SiverWing Down...

The following was posted on the other SW website also...

Yesterday was 60 degrees in Northern Illinois, and I went out for what might have been the last decent weather ride until spring. Coming up to a bend to the left in the road (not quite a curve), I saw 2 quarter size rocks at the last second. I was going about 40 mph, and was not able to avoid them. It was a soild hit on the 2 rocks and I ended up on the gravel shoulder. The SW went down as soon as I hit the gravel. My left elbow to hand was riding the pavement then the gravel. The SW and I went down into the very soft ditch, and we skidded to a stop. While going into the ditch, I my right foot was planted firmly in the grass and my left leg was somewhere near the gas tank. My left arm supported me upright throughout. I had riding gloves, riding coat, and a helmet on. The coat and one glove is trashed. I have a small scar about the size of a dime on my left elbow. That's it. I was fine other than that. Thanks Guardian Angel!!! A guy in a truck saw the whole thing and suggested that it looked like I had practiced how to put the bike down without hurting myself. He couldn't believe what he saw! Another passerby the guy in the truck and myself uprighted my SW and helped me get it ot of the ditch. I drove it home before I did any close analysis. BTW, it rode true and straight for the 5 miles home. My right mirror was loose, but I simply tightened it. Every piece of tupperware on the right side, is TOTALLY scratched and or cracked. Same for the bottom, the front wheel fender, the GIVI windshield, the plastic chrome muffler cover, and also the black cover on the left side. I rode it to the Honda dealer, called my insurance company and called it a day. The claims guy was there today to take a look at it and here are some results. $2296 to put it back together. It's a good possibility they will total the bike because he said the salvage value is high. He is getting replacement values by Monday and he will let me know then. So, either I will get my SW put back together with all new tupperware, etc. or I will get a check for whatever they determine replacement value of a 2002 SW with 13500 miles. I think I would prefer my SW put back together. I have all my mods just the way I want it. If I get a check, my mind will be racing as to what to do. I have all winter to figure it out though. Here are my thoughts if I get a check.

1. Replace it with a used SW for about the price of the check.
2. Get a new or close to new SW, and pay the difference. Maybe a new SW if Honda is offering a low rate finance deal.
3. Maybe leave the SW brotherhood and step up to a Honda ST1300 or something similiar.

Bottom line is I am 99.8% fine, and I am thankful for that. My Allstate insurance policy of $75 per year was well worth it. I'll update more when they decide what to do...

Sad to hear about the fall Gene. Glad you came through it unscathed. Sounds like you had the skill for a light touchdown or landing.

Gene,

I'm glad to hear your OK. Cost of replacement tupperware adds up fast.

Sorry to hear about your accident but glad to hear you got out almost unscathed. A friend of mine did something very similar a year ago with his
Goldwing. His insurance company totaled it and he bought it back. The money difference pretty well paid for the parts he needed to restore his bike. You probably won't get much credit for the mods you have on the bike so it might be worthwhile to buy it back from the insurance company if they total it and replace the plastic yourself. It's not all that much work and you'd have your bike back in good shape. It will be a while before riding weather comes back anyway. The only drawback is resale could suffer a bit, some folks don't want to pay full price when the title shows salvage on it. On the other hand people who know bikes realize that a bit of damaged plastic can cause a salvage title and will ignore that on a title.
Your insurance company will likely make a low ball offer, never, never take the first offer. I've settled two different insurance claims for damage done to my vehicles over the years and both times made a counter offer. One time they accepted my full counter and the other time they met me halfway.

Sorry to hear of your 'off'.

Really pleased to hear you are fine, or as near as.

Lets all hope the insurance company play there part.

Glad you are mostly OK! Sorry about your SWing.
I hope you get things back the way you want them, no matter which way you
decide to go with the insurance. Best of luck!!!!

Wes

Gene,

I'm glad you are ok and sorry to hear about your SW. Hopefully you will be able to get is fixed since you have so many mods. But keep us informed what you do but since it is winter, and you have so many mods, you may want to exavid posted. Even if you do leave the SW brotherhood you don't have to leave the site. We would also like to hear about your ride regardless of what it is. Best of luck to you.

Glad you are OK and already planning what to do next !!

as for what to do .... a few ideas....

If you are happy with the Swing as the bike for u, get another and take the bits you like off your old one and put them on your new one...

Either, keep the old swing as is and use it for rideouts as a talking point and to look rugged and tough.. (if that's your thing!)

Or wot would be really cool would on a ride out to just pull allt the tupperware off, and leave it by the road side, and ride off on your newlook mean looking street scoot....

whatever you do... get back in the sadde and send in a few photos of your new steed......

best wishes
Bernardo

Gene:
Sorry to hear about your incident, but I'm glad that you came through it as well as you did. Keep us informed as to what you decide to do going forward. Take care.
DCC

My old man said if ya hit a nail on the freeway it was due to inattention, I can hear him now telling you that you should have been keeping one eye on the pavement and the other on where you were going. Sorry to hear about your accident but glad your OK,

The results are in.

They opted to NOT total my Silver Wing. I am glad for this. I get all new tupperware, new covers, new windsheild, and I don't have to worry about finding a new SW or decide to move on. A few of you have suggested that I put the parts on myself, and I have had about half the panels off myself in the past for wiring my radio, GPS, and top box. However, I have decided that I will "throw a bone" to my Honda dealer and let them do it all. It will be a nice fat job for them, and no skin off my nose. By doing this, I think it will come back to me if I need some help in the future. My countdown for the spring riding season is back on!

Sounds good, especially if it's what you want.

I agree; let your dealer do the work and build a good relationship with him.

skiwoods wrote:

The results are in.

They opted to NOT total my Silver Wing. I am glad for this. I get all new tupperware, new covers, new windsheild, and I don't have to worry about finding a new SW or decide to move on.

That is good news!!

skiwoods wrote:

However, I have decided that I will "throw a bone" to my Honda dealer and let them do it all.

Then I would make sure that the dealer clearly understand "in writing" that the SWing will not be able to test/verify till spring ... so if there is any problems with their repair or missed items.

Good deal, make sure you and the insurance company agree on which panels were damaged in the accident and that they don't try to call some 'previous damage'. We had a problem with that when our car was rear ended a few years ago. There was some damage from the accident that the insurance company's adjuster tried to call previous damage. It took some arguing with the company's representative to get that settled.

My Silver Wing is back together with all new tupperware, new Givi top box, new Givi windshield, and new tires! Yow, spring can't get here soon enough!

Hi Gene,

That's some Great news! COME ON SPRING!!!!

If you're willing to spend the money for an ST1300 you might want to hold on a bit and see if the new Honda sport-tourer turns out to be vaporware or not. Dual clutch "automatic"!

Glad to hear you're OK. I still fantasize about the deer I hit last fall lying there suffering the torments of Hell. She deserves it.

New Honda is the VFR1200F, check CycleWorld.com, testers liked it.

The VFR1200F is an interesting bike with some very intriguing ideas incorporated into it but doesn't look like much in the 'touring' classification. The double clutch auto transmission looks good but the 'ride by wire' makes me wonder if they haven't gone a bit too far with the electronics. Personally I like to have solid mechanical control of the throttle plates.
There are couple of reasons why I don't think the bike is going to be a great tourer. One is the lack of carrying space for touring. The other is the sport bike posture of the rider. Neither of those two are good for touring. Likewise the high power sacrifices fuel economy which reduces the range on a tank of fuel which isn't good for a touring bike. You need long legs on a bike for longer rides which touring demands. I don't know what market Honda was shooting for, the bike looks a bit large and heavy for a sport bike but inadequate for touring. I think I'll hang onto my GW which is the world's best touring bike.

Well, 4 months after my accident, I picked up my SW from storage at my local Honda dealer. All new Tupperware, Givi case, Givi windshield, mirrors, tires, and brakes. I put about 20 miles on today as it hit 40 degrees (f) in Northern Illinois. Here are a few pics of my "new" Silver Wing...

The scoot looks great, but how could you stop long enough to take a picture. We hit the high sixties today and are looking better the next couple of days. Naturally, I was trapped in a meeting today, but I rode to the meeting and back home. Glad to hear you went through this process and came out smiling. Now it's time to get out and ride.