FZ1 in NH down but coming back!

FZ1inTX

FZ1inTX

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Tonight, commuting home and coming through town... we have some one-way streets. I round a corner headed up a one-way to see a car AND a jeep coming the WRONG WAY! Two choices, dump, tuck and roll or head-on. I'll take dump for $1 please... I braked but the bike was leaned over into the corner and did a small high-side after she caught grip. I went off the side, tucked, rolled once and popped up. Stuck my head in the kids window and ordered him into a parking lot along with the jeep and called 911.

Here's the kick in the pants.... Cop says since I didn't contact his car, it is a single-vehicle accident and I cannot have his insurance info! He did, however, tell the kid to make a statement explaining his role so that my insurance would see that I was driving safely and this wasn't my fault at all. Two guys in a mustang behind me stopped and blocked traffic while I got the bike off the road, then they stayed and offered statements as witnesses.

Regardless, I have damage to the CD screen, fairing, mirror, blinker, tank, brake pedal (which scratched the frame), frame slider, foot peg, bar-end, brake lever, pillion handle, two places on the Two Bros exhaust and the OEM chin fairing for starters. Unsure if the bar is bent or the front twisted but it was ride-able to get home. Brand new helmet also scratched when it scuffed the pavement. Rest of the gear seems unscathed... I'm worried that the frame could total the bike. I'm not worried about the modded parts... I paid a few bucks extra a month to cover up to $6k in mods and documented all of them with receipts with my agent.

Claim is filed and I need to wait for the adjuster to pay his visit. I'm bummed... but either way, I'll get this one fixed, or get a 2013 hold-over (2014 only comes in white... bleh!) Cobalt Blue. I found one close enough to chase, just in case!

I'll post some pics as soon as I can. It all looks small and sort of -meh- BUT, the adjuster, if he writes it all out and says the frame is part of the claim? She's toast.

Me? I'm perfectly fine. One of the witnesses who heard me tell the cop I was 49 comes to me and says, "That was amazing!" I said, "What was?" He says "At 49, how you hit the pavement, rolled once and popped up!" I literally LOL'd...

This is the ONE-WAY corner. I was on the inside and they came down the hill toward me... totally not expecting THAT! I went down just after the telephone pole in front of that silver car making the corner. It's sharp and uphill. On a bike, you cannot see a lot of what's up there.

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I'm relieved that you're ok first of all and too bad about the bike. Keep us posted on the claim, please :)

I'm a firm believer that there's always a lesson to be learned from a crash; I was wondering if you took anything away from this. I ask because you only listed 3 possible solutions to the incident and they were all crashes. I like to think that there's always another way, even if it ends up coming from hindsight.
 
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Dustin said:
I'm relieved that you're ok first of all and too bad about the bike. Keep us posted on the claim, please :)

I'm a firm believer that there's always a lesson to be learned from a crash; I was wondering if you took anything away from this. I ask because you only listed 3 possible solutions to the incident and they were all crashes. I like to think that there's always another way, even if it ends up coming from hindsight.
Click to expand...

I have been thinking about this... I had traffic to my right in the outside lane and a car in my lane heavy on his brakes while I applied both of mine. He also turned his wheel toward the right lane and the jeep behind him brakes to my left cutting off my route to the inside. To the left of that was parked cars. Essentially I was surrounded and chose to lay the bike over, tuck and roll. I ran out of routes.... My 12 second view was cut on the corner to 3 seconds. I wasn't going hard or fast. My decision time was about 1 second but it seemed to last many more as I scanned and decided... I always try to take away from it... and I think my lesson is, never take the downtown route again. This happened a year ago, same place, but I was in the truck. The lady coming the wrong way ditched it into the parking lot to the left over that small retaining wall.

Side note... the cop says this happens TOO OFTEN and there are plans to change the traffic pattern to prevent this.
 
First of major kudos to you and your quick thinking. Dustin has a point for some accidents but other times shit just happens and we do the best we can. I prefer to think of this as one of your best days on the planet, how you handled what could have been a deadly situation and walked away unscathed. The bike is just that-a bike. You do have good insurance(another smart thing) to cover this sh*t and that's just the way it is.

I would suggest you contact the public road department/ police and see if there are records on this intersection and accidents. Perhaps this information can be used to sue the pants off the city -j/k. But it may help explain what happened to the insurance company.

Very glad you are here to type!
 
FZ1inNH said:
I have been thinking about this... I had traffic to my right in the outside lane and a car in my lane heavy on his brakes while I applied both of mine. He also turned his wheel toward the right lane and the jeep behind him brakes to my left cutting off my route to the inside. To the left of that was parked cars. Essentially I was surrounded and chose to lay the bike over, tuck and roll. I ran out of routes.... My 12 second view was cut on the corner to 3 seconds. I wasn't going hard or fast. My decision time was about 1 second but it seemed to last many more as I scanned and decided... I always try to take away from it... and I think my lesson is, never take the downtown route again. This happened a year ago, same place, but I was in the truck. The lady coming the wrong way ditched it into the parking lot to the left over that small retaining wall.

Side note... the cop says this happens TOO OFTEN and there are plans to change the traffic pattern to prevent this.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a real shit situation and you made it out of there no worse for wear. Glad to hear it
 
YZFRiderNY said:
Wow! Sorry to hear that Eric although I'm glad your alright. Sucks that you had to ditch her. I at least hope that the drivers were cited for driving the wrong way!
Click to expand...

Thank Billy. No, they got a warning. He let them off with that only because they made a statement to clear any fault for my insurance claim. They were maybe all 18 or 19 yrs old. Scared the pi$$ out of them. (me too!)
 
Glad you're OK, have what you need to claim and that you have everything well insured. Hope it all turns out for the better. I also hope those kids learn a valuable lesson and think before going the wrong way down a road again.
 
Of course there's always the option to buy it back and fix it. ;) But I think I'd work with the adjuster and be sure he's making the right choices along with asking about removing mods vs claiming them. The only a$$-biter there is the Ivan ECU. I don't have a spare to put in the bike. They will have to pay that one out because the new one will IMMEDIATELY go to Ivan.

I just installed the new set of Pilot Road 4's too! DAMN!!! I'd have to talk to them about putting the worn ones back on and keeping these for the next bike. I really hope it's not totaled. It's not that bad and certainly fixable if you leave out the frame!
 
I'd get a lawyer and go after the kid and police department. No, ifs, ands, or buts, driving the wrong way is illegal.
 
Hey man, sorry to hear about this! glad you are ok tho, your health is much more important than your bike.... that said, i dont understand the cops reasoning regarding the single car accident --- had you not taken evasive action you WOULD have hit him, and then it would have been an accident caused by his disobedience of the law...... somethings not right with the logic here, i would definitely consider calling a lawyer if necessary.... i hope it all works out for you and again im glad your in one piece. best of luck.
 
That sux Eric
The main thing is that you are ok and if the bike is written off, the modding can begin again on a new bike
Good luck with it all.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
Good to hear you are ok.
It really blows when someone else ruins all your hard work and time spent getting a toy just the way you like it.
I'm still bummed every time I look out and see my Cummins in my yard.
At least you don't live in a no fault state.
 
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