To Harley Or Not To Harley, That Is The Question?

[la szum]

I am communicating from the across the Great Divide that separates the
Living from the Dead.


Hit a Deer Monday night on the Harley. Yup. BAM! WTF?? Deer lost. Hard.
"Dusty," my Harley also lost. Hard.

I have also mostly lost it hard all this week trying to deal with this rather
unexpected turn of events. Not young and dumb and full of enough cum
any longer to bounce back quick and carry the fuck on. Mortality is a total
motherfucker. I can smell Its breath and it ain't inviting, fellas.

Dusty is a total loss, and set to be salvaged with a bent frame and forks. Time
for a new ride, I suppose.

Go tell someone you love them. A lot.

 

[la szum]

Oh, one more thing.

Love you guys.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Damn dude! Glad to hear you lived to tell the tale! Hopefully not much ptsd from the wreck!

 

[ᛗᛜᛜᚺDᛜᎶ Ꮤᛨᚳᚴ]

I am communicating from the across the Great Divide that separates the
Living from the Dead.


Hit a Deer Monday night on the Harley. Yup. BAM! WTF?? Deer lost. Hard.
"Dusty," my Harley also lost. Hard.

I have also mostly lost it hard all this week trying to deal with this rather
unexpected turn of events. Not young and dumb and full of enough cum
any longer to bounce back quick and carry the fuck on. Mortality is a total
motherfucker. I can smell Its breath and it ain't inviting, fellas.

Dusty is a total loss, and set to be salvaged with a bent frame and forks. Time
for a new ride, I suppose.

Go tell someone you love them. A lot.

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude! So glad you are able to type about it!! OMG!!! Sorry I have not responded sooner, this thread was not popping up in my notices (this happens to me on all forums I am on, subscribe to a thread, and then after a while, it stops notifying me of new posts).

Much love and healing powers in getting past this! I hope it does not stop you from getting another bike ;~)) F'in deer! #1 cost for auto insurance companies in the state of Wisconsin (and I would imagine the same for Michigan). Worst ride I ever did was Minneapolis to Milwaukee at night. Every deer sign I saw made me shake (well, that and the cold of riding at night in the fall)! Worst I ever hit on one of my bikes (well, living stuff anyway) was a racoon in Golden Gate Park SF, F'er ran right out in front of me at night and there was nothing I could do, just raised up out of the seat a bit and drove right over him/her.

Love you Brother and Rock On!

 

[FuzzyAce]

I am communicating from the across the Great Divide that separates the
Living from the Dead.


Hit a Deer Monday night on the Harley. Yup. BAM! WTF?? Deer lost. Hard.
"Dusty," my Harley also lost. Hard.

I have also mostly lost it hard all this week trying to deal with this rather
unexpected turn of events. Not young and dumb and full of enough cum
any longer to bounce back quick and carry the fuck on. Mortality is a total
motherfucker. I can smell Its breath and it ain't inviting, fellas.

Dusty is a total loss, and set to be salvaged with a bent frame and forks. Time
for a new ride, I suppose.

Go tell someone you love them. A lot.

Wow man. Sorry about your bike but glad you're ok! I'm sure it scared the shit out of you?!

 

[TubeStack]

Oh man, so sorry to hear that, @la szum! Glad you’re ok.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Holy FUCK man!! I was just thinking to myself, earlier tonight, I hadn't seen you post lately, and remembered you were on a ride. A couple days in a row, iirc. I thought, man, I hope he didn't go down. Fuck me!

Glad you're ok. Or..., are you?

 

[duzie]

Oh that sucks @la szum

 

[la szum]

Any lawyering up in here? Can you negotiate with an insurance adjuster? Do they lowball
you trying to get you to accept their 1st offer?

They seem really eager to get me to sign and settle? Is that normal?

Thoughts? Experiences?

 

[la szum]

I should have never Hamlet'd the thread title. It's my fukkkking fault.

 

[likitlikeyoulikeit]

I should have never Hamlet'd the thread title. It's my fukkkking fault.

 

[Warmart]

Oh shit! Just saw this, so sorry man - totally sucks but you are ok, right? You're still typing at least, so I'm assuming YES!

That's all that matters, and yes, they usually low-ball you first. Let them sweat a bit.

 

[duzie]

Is there anything similar to the Kelly Blue book for motorcycles?
Edit:
It seems so

 

[ᛗᛜᛜᚺDᛜᎶ Ꮤᛨᚳᚴ]

Any lawyering up in here? Can you negotiate with an insurance adjuster? Do they lowball
you trying to get you to accept their 1st offer?

They seem really eager to get me to sign and settle? Is that normal?

Thoughts? Experiences?

I am not a lawyer, but I have acted as one in real court settings, and very recently as well. Insurance companies are the wealthiest corporations in the world. This is in part due to them having to own assets that can be liquified to pay off policies. It varies with insurance type (home, auto, health, etc.) and location (some stuff is regulated by states, other stuff by federal gov) but the general brackets I am aware of force these companies to have between 50-80% of all policy values, in assets that they can liquidate to pay out if that percentage would come due in claims. So they literally own the banks, the energy companies, the pharmaceutical companies, etc. They own it all, including us with their recurring revenue streams from our hard work. And when they see a bet (that is all an insurance policy is, a futures bet) they don't like, they drop you like a hot potato!

Point is, they have sh!tloads of money and if they are trying to get you to settle this quickly, I would be leery AF! Did the deer have insurance? If so, be sure to go after them as well (he he ha ha) ;~))

Best wishes on getting full compensated! Don't forget the parts/upgrades you had made to the bike when showing them why they should pay you mo' money!!! Amsoil ain't cheap as you know and there was 4.5 quarts or so of that stuff in the bike ;~))

 

[la szum]

Damn dude! Glad to hear you lived to tell the tale! Hopefully not much ptsd from the wreck!

Thanks, JT!

I never considered that a possibility and then another friend mentioned that to me,
and that I was seeming "off."

It was very traumatizing---especially when your emotions go from feeling great and
getting some relief to "FUCK ME!" in an instant.

Today is the first day I have started to feel a bit more like myself. My apologies for that.

Oh, and I am also making a move to a new ride.

 

[la szum]

Is there anything similar to the Kelly Blue book for motorcycles?
Edit:
It seems so

Yup. Adjuster said that is what they use to determine value. They use "average"
retail/resale of the model in question. So if you bike is mint and has add-ons then
you get fucked. If your bike is an hot mess and beat to fuck then you make bank.

Guess which category my bike fell in.

I am not accepting their offer without some back and forth. The engine upgrades
are not included.... because they are "inside" according to the adjuster. I am like
"Well, the inside is still an essential part of the bike being totaled."

 

[la szum]

Holy FUCK man!! I was just thinking to myself, earlier tonight, I hadn't seen you post lately, and remembered you were on a ride. A couple days in a row, iirc. I thought, man, I hope he didn't go down. Fuck me!

Glad you're ok. Or..., are you?

Thanks, Tom!

Yeah, was having a blast. Rode 3 days in a row and had a great time with
friends. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Started contemplating riding to
the Mountains and doing some longer Cross-Country trips. We even
high-tailed it home before dusk because we all know the Deer are bad.
We were all hungry and didn't stop for dinner at the last establishment
before getting home, because we didn't want to risk it. 2 miles North of
that Tavern BAMMMMMMM! Happened so fast I didn't have time to react.
The impact was jarring and intense. Doc said I was concussed and I didn't
even drop the bike or go down. And the bike left skidmarks from both
tires in the road without me even hitting the brakes. Physics!!!!

That force from the impact went through the front end, into my hands and wrists, and
then shoulders, neck and back. Crazy! I couldn't squeeze or hold anything the day after.
I thought my left hand especially was broken. Today is the really the first day I can even
type a lot and use my hands/fingers without much pain. So that is awesome, and an
huge relief.

No idea what I am going to do about the bike and riding again. It's heart-breaking. A reminder
to me that even if you are safe and doing everything right and as aware as anyone can be out
on the road there is still an element of unpredictability. I don't like being as aware of that as
I am now. Not sure if I can ever enjoy myself riding a motorcycle on the highway in the same way
after this. Time will tell.

 

[duzie]

Yup. Adjuster said that is what they use to determine value. They use "average"
retail/resale of the model in question. So if you bike is mint and has add-ons then
you get fucked. If your bike is an hot mess and beat to fuck then you make bank.

Guess which category my bike fell in.

I am not accepting their offer without some back and forth. The engine upgrades
are not included.... because they are "inside" according to the adjuster. I am like
"Well, the inside is still an essential part of the bike being totaled."

The outcome could have been much worse
Thankfully you’re here to tell us about your experience

 

[TSJMajesty]

When I hit my deer, the parts and labor estimate added up to about 95% of the 'totalled' value.

I ran into 2 problems with the estimate: This fucking douchebag of a mechanic had told the adjuster he could straighten the forks, and re-shape the fairing sub-frame. I was like, "NO FUCKING WAY DUDE! You DON'T bend metal back into shape; It fatigues the metal."

The only thing the adjuster would say was, "Well, we're going with the mechanic's recommendations, at which point he'll do the repairs, test-ride the bike, and then if he feels any of the parts aren't performing correctly, we'll then pay to have those parts replaced as well."

I wasn't having any of it, because I knew the bike would be fine at the test speeds it would see, but may not have survived what I wanted to do with the bike, which at the time was to take that bitch out and run it as fast as it would possibly go, just once, to set my own personal land speed record. (Which I did end up doing later on, at 155 mph. But that's another story.)

So we were at odds, and he offered me the full estimate of the parts, plus the shop labor at half their rate, and said I could take that money and fix it myself. So that's what I did. And I had enough money to buy new forks/triple clamps, and the sub-frame.

My understanding is, unless you have gap insurance, you're gonna be shelling out to replace your vehicle. And knowing how insurance companies operate, you may still have to shell out money.


The only time I ever scored against an insurance company was when I bought that bike. I shopped insurance before I bought it, because it was probably going to be expensive..., insuring a >100 Hp sport bike for a 24 year-old. The quote came back within my comfort zone, so I bought it. But when the bill came, it was double what they'd quoted me!!

After arguing with the insurance company, someone told me to write a letter to the Insurance Commission. I did, and they settled it in my favor.

 

[TSJMajesty]

I had some of that, "Will I ever ride again, trepidation," but fortunately it didn't last.