Damn...........I was on my way to work yesterday afternoon around 2, riding down route 50 in Arlington Va. (Im a school teacher)......why did I hit the biggest pothole ever going about 50mph.......and the bad thing about it, is that i didnt even see it coming.....my front tire went in and I just know I was getting bucked off my seat........and yes I did ....my bike went to the right and i ended up flipping to the left ........Thank GOD I was wearing my riding gear (helmet, gloves, jacket)......im laughing about it now cause I'm ok but the sh!t was like a action-packed movie .....the way I flipped and rolled onto my feet .........I was on a service road so there where no cars behind me at that time .........another bonus..........I'm still shook up about my bike cause the left foot rest broke off and my gear shifter was bent to sh!t .........ooh and my starter got f%*^'ed up in the accident so my bike didnt start up and the battery soon died (even after a jump from a passing motorist).....about $750.00 in damages but thats better that a night at the blue H....ya dig


The ?uestion is

A. Do you think I should pay for the damages Via insurance at a $500.00 deductible

or

B. Pay out my pocket

and if i go throughmy insurance is it going to jack my monthly payments up ........right now im paying $92.00 for 6 months then i get the next 6 off


please help a rider out

oooh and I still have that 2005 R6 for sale

depends how much your payements go up. and are you sure it is only 750 of damages. front tire is ok? if you hit it that hard i would be worried about your triple tree, forks and bearings. although the insurance company may try to get out of paying for those things too.

I dumped mine turning out of a parking lot onto a street crossing one of those sealant strips that they use to fill the cracks in the pavement. Well, my rear tire decided to follow it instead of going the direction I was traveling, thus dumping me on the road. I was only doing about 25 mph, and just that small accident cost $2000 in parts alone to repair. I had my insurance take care of it and I have yet to see any reflection of that accident in my premium, and I would know right away because I pay mine monthly, not every six.

I lived in MA for awhile and once I hit a good pothole with my car, the City actually paid for the repairs, you may want to look into that, a small bump is one thing but for a hole to cause damage means there is some neglect on maintaining the road. I have found that using your insurance only raisies my rates more then the damage they paid for, Good Luck

that sucks you dumped it, in my own opininon i would not claim it since you will be keeping the bike, just fix it yourself. Cause if you claim it they will want it to go to a dealer to get fixed. just do it out of pocket this time and save yourself the money in the long run. Now to get the city to pay for the damage you gotta find out of the service rd is an actual rd or just a private rd used by the public. If owned by the city, write them a letter with a written estimate and pictures of the bike and pothole and request that they pay for the damage. If they dont, then file a law suit at a local courthouse for about 20 bucks, it will cost them more for their lawyer to give advice then to fix the bike, they will just pay you for the trouble and your our 20 bucks. Worked for me when i hit a pothole and it bulged the 225.00 tire and dented the rim. The town said no, i filed a 20 dollar suit, and they sent me a letter requesting a written estimate from the tire dealer and the dealership for a new rim + labor and etc. When i was done i had 4 new tires, a new rim, 4 wheel alainment, and an oil change with an apology letter from the town.

OKay first I wouldn't even attempt to contact VA. They aren't going to pay. I deal with county authorities in VA, MD, and the District and you'll never see a dime.

Next what year is your bike. Because you should be able to snag parts off ebay (http://www.ebay.com), or cycle-parts (http://www.cycle-parts.com). If it's a 1st/2nd gen '99-'02 I can set you up with parts fiche so you can get part #'s. Also Loudon Motorsports is pretty good. It's a little bit of a hike from arlington, but the $$$ are worth it.

If you have the ability to take pics, PM me and then you can email them and I might be able to get you a close estimate and instructions on how to do the repairs.

And as for the insurance, you rates will go up quite a bit. Generally you'll only want to get them invovled if you're sucking it up and letting the bike get totaled. You'll lose more than the $250 difference if you bring them into it.

UPdate .................My R6 will be in the shop for about another 2 weeks .......$3100.00 worth of damages .......so they say .......so im going to let my insurance pay for it ........at a $500.00 deductable

So this is the deal ...........since thats the R6 thats for sale (on consinment at that dealership going for $7800.00 - 10%)......and since the insurance is paying for it .....im having them pay for everything to make it showroom perfect ..........so i guess its a good thing i had full coverage insurance .....

thats pretty brutal but they do cost when they're binned - 4 drops have taught me that in the past.

You probably could have saved a sh1t load if you did the work yourself but not knowing how praficient you are and given that the insurance is going to cover it you probably made the right choice.

Do you guys over the pond have No Claims Bonus like here in Blighty? I gather that the $500 is an excess on your insurance?