Did I Total It (update pg 2 ...it's totaled)

[blue tiger]

These are pics od my 08 S4rs

I've had Beaucoup bad luck to start with after I bought this machine. I took an exit ramp that was strange to me about 2 hours ago. Turns out it was a nasty decreasing radius turn. I guess I misjudged and rather than hit the curb I stood it up and put it in the grass. Of course it went down really fast after that and I had a nice tumble through the grass for my troubles. Better than the concrete I guess. I was wearing full gear and other than a busted thumb and some stiff joints all down my right side I'm fine. The bike...not so much. When the front wheel is going straight the bars are croojed. The switch housing conked the tank but didn't dent it. The radiator is bent and one of the fans is destroyed. The worst is the left fork stop. It is cracked. Does this generally total the bike, It's only got 4500 miles on it. Here are some pic's. I've been riding for over 16 years and this is the worst get off I've ever had on the street.







Obviously I'm a little pissed right now. I've already called the insurance company and will hear back from them by 10 am tommorrow.I've also recieb=ved no sympathy from the wife even though my thumb is 3x it's normal size and I'm limping like an invalid

[Spidey]

Youch.  That sucks, mang.     I hope your injuries are nothing more than uncomfortable and that they heal quickly.  See, you get more sympathy here than from your spouse.   

It's hard to tell from what you've described whether there is any additional damage to the bike.  If it's just a radiator, bars and a steering stop, that should not total an S4RS. 
Re the bike, did it take a front end hit or a tumble or did it just go down on its side?  A broken steering stop not uncommon damage, but it indicates that there was enough force that you'll want someone to look over it closely.  Bent bars are typical, as is a misaligned front wheel.  Even if your bar wasn't bent, its easy for the forks to twist in the triple without actually bending.  They may not be bent, but you have to loosen the top and lower triple to get the forks to unbind.   

Heal up and good luck.

[Speeddog]

+1 on Spidey's comments.

[blue tiger]

No front end impact at all just putting it down in the grass. The passenger pegs were also a little ate up on the right side and pushed into my Termi's. They were rubbing on the tire. I didn't notice it until I got it home. I keep finding new things that hurt and my old lady has been busy chewing me a new one. I was at the tail end of a really nice ride also. Thank god the fall is here and I have a Road King to ride if I need to. I hope it's not totalled as the fork stop is definetly cracked.

[Spidey]

Again, it's hard to tell from a distance, but that sounds like typical lowside damage from getting caught in grass (which is sometimes harder on a bike than asphalt.  More stuff bents in grass whereas it slides along asphalt).  If the bike didn't flip or take a front end impact, it's probably mostly ok.  When the bar caught on the ground, it whipped the front end around and broke the steering stop, bent the bar, twisted the forks in the triple and did a number on your radiator, pegs and cans. 

If you intend to claim it on your insurance, then have a dealer make a generous insurance claim that is just under what it would take to total it.  For example, there was some scraping on your footpegs.  Get $ for OEM footpegs.  If there is even a scratch on the frame, have them write you up for a new frame.  Then you can use the $ for mods.  Just don't claim for anything that wasn't actually damaged.  That's insurance fraud.

If you don't intend to claim it on your insurance and are ok with some "character", you can get it back together yourself for a fraction of the price.  For example, the steering stop can be welded back on. 

Either way, if you don't have the experience to check it out yourself, (I don't know if you do), take it into a shop for an evaluation.  They can tell you if the forks and frame are ok and see if there's some damage that you missed.  There's a lot of leeway with how a shop can write up a repair estimate.  Most places will work with you to get you an estimate that fits with whether you want to make an insurance claim or not.

[NuTTs]

Dude, you are alive and well. The thumb will heal. What more could your wife ask for?

As Spidey has already said, the bars will bend.. it is a common occurance when you go down. This may be a fabulous opportunity to get some rearsets for the bike and maybe some clip ons.

Cheer up, every cloud has it's silver lining. I wouldn't think insurance companies would total a bike for such (apparently) little damage.

[m9hundo]

the steering stop is part of the frame, even a little rash anywhere on the frame will constitute it as a total in most cases I've seen.  I say totaled but glad to hear you're OK.

[Big Troubled Bear]

You might be glad that the senate approved the bailout plan,

At least you are ok

[Howie]

Glad you are pretty much OK.  The steering stop is a crucial part to the insurance company since they do not repair frames.  In reality, repairing that stop ain't too bad, the biggest issue, IMO, is paint.  I had an accident several years ago that would have totaled the bike.  I told the adjuster I wanted to keep the bike.  We worked it out so the tank was written as diminished value instead of replacement since the damage was cosmetic, so the cost was a few dollars less than total loss.  This gave me enough money to repair the bike and avoided salvage title issues.  An agreement like this requires trust between you and the adjuster since the adjuster has to worry about you asking for more money afterwards. 

[He Man]

+1 to howie. No one repairs a frame. Ive heard of scratches on the frame = totaled.

Spidey offers a good advice. Try to get money for a new frame (new vin number = no salvage title??) if you can live with paying for repairs yourself which probably is more than id be willing to pay out of pocket anyway...

In reality, it is an easy fix. You just need to get someone in there to strip the paint and weld the stopper back in place, then replace all damaged parts.

if you cant do it yourself, then it will be costly to the point where claiming insurance would do good. However, what is your deductable?

[blue tiger]

OK A little update. I talked to the insurance co. and they are going to tow it to the dealership. When I described the damage to the claims guy on the phone he pretty much said it would be a total. When I looked at it more closely the frame around the stop is cracked all the way to the bottom of the steering head tube. I really cant do this kind of work myself so it has to be looked at.

My deductible is 500 bucks. My policy included 3000 dollars in accesories so at least the exhaust can be added to their cash value on the bike. If I'm lucky I'll break even. This is if they total the bike. On top of the frame stop is the radiator damage. It's done for as well as the fan assembly. Couple that with the frame and realigning the front end plus all the labor. It's gonna be salty.

My Suomi Spec 1 R Extreme is scraped up on the back. The plastic is a little scraped but otherwise it's OK. My riding pants took a serious hit to the right knee.That's probably why my knee is sore as hell.My thumb and the web of my hand are swollen and a little bruised looking. All in all I feel like I got off scott free.

My wife was more sympathetic a little later and asked if I would be getting a new bike if they total this one ! I don't know what happened other than I set up for the turn wrong. It was an unfamiliar road and that coupled with the decreasing radius and where I had positioned myself...disaster. One thing is certain. I will be getting another bike in the spring. I'll be keeping my Road King though. It's proved it's worth by being available when the Duc has been in the shop earlier this year.

BTW I bought it on April 10. I hope it's not totaled but if is ...cest la vie.

[Scottish]

the steering stop is part of the frame, even a little rash anywhere on the frame will constitute it as a total in most cases I've seen.  I say totaled but glad to hear you're OK.

Plus one, aany frame damage even something that minor expect a total.

[factorPlayer]

That sucks to hear man - glad you are ok and that you had full coverage. 

Dibs on your clutch cover 

So how many Tricolores down is that now?  I think there was one earlier on TOB....

[He Man]

Ask them how much a buy back is.  i smell a 999 gokart!

[blue tiger]

I rhink they may try to fix it. They are sending an estimate to the insurance co. that will be a new frame. The parts guy thinks it may be less than the total amount. The sales guy thinks they will write it off. I'll update as I know further.