It is 2:01 am, in Laramie, Wyoming. I "should" be in bed, asleep, and resting up for my ride later today. Instead, here I am, sitting at the hotel computer, explaining about my Nightmare in Laramie.
It all started with a phone call to my hotel room, just after midnight, with the desk clerk telling me that my motorcycle had fallen over. I quickly thrown a few clothes on, and exit my room wearing only my LDComfort underclothes, and my riding boots. I go to the front desk to find a woman standing there, and very sheepisly trying to explain...in the smallest voice possible, that she backed her 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee into my bike, while it "was" on the centerstand, and that it knocked my bike over.
Okay, you all get the picture...midnight...in the rain...in Laramie, WY. The bike has 2 of the Geza covers on it, but even that is not keeping the rain out. I now need to deal with trying to un-cover the bike, so that I can get it back up onto its' two wheels. Yes, I did first place the sidestand out, and extended, so that when I do lift this wet bike up, it will land onto the sidestand.
Fast forward many minutes, and I am "trying to explain to this woman from Boulder, Co. that it does no good to try to inspect a Black motorcycle, or any vehicle, in the rain...in the dark...to look for damage, as it would be nearly impossible to see the damage. This needs to be inspected in daylight, under a strong light, when the vehicle is dry, and wiped down. It took forever for her to accept this. She was wanting to remove her own guilt by hoping to NOT find any damage to my 2013 bike, that had been knocked off the centerstand, and onto its' right side.
Although I saw no need for it, I finally agreed that we could call the police, at now...1:00 am, and have them explain to her that as long as we exchanged all our info, and no laws were broken, and no personal injury occured, that the police were not needed. They came, we filed reports, and now another hour later, I tried to get back to sleep...that is a joke. There is no way I can get back to sleep now, at least not for a few hours, as I need to calm myself.
The woman that hit my bike, she gets to drive off inside her warm 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee, with the heater on, the defroster keeping the windows clear, and sipping on her latte'. But I was hoping for as much sleep as I could get...prior to this incidence...so that I could attempt to get all bundled up in my electric heated clothing this morning, and ride off into the 37 degree weather, in the rain, on my motorcycle. She has 200 miles to go to reach home...I have 1200 miles to go to reach home. Somehow, I do not think I will be compensated for the loss of sleep, anxiety, or extra time on the road.
Of course, in the dark, in the rain, I cannot see any appreciable damage to the bike. That was my point. If you ever want to trade in a used car, do it when it is raining, as it hides 93.14159 % of the small nicks and dings on your car. I will have to ride the bike back home 1200 miles, wait until Wednesday afternoon, wash the bike very thoroughly, and then do a careful inspection. We all know that a Goldwing based bike does not go all the way over onto its' side...body wise...because of the front and rear crash-bars, and any highway pegs one might have on the bike. But...remember, she also hit my bike with her Jeep Grand Cherokee, to knock it off the centerstand, so there may be damage to the right saddlebag cover or body. This will all need to be determined. Frankly, I hope there is NO damage. But if there is, at least she has USAA insurance, and I have all her info.
But all the insurance and info does not make up for the loss of sleep, and delay...in riding out of here in the morning.
I "was" cold, wet, and tired. Now...I am seriously bummed out.
So sorry for you as I read your post. I hope that everything will be alright. That the bike is safe to drive home. You will need a mechanical go over too. My 1300R was bumped backwards two feet in the parking lot by a hit & run driver on Langley AFB. People got the plate and description of the car. I found out that evening. Called Security Forces. I picked up the written report the next day. I was told since there was no visible damage they were not going to work it up. A few months later, I had to change out the front wheel bearings as they were toast from getting the sharp angled strike from the car's bumper.
Sorry for the accident, in hindsight could you have parked in a safer place, not criticizing just asking..on a similar note fellow on the VTXOA board was on his way to tag and title his day old VTX and got hit....good luck
Your detailed account of the incident was excellent, allowed the reader to visualize the events as they unfolded. What a nightmare. Sorry for your loss of sleep and hope the damages are minimal or nonexistant.
Am I the only rider that never parks my motorcycle on the centerstand? I guess it is from those 10 Harleys I had that only had sidestands but I only use a centerstand on any of the three Wing products that I have owned to service the engine or for other repairs. I always felt that a bike falling off the sidestand would cause much less damage than falling from the centerstand. Just a thought.
Miles, i'm sorry to hear about this, hopefully it is just tupperware and 2 crash bars.
Regretfully, you just have to grab the ball and punt, no matter how many scenarios you play through your head, you just have to move forward. Don't beat yourself on the "what ifs" , Sh!t happens.
So sorry, but at least your not hurt and she did stay to contact you. You could have found out in the morning, strolling out to a motorcycle laying sideways in the parking lot.
I have had nothing but good experiences with USAA. Hopefully, they will be as good to you as they were to me.
Now you don't have to worry about soft paint any more. Insist that they repaint the entire bike because you're not going to deal with mismatched paint on a 2013 motorcycle.
Get it painted correctly this time and you'll be one of the lucky few with no problems.
also, feel fortunate that you can ride out of Laramie. I can't think of a lot of places I would less like to be stranded.
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