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On Removing the Warning Sticker From an SV650’s Gas Tank

Stacy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:09 +0000

I’ve now had the distinct pleasure of removing the gas tank warning sticker from two different SV650 motorcycles. It’s the motorcycle equivalent of that new car smell.

This sticker is a particular nemesis of mine. Suzuki must be serious about delivering this message because they designed the sticker to be resistant to casual fingernail picking. The adhesive is stickier than a 2 year old’s face after an ice cream party.

The secret to removing the sticker without marring the finish of the gas tank is to apply heat. Any basic hair dryer will do. Hold the business end of the dryer about 1 inch from the sticker and heat for 45 seconds or so. This will soften the adhesive enough so you can begin to peel the edge of the sticker up. Of course, the sticker will also disintegrate into an inordinate number of tiny fragments while you do so. Alternate 45 second blasts with the hair dryer with peeling sessions and you’ll have the sticker fragments gone in no time.

The adhesive residue left behind can be removed with Goo Gone, Goof Off, or a similar product.

General Disarray

Stacy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:00:16 +0000

Man, I spent what felt like the entire weekend working on the SV, re-installing and re-wiring all my electrical accessories, and it’s still not finished! I certainly won’t be able to ride it to work this morning.

My friend Don Weber offered to help supervise the operation if I brought the bike to his shop. So I packed up all my accessories on Saturday morning and rode up to Albany. After situating myself in a corner of his shop, I got to work.

The new fuseblock was a snap to install, but it took me forever to build the wiring harness for my accessories. I had to solder so many connections that I started getting high from all the magic smoke. Running wire through a loom is more difficult than it looks.

I should have known better, but I disregarded an electrical gremlin and it came back to bite me. After connecting my Gerbing’s temperature controller to the heated grips on the bike, we noticed that the grips were getting hot even when the switch was off. So we started troubleshooting, backtracking through all the connections and eliminating the stuff that worked. All of a sudden, the grips started working properly. Odd, but I chalked it up to a bad connection that might have been resolved by our troubleshooting.

I wasn’t able to finalize the wiring 100% that day so I put the bike together into a ride-able state and headed home. I immediately noticed that the grips were warm and getting hotter, and I hadn’t even turned the switch on. Argh! Gremlin! The grips got so hot after a few miles that I had to pull over to let them cool down. Luckily, one of my additions was a nifty connector between the accessories and the powered fuseblock. I pulled the connector, which cut the power to the grips so I could ride home without setting my hands on fire.

I spent Sunday afternoon tracking down the problem. I checked, re-checked, double and triple checked my wiring between the battery to the fuseblock, the fuseblock to the Gerbing’s controller, and the controller to the heated grips. Everything checked out. My multimeter read 0.0 volts on the power lead to the grips, yet when I hooked the same lead to the grips, the grips were getting hot.

I finally enlisted a friend to help me track down the problem. As we stepped through the circuit, it became clear that there was a short somewhere in the grips. We finally traced it to the wiring on the clutch side heater element. This explains why the previous owner experienced occasional popped fuses while running the grips. My wiring efforts must have jostled the wires enough to push the short circuit from an intermittent occurrence to one that happened 100% of the time.

So now I’m waiting on a new heated grip kit to arrive so I can finally wrap this project up. It’s been a lot of work, but the difference from the exposed and unkempt wiring on my old SV to the neat wiring looms on the new bike is night and day.

Pimping For Clicks

Stacy — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:43:36 +0000

Dear fellow bloggers,

I know you’re trying to build readership, build community, build a monument to your own awesomeness, whatever. But please stop leaving drive-by comments on my blog for the sole purpose of pimping your own site. It’s bloody impolite. You could at least try to fake some interest.

Hugs and kisses,
-Stacy

PS: Spam will never see the light of day ’round these parts, so if you’re trying to leave a pimptacular comment and it never shows up, now you know why.

To-Do List For the New SV

Stacy — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:13:17 +0000

My new SV650 might be a dead ringer for the one I had previously, but there are still a few things I need to do to get this bike close to where I had mine before.

Install my Hyperlite brake lights
Install my new Galfer stainless steel front and rear brake lines
Install the GSX-R front and rear turn signals
Install a new Eastern Beaver fuseblock — once it gets here from Japan
Install my Hyperlite running lights
Install my ugly, but waterproof, switch mount
Verify the existing heated grip wiring is OK and connect them to my Gerbing’s temperature controller
Fix my hacked-upon Gerbings power cable (or order a new one if it can’t be salvaged)

One of the benefits of blogging is having a record of all the stuff you’ve done to your bike!

I plan to do most of the electrical work at the same time once the new fuseblock arrives. Despite my best efforts, the wiring for all the accessories on the old SV ended up a little ratty. Now that I have everything I intend to install on the bike ready to go, I can create a “real” wiring harness that will result in a much cleaner installation.

Filed under “nice-to-have”:

Better looking mirrors. The ones off a Street Triple look promising — good thing I have a guinea pig so I can try before I buy!
Upgraded suspension
New exhaust

The SV650 In a Nutshell

Stacy — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:05:09 +0000

This is the best summary of the SV650 I’ve come across so far:

…late model SV650s (plural, not the SV650S) turn over fairly often, being the favorites of fickle 20-somethings, budget racers, tuners & modders, beginners, girls, and short people. And, apparently, practical commuters klinging to their un-spent youth, who want something with a cool engine note and some passing torque and a cool trellis frame. And a reputation for fun in the twisties. Smaller, lighter, they share the same basic engine as the V-Strom, but with a +5HP edge in power, and more torque higher in the rev range. SV650s are all over craigslist and can be had in the mid-$3,000’s. That leaves a lot more cash lying around for extras. Or food and tuition.

– by Don M at braincrust

Here’s a cool thing:

Riding the New Bike Home, Day 3

Stacy — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:06:43 +0000

Monday dawned crisp and clear and full of promise. I walked over to the Denny’s next door for some grub. One of the best things about being a gal riding solo is how easy it is to Own a Room — all I have to do is wear my motorcycle gear and step inside any eatery in a small town.

I was fat, happy, and on the road by 8am. Did I mention that the weather was perfect?

Miracle #5: The Weather

Those of us who live in the PNW are fortunate enough to be able to ride year round. I’m certainly no stranger to riding in the rain, but I ain’t going to say no to dry weather either. The schizophrenic weather forecast wasn’t much help, but if you can bank on one thing when planning a ride on the coast during February, you can bank on it being chilly and wet. Pack your rain gear!

This was pretty much how the weather turned out around the time of my trip:

Wednesday: rain
Thursday: drizzle
Friday: spittin’ kittens
Saturday: partly cloudy
Sunday: mostly sunny
Monday: glorious sunshine
Tueday: pouring down rain
Wednesday: rain

I somehow managed to catch the only three day window of dry weather in a two week time span.

Anyway, Day 3 was the last day of my trip, and the only day where I didn’t have something holding my nose to the grindstone to keep me moving. I could dawdle my way up the coast, and so I did, and took a bunch more pictures too.

At my first stop, I caught my new bike making moves on this big boat:

What a hussy!

At a turnoff just south of Gold Beach, OR:

Gold Beach is the home of the famous Barnacle Bistro, which serves the best fish-n-chips I’ve ever had. Unfortunately, I arrived too early to enjoy some tasty food, but I’ll be back in June for the Gone Coastal ADV gathering. Perhaps you’ll join us?

I thought I was safe after the incident with the boat, but apparently anything’s fair game to this SV:

This one’s for fuzzygalore!

A little while later, I ran into some road construction.

I may have been stuck in traffic, but that didn’t stop me from checking my email and posting an update to twitter — thanks, modern technology! Then, I looked over to the left and said, “Hey, that rock looks like a whale!”

Indeed it does!

And here’s a picture of some famous lighthouse:

At this stop, I ran into some friendly Canadians — and really, are there any other kind? — who offered to take my picture:

Their car had BC plates so I asked them if they were fleeing from the Olympics. They laughed and said yes, they were in a way, but that their friends back in Vancouver had reported that the atmosphere was very festive. I’m sure it was. I mean, all you need is a box of Timbits and you’ve got yourself an instant party. Or was that a 12 pack of Molson?

I continued to mosey my way north until I reached this bridge, which is my very favorite bridge ever:

Bonus points if you know where it is.

Then back on the road for a little ways, when I just had to get a picture of this:

It’s not every day that you see a 20 foot tall Japanese man offering you a tray of sushi.

I was about 50 miles from home and smelling the barn now. I pulled into my driveway a little after 4:30pm. I was home, and I had an SV650 in my garage. All was right in the world.

Riding the New Bike Home, Day 2

Stacy — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:00:29 +0000

Wrenching Is a Great Way to Start The Day

Day 2 began at 7:30am. Liz made a wonderful breakfast (forgot to get a picture, doh!) and then it was time to get down to business. I had three goals: change the oil on the SV, get my heated gear working, and rig up a fix for my broken Rok Strap. Liz kindly drove me to town so I could buy some oil and a new filter, while she went off to find a length of nylon webbing because she had an idea for fixing the Rok Strap.

But first, here’s my new steed in the light of day:

Looks a lot like the old one, eh?

I changed the oil and filter, then turned my attention to the heated gear. I needed a battery harness for my Gerbing’s temperature controller, but I had a plan based off an epiphany that occured to me the previous day: I had the power cable from my old bike’s Gerbing’s setup, so if I cut it and used the female DC plug end, I could hack together a rudimentary fused battery harness using the previous owner’s distribution block stuff. w00t!

So that’s what I did. I cut the male DC plug end off that sucker and soldered the female plug to a fuse holder and two ring terminals. Wasn’t pretty, but it worked when I hooked everything together. Have soldering iron, will travel comfortably!

While I was busy with this, Liz did an awesome job sewing a new nylon strap to the remaining part of the Rok Strap to make a whole. It wasn’t as adjustable as a real Rok Strap but it was more than good enough to get me home.

Wrenching finished, I loaded up the bike and the three of us set off on Hwy 1 north to Leggett. Miles and miles of twisties, and very little traffic. Can’t ask for much more than that!

At the last viewpoint on Hwy 1 before the road turned inland:

I said farewell to Liz and Tony at the junction of 1 and 101. I can’t thank Liz enough for her hospitality (and sewing skills!) and Tony for use of his tools and garage space.

101 north was kind of a slog. The last time I’d been this way was when I was a kid, and I didn’t know that most of 101 is a 4 lane freeway. Still, I made good time heading north, trying to get to Brookings before the sun went down. It was going to be close as I didn’t leave Fort Bragg until 12:30.

I filled up the tank in Fortuna, CA and grabbed a quick bite to eat from the most unenthusiastic Subway employee I’ve ever encountered. And then I discovered that I’d had another near-miss with disaster.

Miracle #4: Rok Strap Failure, Part 2

This one is 100% my fault. I’d strapped my dry-bag across the pillion seat and secured it with my straps. Unfortunately, the dry-bag was now way too big for the amount of stuff that was in it — remember, I needed the space in the beginning because I was carrying my motorcycle gear and my tankbag in it for my flight. But now, as I was wearing my gear and had the tankbag mounted to the bike, there wasn’t enough stuff in there for it to hold its shape. At some point, even though I tried my best to tighten it as much as possible, the makeshift Rok Strap slid right off the end of the dry-bag… and was now hanging down near the wheel. SIGH!

Y’all have to take my word for it when I say that I’ve never had this kind of trouble securing my luggage before!

I decided to start from scratch. I stripped everything off the tail of the bike. Then, I re-packed everything in the dry-bag so the contents were pushed far to one side. I rolled up the end with the extra space and used the just-in-case spare strap to cinch the bag into the most compact ball possible. If you look closely, you’ll be able to see the difference in the previous couple of pictures and the pictures coming up.

There’s Something About King James

While I was busy packing my stuff, I noticed an older woman making the rounds of the parking lot with clipboard in hand. It’s hard to be invisible when you’re in full motorcycling gear, so I knew a visit was practically inevitable. Sure enough, a few minutes later she walks up to me and asks me something like, “Do you have a copy of my [thing]?”

“No,” I say.

She seems delighted to hear this, and reaches down to her clipboard and hands me this amazing piece of work:

I haven’t seen a cheatsheet this good since discrete math!

Then she launches headlong into a speech about finding Jesus, getting into heaven, etc, etc. I nod and make non-committal noises at the appropriate times while tightening the straps on my bag and trying to get the heck out of dodge because that sun is sinking awfully fast…

“Do you have a bible?” she asks.

“Not right now,” I mutter.

“You need a King James Bible,” she states firmly. “No other bible. The King James is the only one.”

I nod.

“There’s a Borders down the street. They sell them there.”

I nod.

She goes on about the King James Bible and its virtues, chief among which is the power to deal with the voices one hears in their heads.

I’m beginning to think that I’m not going to get out of here unless I produce 1) a King James Bible or 2) a receipt for a King James Bible. So I interrupt her and say my thanks, but I really must be going now… Getting back on the road felt especially sweet.

Sunset at Little River State Beach:

This is my “Do you know where your King James Bible Is??” look:

I was racing the sun and the sun was winning. I wasn’t willing to ride alone on an unfamiliar road in the dark, so Brookings was out of the picture. But Crescent City looked possible. I flew up 101 in the dusk, trying to ignore all the elk crossing signs. Rounded a corner, and… “Is that a statue?” No… it’s just the biggest bull elk I’ve ever seen grazing in someone’s front yard. No picture, alas, but I’ll remember that bazillion-point rack for a long time.

Full dark. Passed Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. Damn, wanted a picture of that, too. Rode up and into the twisty part, fog collecting in the low spots behind me. Couldn’t use the high beam — too much oncoming traffic. Pulled over once to let a car by, taking the corners just a little over posted speeds. Not my best riding performance, but this trip is showing me that I’ve lost a lot of mojo after my wreck. The last thing I want to do is put another bike on the ground.

I finally rolled into Crescent City around 6:30 or so. I found a decent room at a Travelodge in town. The desk person was a very nice southeast Asian lady who took one look at my motorcycle gear and said to me, “You’re riding a motorcycle? You’re so strong!”

After botching almost every corner for the last 30 miles, I didn’t feel very strong. But I smiled and thanked her. After all, she just gave me directions to a Thai restaurant within walking distance and hot food sounded great right about then.

After a short walk to the restaurant — only got catcalled twice by young men in passing cars — I got to enjoy this:

Red curry and a Thai iced tea!

The hotel room had something I rarely see in “budget” hotels these days… a living plant!

Good night!

Riding the New Bike Home, Day 1

Stacy — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:46:17 +0000

After my old bike was totaled, I knew I wasn’t quite done with riding the crap out of an SV650, so there was no question what kind of bike I’d be getting once the salvage truck took my baby away. I had just gotten off the phone with the insurance claims guy, who told me that yes, my SV was going to be totaled, when I stumbled across a particular ad on Bay Area Craigslist.

Miracle #1: Finding the Bike

2007 naked SV650… just like mine
purchased new in 2008… just like mine
motosliders, handguards, heated grips, relay/distribution block… pretty much just like mine
and most important of all, the bike was blue… just like mine

Uncanny, that!

Buying a motorcycle sight unseen is a serious undertaking. I had a good feeling about the bike and the seller through his ad on craigslist and the accompanying pictures, and subsequent emails and phone calls only served to increase my confidence. The seller was very up front about the bike’s flaws, and I had reasonable expectations regarding the bike’s condition based on my experience with my old SV.

There was no going back once I advanced the seller a small deposit and booked my ticket for Oakland. I would be flying to Oakland early on Saturday morning and riding back to Oregon, arriving home on Monday.

Fun With Airline Travel, aka There’s Always Time For Lubricant

Despite Alaska Airline’s best attempts to screw me by canceling my originally scheduled flight and re-booking me on to a later one, I wasn’t going to let a little airline foolishness get me down even though my schedule was now going to be cutting it awfully close.

My Saturday began at 3:40am. By 4:15, Stacey and I were on the road to the Eugene Airport. My flight was due to depart at 6:55am, but I wanted plenty of time to pass through security as I was carrying a duffel dry-bag containing a smorgasbord of odd items: my tank bag, the custom seat off my old SV, the passenger grab bar also from the old SV, battery harness for GPS, Gerbing’s temperature controller stuf, and my tool roll. After imagining how my Gerbing’s heated jacket would appear on an X-ray machine, I wondered if I should have packed some lubricant too, in a 3oz bottle of course.

As expected, my duffel took several trips through the scanner, each one accompanied by puzzled looks from the TSA screeners. One of them pulled the bag aside so it could be examined manually. The heated jacket didn’t get any scrutiny, but my tools and tank bag did. Be aware that a 7 inch wrench is considered a deadly weapon and strictly forbidden, but a 6.5 inch wrench is a-ok.

Once I cleared security, the rest of my airplane experience was uneventful. I discovered that it takes 5 minutes for a prop plane to fly from Eugene to Corvallis and that the Olympic Mountains are beautiful from the air. The weather was spectacularly sunny in Oregon and Washington, though a little on the chilly side. After a boring layover in Seattle, I hopped on another plane and flew back down to Oakland, arriving 30 minutes early.

You’re in the Big City Now, Oregon Girl

The trip from OAK to the seller’s location was a quick one courtesy of BART. I had a four block walk to JG’s (the seller) place and damn, that duffel was heavy. But just when I started to get tired, I rounded a corner and spotted a pretty blue SV, the sight of which perked me up immediately. It was now 12:30, and I had a little more than an hour to evaluate the bike, conduct the transaction, and prep it for the long ride home.

The bike met my expectations exactly. There were no surprises, since JG was very honest about the bike’s flaws. The bike was extremely clean except for some scratches and chips on the tank and some rust on a few bolts and the upper fork clamps. It fired right up and ran just fine. I was sold, so I handed over a bunch of cash and then the bike was sold. And California titles are pink. How cute!

It’s amazing the difference having transportation can make. One minute I was a stranger in a very big city, totally dependent on my legs and public transport to get around. The next minute, I had a bike. I could go places! I could go home!

But before I could go anywhere, I had to get the bike ready. The bike was parked in front of JG’s apartment building, so I grabbed my tool roll and removed the seats and lifted the gas tank right where there on the sidewalk. This business attracted the attention of a sketchy looking guy sitting on the steps of the building. First, he mistakes me for a man. Then, he asks if he can borrow a phillips screwdriver from me to do something with his front door because he has no key(?)… I have a bad feeling about this dude so I lie (sorry, Jesus!) and tell him I only have hex drivers. “That’s cool,” he says, “Those’re 5 sided, right?”

Umm, yeah…

A few minutes later JG emerged from his apartment bearing a can of Chain Wax and a pair of pliers. Sketchy guy went back into the building so I’m puttering around hooking up my wiring when I hear a “whoop-whoop” of a police siren. I’m a Corvallis girl so I pay no mind to the noise. But then I notice that JG has gone silent and that he’s looking up at something. I turn around and realize that I’m surrounded by police cars.

That’s no good…

“Do you have your taser?” one cop says to the other.

Don’t tase me, bro…

And then I realize they’re not here for me. They’re here for sketchy guy. What a surprise! I have to admit that I thought to myself, “Thank god I didn’t let that dude borrow my screwdriver — I’d never get it back after the tasering!”

So that was my “Welcome to Oakland!” moment.

After experiencing my own very special episode of COPS, I realized that I’d forgotten to bring the battery harness for my Gerbing’s gear. I had the gear, the temperature controller, but no way to hook it to juice. By now it was already past 2, and I had to get going. I buttoned everything back up, gave JG a big hug, and headed on my way.

First up was getting gas. What the hell are these hippie anti-evapo-nozzle things? Man, they suck.

Finding gas screwed up the routing on my ghetto GPS, so I had a hard time finding I-80, much to the amusement of the crowd of old black dudes standing on the street corner who watched me circle around the block like a poor lost fool.

Miracle #2: The Cruiser Guy

I eventually found I-80. Not exactly the best way to ease a country girl into big-city traffic but I had no choice. I’d never ridden a motorcycle in this kind of traffic before, and you locals may laugh, but I was so terrified I started to have a freak out moment. Unfamiliar bike + unfamiliar traffic = scary!

But then out of nowhere, a motorcycle appeared ahead of me. I caught up to it, and decided to follow along behind. Cruiser commuter guy was cruisin’ along at a little over the speed limit, confidently making his way through traffic. He was a miracle. I’ll never be able to describe the feeling of relief I felt as I followed cruiser guy north. I’m not the most spiritual person, but I was so thankful and grateful that tears started pouring out of me. I’m getting a little teary just remembering it.

Amazingly, cruiser guy’s route was exactly the same as mine up until the Richmond Bridge. We exchanged a wave as he took the exit before the toll booths. Thank you, cruiser guy!

Korean Food 101

You might have the impression that I’ve never been to the Bay Area before, but I spent two summers in Santa Rosa during college so I’m somewhat familiar with the area. One of my very favorite Korean restaurants is in Cotati of all places. It’s called Bear Korean Restaurant, and all of you should go there and have the Hot Rock Pot Bi-bim-bap. Trust me.

I ordered a pot of hot roasted barley tea, which hit the spot after the chilly ride up from Oakland. When you order a meal at a true Korean restaurant, the first things to arrive are small dishes called banchan:

Banchan can be eaten as appetizers, but most folks eat them along with the main course, which for me was this beautiful bi-bim-bap:

Bi-bim-bap is a bowl of tasty vegetables prepared various ways along with some sweet bulgogi beef, topped with an egg fried over-easy. The first thing to do is grab the big bottle of red pepper paste and have at it:

Then, mix it all together.

Add rice, stir, and enjoy!

After my meal, I called up Liz, whom y’all may know from her comments here and from her blog Lilred’s Riding Blog. The plan was for me to ride up to Boonville via 101 and 128 and meet her there so we could ride together to Fort Bragg so I could stay the night.

I decided to check the adjustment of my clutch lever before taking off because it felt a little loose. Well, it was more than a little loose — the adjuster screws were completely undone! That’s what I get for hurrying while checking over the bike. Unfortunately, I had no pliers thanks to the TSA’s rules against Leatherman tools, so I tightened things up as best I could and then got back on the road.

Is it just me, or has the same stretch of 101 through Santa Rosa been under construction for the past 10 years?

Anyway, the ride to Boonville turned pretty terrific once I left 101 and hit 128. I wish I could have stopped to take pictures of some of the sweet curves, but the sun was setting and I had to keep moving. I made it to Boonville just as the sun set, filled up my tank, and waited for Liz. We’d be meeting each other in person for the first time. I’ve lost count of the number of amazing people I’ve met thanks to motorcycling!

Liz rolled into town on her Kawasaki ZX-6 and we said our greetings. She ducked into the convenience store to grab a cup of coffee to warm up, and while she was doing so, I checked the straps securing my duffel bag. I found quite a surprise — enough to make the blood drain out of my face.

Miracle #3: Rok Strap Failure

My dry-bag duffel was strapped to the pillion seat with two Rok Straps and an extra nylon strap (just in case). I found one of the Rok Straps hanging free on the peg it was looped around. Where was the other end of the strap? It was looped around the passenger peg, and instead of the 3 foot long strap I expected there was an 8 inch long stub with a ragged end.

The plastic buckle on the Rok Strap had completely failed, leaving the loose strap to fly free. I’m very fortunate that the loose end of the strap didn’t end up caught in my chain, or in my wheel, or in my brakes, or around the axle… The frayed end was slightly melted so I suspect it hit the hot exhaust and melted free before anything catastrophic happened. And here I tossed all my bungee cords after hearing horror stories about those!

If you look closely, you can see that the buckle is missing a piece out of it. The red nylon strap is not part of the original Rok Strap — it’s part of Liz’s awesome solution that she rigged up once we got home. (More on that later.)

Once again thanking my lucky stars, I used my just-in-case extra strap to replace the broken Rok Strap. Then we mounted up and headed for Fort Bragg. It was full dark so Liz led the way on 128. I’m glad she didn’t mind leading because I have awful night vision. I usually avoid riding at night for this reason but I didn’t have a choice. Anyway, the road was nice and twisty — I can’t wait to come back and ride it in the daylight!

We made it to Fort Bragg sometime after 7. Liz’s partner Tony had graciously cleared room in the garage for me to park the SV so I could work on it in the morning. We warmed up with cups of coffee and I had a great time chatting with both of them until it was way past time for bed. It had been a long day.

OMG New Bike Fly-n-ride Kekekekekeke!

Stacy — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 12:00:19 +0000

By the time you read this, I will be on my way to the airport. My destination? Oakland, CA and my new bike!

Alaskan Airlines has already screwed me once by canceling my originally scheduled red-eye flight, so any happy travel thoughts sent my way would be appreciated.

If you’d like to follow along as I ride back home to Oregon, I’ll be posting updates on my Twitter feed, @boltynet.

(Grok Kekeke?)

What Happens With Insurance After a Motorcycle Accident

Stacy — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 02:00:07 +0000

This could be the difference between keeping your bike and watching it go away on the back of a salvage truck.

Dealing with insurance after a motorcycle accident is one of those situations where being forewarned is forearmed. Until recently, I’d never been involved in an incident that required me to work with insurance, so I was woefully unprepared to deal such matters when that unhappy time came. This post contains the stuff I wish I knew after I wrecked my motorcycle.

I am not an insurance agent or a lawyer. However, having been through the process, I figure it’s worth sharing my experiences so that if you find yourself in a similar situation you’ll have an idea of what to expect. Your mileage may vary.

Immediately After the Accident

Hopefully, any accidents you’ll be involved in will be minor ones where no one gets carted off in an ambulance. In a single vehicle accident (i.e. the bike is crashed and no other vehicles are involved), you won’t need to do this step, obviously. But in a multiple vehicle accident, you’ll need to gather some critical information from each of the parties involved.

This is not easy after a crash, believe me. Adrenaline isn’t intended to promote analytical thinking. If you need to, stop and take a short breather to gather your wits. Your first urge will be to get everything done as quickly as possible. Resist the urge. Take the time to get things right.

Find a piece of paper and a pen and ask each driver for their driver’s license and insurance card. Then write down the following info for each driver:

full name
driver’s license number and state issued
phone number
insurance company name
insurance policy number

If there were passengers in any vehicle, it’s a good idea to get their names and contact phone numbers also.

Next, go to each vehicle and write down the license plate number. This would also be a good time to pull out your camera phone and take pictures of the vehicles and any damaged areas, just to keep everyone honest.

If the police arrive on scene, ask for the police officer’s business card. At the very least, get the police officer’s name and phone number. You may not need this info, but it’s good to have.

Rule #1: Avoid Filing a Claim At All Costs

The first rule of insurance is not filing a claim if you can avoid it. Of course, there’s a big exception to this rule: if you aren’t the one at fault, you’re probably going to file a claim against the other party’s insurance. If that’s the case, you can skip to the next section.

But what if you’re at fault, or if this is a single vehicle accident? Then you need to decide if you’re going to file a claim, or fix the bike on your own. If you can get an estimate before contacting your insurance company, you’ll have a leg up in deciding whether to file a claim or not.

The key thing to remember is if you’re still paying off the loan on your motorcycle, you have very little leverage with your insurance company if you file a claim. Why? Because you don’t own the bike. The bank does, and they will want their property restored to 100% pre-loss condition.

Even if you’re at fault and the other vehicle’s driver files a claim against your insurance, you’re not obligated to file a claim. Imagine that conversation going something like this:

Your Insurance: “We’ve received a claim from someone’s insurance regarding an accident on such-and-such date, yadda-yadda-yadda. It appears your motorcycle was involved. Was there any damage to the bike?”
You: “Yes, but I’m going to fix it myself.”

Don’t worry, what are they going to say? No? It’s in their best interest for you to pay for things yourself so they don’t have to! This could be the difference between keeping your bike and watching it go away on the back of a salvage truck.

Choosing to fix the bike yourself doesn’t mean you have to do it all at once. Fixing the bike yourself gives you freedom: freedom to choose who does the work, freedom to shop around for parts, and freedom to have things done your way.

A Few Words About Damage Estimates

Getting a damage estimate on a motorcycle is not the same as getting one on a car. Most insurance companies allow you to choose where you take the motorcycle for an estimate, as opposed to forcing you to go through one of “their shops” as with an estimate for a car. While I didn’t try it myself, it’s worth a shot to ask if they’ll let you do the estimate on your own, especially if you’re planning on fixing the bike yourself. You might be able to find replacement parts at prices far less cheaper than a dealer would quote on their estimate. If you want to keep the bike with a clean title, a cheaper estimate is a very good thing.

Most motorcycles are totaled by insurance for one of two reasons:

the cost to repair is greater than 50% of the current value of the bike (the exact percentage depends on the insurance company)
there is damage that puts the structural integrity of the motorcycle into question

That last reason is a killer because it’s incredibly subjective — and often hinges on the opinion of an insurance adjuster with very little motorcycle experience. I’ve heard anecdotal stories of bikes being totaled for a scratch on the frame. Frame damage, sub-frame damage, swingarm damage, bent forks, scratched engine casings, etc. can get a bike totaled quicker than you can say “Valentino.” It takes very little damage for a bike to be totaled these days.

Once the estimate is done, insist that the shop fax you a copy of it immediately, then bring the bike home from the shop as soon as possible. This gives you leverage during the settlement negotiations, forces the insurance adjuster to view the bike on your terms, and saves you money if the shop charges for storage.

Documentation, Documentation, Documentation

A paper trail is critical because knowledge is power when dealing with insurance. Don’t wait to dig out all this paperwork!

paperwork from when you purchased the bike
insurance policy and other related papers
receipts for all aftermarket accessories
copy of damage estimate
NADA and KBB estimates of the bike’s current value

Document all your conversations with your insurance company representatives. You’ll hardly talk to your regular agent after the initial filing of the claim. Instead, you’ll speak to various claims agents and most likely an adjuster or damage appraiser.

Anybody Else Want to Negotiate?

The negotiation phase begins when the estimate is submitted. The primary subjects of discussion are the value of the bike and if it will be totaled. If you followed the flowchart above, you should already have a good idea of what the insurance company is going to tell you, at least at first.

What if insurance offers a ridiculously low value for the bike? Not surprising, especially if you’re filing a claim against an at-fault party’s insurance and not your own. So get ready to rumble! Now’s the time to bring out all that documentation you collected earlier: the NADA and KBB values, the receipts for all your accessories, recent pictures of the condition of the bike before the accident, etc. Even asking prices on craigslist and completed sales on your favorite motorcycling forums can be used as evidence to support a higher market value for the bike.

What if they want to total the bike but I don’t agree with that? Do you have the title to the bike in your possession? First, try negotiating a higher value for the bike. Ask the insurance company what their “percentage to total” is. If you own the bike outright, you can offer to accept some damage that you can live with (preferably cosmetic) in exchange for a lower damage estimate. This can save your bike from being totaled.

I Tried My Best, But It’s Totaled: Now What?

It’s time for you to make a hard decision. I think Stacey summed it up best when she told me, “Are you attached to the bike, or the kind of bike?” You basically have two choices: you can buy the bike back as salvage or you can negotiate a settlement of total loss.

Buying the Bike Back As Salvage

Once your bike is declared a total loss, the insurance company will offer a salvage value. They arrive at this figure by contacting salvage yards, dancing naked under a full moon, and reading a dusty tome of magical salvage values. Obviously, if you want to buy the bike back you’re going to want the lowest salvage price possible. It’s exactly the same as if you were going to buy a wrecked bike from a salvage yard. If you’re serious about getting your bike back, you’ll have to be prepared to dicker over the price.

The downside to buying the bike back as salvage is that it will be branded with a salvage title. You may also have to jump through some hoops with your state DMV in order to prove that the bike has been repaired to legally acceptable levels before they will issue you a title and/or register the bike. Lastly, a bike with a salvage title is instantly worth less than half of what it was worth before. Sucky, but that’s the way it is.

If you seriously want to buy the bike back, approach the negotiation in two distinct parts. First, negotiate for the highest value possible on the bike. Then, negotiate for the lowest salvage price. Don’t tip your hand too early and tell them you want to buy the bike back!

Here are some example numbers from my recent experience after I wrecked my 2007 SV650. I rounded the numbers slightly to make the math easier.

value stated by insurance: $4300
my deductible: $500
salvage value: $1600

$4300 - $500 - $1600 = $2200 payout

If you’re still paying off a loan on the bike, the payoff amount will be factored into the calculations:

value stated by insurance: $4300
my deductible: $500
loan payoff: $3300
salvage value: $1600

$4300 - $500 - $3300 - $1600 = -$1100 (yes, you'll be writing THEM a check)

Negotiating a Total Loss Settlement

If you choose to accept the bike as a total loss, the insurance company will offer a settlement. This assumes that you’ve already negotiated the value of the bike to be as high as possible. The settlement can be as simple as accepting the offered value, minus your deductible. Here’s an example, again from my wrecked 2007 SV650:

value stated by insurance: $4300
my deductible: $500

$4300 - $500 = $3800 payout

Again, if you’re still paying off a loan on the bike, the payoff amount will be factored into the calculations:

value stated by insurance: $4300
my deductible: $500
loan payoff: $3300

$4300 - $500 - $3300 = $500 payout

However, things can get more complicated if there are any salvageable accessories that you want to keep. Remember, you used the accessories in order to negotiate a higher value. If there are accessories you plan to remove (*cough*custom seats hand-crafted by a master*cough*) you need to re-negotiate their value. I suppose you could strip the bike and hope they don’t notice, but I (and this blog) do not condone anything illegal.

value stated by insurance: $4300
value of accessories you're keeping: $150
my deductible: $500
loan payoff: $3300

$4300 - $150 - $500 - $3300 = $350 payout

In Summary

If you take anything away from this article, let it be this:

Avoid filing a claim if at all possible.
If you still owe money on your bike, be prepared to get the shaft. You have zero leverage to negotiate damage, and the loan payoff must be accounted for in your settlement.
Save all your receipts for the accessories you add to your bike.

Lastly, even a 2000+ word post can’t cover all the nuances of an insurance negotiation or cover all the possible scenarios. When in doubt, consult a professional.

Praemonitus praemunitus, and good luck!