Wilsons Sandbox

Posted: **Fri Jun 10, 2011 2:29 pm**

Hanging out at a local shop too much (!), I hear a lot of the ups and downs of repair coverages. Some ins. agencies just don't "get it" when it comes to the time it takes to replace certain parts. 45 minutes to replace a sadllebag assembly on a GL1800? Ain't happening. Other things make me question their abilities, too. Recently, a detective friend had a fairly minor lowside on his 10 year old(?) ZRX1100 standard. The gas tank, pegs, engine case cover, signals, bars, control levers on one side were scuffed up. So, was the instrument cluster + the small 1/4 fairing (OEM). When the Progressive rep came by to go over the write up he'd done, the figures he gave for certain parts seemed "off' to the shop owner. As an example, he asked about the $ for the instruments and the agent actually said they didn't have that make/model bike listed in their software, so he went off a different motorcycle !! To make things more confusing, Progessive had already sent the officer a check for just over $2000. After going over the bike again, they totaled for at like $1300. When I heard this, I didn't understand. I asked and the mechanic couldn't answer it, either. The bad part is the bike was actually rideable. With some time and effort in a salvage yard, it could be again. But, a wrecker came and got it and it's gone. I haven't heard the rest of the details and am very curious hwo the money thing worked out. eddie [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Posted: **Fri Jun 10, 2011 3:02 pm**

I had an insurance agent tell me once, when I dumped my KLR, that "bikes are always totaled". I rode it home! But in their minds, bikes are always totaled. I think this is because bikes are basically worthless. I mean, by value. Blue Book, NADA, whatever, the value is so low as to make repairs uneconomical. So they write a check. Easy. You buy a new bike (taking a big loss on the old one, of course) and they insure it! The game continues. On that occasion I got it towed to a dealer (my ankle was in a cast the next day) and insisted on an estimate. They fixed everything, including a new front fender! A new front fender? As if the fender on a KLR 650 is worth anything at all. HA! Those fools. Anyway, it was less than the value to fix it, so they did. I paid the $1,000 deductible. The cost of repairs was barely over the deductible. And he thought it was totaled. You have to remember that if the Blue Book value is $3,500 and the deductible is $1,000, they pay you $2,500 for a totaled bike!!! That ain't much towards a new bike, but that doesn't fix much either. And they get the bike! So assuming that you bought it new, you are now required to buy somebody else's bike instead of a new one, like you started with and you don't have enough money to do it. Robert P. Wichert P.Eng LEED AP +1 916 966 9060 FAX +1 916 966 9068 ===============================================

On 6/10/2011 12:29 PM, eddie wrote: > > Hanging out at a local shop too much (!), I hear a lot of the ups and > downs of repair coverages. > Some ins. agencies just don't "get it" when it comes to the time it > takes to replace certain parts. > 45 minutes to replace a sadllebag assembly on a GL1800? Ain't happening. > Other things make me question their abilities, too. > Recently, a detective friend had a fairly minor lowside on his 10 year > old(?) ZRX1100 standard. > The gas tank, pegs, engine case cover, signals, bars, control levers > on one side were scuffed up. > So, was the instrument cluster + the small 1/4 fairing (OEM). When the > Progressive rep came by to go over the write up he'd done, > the figures he gave for certain parts seemed "off' to the shop owner. > As an example, he asked about the $ > for the instruments and the agent actually said they didn't have that > make/model bike listed in their software, so he went > off a different motorcycle !! > To make things more confusing, Progessive had already sent the officer > a check for just over $2000. > After going over the bike again, they totaled for at like $1300. When > I heard this, I didn't understand. I asked and the mechanic couldn't > answer it, either. > The bad part is the bike was actually rideable. With some time and > effort in a salvage yard, it could be again. > But, a wrecker came and got it and it's gone. I haven't heard the rest > of the details and am very curious hwo the money thing worked out. > > eddie > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Posted: **Fri Jun 10, 2011 3:55 pm**

This insurance question is very interesting. I have liability only, for $150 per year. Allow me to enthusiastically promote the virtues of old, cheap vehicles: My '95 KLR cost $1,500 two years ago and has provided me many smiles of fun. The thousands of dollars I saved over new have paid for lots of gas, a chain and sprockets, some tires, and a few farkles. If I drop the bike, I don't care-- I bought it pre-scratched. I like to buy "disposable" cars, too. I haven't had a car payment for YEARS. After my '95 Honda died at 260,000 miles, I purchased a '95 Toyota Avalon with 144,000 miles for $3,250. Yeah, it's got some hail dings. Yeah, I'll need to change the timing belt pretty soon. It'll cost me $200 in parts. But the car looks nice, rides smooth, the leather interior is great, and the oil is still gold-colored 3,000 miles after the last oil change. I'll get another 120,000 miles out of it for sure, which brings my acquisition cost per mile to about 2.7 cents. Maybe it'll got to 300,000 miles, I don't know. If I bought the car new for $32,500 and kept it for 300,000 miles, I'd be paying 11 cents a mile just to own it. Plus, I'd have a car payment, which means I'd have to carry comp and collision insurance for my lender. As it is now, I just carry liability. If someone hits me, who cares? I'll sell it for salvage and buy another $3,500 car. Cheap bike, cheap car. They both get me where I want to go, and the operating costs are low, low, low! Kevin

Posted: **Fri Jun 10, 2011 10:00 pm**

I've owned a KLR and ridden it in Moab, Baja, etc... I agree it's not the perfect DS bike, but when you have to ride 3,000kms+ of slab to get to your destination to play it's hard to think of a better bike for the $$$. I live on Vancouver Island. If I was just going to ride gravel and dirt I'd buy a different bike for sure. safe riding, Vik Banerjee threeohm@... www.thelazyrando.com

On 2011-06-10, at 7:51 PM, Jud wrote: > > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Vik Banerjee wrote: > [I live on a big, but under populated island]. > > What island? Did a plague rip through Manhattan? > > Truth be told, the bike you want is a Suzuki. DR650 or DR350 depending on terrain. The KLR will be OK, but will be a bit of a whale any time the roads get Third-Worldish, i.e. steep, rocky or sandy. Not to mention muddy. > > It gives me no joy to say this on a KLR forum, but the truth is, I own and ride all these bikes. There are places I would prefer the KLR, but I'm guessing your big, underpopulated island is not one of them. > >

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