To set the scene in the beginning...

Last Friday, while at work, some noob driver somehow got his car into the dedicated motorcycle parking section of the car park, and backed into my 05f  . My baby landed across the square edge of the gutter (which oddly enough, saved it from more damage). Total damage was contained to the fairings, both LH blinkers, slightly bent clutch lever, and a slightly damaged rear fender. Nothing really physically wrong with the bike, and I rode it home fine (apart from the front blinker that was turning around from being loose.

Well, today I took it to the dealer for a repair quote, which nearly sent me into atrial fibrillation! $3125 to repair it... just short of being written off! And there's really nothing wrong with it (apart from the fairings)















From what I can tell, she must have almost bounced on the fairings, which kept the rest of the frame free from damage. Had it been neked, the gutter would have impacted nicely across the upper frame and fuel tank, which the company would have almost instantly written off

I just miss riding her already, as I'm not really meant to ride it until everything is sorted out and repaired

(Well to be honest, the quote did include replacing the exhaust which has a teeny scratch on it from when i dropped it on the day it was delivered. It shouldn't be part of the claim, and basically you can only see the scratch from about 2' away, which I can live with, but still )

Sorry to hear about your bike.  Don't have the dealer fix it.  You can order all the parts you need online cheaper and just install it yourself.   The front fairings come pre-painted white all you have todo is add the decals, then bolt it back on.

The rear cowling don't look bad at all.  Get some sand papper and sand the scratches out.  Get some paint that matches your bike ( http://www.colorrite.com/ ) will have the right color.  Paint it yourself.  Then put it back on.

See how your turn signals are installed.  I'm about 100% that you put them back on without haveing to buy new ones.  ( I think it's a crash feature but then the front turn signals hit the ground they just come out of hole)  You will need to remove them, make sure the parts are ok then re-install them.  Will still have scratches but better than paying for new ones.

For your exhaust if you are going to replace it might as well upgrade.  There are several options now.  Mak's making some exhaust for the GS, Sinrath might have some flanges left, or you can buy the Jardine exhaust.

Shift lever is cheap around $8.00 online.  Just get a new one and install it yourself.  Or remove the bent one are try and bend it back.

The quote you got is probally mostly for labor chargers, those add up in a hurry.  New decals and fairing will probally set you back about $200.

S4

Quote from: Wrecent_Wryder on July 04, 2006, 09:04:29 AM
Sorry to hear.

IMHO, we're all being taken to the cleaners. This is the new business model, shroud all the bikes in fragile, brittle plastic so that it's inevitable that there will be a lot of breakage, then charge outrageous amounts for replacement. If you paid the dealer that, there's little doubt that both the dealer and manufacturer would make more profit off of it than they would selling a brand-new bike. The're licking their lips and wringing their hands hoping you'll come back. What possible incentive have they got to even consider more durable alternatives?

Actually, bikes are shrouded in plastic because they are (USUALLY) race replica bikes. Race bikes have them there for many reasons. Firstly, the wind protection and aerodynamic advantage is plainly obvious, especially compared to naked bikes. Second, if a race bike goes down it slides along the ground on the plastics. If it wasn't doing that it'd be sliding along on the engine casings. What's cheaper, some plastic or a whole new engine? If a race bike crashes it's designed to be cheap and easy to fix, relative to the rest of the bike of course. Replace the plastics and tank if its busted, throw it back on the track. If it was a naked bike they'd have to replace engine components and hope that the engine mounts wern't damaged and that the frame wasn't dented.

3d

If I were you I'd let them declair it a salvage vehicle, take a couple hundred bucks to keep it and repair it. Then spend the grand or so you have left over on a naked GS.

-ash

Fairing repair/paintwork/plastic welding companies are ten a penny over here in the UK, so there must be someone reasonably local to you who can repair and repaint your fairing for a fraction of the replacement cost. Try a websearch. This link shows approximate repair prices here in the UK.
http://www.finishlinemc.co.uk/finishline_motorcycles__motorcycle_accident_and_paintwork_repairs.htm

Bondo and spraypaint.. that's all there is to it!

That quote is preposterous, a few hundred dollars and a saturday afternoon will have your baby in perfect shape again.

Time for an update... I forgot to mention that the prices were in AUS$, so it isn't as bad as it would sound for our US friends.

Basically it's going through his insurance, so they can pay it all. Had I done the damage myself, I'd definately would be buying the parts from the US.

As far as converting to neked.... I love that I can ride in full rain, and my pants stay dry apart from a little patch on my knee. My bro-in-law on the other hand... first sign of rain, and he's soaked already 

Quote from: Wrecent_Wryder on July 04, 2006, 12:36:22 PM
I understand the purpose of fairings, I know their advantages... but I also understand that the economics of racing has little to do with real-world transportation. The benefits for racing do nothing to justify $3,125 to replace the mostly-decorative plastic shrouding on a $5k bike.  How much did the price of a new GS jump in '04 (faired) from '02 (unfaired)? How much of the price of the bike do you really think is in the fairings? I'm guessing, to the manufacturer, in the quantities they deal with, it's less than $100. But maybe I'm way off. Maybe it's twice that. Somebody is making real money by keeping bikes faired, and by keeping the fairings both expensive and fragile.

I personally have some philosophical and practical reservations about fairings for street bikes. Motorcycling by it's very nature is about being NOT being "in" a vehicle, not being enclosed, not being caged.. but the whole concept of fairings is taking a step back from all that, a retreat from the exposure that is the essence of the experience. Sure, it's more comfortable on the highway- so is an Oldsmobile. As the people who drive to a campsite in a huge RV to sit in air conditioning and watch a color TV inside and ignore the world outside seem to be missing at least part of the point of camping, I can't help but feel that those going down the highway wrapped in a fiberglass shell are missing at least part of the point of motorcycling.

Well, that's just me, and there's no chance of my opinion becoming prevalent.. but, my guess is that as long as there are plenty of people willing to pay absurd amounts of money to try to look like they just took a few minutes off from the racetrack on the way to and from their local Starbucks, the manufacturers and dealers will keep right on gouging for it.

MSRP in '04 was $4999, a $600 increase in price from the '02 model.

And I agree with you. That's why I went stripped mine off. It looks better too, and is more of the "pure" essence of motorcycling, IMO. People like the fairings though. They think it looks cool. They are f%$king tools.