Insurance tyre-kicking

[stinkwheel]

Right, got a call from the insurance asessor who is looking at my MZ supermoto that was stolen then recovered a while back.

There is a bit of a general muck up in that the insurance broker had the bike recovered to a garage miles away from me who have done a bit of a silly quote, claiming for all sorts of stuff that is realistically just wear and tear on the bike that had happened prior to the theft. The insurance broker is not too happy with this which is fair enough. I’m not after defrauding the insurance company. I will admit the alloy rims were corroded before it was nicked for example, but if they are buckled I want new ones. Trouble with these guys is if you give them an inch they will take a mile.

I have got the location more or less sorted out now in that they are going to have it moved to my local bike mechanic who I both trust to do the work properly and who has serviced the bike for the last two years.

There is all the usual damage such as knackered ignition lock and chopped about loom which I don’t envisage there being a problem with, it all needs replacing, simple as that. There are also a couple of things which I think I may have a problem with so I am looking fo any tips on how to attack it.

The bike has done over 20k miles in the last two years and so is a bit scruffy anyway but there are signs of damage such as scuffed bar ends/mirrors and a small rip in the saddle that definatley were not there before it was pinched. I suppose I will just have to argue the toss about this.

My oppinion is that the bike has been dropped on both sides as evidenced by the scuffing. I have never dropped it. It is also heavily spattered in mud and as far as I am aware the fork seals are blown. I have done no offroading other than a few forestry comission tracks on the way to campsites. I also know for a fact that it has done around 200miles since it was stolen as it had a full tank, the thieves were caught on CCTV doing a ride-off at a petrol station and when they were caught by the police they were filling the tank for the second time.

I think it is reasonable to conclude therefore that the bike has had the arse ragged off it for at least 200 miles, including off-road abuse and has been dropped an indeterminate number of times. My main concern is that a) It might be bent and b) What sort of state are the engine internals in.

During my brief discussion with the asessor he said “Dropping a bike wont bend it.” which sounds like a good line in bullshit to me so would I be in order to insist on the frame being jigged? Also how do I go about getting them to check out any potential engine/gearbox damage, given that the entire engine was bench rebuilt from the crank up undr warranty at the MZ factory using new componants about 2,000miles before it was stolen? I don’t want to get it back to find it goes like a bagofwank.

Frankly, I don’t want it back at all as I am sure it will never be the same after that sort of abuse but if they are going to insist on fixing it, I want a proper job done.

Any hints and tips for when I eventually go for the full tyre-kicking showdown?
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[G]

Obvious one would be to sneak a big stone in and put a nice little nick in the frame; even after a scratch will sometimes mean they consider it needs replacing and so put the cost way above the value of a new bike .


Can't help much on the technicalities; I suspect if they had to inspect the engine properly it would get to the point of replacing the bike anyway due to the cost.
Could be the same with them paying to get it on a jig; as they will end up paying £50 an hour or so to strip the bike down a bit.

I suspect your best bet would probably to look at stuff yourself before you sign the bit of paper for the claim. That or it's going to be a case of trying to make it a write off (at least you get the chance to buy it back as cheap spares for your next one ).

[dibbster]

Have you got any recent photos of the bike?
They would help to establish the bike's condition.

Good luck with your tyre-kicking showdown!
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Suzuki RF 600 - The two wheeled Testarossa (Deceased)
Suzuki GSXR - Now stops on a sixpence; SBK3's
www.bikepics.com/members/dibbster

[epz]

the way insurance works is they take a rough value of the bike and if repair costs are over 40% of that value the write it off.

by repair costs i mean the cost of brand new parts from the manufacturer and a qualified mechanics time, if there is any real damage{1} and the bike is worth under 1500 odds are its getting written off.

on the plus side this time of year bike prices go mental and if you collect examples of similar bikes at high prices then they will have to settle with you at that price and you can get yourself a new bike.

{1} im guessing you are taking about a £200 bill just to replace an ignition lock