Finally happened

[billsim]

Was out riding my 2013 F6B last week. Broad daylight and I'm sitting at a stoplight behind 6 cars when BLAM, a car hits me from behind. The bikes rear end goes left and the front goes right, and I'm sliding down the road on the right side for about 15 feet. Got banged up on my left leg where the footpeg hit me and my right shoulder got stretched trying to keep the bike from going down.
I have a Wig Wag brake light and a Federal Signal LED Flasher on the back so people can see me. Didn't do any good with this 83 year old woman driving home from visiting her husband in the nursing home.
Witnesses say that she was doing 20 MPH when she hit me. The bike had its left rear saddlebag destroyed and the battery cover busted up. The bike is laying on its right side when the cops ask if I want a flatbed to haul it. I ask them to stand it up to see what else is damaged. We were all amazed to see the right side didn't even have a scratch, even after sliding down the road on the crash bars. The crash bars are scratched of course but nothing else touched the ground. AMAZING!
Anyway, the bike started up without any trouble and even all the rear lights and signals still worked. I had some bungee cords, so I gathered up the saddlebag parts and lid and bungeed them on the bike. Actually road it home. Dropped the bike at the dealers a couple of day later to see what the damage is.
Now I am waiting to see if the frame or swing arm is bent. If it is, the dealer said it would be a total loss. I really love this bike and am hoping that the only damage is tupperware.
I am very lucky to be able to walk away from this accident but I'm hoping my bike is just as lucky. I only have 24,000 miles on her.
Will let you know how this ends.......

[Sorcerer]

Glad your ok. Sucks.

[Az Wingrider]

Really glad you weren't badly hurt. As you are probably aware it doesn't take a lot of damage for insurance companies to total a bike. The biggest problem is the insurance companies are afraid of is undetected damage that could be a safety hazard so they write the bike off and send you a check.

Good luck and remember the main thing is you are OK.
Az wingrider

[opas ride]

Glad you are not hurt badly and hopefully things will work out in your favor...Accidents like the one you had are hard to detect and understand why...My worst fear is getting hit from the rear or some "idiot" on a cell phohe running a red light...Recover soon and be well....

[Rickc]

Very happy to hear you were not hurt badly. Hope the bike turns out okay.

[olegoat345]

HHmmmmmmmmmmmm, I'm bettin' she said, "I didn't see him."
Take care of all your injuries. Give some though to seeing a lawyer. Sometimes those injuries will haunt you forever.
My Daughter (lives in HI.) got T boned, going to work on her scooter, when a guy texting, ran a red light at 30-40 mph. Her shoulder injuries will be hurting her the rest of her life. She's got the best MC lawyer in HI.

[DarkKnt]

Must have been the post coital bliss.

[Airborne06]

Must have been the post coital bliss.

That's pretty damn funny!

[billsim]

Must have been the post coital bliss.

Eeeeewwwwwww..............
I'm going to check the police report to see if they checked her for that. Kinda like a breathalyzer????

[taxfree4]

Was out riding my 2013 F6B last week. Broad daylight and I'm sitting at a stoplight behind 6 cars when BLAM, a car hits me from behind. The bikes rear end goes left and the front goes right, and I'm sliding down the road on the right side for about 15 feet. Got banged up on my left leg where the footpeg hit me and my right shoulder got stretched trying to keep the bike from going down.
I have a Wig Wag brake light and a Federal Signal LED Flasher on the back so people can see me. Didn't do any good with this 83 year old woman driving home from visiting her husband in the nursing home.
Witnesses say that she was doing 20 MPH when she hit me. The bike had its left rear saddlebag destroyed and the battery cover busted up. The bike is laying on its right side when the cops ask if I want a flatbed to haul it. I ask them to stand it up to see what else is damaged. We were all amazed to see the right side didn't even have a scratch, even after sliding down the road on the crash bars. The crash bars are scratched of course but nothing else touched the ground. AMAZING!
Anyway, the bike started up without any trouble and even all the rear lights and signals still worked. I had some bungee cords, so I gathered up the saddlebag parts and lid and bungeed them on the bike. Actually road it home. Dropped the bike at the dealers a couple of day later to see what the damage is.
Now I am waiting to see if the frame or swing arm is bent. If it is, the dealer said it would be a total loss. I really love this bike and am hoping that the only damage is tupperware.
I am very lucky to be able to walk away from this accident but I'm hoping my bike is just as lucky. I only have 24,000 miles on her.
Will let you know how this ends.......

I know the feeling, personally, thankfully because of the beefiness of this bike it took a lot of the brunt of the impact. At least you were able to ride it home. Typical defense of the driver that hit you in the rear is "He cut in front of me at the last minute" but hopefully she will have some integrity. Hope all works out and they can patch up your baby and as long as you are OK.

[OlyF6B]

Hope you're OK. I was "slightly" rear-ended in a parking lot -- with the young man's car only moving about 5 mph -- and the "hit" caused a Meniscus Tear of right knee... requiring surgery and almost a year of recovery so I could walk w/o pain or limp. The fixing of the bike only took a couple of weeks... it is stout indeed. Our bodies not so much... please get checked out thoroughly!

[VStarRider]

Glad you are ok. My MC accident involved an elderly driver as well, though not entirely his fault. Get better soon.

[Ewreck]

Riding in a perfect environment is still a coin flip in today’s 30 second attention span world. Glad to hear you drove away from it. Most aren’t so lucky.

[VStarRider]

I watch MCRider videos and he gave some interesting advice when waiting at a stoplight with traffic approaching from behind. He says to leave the bike in 1st, pull up to vehicle in front of you at an angle that provides an escape route to the shoulder or to the left. Positioning yourself this way also increases the bike's visibility. I have been doing this since I heard this advice in one of his videos.

[Radical Taz]

Glad you are ok.
This is just another example for the need of DL retesting after a certain age.

[53driver]

Glad you are up and about - glad the bike got you home.
Stupid/chronic pain doesn't usually occur until after a few days - please listen to your body.

Cheers,
Steve

[tenxxx]

I have BAckOff tail lights and pump the brakes to keep them flashing while traffic is approaching from the rear.

[billsim]

Thanks to all for the good wishes. It is appreciated.
Talked to the dealer last night and was told that the frame is not bent!
Bad news is that the repairs needed are approaching the 80% threshold where the insurance company just says scrap it.
I would like to get the bike fixed but will have to wait to see what the insurance adjuster thinks.
Wish the bluebook reflected just how great these bikes are.

[OlyF6B]

With so many "old" style F6Bs still out there.. you might be able to get a "new out of the box" scoot w/o too much out of pocket in addition to what the insurance will cover. And... IF there are medical complications, eventually there will be a Personal Injury settlement (in addition to the Property Damage settlement...). Good luck!

[taxfree4]

I watch MCRider videos and he gave some interesting advice when waiting at a stoplight with traffic approaching from behind. He says to leave the bike in 1st, pull up to vehicle in front of you at an angle that provides an escape route to the shoulder or to the left. Positioning yourself this way also increases the bike's visibility. I have been doing this since I heard this advice in one of his videos.

That may be to your detriment, the vehicle stopped in front of you, and the front of your bike, actually acts as a crunch zone, like in my case. Angling to either side may push you, when hit from behind, into traffic pulling up to that light on either side, or in my case, an HOV lane which would have crushed me.

[VStarRider]

That may be to your detriment, the vehicle stopped in front of you, and the front of your bike, actually acts as a crunch zone, like in my case. Angling to either side may push you, when hit from behind, into traffic pulling up to that light on either side, or in my case, an HOV lane which would have crushed me.

Point taken. I always point the bike towards the shoulder. I have to be careful because too much of an angle to the car in front of me results in being unable to use the mirrors to monitor traffic coming up from behind. I do remember watching your accident video on YouTube.

[TailGunner]

Your looking at 2k at least just in parts, in the end they will probably total it. Glad your injuries were not as severe.

[grendl]

I watch MCRider videos and he gave some interesting advice when waiting at a stoplight with traffic approaching from behind. He says to leave the bike in 1st, pull up to vehicle in front of you at an angle that provides an escape route to the shoulder or to the left. Positioning yourself this way also increases the bike's visibility. I have been doing this since I heard this advice in one of his videos.

I have done this practice for quite a few years now.I stay to one side of the lane or other,first gear and watching until a car or two is stopped behind me. It saved me from being rear ended as I spotted the truck coming in too fast while I was stopped behind cars at a red light. Caught him just in time to be able to scoot between the cars. He hit the car that was in front of me.Drunk got out saying how sorry he was. I decided it best I just leave ..Be careful out there and I'm glad you are not too badly hurt and hope your bike can be repaired or replaced easily..

[DarkKnt]

I have a mod that initially flashes the brake light a few times upon applying the brakes. I've gotten in the habit of applying the brakes off and on repeatedly if I'm sitting still in traffic. I figure the repeated flashing may stand out to an otherwise brain dead commuter coming up behind me... just habit now.

[billsim]

Finally got my bike fixed after 2 months. The local dealer where I bought it verified that the damage was all cosmetic and asked if I wanted it repaired or totaled since it could go either way. Told them I wanted this bike fixed. He then sends the insurance company an estimate for 8K+. The insurance company comes back and says totaled since they valued it at 11K.
I asked the dealer if they knew what the bike is valued at so that he could be sure that he was under that threshold. They claimed that they had no idea what the bike is worth but they would sell me a 2017 F6B base that was a leftover for 14.5K.
Needless to say they were more interested in a new sale that fixing my bike.
Told them I was taking it somewhere else for a quote. They then tell me that I have to pay them $200.00 for the quote to get my bike!
The damage to the bike was the left saddlebag and door, batter cover, rear cover (licence plate area) and top panel behind the seat. With a roll of Gorilla tape, I rode the bike from the dealer to a custom paint shop that was recommended by a friend. He quotes 4K to do all the work. The insurance company was almost as happy as I was and they say go ahead and fix it.
The bike was in his shop 3 days before being completed.
My shoulder has healed pretty much on it's own over these 2 months, so I am happily riding again.
Man, I love this bike but I hate that ******* dealer (whose name is on the licence plate frame).

[jmdaniel]

man, i love this bike but i hate that ******* dealer (whose name is on the licence plate frame, in this earlier picture of the bike. I've since taken that frame off, pi**ed on it, and threw it into a fire.).

fify

[tenxxx]

Ive been to that dealer. I walked the show room floor for 30 minuets, nobody came, or said a word and I walked by their dest a few times.
Wasn't gonna buy anything but still.Nothing.
When I left, I walked over to a new wing parked outside, with the owner and the service manager looking at the tire pressure system. It wasn't working.
The service guy gave me some serious looks, like, what you doin here,. Mind your own business.

[billsim]

Ive been to that dealer. I walked the show room floor for 30 minuets, nobody came, or said a word and I walked by their dest a few times.
Wasn't gonna buy anything but still.Nothing.
When I left, I walked over to a new wing parked outside, with the owner and the service manager looking at the tire pressure system. It wasn't working.
The service guy gave me some serious looks, like, what you doin here,. Mind your own business.

The service manager seems to be the issue. Must be a relative of the owner.

[billsim]

fify

Great idea!
I guess I need a new licence frame....

[Defiant77]

I have done this practice for quite a few years now.I stay to one side of the lane or other,first gear and watching until a car or two is stopped behind me. It saved me from being rear ended as I spotted the truck coming in too fast while I was stopped behind cars at a red light. Caught him just in time to be able to scoot between the cars. He hit the car that was in front of me.Drunk got out saying how sorry he was. I decided it best I just leave ..Be careful out there and I'm glad you are not too badly hurt and hope your bike can be repaired or replaced easily..

Absolutely keep your head on a swivel and constantly check those mirrors when coming to and stopping. Leave yourself an opening, and ride with the mindset that every cager is out to get you. As a former police motorcycle officer, I cannot tell you how many times I work crashes where the cager was DWHUA. I also had my share of them nearly hitting me. Can't say it often enough, always ride alert.

[Wing'n it]

What was the total loss value? Might have been able to have it totaled and then buy it back for scrap value. I had one bike rear ended and damage was minor and the bike was repaired, about 15 months later rust started forming in the missed cracks in the frame area where the swingarm mounted,... should have let them total it. All that aluminum in the rear suspension would make me very nervous about that hit knowing that the wheel took the brunt of the impact. Be careful...

[billsim]

What was the total loss value? Might have been able to have it totaled and then buy it back for scrap value. I had one bike rear ended and damage was minor and the bike was repaired, about 15 months later rust started forming in the missed cracks in the frame area where the swingarm mounted,... should have let them total it. All that aluminum in the rear suspension would make me very nervous about that hit knowing that the wheel took the brunt of the impact. Be careful...

With the accessories the adjuster offered me $12,500.00 to total it. The only damage was the left saddlebag got busted up. I was told that the salvage value was high because people trike these bikes and don't want the rear anyway. The $12,500.00 wouldn't get me a bike like mine with 3+ more years of factory warranty included, and I didn't want to move to the new wing and have to pony up another 8K.
Since the rear wheel didn't get hit, and the frame was still straight, we got it fixed for half the dealer estimate.
Have added 6K miles since and no issues at all. Didn't even have to replace rear bulbs! Love my bike and she loves me back!