ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Makes And Models => Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2013+ => Topic started by: Fred on September 14, 2019, 10:53:53 PM
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Unfortunately I was knocked off my 2017 FXS a couple of days ago. Apparently something hit the windscreen of a car I was overtaking so he did the natural thing and swerved 6 feet to the right. (We'll, why wouldn't you?) I went over the front wing of the car and the bike was shunted onto the other side of the road.
A friend picked the bike up for me and says it's suffered nothing more than a slightly bent handlebar and scuffed bar ends. I wasn't quite so lucky. 5 broken ribs, shoulder blade broken in 3 places, bruised lung that they're worried might puncture. Oh well, at least the bike is OK. (Edit: Read on - it turns out it isn't OK at all.)
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Way to man up Fred. 8)
When I had my bicycle wreck and broke my neck and back and lost my glasses and I was trying to see if the bike was ruined before I passed back out.
Luckily I took the full force on my helmet and mostly saved the bike.
All kidding aside hope you heal up quick and fully.
Good Luck.
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I was about to chastises you for overtaking on the right, then I looked at your profile to see were your from.
Mend properly & fast.
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Aww! Sounds painful.
I hop you get well soon.
-Crissa
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Ouch Fred, sorry to hear that. I also wish for you a speedy recovery.
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Sorry to hear that...
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Yeah - overtaking on the right is the best way here. Police arrived and the car driver admitted 100% responsibility to them, so at least I won't have to cope with a different recollection when it comes to insurance later.
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OK - so it seems the bike is a little more damaged that I thought. (I didn't get a chance to look whilst getting into the ambulance.) It seems the frame is cracked. Best guess is that it landed on a kerb and the frame protected the rest of the bike from damage! :'( I'll have to wait to see what the assessor comes up with, but it could even be a write-off.
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OK - so it seems the bike is a little more damaged that I thought. (I didn't get a chance to look whilst getting into the ambulance.) It seems the frame is cracked. Best guess is that it landed on a kerb and the frame protected the rest of the bike from damage! :'( I'll have to wait to see what the assessor comes up with, but it could even be a write-off.
That is too bad, Fred. A cracked frame sounds like an insurance write-off to me.
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Replacement frame is listed as 1500 USD from https://www.af1racing.com/store/Scripts/prodList.asp , but I'm sure there's other parts to replace plus labor. Did the frame protect the more expensive bits? I'm glad that the car driver was honest. More importantly, I hope you heal up.
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Ouch (again) :(
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Classed as a category B write-off. That means it's going to the crusher. No chance for me to buy it off the insurance company and repair it. That almost invisible grey mark on the front frame down tube is what did it. :'(
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Any chance you can get (and keep) the batteries out if it before it goes to the crusher? Otherwise it could make for a good video when they turn it into a cube.
You could probably sell the 2 modules for $3k USD (new they are $2500 each)
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I'm tempted to just take them out and hope nobody notices. If I did then I'd be tempted to see if it's possible to buy a new modular FXS without batteries!
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After insurance cubed my first car; I have never, ever let them do that to one of my vehicles again.
It's a horrible waste of parts and energy.
-Crissa
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After insurance cubed my first car; I have never, ever let them do that to one of my vehicles again.
It's a horrible waste of parts and energy.
I agree with you, but apparently I have no choice. It is not allowed back on the road - even with a new frame. They won't sell it to me under any circumstances.
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I can be very argumentative.
The liability on the parts is something they like to say, but in reality there is very little. Most of the parts aren't going to threaten someone's life if it fails due to crash damage aside from the frame. Not to mention the as-is recovery law is pretty robust to protect the seller. It's just simpler for them and removes incentive for insurance fraud and ups new vehicle sales.
Still very wasteful.
Hope you're able to get back on soon!
-Crissa
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I agree with Crissa. How wasteful and thoughtless of them.
For this reason I have never involved insurance on a solo motorcycle drop/crash, and just repair it myself. I have comprehensive, but would only make a claim in case of theft, or for what I personally evaluate to be a toasted frame. I have submitted medical claims without anyone caring about whether the vehicle was affected.
Definitely save the $5000 of batteries! They are consumable and recyclable. The ones who haul off the bike will appreciate it being 84 lb lighter and less hazardous. I like the idea of picking up a new FX 3.6 or FX 0.0 :).
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I'm tempted to just take them out and hope nobody notices. If I did then I'd be tempted to see if it's possible to buy a new modular FXS without batteries!
Sounds like a good plan to me. It would be a terrible waste to throw them out. Does it truly go the the crusher? Aside from you using the battery, I'm sure someone would want the whole drivetrain for a project.
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And what did Zero do with the couple of hundred 2012 S/DS bikes that they recalled last year? ??? I bet they went into the crusher. :(
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Well, the 2012s were already nearly through their lifecycle and I doubt they got very many of them back ^-^
-Crissa
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FWIW, I also had a 2017 FXS that got totaled (not my fault) about a year and a half ago. The frame was also cracked, but it was in a inconsequential place near the tail section that could have been easily fixed. The insurance company was willing to pay to have the frame replaced, however I was worried there could also have been some latent damage to the batteries or other major electronic parts so I told the insurance company that I would only accept the frame replacement if I could be assured that Zero would continue to warranty the bike. The insurance company talked to Zero and Zero said no dice, they would not warranty the bike after that extensive an accident. So the insurance company ended up totaling the bike. The insurance company was also willing to sell my damaged FXS back to me for a very reasonable price, but I declined the offer. In hindsight, I should have taken the deal. I could have easily put it back on the road with a salvaged title. I ended up buying a 2017 Limited Edition DSR with the insurance money.
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I am pulling my hair out hearing this, and I only have 3 hairs left to begin with. :-[
The thing about the FX/FXS is that they are purpose-built dirt bikes and are intended to be very robust.
If I totaled my dirt bike every time I crashed it, I would have gone through like 1,000 bikes!
I wonder if an FX would survive tumbling down numerous 12-foot rock staircases at Moab like my WR450F?
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If I totaled my dirt bike every time I crashed it, I would have gone through like 1,000 bikes!
I wonder if an FX would survive tumbling down numerous 12-foot rock staircases at Moab like my WR450F?
Being hit by a truck provides a type of shock and leverage that just isn't seen when crashing into dirt and stone. When you slide down a hill, the shock is glancing, low abrasion, stepped. When you hit another vehicle it's unyielding and grinds sturfaces which are often harder than stone together.
It doesn't seem like much, but a tree or dirt or even stone is 'softer' than pavement or the frame of another vehicle. And rarely does a tree or boulder actually land atop you (and when it does, you kinda expect it to total it, right?)
I may not have much motorcycling experience, but I have alot of experience falling down mountainsides, wooded or not ^-^;
-Crissa
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I finally got the bike back - so that the insurance company can take it away and destroy the frame. Here's the damage that caused it to be a write-off. It's hard to photograph but it's a thumb-sized dent in one of the front down-tubes of the frame, with a little bit of cracking around a nearby weld. I didn't see where the bike landed but it looks suspiciously like that part of the frame hit the kerb.
Everything else apart from one scuffed bar-end is fine. My suspicion is that the company who inspects it saw the opportunity to break it and get pretty much a whole bike load of undamaged parts.
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Oh jesus keep the batteries please!
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I know its fraud but can I replace your good parts with some of my bad parts before they take it away
I have and FX MY16 and wish I had an FXS with the better brakes and smaller tires instead.
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Well, that's definitely a mortal injury to the structural integrity of that frame.
At least you're getting a replacement.
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Oh jesus keep the batteries please!
I thought about it, but a friend pointed out that the company taking it away are probably familiar enough with EVs that they know batteries are valuable. Also, he said it would probably count as insurance fraud and I suspect he's right. I'm leaving the batteries in. I just hope somebody gets to make use of them. I really wanted to buy back the whole bike for spares but they completely refused.
I know its fraud but can I replace your good parts with some of my bad parts before they take it away
I have and FX MY16 and wish I had an FXS with the better brakes and smaller tires instead.
If you wanted to swap some identical parts (e.g. batteries that are a bit tired and don't hold a charge very well) I might have been OK with that. Swapping an FX for a FXS - that's definitely too dodgy!
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According to the experts below, it's the claimant's choice whether to remove parts from a vehicle or swap them out. But if they do, the insurance company gets to reduce the loss valuation accordingly. So if one removed parts without notifying them, it would be fraud.
https://autoclaimhero.com/remove-parts-total-loss/