Need your inputs please.

[Bluehaze]

So insurance is going to pay for my motorcycle crash.

I sent it off to a dealer to get an estimate. However, they found that the "handlebar stop" for the right side is gone. I am not sure the exact name of it.. its the stop that wont allow your handlebar to hit the tank when you turn it all the way.  That is gone. Because of that, they are saying they are going to say that its totaled. 

I think my bike is totally fine except for appearance issues and a busted handlebar stop.  Is that easy to fix?

If they decide to total it.. and they i buy my bike back from the insurance company.  Is there complications because i am making payments on this.. thus i dont really own the bike?

From reading other threads on this.. it would seem that my title would show salvage from now on.. thus in washington i would need to make it street legal again?

[jp]

The bike will probably be totaled, not necessarilly because it's unrideable, but because the cost to fix everything is too high compared to the value of the bike. If you can work on it yourself, ask what the cost to buy it would be. The insurance company will deduct that from the check they write to replace the bike. It may not be worth the trouble though, if you're still making payments. If you have a loan on the bike, you don't really own it, the lender does; at least until you finish making payments. If you want to buy the bike and fix it, the loan company will want the loan paid off. If the bike's value is high enough, and the amount to buy it is low enough, you may be able to swing keeping the bike if you have enough cash handy. The advantage is that you would have the bike free and clear, without a loan. The disadvantage is that you would have a bike with a salvage title, which is never worth as much as one with a regular title. I came out alright buying my 1980 GS750 after an accident, but there was no loan on the bike. If there was any kind of loan, I probably wouldn't have been able to swing the deal.

Take the list of parts that need replacing and start pricing on fleabay. Ask what the cost to buy it is, and what the payoff on the loan is. Do the math, and see what makes the most sence.

[bill14224]

jp has some good advice and I mostly concur.  If you total the bike through your insurance they will pay the loan off and give you the difference if there is any.  Then you can buy the bike back for a few hundred and fix it.  But, if the damage isn't severe you can get if fixed yourself and not total the bike and just keep making the payments.  The advantage to doing it this way is your record will be cleaner and your rate won't go up.  If you owe a lot on the bike you may as well total it and take your lumps in the future if they come.

Having a new handlebar stop welded to your frame won't be expensive or difficult for any competent welder.  Best of luck.

[Gary856]

Having a new handlebar stop welded to your frame won't be expensive or difficult for any competent welder.  Best of luck.

My handlebar stop got kind of bent from a lowside, so now the handlebar turns a little farther to the right, and wouldn't turn far enough to the left to lock. I guess the welding itself isn't expensive/difficult, but the strip down and put back of parts in preparation for the weld is time consuming -> expensive if a shop does it for you. 

[The Buddha]

So insurance is going to pay for my motorcycle crash.

I sent it off to a dealer to get an estimate. However, they found that the "handlebar stop" for the right side is gone. I am not sure the exact name of it.. its the stop that wont allow your handlebar to hit the tank when you turn it all the way.  That is gone. Because of that, they are saying they are going to say that its totaled. 

I think my bike is totally fine except for appearance issues and a busted handlebar stop.  Is that easy to fix?

If they decide to total it.. and they i buy my bike back from the insurance company.  Is there complications because i am making payments on this.. thus i dont really own the bike?

From reading other threads on this.. it would seem that my title would show salvage from now on.. thus in washington i would need to make it street legal again?

Tie a chunk of car tar to the lower triple where the leg bolts are. That will catch the frame and you can use that.
Lock not working ... cant see how a broken steering stop can cause that. You may have to find the position in a larger range of positions, but cant see how it will not get over far enough to reach it.
Cool.
Buddha.

[Ry_Guy]

So insurance is going to pay for my motorcycle crash.

I sent it off to a dealer to get an estimate. However, they found that the "handlebar stop" for the right side is gone. I am not sure the exact name of it.. its the stop that wont allow your handlebar to hit the tank when you turn it all the way.  That is gone. Because of that, they are saying they are going to say that its totaled. 

I think my bike is totally fine except for appearance issues and a busted handlebar stop.  Is that easy to fix?

If they decide to total it.. and they i buy my bike back from the insurance company.  Is there complications because i am making payments on this.. thus i dont really own the bike?

From reading other threads on this.. it would seem that my title would show salvage from now on.. thus in washington i would need to make it street legal again?

Tie a chunk of car tar to the lower triple where the leg bolts are. That will catch the frame and you can use that.
Lock not working ... cant see how a broken steering stop can cause that. You may have to find the position in a larger range of positions, but cant see how it will not get over far enough to reach it.
Cool.
Buddha.

I like the way you think, Buddha 

[bill14224]

[/quote]My handlebar stop got kind of bent from a lowside, so now the handlebar turns a little farther to the right, and wouldn't turn far enough to the left to lock. I guess the welding itself isn't expensive/difficult, but the strip down and put back of parts in preparation for the weld is time consuming -> expensive if a shop does it for you. 
[/quote]

Yes it would, Gary.  My advice was based on the assumption that any dis-assembly/re-assembly would be done by the owner.  Taking a front end apart isn't hard.  Anyone can do it with basic tools.  I don't take engines apart but wheels, front ends, brakes, suspension, etc, is a snap.

If your stop is only bent you can straighten it, and I agree with Buddha.  A bent stop won't stop the bars from turning the other way.  That doesn't make sense to me either.