Almost healed

Day 18:

So I'm almost back to normal. knee still has a small scab from the wreck, but all in all I've had a faster recovery than I thought.



On the bike front... NYS DMV still hasn't sent out my friggin title yet... and no title = no check. Supposedly it should be done today or tomorrow at latest, which means it won't get sent out until monday and I won't receive it until Wednesday.

Because of this I have lost yet another great bike for a great price. A 2004 R6 Raven with 3993 miles on it for $4,300. I asked for one more day to confirm the sale, I texted him at 11pm that night and when I call the next day he says, "Bike's gone. Didn't hear from you, and I didn't call to inform you there was another bidder cause I didn't want to impose".

Friggin moron.

So now back to the drawing board. A few are still out there before the end of the riding season such as:

A 2005 blue R6 for $4,800 with 8200 miles and lots of mechanical add-ons.


Another Raven (this one a 2003) bone stock with nothing on it except 15k miles for $4,300.


Also available is a 2006 orange and black Honda CBR 600RR with 7600 miles for $5,000 which is still under Honda warranty until 2012.


Each has their own benefit really. The black one is cheapest but has nothing on it and has a lot of miles and could use some work on the brakes and the body. The blue one is a little bit more but has lower mileage and all the mechanical upgrades I'd want to put on the bike already installed. The last one is newer, less mileage, maybe more reliable and the warranty is still in effect for 3 more years. Hard to decide when there is only a $700 difference between all three...

I'm leaning towards the blue one only because it's mid level price range and all the stuff already installed on it. But that's today, who knows what tomorrow may bring.

Progression

1st pic is the night of the accident, after I scrubbed the dirt and denim out of the skin, the last pic was taken this morning. Approx 10 and a half days after the accident.

Why I miss my bike

The reason I miss my bike is not because I loved to go fast, or hear the whirl of the engine, or feel the wind across my arms. No, that's not why I miss my bike.

I don't miss my bike because as I pulled up to stoplights and people looked at me, they wished they were on the back of that bike. They wished they were the one sitting on this blue beast of a vehicle. No, that's not why I miss my bike.

I don't miss my bike because it was taken from me so fast. The fact that I bought it on the 5th, registered it on the 12th, and was victim of a hit and run on the 31st. No, that's not why I miss my bike.

I don't miss my bike because I had put a few hundred extra dollars into the body or the engine. So that my repairs would make it that much better looking, or run that much smoother. No, that's not why I miss my bike.

I miss my bike because I no longer have the freedom I had before. I'm not able to get on the bike and just ride. Not to go to any particular destination, or to see any particular sights. Not to get to work or come home... but the freedom. The fact I could do any of those things, or none of them. The fact that I if I wanted to... I could ride, just to ride, and for no other reason at all.

That is exactly why I miss my bike.

10 reasons why I hate insurance companies

Facts I learned today:

1) My bike is a total loss
2) State Farm's "Total Loss Claims Department" doesn't have my bike's value at the moment
3) Until they value my bike, they can't create a check
4) Until they get my title to the bike, they cannot send out the check to me
5) NYS DMV has not yet sent me my new title to the bike I registered back on 8/12/08
6) The $4,000 R6 Raven I was looking at in South Jersey was sold (behind my back), I was notified after the sale was completed
7) The $4,500 R6 Raven I was looking at in Long Island has 5 people looking at it tomorrow
8) Every other bike I have looked at under $4,000 in the past week has been a fake from the scammers
9) Without that check I am constantly missing out on good deals
10) The district surgeon today told me to stay out of work for another 6 days until 9/15/08

I am very frustrated.

Looking better, feeeling... a lil bit better

So I still have significant pain when I go from sitting down to standing up but at least my knees are finally getting those huge scabs which means I'm closer to being healed than being hurt (if that makes any sense). Here's my daily scab update:



I've also been shopping for the most part and found 2 deals whcih I think have significant possibilities. Both are 2005 R6 Ravens (black/black/red like below). One has 11,000 miles and is going for $4,000 in South Jersey. The other has 2,900 miles and is going for $4,500 in Long Island.

At this point either would be good sale, and the only thing I am waiting on is the friggin insurance check. Oh yeah, the $4,500 one comes with 2 helmets and a jacket. Saves me a few hundred bucks getting my girlfriend a helmet! Now... to call the "Total Loss Claims Department" on an hourly basis.

Day 4, the waiting begins

Knees hurt, pretty wet today but the right one is healing pretty darn fast. The left one is a mess... and a nice painful knot has formed on my elbow with a nice purple/blue/brown bruise.



So my helmet will be replaced but not my jacket and gloves. It's better than nothing I guess... The insurance adjustor visited the bike yesterday and left, asking my mechanic no questions at all. I was told that was a good thing. The esitimate of damage was $7,640 so there wasn't much to ask. Now is a waiting game to get the check in the mail and I'm shopping for a new bike. Ebay, craigslist, cycletrader, even bike forums. Closest I've seen is an 05 R6 "Raven" (black on black with minor red accents) for about what the check insurance will be. I can find a good deal, I don't need to buy tomorrow... but I still want to...

The Raven:


At least I got my new jacket today that I ordered 3 days before I was clipped!


*the more I look at this pic the less I like it. It's a perfect fitting jacket but I pulled it up a tad at the waist to put my hands in my pockets, hence giving me quite a... "rotund" look in the thoraxial area. Put blundtly... I'm not as fat as this pic makes me look.

Egad!*

*Direct quote from Keith R.

Total repairs to the bike will cost $7,640 and an additional $960 for labor. I think they may total it...

Taken away on a stretcher...

Had The Blue Bullet towed today. Cost me $165 to tow the bitch! What a rip off, I mean it went from 135 St to 95 St... Ugh. I towed it to:

Speed Motorcycles (917) 492-1573 324 E. 95th St, New York, NY (Ask for Manuel or Willy)

Doesn't look so bad from this side...


Even this side looks like scrapes and bent handlebars


Both engine covers are thrashed


Right corner fairing/headlight/air duct was shredded


Left corner fairing/headlight/air duct was shredded as well as a cracked mid upper left fairing


Being taken away on the stretcher... The last time I may see The Blue Bullet



Found out that the bike is worth about $5,420 and the damage before labor will be in the ballpark of $5,000-$6,000. So for the most part it's going to be totalled out. If the bike is worth $5,420 and the repairs exceed that number they will just cut me a check for the value of the bike minus my $500 deductible. So pretty much I expect a check for $4,700 or so.

We started a laundry list of damaged parts

Handlebars
Misaligned Forks (possibly bent)
Clip-ons
Bar-ends
Right and Left Levers
Headlight
Air Ducts
Windshield
Mirrors
Front Mounting Bracket Stay
Upper and Lower Triples
Entire Fairing Set
Gas Tank
Driver and Passenger Seats
Taillight
Engine Covers
Frame Sliders
Oil Filler Cap
Left and Right Rear Sets
Yoshimura RS-3 Exhaust
Passenger Pegs Frame
Both Rims
Left Swingarm

The Day After

So first off, the knees hurt quite a bit. Got my drugs and my dressings, but they still hurt like a bitch. Lots of Bacatracin and not bending my knees is the forecast for the next few days...

Such a lovely sight, isn't it?


already starting to get a knot and a nice bruise on the right elbow and hip area...


Have to go back to the doctor on the 9th and see how the healing is going. Until then, I am off work and sitting on my ass trying to arrange the insurance claim (and play alot of PS3!). Concerning the claim I found out a few good things:

1) I have full comprehensive and collision coverage.
2) If totaled out, the bike should be valued around $5,200.
3) The helmet will be covered, but not the jacket or gloves.

We'll see how things work out, tomorrow I have to have it towed and then have the estimate done, both which will be coming out of my pocket. I'm going to let the adjuster know this and see if he/she can add these numbers in on the backend so that I don't have to foot these charges.

Fine way to start out...

Here you can see that when the handlebars are lined up to 9:00 and 3:00 the front wheel is pointed towards 1:00 which means the forks are either bent or popped out of place.


This is what the handlebars look like when the front wheel is pointed straight ahead...


Right side engine case got pretty scraped up but no oil leaking from it so the integrity of the engine (for the time being) looks relatively ok.


Lots of scrapes and rash to the upper fairing and a crack right below the headlight


More of the crack and damage to the front cowl. Amazingly, no headlight damage at all!


So-called frame sliders completely shattered and all that's left is the mounting bolts on both sides.


The right side of the bike, you can see this side lost the frame slider as well. Snapped the metal right in half.


Surprisingly this side took a different type of damage than the left. The right side still took rash to the fairings and the engine case, but it also lost it's mirror and the front brake lever. I assume that the bike went down on the left side but at some point the bike spun and landed on the front/right side.


Left clip-on and handlebar is shot, all the buttons and controls work luckily.


The can took a hit but there was rash and a dent there from the previous owner's slide so I'm not too concerned about that. No holes were found and the exhaust sounded pretty good so not too worried about the muffler.


Here you can see that I pretty much landed on my chest, stomach and elbows. The jacket got trashed, though. Both pockets have holes, scrapes to the arms and rivets on the inside that tighten the sleeves all snapped off.


My poor helmet... The shield is replaceable but the helmet is scarred. About 3 inches wide by about 1.5 inches tall. If I had no helmet last night I'd have no jaw this afternoon.


I must have rolled at some point because the right side of my helmet is gashed but the left side of my body and bike took the most damage. Gloves came out perfect, just a few seams torn in the right hand. Shoes got mangled as evidenced in the picture below this one.



Significant rash to my knees. Could have been a lot worse.
(Before)


(After)


I got hit by one of these fuckers.