Ducati Monster Forum

SO I crashed my Monster. I feel like the expenses to repair are going to exceed bike value. If the insurance company pays me to total the bike, will I get an option to buy it? How does this work?

Thanks

Typically yes. If the expense excedes the value they will offer the value. At that point they decide what they can get from your bike at auction and if you want it back they deduct that amount from the check they cut.

Are you OK?!  That S - U - X!

OK. Thanks. I don't know if I want to repair it or buy something else. I'm in a pinch, esp with the price of parts (i.e. my radiator was $1200!)

I came out clean but a bit sore as I had on all my gear. Basically my kickstand swung out down during riding and apparently as I was leaning slightly to the left to match the curvature of the road, the kickstand prevented such and I met Mr. Sidewalk. I flipped and rolled while the bike came surfing after me. Luckily the bike stopped before hitting me.

I love my bike and really don't want it to be shed into bits and pieces by someone who buys it at auction.

Glad to hear that you're ok. Thankfully you were wearing gear!

Question:
How did your engine remain engaged with the kickstand down? The only time that a monster (normally) will remain running with the sand down is when it's in neutral (for some model years).

Did you tamper with the safety feature at anytime?

As a bystander who is NOT an attorney, I would advise you not to answer that question  ;D

That's the bizarre thing. In my garage, from time to time I do forget to kick up the kickstand. The motor will then shut off when I place it into gear. Obviously the mechanism failed. And no I did not tamper with the function. I like the design and it prevents a dangerous situation. It's failure caused the accident. I posed the question to a Ducati serviceman regarding if the kickstand swung out during operation shouldn't it turn off the motor? He says yes.

As to whether or not you want to buy it back from the insurance company, you might want to consider what you'd get if you part out the "good" parts on ebay or somewhere similar.  Some folks even go to the trouble of disassembling the entire engine and selling all the parts individually to make a buck, and I think it often works.  Even if you sell the engine as a lump, you can still sell the electronic bits, remaining good bodywork, controls, lighting, suspension, etc.

Take an inventory of the undamaged bits, see what they're selling for, then compare 75% or 80% of that total to the insurance company's buyback number.  If you think you can make a buck, then buy the hulk.  If it's even close, then kiss it goodbye, take the check, and do what you like with your winnings.  (After all, you simply bet the insurance company you'd eventually wreck, and they were foolish enough to take that bet.   ;D)

Well I'll wait for word from the insurance company. Thanks for the advice.

Hate to hear about your accident.  I had an accident in Aug. on my Monster , I told the dealership and my insurance co. that i wanted my bike back . Its fixed and in my garage . You might have to deal w/ the insurance co. a little bit . Just because something has a scratch on it it doesnt need replacing by them , you can do that later your self . I would say talk to the shop , they more than likely will help you out to get the cost down so its not totaled

make the beast with two backs it. if you dont own it, id total it out if the repairs are needed on the bike as in, the rearesets are done, radiators done, tank is toast, bars are done etc. if the bike overall is still operatable, but is scratched up, id try to not total it, and get the cash, buy some sand paper, smooth it all down and prep everything for powercoating or painting. and replace things taht must be replaced ala radiator.

Sorry but glad you're ok.

I'll add my 2 cents and suggest you try not to total it. Work with a shop and consider this a great time to modify.

Yeah I don't want to total it out but I know Ducati prices! I was shocked that the radiator was $1,200 and I know the tank is slightly double. Damage is:

Full Termi titanium system (scratches on one can and heatshield)
throttle trashed
left control hi beam toggle smashed
rearset rashed
rear brake lever thrashed
front master and pazzo lever the victoms of asphalt surfing
radiator mouth/cap mangled (cap wont fit atop)
frame has paint nicks where right bar hit it (kinda deep)
tank rash on side (cool skid logo)
clip on bar damaged (but it didn't break!)
front right turn signal smashed into dust

I want my bike back and yes, I plan on working with the dealer. I walked the shop floor and surprisingly the new bikes (in my opinion) lack flair, although the streetfighter will cause me to die.

I'm disappointed that Ducati wants so much money for their parts. But then again I guess that's what insurance is for.

I'm definitely buying every crash guard available for this bike next time. I love my Mostro.

I didn't read what bike it was, but there is a good market for parts. I see that you talk about a radiator, I assume then its s4r. that being said, the motor itself is most likely worth 2k and if you "buy it back" from the insurance co. they will still give you a check. so in theory, you could easily get enough from the sale of the parts and the Insurance check to actually be ahead. I had an accident where the bike was totalled and the difference was only 1K as to keeping the bike or the insurance co keeping it. I took the extra cash and regret it 100%. Besides, you can always use it for a track bike. Or buy a used one and keep the old for parts and tinkering. Glad to hear you not hurt. [moto]

Look for a local radiator shop. a good one ought to be able to fab you up a new one for a fraction of O.E.M. cost

Like Capncrunch said, you should be able to get the radiator repaired. It won't look as good as new, but will function and save you a wad of cash. There's a guy in Utah I used to send my damaged radiators to for repair. The last one needed straightening and welding (looked like a colapsed accordion after I crashed), but he was able to fix it.

I'll look up and post his info when I get home this evening.


EDIT: I found it, Myler's. Try the link below. They fixed several of my sv racebike radiators, gave me a decent price and had a quick turnaround.

http://www.motorcycleradiators.com/ (http://www.motorcycleradiators.com/)

Thank you Sir! I'm picking up my bike from the shop tomorrow. 3 business days and they still haven't completed the appraisal.

With this list of damaged parts I can tell you, you wont have to wait for the insurance company to tell you it's totalled. It is. No question. Usually once the frame has any damage it's all over.

Yeah I'm 50/50 as to should I just quit Ducati world (6 years of support) and pick up a dual sport or supermoto or just repar my bike. Ethically totaling the bike is because of Ducati prices. But morally I've put years into building this bike,  and we all know about repairing and staying true to what's yours. I dunno where I am. It's a tough decision.

 Remember, if you do buy it back and fix it it'll have a salvage title now. So you could spend a whole bunch of money on the rebuild and have a bike that worth maybe half to three quarters of it's real value because of the branded title.
 Another thing to consider is how bad is the damage. By that I eman the stuff you can't see. Is the frame bent? The forks? When you have a samll lowside buying the bike back is often a good idea because although the parts to replace are expensive at least you can be fairly sure it's all cosmetic. From your first post it sounds like it's a little worse than that so unless you're planning on parting it out to make a few bucks you may want to just consider the purchase of a new bike.

 Just my opinion.

Update:

I just received word from the appraiser and the bike will not be listed as totaled! I'm happy indeed. Now time for a re-build.

Thanks guys.

Awesome. Cograts! [beer]

 Yeah, It's funny that they didn't total it. It must have had something to do with the fact that the shop omitted the frame damage on the estimate.  [roll]

+1. And I thought they had my bet interests at hand.  ;D
I'm just happy I hve a timeline to end my temporary caging.

New Update: Stopped by the dealer today and I noticed they forgot to add a few more things like my BUSTED GAUGES!!! Like I'm gonna pay for the repair work in excess of $4500 but ride off with busted guages.

Theses guys are fooking crooks. When I told them I wanted to pick up the bike, they wanted to charge me 4 hours of labor for the appraisal. They had the bike for 8 business days before the job was even done. I argued that it doesn't take 4 hours to assess (and forget) damage. He said every minute I spent talking to him was on the clock. What a joke. I'v never paid for an estimate. Furthermore, I didn't sign any work order, like they claimed I did. Awful representatives for such a nice motorcycle.

I have never messed with the kickstand....but I have driven off, and forgot to put the kickstand up :o

thankfully never had an issue!!!

Update: Monster totaled. Check in route. Next? Honda XR 650 L or KTM 625 SMC or KTM 9*0 Supermoto.