Bike "Totaled"

[Jay Loeppke]

Well ,totaled it probably is.  But it only had liability .   Still  
rides and drives ok,  I was planning on giving it to him  anyway.  Now  
he can hunt for parts if he wants to .   His  bike (which I gave him a  
couple of years ago, we were just swapping for a month, he's 24), is  
another cherry bike.  Its a flawless 85 Yamaha XJ700X (Maxim X), 12K  
on it.  I guess I will get that one back and probably sell it.   I  
also have another bike, custom built KLR650.     Your right Steve,  
about the totaled vehicales.  I have lived with salvaged cars for the  
last 20+yrs.  I would have them rebuilt for the most part, I would do  
some small items, do the paper work put lots of miles on them then  
sell them.  Our family puts on a ton of miles.  It has saved me  
bundles. My KLR was the easiest by far though.  I just bought a frame  
with a title (was wrecked but the owner still held the title) and  
built this thing from the frame up with scavenged parts and  
aftermarket parts.  Price was about the same as buying it whole (2001  
frame with a 05 motor), but I had fun,  and learned alot.
I have located the right exhaust and engine case (stator side cover)  
for him.  He found a used complete signal light, the plastic will take  
time.  Needs a lower R and upper cowling.  Its still in one piece,  
just looks like hell.
On Oct 8, 2008, at 9:17 PM, Steve Northrop wrote:

> Once totaled, a vehicle must pass a state roadworthiness inspection  
> before it can be titled and registered again. The title will be a  
> rebuilt or salvage title. This will obviously affect the resale  
> value of the bike. The inspection process is a pain in the ass too.  
> I bought a crashed stolen recovery bike and went through all this.  
> I'll never do it again.
>
> Steve in Western NY
> '96 GPZ1100
> '08 KLR 650
> "You Can't Fix Stupid", Ron White
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Reckinger"  
> <marque at copper.net>
> To: <gpzlist at micapeak.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2008 10:08 PM
> Subject: Bike "Totaled"
>
>
>> So, my #1 son dumped his 95 GPZ on a muddy stretch of driveway. Low
>> speed but lots of scraped paint / pipes and a bent rear brake  
>> lever. He
>> ran it through the State Farm claims process and just got word that  
>> the
>> repair estimate comes to $4000! I expect that they'll consider it
>> totaled and will buy it. For how much, I don't know. Kelly's puts  
>> it at
>> $3050. NADA doesn't even show it. Anyway, I expect there will be a  
>> "buy
>> back" option. My question is, does anyone have any experience with  
>> this
>> process? He's not averse to buying it back but it may make more  
>> sense to
>> let it go and look for a lower mile version later. So, if you've been
>> through one of these processes, any personal experiences or tips  
>> would
>> be appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Mark R
>