Had to lay the bike down...

[scionic-breeze]

I was coming home from my parents, at night. It's about a 1.5 hr trip. I was 15-20 minutes away from my house. A state trooper had the main road closed for an accident, so I took a back road that ran parallel, else I would have had to add nearly an hour onto my trip. I don't particular like the back road because it's hilly, curvy and full of deer. I love hilly & curvy roads, but given that it's hunting season and the last several times I have been on the road, I have seen deer, I was a little paranoid. I was going 35mph, 5mph under the limit, and was just cresting a small hill. I saw headlights as I was going up the hill, but assumed they were in their lane. As I came over the hill, I saw 3 deer in the on coming traffic lane and headlines coming toward me in my lane. I quickly went off the road to avoid a collision with either obstacle, but the shoulder was grass (wet from dew) and on a downward incline. I lost control and had to lay the bike down.

Fortunately, it was on the left hand side, so I spared my 2 Brothers exhaust, but I scratched the panels up, bent the footpeg, handlebars, broke my turn signal, front crow, and put a small dent in my gas tank. I also fractured my thumb, since the handlebar flew back and took my thumb with it. I was wearing full riding gear, but I was very sore the next day. I'm confident it would have been a lot worse, had a hit the deer or car, but I'm still upset.

I'm undecided whether to run it through insurance or not. I have an extra left big panel (the one with the design) but I would need to buy all other scratched/broken panels. We think we can pop the dent out on the tank, but it's gonna need some paint. Footpegs, turn signals and handlebars aren't that bad. What has everyone else done in my situation? I'm afraid my rates will go up, and cause me to spend extra money over a prolonged period of time, so what would the difference really be, besides when I spend the money?

 

[Doncan]

Sorry to hear about your accident and glad that overall you are ok. I would sugest you to call your insurance company first, explain them what happened and to give you their advise. Another thing; did you make a police report of it ?? Based on your testimony it sounds like a non-preventable accident and you should be not at fault so insurance rate shouldn't go up depending also on how many claims you had before...

 

[scionic-breeze]

That's a good point, thanks. I did not get a police report. The car that was in my lane kept going (you can't tell me they didn't see my headlights veer off the road and then disappear). Since it was nothing but my word, I didn't bother calling the police. I picked my bike up, inspected it, and decided it was in good enough condition to ride home. Fortunately, my handlebars weren't bent down, just back slightly on the left hand side and my foot peg was just angled a little downward. I did have frame sliders on the bike, and I think they did help absorb a lot of the crash. My helmet was also scratched up pretty good. I live very close to the DE line and riders there do not have to wear a helmet (just have it available on the bike somewhere). I could never understand the point of riding without a helmet!

 

[romulan]

Sorry to hear about the crash. If your helmet took some damage you may want to replace that as well or at least have it checked by the manufacturer. It may sound a little extreme but better safe than sorry'

 

[bakkenlab]

defiantly call the insurance company, never hurts! i hit a deer going 30 mph and cracked my front cowling in 2 places. Called insurance and told them what happened and since i wasn't at fault my rates didn't go up.

I was thinking of doing the same thing that you are and just fixing it myself, but once i tried i noticed i didn't have the tools or the expertise to do so, so i brought it to the shop and they estimated 1600 in damage!!! With only cracking my front cowling. Had a 250 deductible so everything worked out in the end.

I had state farm so others might be different but its always worth a shot! Glad your ok and hope you get back to riding before winter hits!

 

[Rawknrohl]

It's generally unnecessary to report an accident to the police in order to make an insurance claim, if the insurance company asks why it was not reported just say it was a private road/private property(such accidents do not require a police report). When you get insurance or change companies, it's your driving record that follows you, not insurance claims (even though they like to make you think otherwise). So if you can get it taken care of by them, the worst case is they raise your rates and you are forced to change companies to someone who has no record of that accident. I've dealt with this before, with my car not my bike, luckily. Good luck!

 

[MNGreg]

Sorry to hear about the incident, but glad to hear that you are ok for the most part.

It is tricky. The blinker, handlebard and footpegs are relatively cheap, but the cowling/fairings are pricey, add in a potential helmet, and you could be looking at some large costs. However, what you said, might want to go to a shop and either pay for or get a free inspection to make sure that there isn't any hidden damage that could be a safety issue. You can always save $ by getting the estimate, have them fix what you don't feel comfortable with, then do other things on you own like the bars etc.. And save the labor. That way also you know if insurance may total it or not. GOOD LUCK AND BEST WISHES ON THE REPAIRS.

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