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Iron Butt
Posts: 732
Western WA | I am livid.
So, we are cruising down a country road with a county Sheriff in front of us when a car comes rushing up from behind. I watch him close, and he sees the cop and backs off. We cruise like this for about 4 miles, and come to a stop sign. The whole time I'm thinking I should pull over and just let this guy go - I'm not getting a great feeling from him. (Once again, I should have listened to that "little voice".)
The cop stops. I stop. The car behind me stops.
The cop goes. I roll ahead to the stop sign, and the car behind me....accelerates and plows right into the back of the Vision.
I am pissed beyond belief.
Luckily, the cop saw everything in his rear view mirror and whipped a U-turn.
The wife and I are okay, but the bike didn't fare so well.
Most of the lower back panel is cracked - smashed - pushed in. Saddle bags are crunched and sprung. Gatlin tips are bent. Once again...UGH! Tip-overs worked like a charm and kept the bike from more damage.
I was able to drive it to the dealer where she sits waiting for an estimate.
I guess all I have to say is be careful out there. You never know where it's going to come from. I ALWAYS watch the car behind at stop lights, stop signs. . . but this one time I let my guard down thinking that the person behind would be careful, especially with the police right in front. That one moment of complacency cost me big-time.
Luckily, he was insured. I guess we will just have to see how this all plays out.
I am so glad that I was on the Vision. I could have been so much worse. The old Suzuki would not have taken the hit nearly as well.
Just had to rant.  |
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Tourer
Posts: 320
Savannah, GA -Year round riding!! Yay! | My heart sank when I read the subject.... But my heart raised (rised??) to read that you and the wife were ok. Yeah, some days I don't know whether to listen to the voices in my head or not....  ("Clean the guns", "Stay home and color with crayons...Pretty colors!"... hehe)
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Visionary
Posts: 3006
San Antonio, TX | I am also glad you guys are OK. Did the guy ever state what the big rush was that he had to drive through you?
I guess that sometimes cops are there when you need them. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 25
Gilbert, AZ | Sorry to hear about the accident, but glad you and your wife are ok. Bikes can be fixed much easier than people. Hope the guy has very good insurance :-) |
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Tourer
Posts: 423
northwest florida | get a lawyer! |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | glad you and yours are okay. |
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Tourer
Posts: 506
Woodland Hills, CA | Seems everyone these days are in too much of a hurry! My incident the other day (reported in another thread) was just in a parking lot and only ended up with my bike on its tip overs, and me more pissed off than anything. Yours was obviously much worse, but both were the result of people being in too much of a hurry and not paying attention. I am sorry to hear your bike was damaged, but relieved to hear that you and your wife were not hurt. Hopefully you will be up and riding shortly. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1350
| Glad to here both of you are okay.
Dang, that looks like whiplash to me, better see a specialist... I would have asked the cop to check for DUI too. :P If they are that stupid around a cop they must be hiding something...? |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 965
New York State | Glad to hear you and your SO escaped uninjured.WE are very lucky owners to drive such well engineered machines |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 935
Rockford, IL | Of course its good to hear there were no major injuries to the two of you. However most "injuries" from accidents come the next day after the accident. They come in the form of super sore muscles. A good muscle relaxant such as Aleve is going to be your good friend for the next week or so.
Personally I'd like to see some pictures of the damages to the bike. Like to see how well our bikes do or don't do in a rear end smack. How much distance was between the car and your bike when the car accelerated? How fast do you think the car got going? How far did you get pushed once they hit you?
You mention that a moment of complacency cost you big-time. I don't see how it did. Paying attention helps when the vehicle is coming up on you from a distance. This car was stopped behind you and then accelerated into you. I don't think if you would have had your eyes on the car you would have even been able to do much of anything to avoid getting hit. I mean you might have been able to twist the throttle and get going but you probably would have still been hit. And if you think about that scenario for a moment you will see you could have made it worse. Combine a throttle twist with getting hit in the rear and you probably would have been doing some airborne type things.
I know....I wasn't there....I'm making some assumptions on some things. I guess I'm just trying to bring up a point on accident avoidance. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 140
| a99miata - 2008-11-30 9:15 PM
get a lawyer!
I second. This is a lesson that took me many years to learn, but it rates right up there with getting an accountant to file your tax return. Saves beau coup hassle, and money too. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 28
| I have been trying to be good about wearing a helmet. As a police officer, I see the value of protecting the motorcyclist as much as possible. Thank goodness you and your rider were not injured. In your case, maybe tying a tire to the back of your bike would have helped  I really don't like lawyers but you may have to if the other person's insurance company starts messing with you. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 732
Western WA | Thanks for all of the kind words.
Yep, we are a little sore today. . .and we are definitely keeping an eye on it.
More than anything I'm just sick about our baby. Try explaining that to someone that doesn't ride.
Lotzafun, not really sure how much space there was between us, or how fast the guy was going. It did push us about 10 to 12 feet before she went over. I don't have the pics yet, but it looked like the fiberglass in the rear acted as a crumple zone, absorbing some of the impact. Now, as to how the frame held up, we shall just have to wait and see. The tech at the dealer, (who is REALLY good), will strip it all down and go over it with a fine-tooth comb.
As I said in my original post, I'm damn glad we were on the Vision. It would have been a MUCH different situation on our Suzuki C50. The car would have went straight into the back of the sissy bar, and my wife. There would have been nothing to stop it but a plastic fender and a tire.
And those tip overs. . .what a great design.
Anyway, I'll keep you posted when I get the damage estimates. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 965
New York State | I hit a deer at 30 MPH and only needed new fairing parts the fork and frame were fine hope your bike does as well as mine did. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 97
Okeefenokee Swamp | Glad you and the bride are o.k. Sorry to hear about your bike though. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1158
Richmond, Virginia | I concur with all the previous sentiments. The only thing I can add is not to be a downer but more a reality check. Having lost my entire family, the holidays are always hard. You can imagine the flow of emotions memories, joy, etc etc etc. While each one of us on here loves our Vision the big bad truth is ITS JUST A THING. You and your wife arent THINGS, Things can be replaced
esp in our seemingly disposable world. You two cannot, and thats what is the most important part of this lesson. Eventhough none of us on this site know you personally, our commonality is what brings us all here, so we understand how you feel, what you went through,
and we also know, that you know, how lucky you two are.. just think, if it were the other way around and the bike made it and you two didnt,,,, the bike couldnt be here typing or allowing us to poke fun at it.... Ride safe, be blessed AGAIN. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 732
Western WA | Estimate came in at $2800.
Basically, it needs all new glass on the back, and new saddlebags.
No damage to the frame though, so that's good news. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 965
New York State | Breaker - 2008-12-08 4:39 PM
Estimate came in at $2800.
Basically, it needs all new glass on the back, and new saddlebags.
No damage to the frame though, so that's good news.
Very good so the back end is as tough as the front |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 935
Rockford, IL | Breaker - 2008-12-08 3:39 PM Estimate came in at $2800. Basically, it needs all new glass on the back, and new saddlebags. No damage to the frame though, so that's good news. I'd ask for the damaged parts to be given to you, you are entitled to them. Should be some usable items such as brackets and such on them. Or maybe if someone is in need and has some talent they can take one of the damaged parts and make it usable for thier needs. I mean why toss them in the garbage if you might be able to help a fellow Vision rider in the future?? The dealer given you any clue as to how long the repairs are gonna take? Or in other words....how long is going to take Victory to get them the parts? Keep in mind that you are also entitled to rental costs from the insurance company. Even if you can't rent a Vision...you can rent a Harley. I'd find out how much daily rental is for a Harley and then request payment from the insurance company. It doesn't matter whatsoever if you need a rental or if you get a rental. In most states they are REQUIRED to pay you appropriate rental costs. If you don't ask for these costs you are basically leaving a lot of money on the table. I had a customer that had someone rear end a boat that was on a trailer being pulled behind his vehicle. The trailer tongue damaged his vehicle, so he got rental costs for a vehicle. But get this....he also got a few weeks of BOAT RENTAL !!!! To be honest it kinda suprised me that they paid for boat rental...but they did. Basically its called "loss of use" and right now you can't use your bike...so therefore you should ask for and receive rental costs. I'd be interested in what they say. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1436
| Breaker sorry to be reading this post but glad you are both ok. Hope they get you all fixed like new or better....... T |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 24
savannah ga | Glad to hear you guys are ok .Also glad you tested out the rear impact for us with out any body asking you to, thanks. lol .Hope they get you on the road like new asap . Did they replace your tips ? Sounds like these bikes are more then just looks , got to love them . |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 965
New York State | Good idea Lotzafun I went to my dealer today and picked up my undamaged parts |
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Ugh. Rear ended