New and here was my bike :(

GoldenMotor.com

Super

New Member
Sep 19, 2011
39
0
0
Texas
Well I been around here since I got my bike 4 months ago. But I only just now registered because I had no reason to post before. This forum is so informative I never needed to post.

Well last Friday I was traveling down the main road in town and a woman turn in front of me while I was traveling like 25 mi/hr. I flew over the car. But don't worry, besides from being a little banged up and sore, I'm Okay. The before and after pictures are below.

What I'm asking of you readers is suggestions on what to buy next. I bought GRUBEE 2010 SkyHawk GT5 66cc/80cc Angle Fire Slant Head Bicycle Engine Kit, with the upgrade carb and from kingsmotorbikes.com. First let me tell you a little about my experience with this setup I had.

As I'm sure most of you know the kits come with cheap parts. I had to replace my clutch cable the first day. I had tons of issues with the CNS carb that I paid $20 extra for. The throttle cable broke right before the crash. I found out then that you can't just replace the cable you have to buy the whole throttle assembly. I ended up rigging a break lever from my throttle.

So what I'm getting out is I wasn't all to happy with the performance of my bike set up. It was a rough ride(tons of vibrations at high rpms). The carb leaked gas constantly, because the gas on/off valve didn't work. I went though a set of wheel bearings in 4 months. I don't know if this is normal, though. I never could get it to not bog down while trying to accelerate fast. I always had to ease it up to high rpm's while the clutch was engaged.

So, if you had to start over and had about $600-$800 to work with, what would you get? The $600-$800 is what I hope to get from the insurance claim. Which brings me to another question. Has this happend to anyone you know of before. What should I expect from the insurance company. The police man said I could charge $60 an hour for the labor in rebuilding it. Friends tell me to ask for like $2000. I don't want to be greedy but I do want whats owed to me. What are your thoughts on this and the rest? Thank you all and nice to finally meet you all on here.

Newly bought bike, outside Walmart.


Newly built.


After the accident.


 
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Dan

Staff
May 25, 2008
12,765
115
48
58
Moosylvania
Howdy Super. Glad ta meet you and bummer about your crash. sux.

I personally have no experience with dealing with your situation. I would suggest your time is worth some thing and is not being greedy asking to be compensated for what you have invested. Time and money. This had come up way back with another member. The insurance co. could not figure out how to deal with it and they bought him a Whizzer. (which cracked me up) But got me thinking that if ever in the same positon, I would ask for time spent building X my hourly wage at work + the cost to replace every thing. Or the coolest Whizzer I could find, snork.

Just glad to hear your OK!

But I'm sure some one will have some experience with your situation. Please post how ya do with every thing and new build.
 

thegnu

New Member
Sep 15, 2011
982
1
0
freedom pa
ins. co's will want to see good documentation so I hope you have good reciepts shipping costs ect, an most assuredly they wont know how to deal with this , which raises a good question for me is checking to see if a bike such as that even be insured or should it be , but stick to your guns an good luck .
 

Jumpa

New Member
Aug 12, 2011
607
2
0
Cape Cod
I'm so glad you didn't get hurt, if that was me I'd be a dead man I weigh 270 lbs and am 6'4" tall fair to say I wouldn't "Fly" well Id put a nice dent in her car I couldn't help but crack up as you tell the story "I flew over the car. But don't worry, besides from being a little banged up and sore, I'm Okay" that part had me in tears seriously glad your OK!!.
 

Super

New Member
Sep 19, 2011
39
0
0
Texas
Are Whizzers any good? Honestly, never heard of them before.

...and thanks for your concern everyone.
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
175
63
Littleton, Colorado
Strange thing happened. Hours after you posted and I approved it, a second post, a duplicate appeared in the moderator's approval section. I deleted it as a duplicate of the first. Your first post went away. This was an error and I have restored your first post.
Very sorry for the mixup. Never had that happen before.
Tom
 

GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
5,104
11
38
San Diego, Kaliforgnia
Welcome to the forum!
Sorry to hear that you played Superman over a car.
Very glad to hear that you walked away from it with minor injuries!

You certainly should get reimbursed in full for the damages to the bike and yourself!
If you want to claim for build time (or rebuild time in this case...) then I agree, you will want all receipts for all parts involved in the build as well as a detailed repair invoice listing the individual times involved in installing or fabricating the parts. Each and every step along the way.
The more detailed it is the better your chances are of getting your claim paid in full.
I have done 100+ insurance claims repairing Harleys over the years.
The devil is in the details, and the details pay handsomely!
Remember that the insurance adjuster is there to both insure that there is no "funny business" going on with the repairs and also to "adjust" the claim for as little of a payout from the insurance company as possible.
Leave no doubt in the adjusters mind that everything claimed is accounted for and irrefutable.
 

biknut

Well-Known Member
Sep 28, 2010
6,631
409
83
Dallas
Hi super, welcome to the forum from Dallas. Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I've heard though, that any landing you can walk away from is a good one. I doubt you were thinking that at the time though lol. Glad you're alright.

Just afew thoughts. The insurance company will feel lucky to get out with only $2000. If they don't agree, just mention your neck has been feeling a little funny lately, and see how fast they change their tune.

As far as Whizzer's, in Texas they are recognized by the Texas DOT, so you'll need to register it, get insurance, and have a MC license to ride it on the street.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
 

CTripps

Active Member
Aug 22, 2011
1,310
1
38
Vancouver, B.C.
Yeah, any landing you can walk away from...
Glad to hear you're okay, considering how the bike looks.. Are you able to harvest parts off the bike or have the insurance types taken it away to write it off?

I don't know what local laws cover for you there, but $2k is a good place to start for a settlement IMHO. It sounds like the driver was 'at fault' (or would be here, but they may think differently where you are). Factor in:
* Cost of replacing the bike, cost of the motor kit and anything equipped (all charges, including shipping fees, bike accessories and even how much gas was in it),
* Labour time for the build (and maintenance/tweaking etc) at a rate per hour similar to any other specialized installer/mechanic would charge (after all, these aren't common machines yet).
* Any medical expenses, even if you only picked up a bottle of Tylenol and some band aids. (Around here I'm told you can add $3k-$5k per time you went to physiotherapy or something related, if you have a lawyer)
* Any clothing you were wearing that got ripped up or otherwise abused badly,
* Any expenses incurred for travelling that you would normally have considered riding for (cab fees, transit passes, gas and insurance for another vehicle, etc)
* Lost wages, if applicable, from being too sore to work comfortably,
* And of course, the ever popular "Pain and Suffering" figure, as I'll bet it'll be at least a few days before you're walking normally, and can easily do everything you did before the crash.

That's my 2 cents worth, anyway. Hope you're feeling better, and I hope you can get rebuilt and rolling again soon.
 

thegnu

New Member
Sep 15, 2011
982
1
0
freedom pa
Wow I just thought I would raise a few good points to help out , but CTripps preety well covered ALL the bases .
HEY CTripps you an attourny ? hehehe
 

CTripps

Active Member
Aug 22, 2011
1,310
1
38
Vancouver, B.C.
No, no, I'm not one of those folks... er, no offense to anyone struck with the affliction or related to one... ;) There are those who are good at that sort of thing, but it's not my thing. (And hey, it's only taken me most of 4 decades to learn when to leave things to those that are better at them than I am :)).

Last August (pre-motorizing) someone ran a stop sign and took my bike out from under me (hit just behind my leg on the right chainstay of the bike), and then a few months after that my wife got a "door prize" as we call 'em here on here e-bike (written off, she got a broken hand and roughed up a bit by it).. I didn't talk to a lawyer, just took a settlement but she's doing the consult-a-lawyer thing. I should have, now that I realise what I could have gotten out of it instead of the offer the Insurance people made me but as I took it the door is closed now for me to claim anything else.
 
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thegnu

New Member
Sep 15, 2011
982
1
0
freedom pa
Wow ,the things we learn in hindsight - go figure .But I figured I'd rattle your cage a lil because you really nailed it .
Nice to have met ya.