[SoundOfViolence]

I wrecked my first bike last night guys. A newer bike too...2014. Happened on the freeway while I was checking my mirrors to start getting over and my lane (lane 1, the "fast lane") came to an almost complete stop, I say almost because the ladies brake lights weren't one she must of been slowly creeping forward. Anyways I was checking my mirror, going around 50ish and then I looked up to see that I was coming up to this car too fast and I realized I had to hammer the brakes and I then realized that they were not moving so freaking out more, I pressed harder on the brakes and started to slide. I slide for around 10-15 feet and then slid into her at a very slight angle (thankfully not head on or I would of had injuries) and the front of my bike took a lot of damage. I was luckily thrown to the left of her vehicle only a few feet. I have a minor scuff on chin from my helmet and my left arm that I landed on is just a little sore... some mental scarring done to seeing my bike torn apart..but other than that I guess everything is okay. I'm not sure if anything other than cosmetic damage is done, the shifter is bent from being on that side, i could shift gears but couldn't get it into neutral. The odometer is shattered, headlight, both side pieces, forks may be messed up not sure, and the front wheel felt fine while pushing it to the side of the road and there isn't even a scratch on the fender so I hope that's all good. I'm not sure what to do with insurance because I know if I claim it, my insurance will sky rocket like no other but if its just the plastics that need to be replaced I don't know if it is worth having insurance fix it up. Do you guys have any advice? I'm really bummed out about this and feel pretty stupid but the only good thing is that its winter now and I got time to work on it.

Stay safe out there guys.

 

[Easy Rider]

Glad you came out OK; too bad about the bike.

Unless you plan to convert it to a "naked" style, you are probably gonna want the Insurance to fix it......or total it out.
Those "plastics" are more expensive than you might think. And there might be hidden damage that you haven't noticed.
If there was any reportable damage to the car you hit, the insurance hit is going to happen anyway.

You kind of hinted at it a couple of times in your post but............what did you learn from this incident that will be useful for your riding in the future ??

Hint: Leave more space. Leave even MORE space when planning a lane change.
Why were you about to change lanes anyway ?

 

[Green Rocket]

If you report it they will probably total out that bike. Have you got an estimate yet?

The cost of new parts is high enough, but with the labor... I'm guessing about $4,000-5,000. Maybe more, we can't really see what the whole bike looks like, but front ends are expensive. Look up the blue book price for your area. I hope the bike wasn't financed!

Find out how much they will give you, minus your deductible, and we can guide you from there.

 

[Diavelninja]

Glad to hear you are ok. Accidents happen...the bike can be replaced. That is what you have insurance for. From the pics, that is a lot of parts damage and needing to be replaced.

Like the others noted, those plastics, parts and labor will be super expensive. If there is frame or fork/triple tree damage...that's pricey. Look at it this way, lesision learned and if they total it, you can get a sweet deal on a 2014 leftover. May want to consider a ABS model too.

 

[kojiiro]

Glad you are k. Wont you need to use your insurance anyways to n pay for her vehicle as well?

 

[Vic.Thing]

First glad you are ok, that's by far the most important thing. Extremely bad situation and I can see that happening pretty easy. Even cars stopped or slow with brake lights on can be extremely deceptive how fast they are going etc

If you would when you get a chance provide a gear report here. Helmet, gloves, jackets, boots, etc. How it faired and maybe a little more detail on your off.

90% that's gonna be totaled. You want to press for totaling that bike. That's some major damage and could easily get into long term wiring issues and that sort of thing. Also just sitting on it's side like that there's gonna be scrapes and scratches all along the side, along with the obvious damage.

 

[icskill]

Happy to see you are safe bro! I think you need to use the insurance as the damage looks nasty.

 

[SoundOfViolence]

It was dark out as well and all the traffic it was just bad. Sad it had to happen, I'm normally a really defensive driver but I guess **** happens. I had my helmet on, gloves, leather riding jacket and then a winter jacket on top of that, work boots, and regular jeans. No damage to any of them, not even a scuff on my jacket or pants! I am using insurance; I talked with them today and they will have an agent to go estimate on damage in 2-3 business days.

 

[Vic.Thing]

It was dark out as well and all the traffic it was just bad. Sad it had to happen, I'm normally a really defensive driver but I guess **** happens. I had my helmet on, gloves, leather riding jacket and then a winter jacket on top of that, work boots, and regular jeans. No damage to any of them, not even a scuff on my jacket or pants! I am using insurance; I talked with them today and they will have an agent to go estimate on damage in 2-3 business days.

Don't get too worked up, as you said it happens. This is one of the most difficult situations to deal with. It nearly happened to me in my truck the other day, fortunately me doing like 70 and the cars doing like 20 somehow I managed to figure it out without any real obvious signs. It's difficult to guage when cars are going much slower than normal especially when brake lights aren't on.

But think about it this is one reason motorcyclist are taught to flash brake lights a couple times to get people's attention. I also use this myself while stopped at lights or RR crossings etc. Seems to help.

 

[Lean It]

Glad you are k. Wont you need to use your insurance anyways to n pay for her vehicle as well?

I was thinking this exact thing, founds like you are going to have a claim either way, so just get to it.

 

[jeepincbum]

Go for the insurance Claim. In NY my rates didn't go up after a claim but mine wasn't a totalled bike. $3500 damage.

 

[steveinsandiego]

well, that's really crappy, but good to hear that you are fine. i presume no HOV lane to the left you might have been able to swerve into?

when the traffic slows and the brake lights begin to go on, i slow way down and stay a significant distance behind the car in front of me. i try to figure out if i can lane split (or change lanes "creatively") without endangering myself or others. too many riders roar thru slow traffic with what to me appears to be abandon....i'm surprised, and thankful, of course, there haven't been many injuries, as far as i know, due to poorly executed and/or unsafe lane splitting.

i almost NEVER ride by the clock. i can afford to slow down cuz i need to be nowhere in particular when i ride.

 

[djrussell]

That looks pretty nasty but at least you're okay. You'll want to use insurance for sure just because the damage there will outweigh your deductible. Also make sure any damaged gear like your helmet gets replaced. Report back on how it goes.

 

[2012 Ninja 650]

Glad you made it out of that ok. Similiar thing happened to me and my first bike, I posted pics here also after it happened. I went through my insurance and they totaled my bike out, Paid my loan in full and replaced it with the exact same bike brand new. It would have cost more to fix than the bike was worth.

 

[steveinsandiego]

It would have cost more to fix than the bike was worth.

yep the factory's got that "economy of scale" thing down pat.

 

[twowheeladdict]

Glad you were not hurt worse. You screwed up. Learn from it. File it away, and move on. If the lady is going to make a claim against your insurance, you might as well get your bike fixed or replaced in the process. Do you own it, or does the bank own it? That may make a difference. Not sure since I own mine.

Just think about if you had been where that lady was and instead of a bike, it had been a truck.

 

[SoundOfViolence]

Update.
$3800 for repairs, not totaled!

 

[HilbillyKat]

Sweet!

 

[Diavelninja]

Update.
$3800 for repairs, not totaled!

Wow...by the looks of your pics...it would appear more than $3800 worth of parts.

 

[kojiiro]

Does that include labor? Also, remember to actually take it to a shop and get estimates if you didnt already, the adjuster may obviously try and save his company money, or simply not know, where a shop can point things out that an adjuster or rider may have missed. I would really be worried about the forks.