Saturday, first in line at a red light waiting to proceed straight ahead. 18-wheeler comes from my right, makes left turn into two-lane road I'm on. Truck cuts corner a little too sharply and something (I never saw what) protruding from the truck catches my left engine guard and bends it back flat against the floorboard, pulling the bike to the left and causing it to fall to the right. Right crash bar folds forward as bike is moving slightly backward. Rider (me) never leaves his feet, simply steps off bike after shutting down engine. Light turns green, traffic streams around me, no one stops to help. I get to try out the bike lift maneuver (put down side stand, back up to bike seat, grip seat rail with right hand, handlebar with left, walk the bike up with legs), and it works as advertised with an 800-pound bike for this 67-year-old 160-pounder.

Being only a mile or so from a HD dealer I ride the bike over (a little hard to shift with crash bar against footboard but I have small feet) and have them remove the now weird-looking crash bar. Other than a scrape underneath the Fatcat pipe there is NO other damage to the bike or to me. Nothing. Not a single scratch anywhere.

EXCEPT!! As you can see from the picture, the frame tab is bent out of shape, and what cant be seen in the pic is that it's also cracked enough from the top to the center hole to catch a fingernail.

The dealer says to put in an insurance claim and they may even total the bike ('06 FLSTCI). Another dealer (my own, where I stopped on the way home) says to forget about it: buy another crash bar and they'll straighten out the frame tab.

I do NOT want to total the bike, which I've had for 5 years since new and on which I have lavished much time, effort and money. I'm also not looking to make any money off the accident with a "Total It and Buy It Back" kind of deal -- I don't need or want the aggravation. On the other hand, I can see that it would require quite a bit of torque to the frame to bend the tab to that degree, and I'm very leery about setting out on a planned 2500-mile trip with a suspect frame.

So, what does the forum's collective wisdom say? File a claim (Geico) or let my dealer straighten the tab, slap on a new crash bar, and just ride?

 

I'm gonna have to go with filing a claim bro

 

Man that bites. I see the crack in the pic. You gotta remember that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. check that frame good. Let us know how things turn out for you.

 

First things first, glad you are alright. Did you catch the driver, or at least a tag number? It's admirable that you don't want to make a claim where there might not be one. If you caught the driver, put a claim against his insurance.

Regarding the repairs, or total. Anytime that part of the frame is bent, it may effect other parts. I would have the frame inspected, and make sure that it is not out of spec. Since the frame integrity is dependent on holding the bike together, I would not opt for just straightening the tab. If the frame checks out OK, have the tab cut out, and replaced, and welded in. Bent metal will fatigue.

 

not liking that. That tab is connected to both downtubes and if it bends out like it has the change in the length of that tab is going to come from somewhere.

Don't suppose anyone got the name of the trucking co.? oh yeah .. nobody stopped. people suck sometimes.

 

If there are no ill effects to the handling and the frame downtubes are not bent..I would just fix the tab and move on.

 

I would straighten it, put on new crash bars and ride.....

 

How much is your deductible?

A $500 deductible would have me leaving the insurance out of the picture.
Hammer it back and bolt on a new crash bar.

Getting the first Dealer to total it (he sounded willing to play that game), would open up huge opportunities for upgrades. But borderline sneaky and ethically wrong. (not that I wouldn't consider it an option). LOL

 

A bit of a dilemma indeed OBP.

If it were my scoot, I’d probably heed the advice of my own dealer and let them repair it. I don’t think the tab is a significant factor in frame rigidity.

The only concern I would have is possible powder coat paint damage from the heating/welding repair work to the tab and its frame abutment areas. Maybe your dealer can advise you of this concern.

Bottom line: I wouldn’t total my scoot for what I consider minimal damage such as yours. I can see your point, though, regarding “time, effort and money”. I’ve got a lot of costly goodies, sweat, cuss words and scrapped knuckles invested in my scoot too...

 

Get the tab fixed and go your merry way. It's not that serious.