Time to play the Funeral March

Well I suppose it was inevitable. My 10 year 1983 XJ550 Seca project was hit by a car this week. Im a little stiff in the leg, but Im fine.
Here is the thing, they are talking about Totaling my bike.
Has anyone had to go through this before?
Is there a process?
Can i buy it back?
Do i still need to have insurance on a totaled bike if i want to ride it?
The main bits of the bike are good, it got hit hard on the left exhaust pipe and that is ruined, and now it is running a bit strange and i smell exhaust so i think the manifold is cracked too.
Im assuming the running strange part is due to the exhaust needing to be a solid unit for the bike to run properly (the same way as if i change from a 4to2 to a 4to1 I need to rejet). Its like the fuel to air is always off no matter how much i play with the throttle and choke.
And yes it was running like a dream before the accident.
Photos below.

 

You can buy it back from the insurance company, and rebuild it. You do have to insure the bike to ride it legally on public roads (though not all insurance companies will insure a vehicle with a salvage title). State laws vary, but in many you can have it titled as rebuilt (instead of salvage) with reciepts for the parts and work done, and an inspection.

If the frame is straight, I'd buy it back and rebuild it.

 

Man what a bummer! Nice looking bike, the green-on-black looks great.

 

Couldn't have done it without you. And the whole xjbikes team.

 

Ok, so I can buy it back.
But what does that mean? Say the BB value is $800, would they charge me that amount?

 

Most of the buy back rules/laws have changed over the years. I believe I paid 30% of what blue book value was when I bought back an old car of mine that had been totaled. Granted, that was 20yeas ago.

Best advice would be to call your insurance representative and speak to them about it. They'll know exactly what can or can not happen with it.

Sorry to hear about the bike and glad you're ok for the most part other than stiffness and being sore.

 

Not the funeral March, something triumphant and inspiring, Eye of the Tiger by Katie Perry: "Knocked me down, but I got up again!"
Theme song for a Resurrection!

 

The Salvage value of a vehicle is usually aound 30% of its market value.

 

I can help you a little bit, although I'm in Indiana so some things are probably different.

I was just in an accident last year that was "severe" enough to total the bike, but I did get to keep it and fixed it for very little money. You'll have to check your state laws. I had to find and quote the Indiana laws to the insurance company to get everything I was entitled to.

In Indiana, by law vehicle value is determined by NADA or a qualified appraiser. Salvage value can be as low as 10%, I made an offer of 15% to the insurance company to keep my bike and they accepted it. A lot of this stuff is dependent on the age and value of the vehicle.

Also in Indiana, a salvage title is not required for vehicles over a certain age, so I didn't have to turn over the title to get it marked as salvage, or have the bike inspected after repairs to get a rebuilt title.

Indiana also requires an equivalent rental or reimbursement for an equivalent rental to the wrecked vehicle, whether you get a rental or not. So although the insurance company offered me only $15 a day for reimbursement, they ended up settling for $75 a day for the 45 days it took to settle because it costs $110 a day to rent a motorcycle around here. (a lot of H-D dealerships offer rentals) The insurance company can't give you the price of a compact car rental when you have something more expensive, like a motorcycle or a work truck, sports car etc...

I was lucky to be able to get some great advice from a lawyer that works for Indiana ABATE. (A brotherhood aimed toward education) a motorcycle rights and training organization. If you have an ABATE chapter in Cali, get ahold of their legal division to get specifics for your state. You might need to buy a membership but it's absolutely worth it, you get a lot for your money and ABATE is absolutely worth supporting.

While I was waiting for the appraiser, I researched parts costs for the damaged stuff, and super cleaned my bike so it looked it's best for him when he got here. I had 2 weeks to work on it so I finished up a LOT of aluminum polishing in that time frame lol. It looks GREAT lol.

I ended up getting a very fair price for my bike, and got to keep it with a regular title for 15% of the agreed value, and got 45 days worth of motorcycle rental fees. (that came out to more than the value of the bike! Lol)

Feel free to ask me any questions you have, or start a conversation with me if you don't want questions public. Good luck and sorry about the accident! Glad you made it out fairly unharmed!

 

It really bothers me that insurance companies total these. Through someone else's carelessness you lose a great bike. They should be required to repair or replace your option as the damaged party. Alas, it doesn't work that way.

 

I think I will have the option to repair. Two issues there. I'm in LA right now and the bike is registered in NY, so I would (by nys law) need to ship it there to be inspected after it was totaled.
If the insurance pays to repair it, I'll probably get $200 to fix everything.
After spending years and a lot of money I'm kinda screwed in the end.
I will try all I can though.

 

Got any receipts? I printed my eBay, Amazon order histories, and all the receipts from Xj4ever, so I was able to hand the appraiser $1800 worth of proof of everything I'd put into the bike.

Plus, if you can do the get it totaled but keep it like I was able to, I got the full appraised value of the bike minus the 15% salvage cost for buying it back, and the rental fees, so I was able to fix my bike and buy a new HVAC system for our house lol.

Good luck, and really read up on all the insurance laws in NY, especially the laws that apply to older vehicles because they're very different. I would have gotten the shaft from the insurance company if I hadn't been able to point out every way they were trying to screw me over.

 

Did the person that hit you have insurance?

 

Oh yeah that makes a huge difference whether you're dealing with your insurance company or the person who hit you!

 

That's just how things work once market value drops to a certain point. It makes no sense (from a business perspective) to spend $3000 to fix a $1500 machine, especially one that requires searching auction sites to get some of the major parts (gas tank for example).
It's also why I insure my XJ with an agreed-upon-value policy. Even if it's totaled, the insurance payout will cover what it costs me to buy it back and repair, including replacing accessories (if needed). The cost is only slightly more than a regular policy.

 

^ Great advice right there. Also add theft insurance, it doesn't add much either.

 

Yes he did. But my insurance is taking the lead.

 

I agree that with comprehensive insurance has the right to pay depreceated value unless you own declared value as noted. In this case, you can be minding your own business and some idiot robs you of your vehicle that is valuable beyond its book worth.

 

Don't believe everything your insurance company tells you, my insurance representative tried telling me that I wasn't entitled to rental compensation and I know darn well she knew I was.

You are your best advocate here, double check EVERYTHING everyone tells you.

 

Inspirational music? Plenty to choose from.

1) The abovementioned "Roar" by Katy Perry.

(I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter/dancing through the fire
'Cause I am a champion/and you're gonna hear me roar)

2) "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor

(It's the eye of the tiger/It's the thrill of the fight
Rising up to the challenge of our rival)

3) "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba

(I get knocked down/but I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down...)

4) "Gonny Fly Now" by Bill Conti

aka the theme from Rocky


Any other recommendations?

 

Aerosmith - Back in the saddle again.

 

Dancing Queen?

You can dance
You can jive
Having the time of your life
Ooh, see that girl
Watch that scene
Dig in the dancing queen.

Oh wait.... that is a different kinda inspirational thing.....

 

My XJ was an cat C write off the frame was fine and the bike was returned to me with a payment which matched what I paid for the bike. Damage was mostly to exhaust system, right footpeg, right hand indicators, front fairing, and a small dent in the petrol tank. I am putting it back on the road soon. The insurance companies engineers took the bike

away to examine it and I bought it back for £300. Got it insured now.

Ps the picture was taken before the car driver ran into the back of the bike. Getting the fairing professionally painted.

 

Another photo of my 1991 XJ 900f.

 

Oops! Somebody figured out that I'm not that big a fan of Katy Perry's music!

 

I don't know about that one... Steven sounds like he's trying to hack up a hairball.

Your secret's out...

 

To update anyone who cares. No funeral March. The insurance valued (based on the agreed value vs. blue book plus parts and condition) at $3100. Which is around my agreed value.
Bad news is that the inspector thinks the frame may be twisted after the swing arm was hit.
Good news is that there is a shop that all they do is fix old frames about 5 miles from my house.
It's all gonna work out.
Last thing is that the driver of the car that hit me has lawyered up claiming that I (bold, underline 20 times) injured Him.
That's right, the guy in the cage says that I injured him.
Between the officers and my First responder training he was fine at the scene. If he claims whip lash, that means he was unaware of what was happening at the time (i.e looking at his cell phone).

 

his wiplash was caused by his insurance rate increase

 

Same thing happened to me fortunately the frame was ok. Hope you get things sorted out. How can he claim this if he hit you? He was negligent and he has no chance he is at it as you know. Good luck getting things sorted out.

 

You NEED to call one of the MC specialist Lawyers as well.... His "lawyer" is probably his cousin or family friend.
Just call and go over what happened. Most will advise for free whether you "need" their services or not. You should know where you stand legally, before you start getting threatening letters and forwarded bills.

I was rammed from behind (cage) while stopped at a red light... by a woman who claimed I was driving like a maniac and pulled in front of her and slammed on my brakes. It was a few weeks later I started getting letters from her insurance threatening to take me to court if I didn't pay. There were witnesses... but the cops didn't interview any of them. I ran an ad in the newspaper looking for witnesses willing to step forward. Luckily- one contacted me and said he saw the whole thing. When they found out I had a witness...she and her lawyer did not show up for court- so the case was dropped.