GL1800Riders Forums banner

I walked away from it.

11K views 110 replies 45 participants last post by  Arizona16 
#1 ·
Well, I've only had the bike for 13 months, but it finally happened. I was riding home from a doctor's appointment and got rear ended on the highway in stop and go traffic. :frown2: The lady driving the car behind me swerved to avoid, but still managed to hit me in the center and left sides. :shrug: Here's the pics:

I'm gonna be sore in the next few days, but that's to be expected. I'll post some more pics after I get a chance to look the bike over. I know part of the subframe for the saddlebags and trunk is broken (I found the pieces), but the center stand is broken, my trailer hitch is destroyed, saddlebag and trunk are both damaged, passenger foot board is broken off completely, my back rest is bent at about 40* into the passenger part of the seat, battery side cover is broken and who knows what else.

The main thing is I survived and walked away from it intact. My helmet will need to be replaced and my jacket cleaned, but that's a small price to pay for ATGATT. Anyone have any tips on making sure that everything that is damaged is caught in the inspection?

Thanks
 

Attachments

See less See more
5
#13 ·
Thanks gulfrider. I was very fortunate in this one.

If it's the 2004 in your signature line, I'll bet it will be totaled based on the visible damage and your observation of the broken subframe pieces. Frankly, it looks like you (and the bike) took a pretty good hit. Unless the insurance company is willing to pay to put the frame on an alignment jig, I'd avoid riding it due to possible hidden frame damage.
Yep, it was the one in my sig line. I'm going to make sure the insurance is also aware of the possible exhaust issues since the pipe was ripped clean off. Right now the bike is not rideable due to the trailer hitch being pushed against the rear tire.

I would be surprised if it was not totaled. Glad you're ok. Did the car actually hit you or just the bike?
I don't know if I want it to be totaled or not. Just don't know if I'll trust it if it's fixed. The car actually hit the bike on the trailer hitch and the left side so that part took the brunt of the hit. I came off at some point and my head almost hit the car in front of me. I was fortunate not to hit anything else or have anyone hit me.

That is nasty glad you walked away from it do yourself a favor and get checked out by a doc if not done already agree with the others looks like its totaled I would not trust it even if was fixed properly :thumbup:
I'm scheduled to see my doc on Friday already so I'm going to inform him about this. And I agree, I don't know if I would trust it or not if it's fixed.

Wow. Glad your gonna be ok. Bike is material thing. Time. For A. New. One !!?
Now the hunt begins for the just in case side of having to replace it. :wink2:

I kinda agree with what has been said, looks like a total to me. The fact that you did not get seriously injured is a small miracle in itself. I am using my Wing for daily commute in sometimes heavy traffic. I am on point every ride and understand the unexplainable actions of some "drivers". I'm not ATGATT guy but I do wear a protective jacket, helmet and gloves every time.

Quick healing for you and I hope your ins. company will be a breeze to deal with. Please keep us posted.
When I called my insurance, they wanted to know if I was filing a claim on my policy or the other persons. I told them the other persons, but I wanted to call them and let them know what had happened since they are the ones the carry MY policy. I asked my g/f what color should we get if they do total it out. She said she doesn't care, as long as I'm all right..:laugh:

Stop and go traffic........lady had to swerve but still rear ended you? Another inattentive driver on the road who was obviously preoccupied doing something other than driving. Speedy recovery to you!
Yep. My thought exactly. I'm just fortunate it wasn't a full on hit, but a glancing shot still has a hard impact. I'm just waiting for the pain to start in and let me know that at least I'm still alive.:grin2:

Thanks to all for the well wishes and the advice. I'll keep this updated as the process moves on. Insurance adjuster is supposed to contact me tomorrow about this and we'll take it from there.
More pics to follow.

Keith
 
#3 ·
If it's the 2004 in your signature line, I'll bet it will be totaled based on the visible damage and your observation of the broken subframe pieces. Frankly, it looks like you (and the bike) took a pretty good hit. Unless the insurance company is willing to pay to put the frame on an alignment jig, I'd avoid riding it due to possible hidden frame damage.
 
#4 ·
The only advice I have is based on my personal experience with Progressive...they were over the top helpful to me in my wreck on a GS Adventure in some sand. Couple flips but still rode it home. But they covered things that weren't even damaged from that wreck, damage that was on the bike when I bought it! All I can say is they were excellent the entire process. I hope you get the same help. Glad you're ok.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#5 ·
Hope you heal fast and glad it wasn't any worse. I feel your pain. I got rear ended on my GL1100 in 2005 and it is not fun to get tossed around and then shoved into the back of my son's van. No doubt it was totaled in my case.

I would be wondering if the header or head is damaged or engine moved with the muffler hit like that from the back.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Sorry to hear about your mishap but glad you're ok. PIA no doubt. Just take it one step at a time and you'll come through this. I think you'll get some good advice here based on other's experience in similar situations. Hope things work out for ya.

Donnie
 
  • Like
Reactions: griffalo
#9 ·
Wow. Glad your gonna be ok. Bike is material thing. Time. For A. New. One !!?
 
#11 ·
I kinda agree with what has been said, looks like a total to me. The fact that you did not get seriously injured is a small miracle in itself. I am using my Wing for daily commute in sometimes heavy traffic. I am on point every ride and understand the unexplainable actions of some "drivers". I'm not ATGATT guy but I do wear a protective jacket, helmet and gloves every time.

Quick healing for you and I hope your ins. company will be a breeze to deal with. Please keep us posted.
 
#12 ·
Stop and go traffic........lady had to swerve but still rear ended you? Another inattentive driver on the road who was obviously preoccupied doing something other than driving. Speedy recovery to you!
 
#14 · (Edited)
Here's some more pics of the bike.

This is the seat with my backrest bent back into the passenger area:

Chair Automotive design Furniture Car seat cover Vehicle
Massage chair Footwear Leg Shoe Leather
Car seat cover Vehicle Auto part Car Leather


This WAS my left saddlebag:

Automotive exterior Hood Auto part Engine Glass


My trailer hitch pushed up against my brand new Yokohama Avid Envigor that I just installed this morning :frown2:

Tire Automotive tire Auto part Motor vehicle Synthetic rubber
Footwear Leg Hand Automotive wheel system Photography
Auto part Pipe


This shows the two place where the subframe is broken. One is up the frame right below the bright spot from the flash and the other is where the wiring harness has the green tag located. Both pieces were broken clean off:

Auto part Tire Automotive wheel system Automotive tire Suspension


This was the damage to the trunk where the helmet hanger was shoved inside the trunk partway:

Property Ceiling Wall Wood stain Room


I'll see if I can get more pics tomorrow to put up here.

Keith


EDIT: The last two of the hitch are rotated 90* and the one of the subframe breaks is rotated 90* as well. Sorry bout that.
 
#17 ·
Make sure the adjuster sees the bike at the dealer who writes the repair estimate. They can go over all the parts that need replacement or repair. The insurance company will try to lowball you for repairs and it will be difficult for you to get additional monies once you accept their check. My truck was recently damaged and the insurance company wrote an estimate for about $1600. It cost more than $3500 to fix properly, but the body shop got to fight the insurance company, not me.
 
#18 ·
OMG griffalo!!! I'm glad you are Ok! I agree, it looks totaled. Make sure the insurance company replaces any riding gear that you were wearing. Yes they should pay for new riding gear. I am very sorry to hear that this happened. I hope to meet you next week at Glen's.
 
#19 ·
On the "whose insurance are you claiming under?" thing, I have blurry memory and am no expert, but here's what I vaguely recall from a car accident and claim a few years ago. May matter to you.

My insurance company (USAA) presented the choice to me as I could either claim directly to the other company, or I could claim with USAA and then they'd take care of me getting the repairs and they'd do all the work of going after the other company on the back end. So it's not necessarily a question of who gets the bill in the end, it's more a question of who provides the service to you up front.

BTW, on the damage, with you saying the hitch is pretty mangled and me assuming the hitch is connected to the frame at some point, not just the subframe, I'm betting some mangling got through to someplace where alignment is important. Trying to picture myself in your shoes, after toasting my good health, I'd be focused on making sure that I have access to the bike to pull off any customizations after it was totaled in the claim but before it was parted out for salvage.
 
#21 ·
glad you are ok

I bet her Ins adjuster is more worried about your body being injured than the 10-15k bike.... Please do yourself a favor and get everything checked out 100% as injuries sometimes can hide the first few weeks until they start to bother you. Soft tissue damage, ligament damage and Black and Blue body parts are things that I experienced on my get off... The big cards you hold over this transaction will be a med release. They will want to pay fast and get the bike behind them just to get you to sign the med release forms. Take your time healing, get your neck and back checked out really good. Who knows, you may get a nice sum to both ease your pain and suffering and a very fair price to help you on your next ride.. Best Regards Eldon
 
#22 ·
I bet her Ins adjuster is more worried about your body being injured than the 10-15k bike.... Please do yourself a favor and get everything checked out 100% as injuries sometimes can hide the first few weeks until they start to bother you. Soft tissue damage, ligament damage and Black and Blue body parts are things that I experienced on my get off... The big cards you hold over this transaction will be a med release. They will want to pay fast and get the bike behind them just to get you to sign the med release forms. Take your time healing, get your neck and back checked out really good. Who knows, you may get a nice sum to both ease your pain and suffering and a very fair price to help you on your next ride.. Best Regards Eldon
Hope you're right...could be like me and get hit by a person with state minimum insurance that didn't cover squat. I had underinsured coverage to offset some of it.
 
#23 ·
You misquoted yourself when you said that the nimcompoop that hit you was "driving" behind you. Nah, it should read that the 'airhead' was texting while driving. If she was paying attention, why else would she have hit you? Texting time has now taken over driving time.

What ticks me off the most is that, if there are no fatalities, the Police don't issue a ticket for inattentive driving, or dangerous driving or reckless driving or any of those reasons.

It takes someone to die for them to access the cell phone records of these idiots that text and drive. Unfreaking believable!

Glad that you walked away.
 
#24 ·
Just something to consider. When my Subaru was wrecked in 2014, had I gone through my insurance (USAA) the car would have been repaired and returned to me. By using the insurance of the woman who hit me, (Farm Bureau) the car was totalled.

I cannot to this day figure out the logic of repairing a car that had a $16,500 repair estimate. I only paid $24,500 for it. Granted it was only 6 weeks old but I didn't want it back.
.
 
#27 ·
So sorry that happened to you. Glad you were able to walk away and hope the soreness doesn't last more than a few days. (if it does...go see a Dr)

I agree with others that insurance will likely total it. It might be your best case scenario as it can happen much faster than repairs of the old one and there are quite a few good deals on used bikes out there. Take the parts off the old one you want and put them on the replacement.

Anyway...sorry it happened...best of luck on the resolution.
 
#29 ·
Glad to hear you are ok, but I would take her ass to court and get all you can out of her. I bet she was jacking her jaws on a cell phone and not paying attention.
 
#31 ·
Get a lawyer. I did and I'm glad. He did things for me to get as much back as possible. My accident cost me money, so don't get too hyped up from what you hear here. Each case and state is different. I speak from experience. I lost money from my settlement because the other driver was under insured. Hope that's not the case for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top