Ok, three weeks ago to the day, I went down. TXDOT decided to throw down the loose pack asphalt in the middle of the second of back to back 90°'s that are on my regular afternoon commute, literally ridden 1000s of times. (Absolutely NO warning signs of loose gravel or construction, whatsoever.) The back end came loose but I was able to keep the bike from going down on the road surface, kept shaving speed and correcting for all the loose gravel, well just as I thought I would keep her up right, I hit the even softer shoulder, traversed into the bar-ditch and both the bike and I took a face plant in the bottom of the ditch on the side of the road.

Aftermath
Me: broken humeral head (shoulder), bent pride (repairable)
Bike - $12.5 K damage...frame damage, custom paint on fairing trashed.

As a Firefighter, I've seen a lot bad stuff happen to Riders and I will happily accept the outcome I had, versus "what coulda happened".

Progressive decides not to total the bike and she's currently being worked over at the dealer.

I'm very concerned about my dealer basically doing a frame up rebuild on the bike, I'm concerned she'll never be the same. I would've rather they just totaled it.

Anyone have this amount of damage or frame replacement repaired before, comments? Am I just being paranoid?

 

I have a couple of friends that buy totaled bikes and rebuild them from the ground up. They both ride dressers that have been done this way and are happy with them. I don't think you should have anything to worry about as long as you have a good dealer. Glad it was just your shoulder and not any worse. Good that you took pictures of the road, they should have had warning signs out.

 

Man, that sucks ***. At least your somewhat ok.

 

Pretty sure I would have to see an attorney .

 

+ 1, maybe you can get something out of the count/city, they should have had some type of warning. Glad to see you are somewhat OK.

 

Glad to hear you're ok bud. Bike doesn't look like $12.5k in damage, from that picture. But hell, custom paint alone ain't cheap.

I would definitely seek the advice of an attorney. The city/county has a responsibility to warn of adverse conditions like that. Seems like they were being negligent.

 

I was involved in a bad accident in 2006. A woman, making a left, cut in front of me. Suffered a fracture pelvis.
The bike had almost 10K in damage but the insurance company would not total it. The bike was rebuilt at the dealer, new frame etc. I think the motor and trans, rear wheel left saddle bag and seat were among the only original parts. The bottom line is that you will never know the bike was reassembled. They did a good job.

 

I'm with all the above post, glad to see you are here to tell the story, I would want the bike totaled also, they may fix it, but like you, I doubt it will ever be the same, and I would've had an attorney before I left the scene of the accident, and definetly would have pics, time and date stamped.

 

In my case, i fought to NOT total it. $21,000 in damages. Enjoy the rebuild process, and change around your parts.

Glad youre healing. The only thing original left on mine is the main frame, forks, and motor/trans.

 

The highway dept should have put up a caution sign. You probably have a case.