Buell vs Tree

[matt87951]

On Thursday, I road my bike out to my friends house to meet up to go out fishing. The weather report showed clear sky all day long, so we took the boat out around 1pm or so. Right about 3-4pm a major storm ripped through, and we of course get soaked out on the lake. We figure that was the worst the day could get, getting forced off the lake when it was some of the best freshwater fished I have had all year.

We load the boat in the rain / lightning / etc, head back to his house only to find this:

His sisters car in the second picture, came out without a scratch.

That branch came from the very top of the tree, and landed right on the front fairing of my Firebolt. It broke the aluminum/metal frame that holds the front fairing and such on, totally destroyed the kickstand and kick stand mount (Bike can no longer stand up on its own), broke the left side mirror off, the left side turn signals are damaged, same as both left side pegs and the shifter, the handlebar end cap and grip, the clutch lever is bent, and the front fairing and windscreen is scuffed from the actual branch hitting it.

I do have full coverage insurance, but I have a $250 deductible on it. I have the claim open, but they haven't come out to inspect the bike yet, so I don't know what they are going to do. Since the front fairing mount is broken, and the kickstand is basically jammed up by the clutch, I had to trailer it back home, where I have my Pit-Bull stands to keep the bike upright.

What do you guys think? Will insurance fix it, or are they going to end up totaling the bike out? My guess is, they won't replace the damaged plastics since they are just scuff/scratches, and not actually cracked. I am afraid they will just fix the bare minimal and leave me with a less than perfect bike, which was literally in mint condition before Tuesday. It has less than 4100 miles on it. Brand new tires, and has never seen rain before Thursday.

To add insult to injury, our A/C went out on Saturday (was over 100 degrees here in Ohio, with a heat index of 107) while we were having a BBQ with family and friends for my birthday. So a few days before my birthday my bike gets wrecked by a tree falling on it of all things, and our A/C goes out on the warmest weekend this year!

-Matt

 

[Miami78]

Thanks a tough break...

Really depends on your insurance company/adjuster. They should replace everything that is damaged unless they can prove it was already damaged previously. The would include anything that is just scratched up. Hopefully you took lots of pics that you can show the adjuster, that will help a lot.

Good luck, hope everything comes out for the best!

 

[snrusnak]

It should be repaired. Seems like minimal required to fix it...no frame damage, suspension is good, etc...

 

[matt87951]

I forgot to add that the swing arm was scratched pretty good from going down as well. I would doubt anything suspension related was damaged like you said, although the front fairing did take a huge hit by the branch falling about 30 feet before hitting the bike.

I have a bunch more photos, so I'm hoping that will help as well. I left a lot of the 'tree' on the bike too, so they will definitely be able to see where the impact was, and what happened. I have Geico, and I've actually been hearing some bad things about they not wanting to pay, or trying to use knock off parts instead of Harley/Buell parts for the repairs.

-Matt

 

[mowgoli84]

Thousandth post! haha

Sorry to hear your luck, but on the bright side, at least you weren't sitting on the bike when it happend

Like said above, it depends on your insurer, the way I look at it, I pay full coverage so that in the even something does happen, its their job to make it appear or replace it as if it never happened. Doesn't matter if its just scratches, if it wasn't damaged already before the limb took a dump on it, its their job to make it look like it did before the accident.

Coulda been worse... This video is just one example of God's way of making harley's pay

 

[Miami78]

of making harley's pay

That's a Yamaha.

 

[snrusnak]

My father had a lot of trouble with Geico auto....good luck with yours.

 

[WIGGLE2]

AWW!! Man!! That SUCKS!! Definatly get it looked at good for anything tweaked that you don't see! Do your best at standing ground with your insurance carrier! They WILL do ANYTHING they can to avoid paying things!!

 

[mowgoli84]

That's a Yamaha.

dammit! looks the part tho!

 

[BadDad320]

If that is your buddy's tree then his homeowners insurance policy should cover all of your damages...

 

[christianmb]

Is it bad that I was hoping when I clicked on it, that is was the "Christmas tree" on a drag strip?

Sorry to hear about your luck man! Keep us updated

 

[Loki]

If that is your buddy's tree then his homeowners insurance policy should cover all of your damages...

[up][up]

 

[matt87951]

If that is your buddy's tree then his homeowners insurance policy should cover all of your damages...

Actually I went that route first, and because it was done by weather (act of god, as the insurance call it), it cannot be covered under their homeowners. We went back and forth with them about that several times. Same response every time, must be handled by comprehensive insurance on the bike. Sounds like the only way homeowners would cover it, is if we were cutting down the tree, and the tree fell on the bike. Seems pretty counter-intuitive to me, but anything for the insurance to not pay I suppose.

I have an adjuster from Geico coming out tomorrow, and then the bike gets towed to the local Harley-Davidson / Buell on Friday morning. I'll hopefully have more information tomorrow on what is going to happen, and if everything is covered correctly or not.

-Matt

 

[wifarmboy]

When I wrecked on my sumo the claims guy came out and pretty much everything w/ a scratch got replaced.. didn't ask any questions about before just filled out the the form and gave me a check right there after getting dealer cost prices and labor. But that was progressive.. could not speak highly enough how they handled it.

But ya that's when god damn it fits.hope it all works out. Don't let them total it.

 

[clarson_75]

if they total it i would be interested in a few things.

 

[matt87951]

But that was progressive.. could not speak highly enough how they handled it.

I really wish I could have stuck with Progressive, just simply couldn't justify the cost. Progressive was OVER 3-times the cost of Geico. I guess we will find out soon enough. I was with Progressive for the past 6-years before moving to Ohio (Was in Orlando, FL), but their rates were just insanely high in Ohio, and there was no way I could keep them. Hope that doesn't come back and bite me. We'll see soon enough what they end up doing.

-Matt

 

[netty2424]

I really wish I could have stuck with Progressive, just simply couldn't justify the cost. Progressive was OVER 3-times the cost of Geico.

Interesting, mine was opposite. Geico 3x that of Progressive.

 

[Headbarcode]

Good luck with it and hopefully your back riding in no time. I'm reminded of a few ocassions that i cursed a bird for crapping on the seat and my father said "at least a tree didn't fall on it". So much for parking in the shade.

 

[matt87951]

The Harley-Davidson dealership picked up my bike this morning. I talked to Geico, and they will be going to HD to write up the estimate on Monday afternoon. Been a painfully slow process so far. Hopefully after the estimate on Monday the pace will pickup, and I'll have my bike back before the end of the month.

If they replace everything the tech spotted/wrote up with new HD/Buell parts, just parts alone will run about $1500-2000 based on my calculations of online prices. Don't even want to know what the labor cost will run. I just hope insurance fixes it all properly, and I can get it back soon.

Missing out on a lot of good riding, so pretty bummed about that. I guess it gives me extra time to work on the car.

-Matt

 

[matt87951]

Finally got some news back from Harley Davidson. They finished going through the bike and have their estimate written up: ~$3900. I don't have the paperwork on what all needs replaced yet, but I might go pick-up a copy tonight after work. I do know the entire front fairing and assembly, the swing-arm, and the frame. The rest is just little things.

They said it's really close to being totaled, so right now I am just waiting on the insurance company to see if they are going to fix, or if they will be totaling the bike out. I left a message, so of course another waiting game to see what they end up doing.

For those of you that have had bikes totaled, how much did you get for the bike and how much did they charge you to buy your bike back (If it was an option)? My guess is it won't be worth the hassle to get the bike back, but I guess I'll see what they tell me. Either way, it's insurance, so they'll try and low-ball the hell out of me on the bike.

Thanks,
-Matt