Luck Finally Ran Out!!

[valkmc]

I have been riding a bike on the road since 1975 and I finally went down. I tangled with a pallet on my B a couple of years ago and posted about it. Lots of bike damage but I kept it upright so no injuries. Not so lucky this time.

I was in rush hour traffic trying to get out of Ocala so I could spend the weekend at my condo in Daytona. I was in the left lane of two lanes headed east when all hell broke loose. Cars in front of me to my right were hitting each other and my attention went to them to make sure they weren't coming back to me. I turned my attention back to my lane and there was an SUV dead stopped. I was going about 35 I think. No time to do much but put her down and get off. I wasn't going to ride it into the rear of the SUV. The bike hit the SUV and I slide to the left of it without hitting it. Totally my vault, lack of attention for what was in front of me. I got a ticket. The driver of the SUV slammed on his brakes because the cars in the other accident were all over the place and he was trying to avoid them(no they never came into our lane). He apologized but I assured him he did nothing wrong.

Road rash hurts, never had any before, left forearm, right hand, left knee. Had my half helmet on. It took a shot to the right side with no injuries to my face or head.

Now what to do, Progressive does not send adjusters out due to Covid so I had to take pictures and send them in. Not sure how they will assess the damage. I hope they total it. 2013, 51K so if it reaches 50 to 75% they will/can total it according to the person handling the claim.

Not sure how I feel about it. Should I get another big bike? I am sure I will ride in some form but a 63 maybe I will scale back and give up the cross country, upstate NY trips and get something small to putt around on. Who knows at this point. I feel lucky but I sure hurt all over!!!

7800 7801

[JackB]

Glad your still upright I wouldn't worry about the bike till after everything settles down.
You have a lot of good riding years ahead of you, your still young.

[willtill]

Ditto on what JackB said!

[Rickc]

Sorry for your luck. Hope you feel better soon.

[Sorcerer]

Glad you made it through some what unscathed. If it is totaled now you can up year to a B with Cruise control. As a side note you are more likely to be involved in an accident by “putting around “. I was 61 when I crashed and totaled my first F6B in 2016. I only up yeared by 1 year because I was in love with the yellow 14 F6B. We have all made mistakes, some small, some large. You don’t gain wisdom with out setbacks. You’ve had a learning experience.

[billsim]

Glad to hear that you are only scuffed up and not broken. The bike is going to be a write off because the plastic alone is expensive and the resale is very low on the F6B.
Doesn't take much to have it "totaled".
Hope you fully recover and get the perfect replacement bike for your senior years.

[rdbonds]

Sorry to hear you (and the bike) are a bit beat up, but I'm glad to hear that you are okay and on the mend.

Also, big thanks for sharing your experience with all of us here, so we can listen and learn. We are better for it.

[OlyF6B]

The results of the Adjuster's evaluation notwithstanding, the fact that you walked away with minor injuries -- even from 35 mph -- is a win IMO. Good luck with full recovery. The potential to be looking for a replacement woul have me checking out the new BMW R18 Classic (https://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/en/models/heritage/r18-classic.html) (if I were going touring.)

7804

[Radical Taz]

Good to hear you are okay.

As said gaining wisdom can be sometimes painful.
Don’t worry about the bike just rest up and heal then you will be good to go in no time.

[P.Sutton]

Glad to hear you are ok.

Please, if you could post as your claim moves along. I was rear ended and thrown off my B a little while back. I have Allstate as well and around the same mileage you have. I however do NOT want them to total my bike. Damage is mostly to the plastic and crash bars. I know it can add up but if I can steer repairs in order to keep it, that would be my preference. This bike and I have a relationship that I am not ready to let go.

Sorry to hijack your thread....

https://i.postimg.cc/S2Xzbz3v/BC652459-6-F4-A-4-C25-816-D-F9651-E833662.jpg (https://postimg.cc/S2Xzbz3v)

A pic of the young girl who tried to kill me. Phone still in-hand. Ride safe, everyone.

[billsim]

I was rear ended in April of 2019. Couldn't believe how well the crash bars protect the bike as it slid down the road with me hanging on.
Dealer estimated $8800.00 to repair. Bike is a 2013 Deluxe and had 24000 miles on the clock.
State Farm wanted it totaled and offered me $12,500.00 (incl accessories). I wanted the bike fixed since the only damage was the left rear saddlebag and lid and crash bars scratched up. No frame or mechanical damage.
I found a small garage that specializes in custom car painting that did the repairs for $4,000.00 complete. State Farm agreed paid it and I couldn't be happier.
My bike was bought new and I couldn't get a new bike for anywhere near their offer.
My bike now has 35,000 miles and I am glad I kept it.
Good luck to you.

[valkmc]

Glad to hear you are ok.

Please, if you could post as your claim moves along. I was rear ended and thrown off my B a little while back. I have Allstate as well and around the same mileage you have. I however do NOT want them to total my bike. Damage is mostly to the plastic and crash bars. I know it can add up but if I can steer repairs in order to keep it, that would be my preference. This bike and I have a relationship that I am not ready to let go.

Sorry to hijack your thread....

https://i.postimg.cc/S2Xzbz3v/BC652459-6-F4-A-4-C25-816-D-F9651-E833662.jpg (https://postimg.cc/S2Xzbz3v)

A pic of the young girl who tried to kill me. Phone still in-hand. Ride safe, everyone.

Not a hijack, same type of problem. I don't care if they total mine or not. Both crash bars, front and rear are toast on the left side. Nose plastic including the lights are toast. Front fender is gone and one side cover (black one over the coolant dipstick) is gone. Not sure where it went. My concern will be the front forks. I just had them rebuilt, new fluid and a new steering head bearing in May of this year. They old girl handled like she did when I got her. I spent 20 minutes on the phone with the adjuster and then about 45 minutes with the service manager concerning what I would like. The adjuster asked me what I felt about it. I said if it gets fixed I want those front end parts examined thoroughly. He agreed. The service manager did not think it was totaled, however if it is they don't make much money.

Thanks to everyone who commented on my well being. I'm still pretty sore and the road rash is a pain in the a$$. It could have been worse. Won't decide on what to do about a bike until I find out what they are doing with the 6.

[Cobraguy]

I went down on mine a couple years ago. It's a 15 Deluxe with 30ishK when it happened. 14k in damage State Farm did not total it.

[valkmc]

Progressive is not going to total the 6. 7K in repairs. The adjuster said it was on the verge of a total. He said if they find any internal damage it would most likely be totaled. As I said earlier I don't care either way except they told me I should figure 6 weeks to get it done. They blamed the pandemic and the holidays!! If they totaled it I would have the check in a week.

[valkmc]

Got the six back from the accident repairs. I am quick to criticize dealerships so I felt like I should post when I had a good experience. First of all the service tech, Robert sent me multiple texts during the repairs. The texts were not only for setbacks (one-part sent from Honda arrived damaged) but to just let me know where they were with the repairs. The bike looks better than it did prior to the accident. The nose piece and the headlight plastics have been replaced. Went to pick it up and they had me out quick with a newly washed bike. Not perfect though, the bike now has a plastic rattle somewhere up front and a slight pull to the left. Will take it back and have them look at it. They were paid a lot to make it right. All in all a better experience than I hoped for. Side note I found it amusing that I had removed the Honda letters on the nose piece and they replaced them with the new nose piece!! Edit: I forgot, they told me six weeks due to the pandemic and met the date. In my experience that rarely happens in today's world.

[billsim]

Glad to hear that you got your bike back. Hoping that all is corrected and you can begin to enjoy the bike again.
Best wishes...and stay safe.

[seagravesg]

Similar story: after 35+ years of 2 wheel riding, 2016 F6B the last and best, topped a rural road hill in a curve and there sets a truck stopped. So like you in my mid-60"s, not sure if my attention and/or reflexes were compromised (don't think I was speeding) I knew I didn't want to hit the truck so locked brakes and down I go in to the ditch. Broken thumb, rash but all in all very lucky!
F6B was totaled at over $10k to repair. Healed up and a year later took a Can Am Spyder weekend riding class. I was hooked. Now enjoying 2020 Spyder F3-T. (took some getting used to) Honda GW's are as fine as there is. It was just time for me to make a change.
Good luck with your scrapes and bruises. You'll be back in the wind soon I bet.

[valkmc]

I have considered the Can-Am, which kind of reminds me of riding snowmobiles as a young man. With my 6 back together I haven't thought about them much. I rode today, A1A from Daytona north. Ocean to the right for about 30 miles, sunny and 60. All seemed right with the world.