If the frame has a scratch, does it HAVE to be written off?

[pan]

I had this question in a PM, regarding my bike which was recently written off with hardly any damage, but the assessor said there was a 1cm scratch in the frame (not a gash, just a scratch).

Any ideas?

[Mark_S]

I was speaking to a guy today who owns a Blackbird. His bike was written off due to a scratch in the swingarm. It was very hard to see until he pointed it out. There was other faring damage, etc but nothing major. Classed as a repairable write off. He has a cheque for $9,000 and cost him a 1500 - 2000 to fix it himself.

My Blackbird, on the frame near the fuel tank and upper faring connects to, it is the mounting point for the fairing/frame. When I dropped my bike this section which is alloy TIG welded to the frame was bent, which in my opinion would have also caused damage to the frame. Insurance assessor, said nope, they will cut this away, grind it and TIG weld a new mount and no write off. I still have to wonder even with this mount been moved on the frame it would have to cause some stress to the frame itself.

What was the write off classed as a repair/non repairable?

Maybe a good idea to speak to whoever services your bike and see what they have to say. The bike will still need to be inspected, once the repairs have been done.

[bazman]

hey pan....

from my (limited) experience in this area, i've noticed the bike is generally considered a "write-off" if there is ANY sign of damage to the main frame (chassis), whether that damage is heavy and obvious....or only just slight.

I'm guessing there may be one or two ppl on this site that have a background in insurance and can clarify this area that has mystified many of us for a long time ? (to the front of the line pls, peeps)

cheers,
bazman.

[pan]

Thanks Baz.


Mark, it is a repairable write-off.



Check it out for yourselves. Can't see much more damage up close than what you can see in these pics!


This is the damaged side. No damage at all on the other side. Heck, even both levers weren't scratched!!!





Close-up. The (alledged) scratch is here!?!?!





These are the only other scratches, and the right mirror fell off

[Rev004]

Fellers,

I was at an auction the other week specifically to do with repairable write off and damaged bikes.

I was talking to a guy that had all this ute bute electronic gear that was checking some bikes out on behalf of a customer and I just happen to ask him this exact question.

He mentioned the the insurance companies these days once the frames/swing arms etc have any sort scratching etc on them they would rather write the bike off. He's not 100% sure why but reckons so there is no come back on them if anything goes wrong later on especially if it's that item that fails.

He made mention it's not a big deal as the technology is around these days that you can determine how bad things might be if the frame or what ever is damaged / scratched they can check for any risk associated with that damage. They use things that can thickness test and also carry out like an ex-ray if they need to get deeper into the problem.

Some guys once this has happened get the pay out and then buy the bike back and repair it themselves and in some cases end up wth better bike.

Anyway that is what I was told so doesn't really answer the question about why insurance write bikes off but maybe a little insight and then again I may have been fed a load of bullshit to but he seemed to know what he was talking about.

[motoplast]

A scratch, dent, gash etc on the frame is, in most cases, considered a repairable write off. The reason for this is quite simple, if we are talking a new bike, say something exotic and worth in excess of $30 grand, then providing the cost of a new frame is reasonable, the assessor may approve it to be repaired by a new frame. However in most cases if the bike is under 12 months old and has a replacement value around the 20 grand or less it is often more viable to write it off (repairable) as the cost of a new frame and the labour involved (average $80 per hour) plus other new parts, eg: fairing panels, footpegs etc often exceed 2/3rds the value of the bike, hence it becomes a repairable write off. As a bike shop owner, I would write down on my quote sheet: "In my professional opinion this M/C is beyond economical repair." in most cases the assessor would agree. The insurance company will recoup some of their money by selling the bike at Auction. All bikes under 12 months old should be repaired by new parts only (eg: A fuel tank with a minor scratch that can't be polished out, replace the tank with a new one!.) If the bike is over 12 months old, in most cases, the assessor will approve parts to be repaired and painted eg: fairing panels, fuel tank etc. If the frame is marked, again to repair it would not be (in most cases) viable to fix it. A bike would have to have substantial damage to it to be a Statutory Write Off, ie: can never be reregistered. Parts including the engine can be used again but the compliance plate and V.I.N. (vehicle Identification Number) can never be used again.
A repairable write off over 10 years old is pretty straightforward to reregister, in NSW u will need a Blue slip from an A.U.V.I.S (authorised unregistered vehicle inspection station.) If it is under 10 y.o. it will need a blue slip then be sent to a V.I.U. (vehicle inspection unit R.T.A.) this will cost u $406 ($55 book in fee and $351 inspection fee and to remove said vehicle from the w.o.v.r. written off vehicle register). Confused?
Hope that clears things up for those who weren't sure, any questions p.m. me and I'll try and clarify it . By the way, all of the above will be changing in NSW inside the next 12months.

Cheers,
Tex & Bundy

[Mark_S]

3 questions would be

1. Whats kind of payout are you getting?

2. What is the bike worth to buy back.

3. what kind of gold mine are you looking at for parts or to sell to someone.

Could be a goldmine for you and a chance at a new bike with some cash left over.

I know I sold my bike for $2250 and the guy as the repairers, he had it up on Ebay for 3650 2 days latter. It was taken off ebay within a day.

[simmo]

I think you can ring the insurance company to buy it back, tell them you want it as a track bike only, I have heard before this has happened before, ring Ruffy I think he has an option of getting his back but it could have been someone else that it happened too

[SteveV]

Mate thatâ€s unbelievable itâ€s a write-off, mine looked much worse than that and itâ€s been fixed good as new. Sorry to hear about your crash must be pretty heart breaking after have it so long and putting so much TLC into it.

[NEMESIS]

An how bout 12,500 dollar repair bill an
1500 labour.
You would think they would right it off...

Oh but they didnt...

Im very close on spilling the beans with my situation an
whats been happening.

Dont mean to jack the thread.
Its just a similar situation.

[CarbonBusa]

Correct me if i am wrong but by the looks of it the crash knob (which is meant to save your bike) has scratched the frame in a very low speed drop & written your bike off

[pan]

Correct me if i am wrong but by the looks of it the crash knob (which is meant to save your bike) has scratched the frame in a very low speed drop & written your bike off

Cannot validate your hypothesis or dismiss it.

The crash knob is designed to protect the fairing at low speed drops. If you look at the fairing, clutch basket cover, etc, it looks like it did okay. I don't think anyone ever imagined a crash knob would "save your bike"

On the other hand, if there is actually a scratch caused by the crash knob, AND that IS why it was written off, then, yes, this could be true. I had a close look at the bike and couldn't see that was the case though.

[CarbonBusa]

Correct me if i am wrong but by the looks of it the crash knob (which is meant to save your bike) has scratched the frame in a very low speed drop & written your bike off

Cannot validate your hypothesis or dismiss it.

The crash knob is designed to protect the fairing at low speed drops. If you look at the fairing, clutch basket cover, etc, it looks like it did okay. I don't think anyone ever imagined a crash knob would "save your bike"

On the other hand, if there is actually a scratch caused by the crash knob, AND that IS why it was written off, then, yes, this could be true. I had a close look at the bike and couldn't see that was the case though.

What a bugger mate, at least you had insurance

I have always wondered if Crash knobs would cause more damage than they save & how much frame damage they would cause if it was a 60km + fall and from what pple are saying it looks like the slightest sign of frame damage = insurance writeoff

Can;t wait to see ya next bling machine

[Camel]

By the way, all of the above will be changing in NSW inside the next 12months.

Hmmm, I'm intrigued. Any hints? Links? I've had a gutfull of dealing with the auctioneers. I'm starting to think that any change would be a good thing.

Camel

[fasterfaster]

There was a late GREAT frame builder repairer named Bobby Martin who sadly is no longer with us now. (RIP BOB) This man was a walking encyclopedia on frames and modifications to them.
During a conversation with him in the early days when Oggy Knobs became fashionable on the "street" he told me it was the best thing to ever happen for his business ............. laughing as he did so. He went on to say the reason being that in a drop on a bike without the knobs the impact was always spread over a large area and frames rarely were bent in just a drop and slide accident. With Knobs fitted the impact was concentrated on a very small impact area which was then transmitted thru the frame resulting in damage to the frame becoming even greater as tube type frames gave way to cast / alloy types.
He concluded from his experience and observations that at low speed or a side stand drop knobs protected cosmetics but apart from that usually resulted in more damage especially structural re the frame.
Just food for thought hey ?
ps
Motoplast is spot on the money .............. I saw a GSXR1000 with 500Km on the clock written off and the only damage was the exhaust can and the right hand foot peg had broken one of the casting lugs of the frame where it mounts. WRITE OFF