Hidden Damages after the Hit?....

[miscott]

  Hey all...
   Well, it finally happened. A LOT sooner than I would have expected, but, it finally happened!!
   A few days ago I had my Valk in the parking lot at work, and somebody backed into it, bending the front fender down onto the tire!
   Fortunately, a witness to this Tragedy was there and came in and told me that my Bike had been hit.
   Long story short, the driver has insurance and the Adjuster will be here tomorrow to asses and verify the damages and authorize the repairs. I figure that his job is to get this taken care of as CHEAPLY as possible.
   Now, my concern is this... when the person backed into my Valk, according to the witness, they hit it hard enough to push the Bike backwards, and the witness reports hearing the kickstand scrapping over the asphalt. ( at least it wasn't knocked over!! )
   I'd parked the bike with the the front tire clocked to full left so that I could lock the forks. Always lock the forks when I'm not on it. If they hit it hard enough on the front tire, clocked to the left, to push an almost 800lb bike backwards, what other HIDDEN damages might there be ( besides the front fender & Custom Paint ) that I need to explain to the Insurance Adjuster, so that I can have it checked out while it's in the shop. I would like to have a LIST that I can give to him.
  I'm thinking of the following..
   1.) Bent or Twisted Forks
   2.) Possible damage to Steering Bearings
   3.) Front Rim
   4.) Front Axle and Axle Bearings
   5.) Possible Damage to Kickstand & Mounting Brackets/Bolts
   6.) ????
   7.) ????
  
   Also, I always park the bike in first gear. Does anyone know if it would/could have caused any damage to the engine/tranny, being pushed backwards while in a forward gear? I don't know how far backwards it was pushed, but I assume not very far, probably less than a foot.
   I rode the bike home from work in the morning and it seemed to be handling/running normally, but I really want to get it "the once over" while it's in the shop, just for my own peace of mind. Better safe than sorry...
   Fortunately, I found a shop near by that was recommended by a Goldwing rider, and they tell me they can get an OEM replacement front fender ( almost $600.00, thank goodness they had insurance and I had an honest witness! ). I have also found and already contacted the guy who did the custom paint and he tells me that he'd be more than happy to replace the paint job on the front fender to match the original paint he did. Say's just bring him the original fender along with the new one and he can match it!!! He used to paint for Big Dogs, now he's got his own shop! I get to keep my neon midnight blue metal flake overlayed with pearled ghost flames!!
  Anybody in or near Kansas looking for a nice paint job, here's his site link...
    http://www.route56customs.com/History.html
  Anyway, if you guys can think of anything I should add to my list, feel free to chime in!!

        
  
  

[Fritz The Cat]

Lots of luck with the insurance company. They will screw you if you let them, that's how they roll.

[miscott]

Lots of luck with the insurance company. They will screw you if you let them, that's how they roll.

  Yeah, that's what I'm figuring they'll go for. Get me to sign off on this as cheaply as possible.
I've drawn up the list to give the adjuster, of things that I want checked out for possible damage.
I don't want to pull a fast one on them , I just want to make sure that my bike is in the same condition after these repairs, that it was in before the hit! I Love my Valk. Hope to be riding it till I'm to old to get on it anymore!
  First bike I've had in over 30 years and I don't want to find out a few months from now that I "shoulda" had em check the __?___ while I had the chance, because it just fell off/broke/let go, while I was doing 80 down the road! 
  With me having a witness, hopefully that doesn't leave them a lot of wiggle room.

[Chrisj CMA]

I can tell you this much........With the book value of our bikes down some, it doesnt take much to get to tht magic number where they are going to try to total it.

When we had our "get off" there wasnt much damage.....I would never in a million years thought it was totalled but after the insurance agent got the estimate from the Honda dealer they wanted to total it.  Fortunately I had already bought and paid for all the parts and was able to send reciepts to the insurance company......my actual cost was in line with what they could pay so they paid me cost for parts and Honda's labor estimate which was sweet because we all know bolting chrome on is not worth $130/hr

Moral of the story is......call HDL, Look on classifieds, Pinwall...whatever, but dont let the insurance company buy all the parts from the Honda dealer or you bike may be totalled

[dreamaker]

A few years back I had a woman hit and run my bike when it was parked. Never found her !! Knocking it over she did over $3000 in damages on the bike. Contacted the insurance company and before they came out I took pics of all the damages even though they took there own I burned them on a CD and gave it to them. Just so they know I was aware of everything that happened.  Fortunately the guy that inspected the bike was a biker and understood bikes and hidden damages. They took care of me.  Bike got hit on Sun. they came out Mon. at noon to inspect and the check was in the mail by 2:00pm for real.  Make sure that the person that looks at your bike knows about bikes, not some person that had a MoPed when they were 12. Good Luck from Mich. !! not all of them are bad.

[steve 3054]

just my 2 cents but hopefully there no other damages other than the fender...it does not take much to move a bike in that position...mayble less than 50 lbs. of force or less...

[miscott]

just my 2 cents but hopefully there no other damages other than the fender...it does not take much to move a bike in that position...maybe less than 50 lbs. of force or less...

 Thanks Steve, that really does make me feel better about this whole thing. Maybe I will get through this with nothing more than a new fender and paint.
  Adjuster showed up this morning and took a bunch of pics. Seemed like a nice guy, did seem to be a "bike guy". I asked him how long before I could get this in the shop, said he really couldn't say, but that he's supposed to tell me I should be hearing from the insurance co. within 48 - 72 hrs.
  I outlined my concerns about "hidden damage" to him, and even sent a file stating same to the claims dept. of the co, just to be sure they knew about my concerns. I mean, this isn't just any ol` bike we're talkin` about, it a Valk! And it's MY Valk! That alone oughta move it up to the top of their "things to take care of ASAP" list, dontcha think?
  Hopefully have it in the shop by the end of this week. Soon as I get the authorization I'm calling the shop and telling them to order the fender. From what I've heard about ordering parts from Honda, this is probably gonna take longer that I was hoping.  But at least it'll get done and I can get my girl back on the road.
  Sure a lot of nice ridin` weather going to waste!! Anybody wanna use it for me for awhile? But remember, ya gotta give it back when I get my Valk outa the shop!!

[Daniel Meyer]

If it stayed up I wouldn't expect much more wrong. Those forks stop that bike from speed so are usually up to moderate impacts.

Since the kick-stand dragged, I'd look at the kick-stand crossmember to make sure they didn't bend that, and look closely for cracked/flaking paint on the frame at the steering head in case it's a harder hit than expected.

Should be easy enough to check the alignment of the forks and the run-out/trueness of the rim, but I really wouldn't expect much there...with the forks locked etc I would expect any real hard hit to send the bike flying.

Good luck!

[jmann]

My .02. If it turns out to just be a bent fender......... pull the fender and go riding. When the fender is done at the paint shop reinstall the fender and go riding some more. Gotta get the weather while the weather is good.

[Daniel Meyer]

My .02. If it turns out to just be a bent fender......... pull the fender and go riding. When the fender is done at the paint shop reinstall the fender and go riding some more. Gotta get the weather while the weather is good.

Yeah! Yeah! Test ride! I like how you think! 

[Madmike]

any impact or drag damage to the front tire???

[miscott]

any impact or drag damage to the front tire???

   Didn't notice any tire damage, but it was hit hard enough that I had to pull the fender away from the tire, and you can see what looks to be 2 marks left on the tire. Got the call from the insurance co. today, authorizing the repairs. Bike's going in the shop in the morning. I hadn't thought about damage to the tire also. I'll have them check out that spot on the sidewall. Just maybe get a new Avon for my trouble. Thanks for the tip.    Really would hate to be flying down the road and have that sidewall blow out. Could ruin the whole Biking experience for me!   
    
          

[miscott]

My .02. If it turns out to just be a bent fender......... pull the fender and go riding. When the fender is done at the paint shop reinstall the fender and go riding some more. Gotta get the weather while the weather is good.

  That sounds like some excellent advice!!   That honestly hadn't occurred to me!  If everything else checks out, I could get in a week or 2 while waiting for the fender delivery and painting!
  I had been noticing some popping on deceleration, and because of what I've read in another thread, I am gonna have them re-torque the header bolts and adjust the pilot screws while it's there. Hopefully that will take care of that annoyance. If not, a de-smoging will be next on the list of "things to do".
  You guys are great sources of information, but I won't mention that, as I will not be responsible for any helmets that suddenly seem to small!

  Question..
  Does the front tire have to be pulled in order to get the fender off?
  Just wondering, as I put the Chrome Axle Plug in the left side, and it was a REAL tight fit! Gonna be a bugger to remove it with out ruining it. No big deal, would just get my goat, having to replace some Chrome I just got a month ago.   I did learn that the next one is gonna get a touch of lube on those O-ring seals before installation!   You know how important Chrome is to a Valk. Makes em run better and go faster!!  

[jmann]

I pulled my front fender without removing the wheel. You have to squeeze the bottom in a little to get it up high enough and out between the fork tubes but it's doable. I put blue painters tape on the bottom edge of the fender so as I'm pulling it up high enough to get it out the bottom edge of the fender isn't scratched if it's dragging on the fork tubes as your pulling it out. Patience grasshopper is the key. 

[miscott]

I pulled my front fender without removing the wheel. You have to squeeze the bottom in a little to get it up high enough and out between the fork tubes but it's doable. I put blue painters tape on the bottom edge of the fender so as I'm pulling it up high enough to get it out the bottom edge of the fender isn't scratched if it's dragging on the fork tubes as your pulling it out. Patience grasshopper is the key.  

                              

Elvis Thank You	powered by Aeva

[gordonv]

Something I thought you can do yourself easily. Check the wheel base.

Here are the WB for all the Valks, http://www3.telus.net/gordonv1/HSATF%20page%202.html

This wont be exact, but will let you know if you need to have it brought in to a body shop for checking out the frame.

If you park your bike in neutral, it wouldn't take much to move it. If it was in gear, it would only take a little more force to move it from the impact, in 1st gear.