have time to give it a high speed run.

Any suggestions on how to determine if there is additional damage. Fellow KZ650 owners, is your frame straight at the sidestand?

Also, I have basic insurance coverage and am wondering if I can even make a claim for repairs. If the frame is tweaked, I would think the repair would outweigh the value of the bike. Would her insurance company pay the minimum value of the bike and take it for salvage? How does the insurance company determine the value of the damage? There is no way I am going to give up this bike now that I have her running great.

I am finally cooled down but I was livid this afternoon. At least I wasn't on the bike at the time.

Post edited by: captaincrusty51, at: 2006/06/22 21:26

Post edited by: captaincrusty51, at: 2006/06/22 21:27

I don't have the answers to your questions...apologies...but I feel for you. Your story is rather bizarre and sad in some ways...you know, the state of humanity and all. I would think that her insurance should pay for everything that would be needed to return the bike to its former glory/state. I hope the frame's not bent, or if it is, that it does no harm to handling, etc. Glad you were not on it too!

Best of luck to you with the claim.

when i wrecked my truck there was a buy back price. so if they gave me 1200 for the truck the buy back was 250 i believe, they just take that out of the claim and i keep the truck. The old girl was shot, so i had to let her go.

I wonder how much they will give you, as vintage means "junk" to insurance companys.

hardr0ck68 wrote:

when i wrecked my truck there was a buy back price. so if they gave me 1200 for the truck the buy back was 250 i believe, they just take that out of the claim and i keep the truck. The old girl was shot, so i had to let her go.

I wonder how much they will give you, as vintage means "junk" to insurance companys.

That's my fear. I can repair the pedal and cover with eBay parts for under $50. Frame damage would be more work than I am willing to do since I assume the bike would have to be dismantled to straighten it out. Since mint KZ650s book out around a grand, a clean one with the normal "patina" of 28 years may only be worth a couple of hundred to the insurance company. And I am sure they have every angle covered on how not to pay claims.

I know what you mean, the too old to be driving old ladies, we call them Q,tips round here, everytime we see one out on the road its "whoa!!! I coulda ben kilt" and if they do smash something its never their fault or they have no idea it happened but on the other end of the spectrum you have the little red sportscar driving,cellphone talking, foot to the floor while I fix my hair in the mirror, just got my licence biotches, who's first words are "Oh My Gawd, some jerk just drove his motorcycle under my car, I'll call you back" these can be even more dangerous, some day they will be Q,tips

Condolences on your mishap.

Call her insurance agent and find out what her deductable is - usually in the range of $250 - $500. The call her and offer to settle for some miniscule discount off of her deductable in order to do the repairs yourself, keep the insurance companies out of it, off her record, yadda, yadda....

Nothing underhanded about that in the least, you get replacement parts value pluse a dime or two for pain & suffering, and her agent might get a week off the Pepto Bismol... :whistle:

Pterosaur wrote:

Condolences on your mishap.

Call her insurance agent and find out what her deductable is - usually in the range of $250 - $500. The call her and offer to settle for some miniscule discount off of her deductable in order to do the repairs yourself, keep the insurance companies out of it, off her record, yadda, yadda....

Nothing underhanded about that in the least, you get replacement parts value pluse a dime or two for pain & suffering, and her agent might get a week off the Pepto Bismol... :whistle:

That was my initial thought, but the way she was bitching at me in the parking lot, she probably thinks it's my fault for parking there.

After I pick up the police report tomorrow, I guess I'll try her agent.

I hope I have the good sense to get off the road when when my brain turns to mush.

Call your agent, hopefully you have a major company so you can talk to somebody at least.

If her insurance uses their guidelines for value of bikes no longer listed in any "blue book", it will be a total probably. Hopefully they will let you get estimates yourself and not use a flat value chart due to the age of the bike. Don't be afraid to ask what the max dollar is before you submit. Once you submit the damage has been established and the bike might get a salvage title if you buy it back as a total loss from the insurance company. Try to work with them on a settlement amount based on your expense you have in the bike if the amount they are willing to pay and the amount you need differ in their favor and not yours.

Bring in copies of bikes for sale the same or similar for a bike like yours, plus all recent receipts of parts or work you have had dome to it, be sure to bring up loss of use and any other expense you may have from dealing with this claim like plate transfer fees and the such. If the insurance company tries to screw you you can take them and her to court for not providing reasonable recovery for your loss. Depending in what state your in you might be able to take them to small claims court if you can keep it under the maximum for claims in that court. This is assuming your willing to settle for that amount. If you need more than the small claims damage limitation amount or they exclude insurance disputs, you'll have to get a lawyer and file an action against the insurer and the old lady.

As for the frame, if the bike doesn't lean more than it used to when on the side stand then you're probably OK. Check the welds nearest to the sidestand mount for signs of paint missing or cracks. Check any nearby bolts or flanges for signs of stress, this would probably show up in anything that threads into aluminum like the engine case first. As for the handle, check your handlebars really good for being bent. Same goes for the forks. If you go back and look at the pavement where the bike was when hit it should give you a good idea of how much the bike scooted after impact. The more the better in my opinion as it didn't plant and take the full force. If it planted and the push force rather than sudden sharp impact force cracked the point cover I'd be worried a bit and check everything I could for signs of stress.

If worse comes to worse and you lose your fight, you can always buy it back from the insurer for salvage value. You then can find another low cost titled bike in need of what you have on your old bike and transfer your better parts onto that bike as needed. It isn't as bad as it might seem, just use a digital camera and take a million photos if your not intimate with where things go. You'll do fine and there is always sites like this to ask for help if you forget how something goes back on.

junkalaboard code does it twice in one day! Now I know where Micro$ofts reject programmers got jobs.

Post edited by: KZ_Rage, at: 2006/06/22 23:40

captaincrusty51 wrote:

Pterosaur wrote:

Condolences on your mishap.

Call her insurance agent and find out what her deductable is - usually in the range of $250 - $500. The call her and offer to settle for some miniscule discount off of her deductable in order to do the repairs yourself, keep the insurance companies out of it, off her record, yadda, yadda....

That was my initial thought, but the way she was bitching at me in the parking lot, she probably thinks it's my fault for parking there.

After I pick up the police report tomorrow, I guess I'll try her agent.

Capital idea.

While KZ_Rage pretty much has reality mapped out, if her agent is an independent, you might luck out...

By confining your contact to the agent, and sounding him out amiably, you may be able to manouver into the above scenario.

If Granny Muckinfuss' assault vehicle is as cod-walloped as it sounds, that poor agent probably has a book on her a foot thick, and the carrier may be perilously close to dropping her. That's a lost premium, something he would like to avoid, perhaps enough for him to make a phone call to her so as to broker a private deal...

It's worth a shot.

if the frame is bent or tweeked and u just want to swap out frams and keep using the current title u have, my buddy has a 650 parts bike that i could prob get him to come off of real cheap. but it is all the way down here in ky.

Maybe I am wrong but if it was on the side stand wouldn't the stand give/bend before the frame? Or push into the asphalt? It just doesn't seem like it would be as strong as the frame to me.