Low speed crash - Bike a write off!

[Jackal]

Mrs Jackal decided some time ago she wanted to start riding her own bike. After some time on a wee GN125 to learn to ride we bought her a very nice, nearly new VL250 which she has grown to love. After a number of short rides around the countryside and into town we headed away together last saturday on a road trip to stay with friends in North Otago. After visiting our old neighbours near Oamaru we headed off to Moeraki along the country roads. When slowing down to make a left hand turn Mrs Jackal got hit in the visor by a kamakazi bird. The fright caused her to miss the corner and she ended up skidding through the corner and into a concrete post and power pole.

Bike ended up on its side while Mrs Jackal managed to stay on her feet. She suffered bumps and bruises but the bike was unrideable.

Looking at the damage to the bike I thought, new set of forks, front guard, clutch lever, new front wheel and bike would be repaired.

Dropped it off to the Suzuki shop back home and put an insurance claim in. The assessor has written the bike off! As well as those items I mentioned the frame is all bent up as well. Insurance company will de-register the bike and crush it so it cannot be 'fixed up' and put back on the road. Mrs Jackal is gutted!!!:cry:

My question is, are bikes these days built to 'collapse' in crashes. The damage to the bike just does not seem right for the speed at the time of the sudden stop. Has anyone else seen a VL do the same thing?

[twinbruva]

Has anyone else seen a VL do the same thing?

No, but if I did I'd laugh my arse off.

[Mully]

My understanding (and take from that what you will), is that frames can have leverage on them, so can bend relatively easily.

So leverage on the front wheel can damage the frame.

Glad the Missus is OK - bikes can be replaced, wives can't. (well they can, but it's usually expensive)

[steve_t]

Have seen quite a few bikes in the same state. Bikes are relatively cheap to buy but expensive to fix up so they can get written off pretty easily. Glad your missus is OK too. Mully cracks me up :laugh:

[The Everlasting]

Well good to hear your wife wasn't seriously hurt.


They probably build them cheaply so if you crash,rather than fixing it,you have to buy a new one.

[YellowDog]

Glad the Missus is OK.

Has noone considered the fate of said Kamakazi bird ?

AND as for wives, I beg to differ with Mr Mully. My new(est) one represents considerably better 'Bang for Buck' than the last one :yes:

[Mully]

They probably build them cheaply so if you crash,rather than fixing it,you have to buy a new one.

Wait, are you still talking about the wife?

[Jackal]

Glad the Missus is OK - bikes can be replaced, wives can't. (well they can, but it's usually expensive)

You are right there. My first one cost me $10k cash, the house, car and kids. I did get to keep my chainsaw though!

[Antonio]

Glad the Missus is OK - bikes can be replaced, wives can't. (well they can, but it's usually expensive)

:D :facepalm:

[Conquiztador]

Suzuki has taken to have their bikes made in China. The steel is crappy and the workmanship poor. Not sure re their quality of wifes though...

[ellipsis]

....i was surprised when my son had a fairly low speed off and his cbr250 was written off for what was only fairing damage really....too expensive to fix they said...glad your girls cool...hope it hasnt shaken her too much...my wife is only a couple of years into her licence...we ride a lot, but its added a new dimension to my riding...i love it...but i freak a bit too...

[turtleman]

You are right there. My first one cost me $10k cash, the house, car and kids. I did get to keep my chainsaw though!

Huh - I'm STILL paying for mine .... :blink:

[trailblazer]

Suzuki has taken to have their bikes made in China. The steel is crappy and the workmanship poor. Not sure re their quality of wifes though...
chinese wives are made to bend to. Well so im told.
bikes mainly get written off because of the price of the parts being so expensive and when you take into account the labour cost and unforseen items that are damaged not seen when quoting it's not usually worth insurance companies fixing them.
Glad to here your wife is ok i hope she still wants to get a new bike and get back into riding.

[Brian d marge]

bollocks thats a write off

UNLESS there is major frame damage , or something that we cant see in the photo

Forks can be straightened in a press , front wheel re laced to a new rim , and a new front mudguard

frames straightened , and a new set of handle bars if they are bent .....

A days work , tops ,,,,

but if she gets a new bike out of it , yes its a write off sir ,,,

Stephen

[hellokitty]

Glad to hear your wife is okay - she must have freaked having a bird hit her visor :dodge: I had a VL250 and I loved it - such a great bike to get your confidence on.

It doesn't take much to write off a bike - I bought my 750 as damaged - it had $3000 of damage to it - which amounted to the rear indicators being badly scratched and the rear guard having a very small piece missing out of it - stuff I could quite easily do myself.

[Genie]

You are right there. My first one cost me $10k cash, the house, car and kids. I did get to keep my chainsaw though!

One could say the same for husbands, mine cost me close to 80k and i got to buy a new chainsaw.

Glad the wife in question was not seriously injured, I can imagine the fright she got, even some of those bees out there can be right scarey when they smack into your visor at 100k (never speed).

Today's society has become hugely disposable from bikes, cars to dishwashers and washing machine, nothing is built to last forever. I was pleased to note they will crush the bike as I have heard of some buying them and fixing them to re-sell.

Have fun shopping for a new one, do it fast this weather is awesome.

[The Everlasting]

Wait, are you still talking about the wife?


Hahaha...:p

[Conquiztador]

I was pleased to note they will crush the bike as I have heard of some buying them and fixing them to re-sell.


What a total waste. Heaps of usable bits. Insurance company only needs to sell it to a reputable wrecker and the issue is solved.

[p.dath]

Glad to hear the wifey is ok, and still keen on biking.

You mentioned the bike kissed a concrete post. Concrete posts are rather unforgiving, and that probably did the damage. A simple slide and it may have been a different matter.

[Jackal]

Thanks all for the caring comments, they are appreciated. Mrs Jackal had me down at the Suzuki shop after work pricing up a new VL! So this incident certinly has not dented her confidence and desire to be out riding. Good to see.

[Genie]

Thanks all for the caring comments, they are appreciated. Mrs Jackal had me down at the Suzuki shop after work pricing up a new VL! So this incident certinly has not dented her confidence and desire to be out riding. Good to see.

Hey wow, what an awesome chick is Mrs Jackel.

[raftn]

Huh - I'm STILL paying for mine .... :blink:

Mine cost me $490,000 + $70000 in lawyers and accounts........., I did keep the cat though.

[Jackal]

Hey wow, what an awesome chick is Mrs Jackel.

Yeah, I think so.:love:

[bogan]

What a total waste. Heaps of usable bits. Insurance company only needs to sell it to a reputable wrecker and the issue is solved.

there speaks a modder! a bike is only as good as the sum of its parts, and mines got parts from fucking everywhere :D

gas-axe the headstock off it, and sell it as parts is way better option than crushing it, or as conquiztador says, reputable wrecker.

[Dutchee]

Might not help in your case, but years ago mum had an oops in the car. Assessor told them it was fixable. Insurance would only put second hand parts on the car, and due to demand & supply, it took 9 months for the damned thing to be returned. We were a one car family (bloody hell, shows my age) so they had to buy another car for in the interim.

After they got it back, someone told them they could have disputed the assessor and got another one to look and maybe write it off. Up to 3 assessors could be used and majority rules. (Mum took out a farmer's fence but the car bent around the strainer post - my canaries lived to tell me all about it when they got home).
I almost had my scooter written off when it was only a few months old as I got sidetracked and bumped into the car in front of me, resulting in the fairing shattering. I didn't dare put in another claim a couple of weeks later when someone's bike fell over in the bike park in town and cracked the fairing again.

Glad your wife is okay though :)

[zealchick]

I wrote my first bike off....3 weeks after getting it. Low speed also....just pulling out of my drive:blink: and before you ask no, there was no other vehicle involved :facepalm: grabbed a handfull of throttle and slid her sideways across the road and slammed into the curb :shit: bent the wheel, forks, disc break and obviously scraped the exhaust etc broke a foot peg 11k worth of damage all up :gob::gob: I bought a new bike 3 weeks later but my confidence was shattered so I wish your wife well and hope she is keen to get right back on...cause I am so glad I perserveerd. ask anyone who helped me get there it has been one hell of a journey, but well worth it. :yes:

[porky]

crusher .... Yeah right.... take the cash and run. New bike for xmas sounds like a good plan, and a good way to forget the bumps and bruises.

[trailblazer]

we have had to get bikes xrayed at work to make sure there was no unforseen damage as if the insurance company says to fix and there is damage that hasn't been spotted and you go have a crash as a result they are liable for up to a $2mil law suit. I looked at buying a written off gsxr750 and buy time I brought the bike and all parts and allowed for all the things that I may need to get bike back on the road it wasn't worth doing as there wasn't much differance from my price to a dealers price.

[davebullet]

I suppose the VL is such a cheap bike - not worth fixing it up (Esp. frame damage which must be done properly and will cost). I'm guessing the frame has to be stripped of parts before straightening therefore lots of labour. Had it been a 1098 Troy Balliss edition - might have been worth a fix up.

Good she realises it wasn't her that caused the crash and that it hasn't put her off.

[Jackal]

Mrs Jackal found her replacement bike today. Another VL250 but this time in silver! 2nd hand but very low k's and in excelent condition. We pick the bike up from Chch tomorrow. Only problem is she is laid up with a crook back, (another story!) so I will
be riding it back home. She cannot wait to get her leg over it and head back out there.:woohoo:

[ellipsis]

....good stuff...

[trailblazer]

good to hear she got another bike. :woohoo: