Sometimes you have too much adventure.

[Falconx84]

Originally Posted by Snarky

Since you're the only one that bit. 3500$ is a reasonable number. My estimate of 1500$ or so is a reasonable number. 50$ is low balling it, but would get it back on the road.

HOWEVER. Between the BMW Service Manager and my Claims adjuster, they came up with the sum of.... $11,000.

$11,000... The only way I can figure that they came up with this number is that they chose to replace every single scratched part. Insane! I haven't gotten the itemized invoice yet, but I can't wait. I'm assume almost none of it was engine related. The one thing I do know is, that my scuffed final drive and front rim? Yeah, they are replacing them... WTF?

They've already okayed it, and getting ready to cut the check minus my 300$ deductible, and the bike will be back in ~2 weeks-ish.
.

If it's financed, I'm pretty sure that you are obligated to fix it like new since someone else technically owns it. The insurance company is obligated to make it like the accident never happened and the bank wants it that way in case you default on your loan.

If you're looking to profit, I believe you can get the damaged parts and can likely re-sell them, esp the final drive and rim. When someone hit my car I was able to salvage some cool parts that were damaged but still useable for other projects.

[redneckmech]

+1 on the ham radio. I am an operator and have never had a problem reaching anyone from even the most remote areas in North Idaho. I do not go on any trip without mine. No matter where you are, there is always a ham monitoring. I carry a quad band hand-held to increase my chances, but have never needed to use any frequency other than 2 meter. In addition to that, many of the repeaters are linked to a phone patch so you can make phone calls over your radio (that is all a cell phone does anyway).
Good story... It reminds me of taking my Nighthawk a few places that I REALLY should not have...
Better luck next ride
Bill

call-sign
KE7OVE

Originally Posted by cliffy109

Good Lord. That is a hell of a story.

As I read it, one things kept creeping into my mind. With all your errors, you still would have been fine if you had a $100 hand-held ham radio. Even in remote areas, there are always repeaters and some dude monitoring. If you're interested, I'll post details on how you get a license and what you would need to do. If you ride in remote areas, even with others, you have a MUCH better chance of rescue if you can talk to somebody.

[dukedinner]

Great karma to this thread! Had to come back for the updates...no serious eye-poking or bun fights yet!

About the bike itself..it must be a serious offroad machine..didn't Ewen push one through mud and across rivers a few years back (?)...

$11000 to repair that kind of damage (?)..no wonder our insurance rates keep going up...

[NJ-Brett]

If I bought a new bike and dirt rode it, and broke it, I would just fix it, because dirt riding often involves falling. You are not having much fun if you don't fall once and a while.
Otherwise, I don't see anyone could do much dirt riding if the bike had to be in like new shape after each ride.

I do not see that anyone needs to know you scratched the bike when it fell over, its not a leased vehicle you have to turn in at the end of the lease.

If I was going to make a claim like that, I would have had a LOT more fun with the bike!

[vfxdog]

A really well written account of a ride gone wrong. The OP has been very candid about his mistakes and has combined his account with an open invitation for others to contribute wisdom.

It's clear that he is someone who does actually think things through very thoroughly, and some of what went wrong was just bad luck rather than bad management.

As owner of both 1200 GS and WR250R, I would most definitely have gone with the Yamaha for a ride like this. I'm a big-bike guy but I know (from bitter experience) it's a lot easier to get the Yam out of gnarly spots than the GS.

And all I'd say about the need to cover large amounts of road miles with ease- one of the best road rides I've ever had was a 200 mile run before lunch- on the Yamaha. Try one.

[slide]

Originally Posted by GusinCA

I also run my boat offshore quite a bit and hike so these two units serve lots of duties.

I've sailed extensively offshore but never had any more comms than a VHF. My take is so what if someone knows I'm in trouble? What are they going to do about it?

I can see this as a land device, though. Thanks for the info.

[O.C.F.RIDER]

Originally Posted by NJ-Brett

So explain how this would work, I buy an expensive bike, insure it, then ride it off road, scratch things, insurance pays out huge money to fix the bike and I can repeat it as soon as I get the bike back?
Say every week?

Does it work that way with say a jeep?
I get a brand new one, go off roading and smash the thing up on rocks, I get a new one and sink it in a swamp and I get a new jeep, on and on?

In South Jersey, you'd first have to be able to find a rock.
Now, sinking it in a swamp would be much easier to do down there!

Chris

[WVhillbilly]

$11K

Ya need one of these.


I'd have to total it 5 times to make it worth that much money

[slide]

Originally Posted by Snarky

Since you're the only one that bit. 3500$ is a reasonable number. My estimate of 1500$ or so is a reasonable number. 50$ is low balling it, but would get it back on the road.

HOWEVER. Between the BMW Service Manager and my Claims adjuster, they came up with the sum of.... $11,000.

$11,000... The only way I can figure that they came up with this number is that they chose to replace every single scratched part. Insane! I haven't gotten the itemized invoice yet, but I can't wait. I'm assume almost none of it was engine related. The one thing I do know is, that my scuffed final drive and front rim? Yeah, they are replacing them... WTF?

They've already okayed it, and getting ready to cut the check minus my 300$ deductible, and the bike will be back in ~2 weeks-ish.



After my ordeal, I recommend 'something' spot or not, in addition to your phone. I would have probably been alright because it is hunting season right now, but it was still scary.

You're right though, even if you go out and do something stupid, it's still better than wasting your life on the couch.

Any part which is even slightly scratched was included in that estimate. That's the way it's done.

A guy here bought an almost new R1 for $2,500 which had a tip over. The P.O. took the insurance check, deducted it from a reasonable value of pristine bike and came up with that number as a 'for sale'.

The new owner put about $1,000 in it accepting the minor hard to see 'damage' and rode off. I guess that's why premiums on these bikes are so high. I personally only carry liability & pay about $225 / year for our three bikes.

[Snarky]

Just going back and hitting a few other posts.

Originally Posted by TonyT1200

Dude, I did that after being in Alamogordo. I decided I'd check out the trails up there and ended up taking a trail to tough for me, at least alone. The only stuff I had was a camel back, a cell phone, and a plan that I left with a buddy in case I was not back after 4 hours. Anyway, I got stuck and luckily a group of other motorcycles came through and helped me out. I followed them out and we did fine after that. Even offered me a beer and I was very accepting (usually I would not touch alcohol while riding but I really wanted one after that). Anyway if you ever come this way again, let me know and we shall ride!

Tony

I wish I would have had my camel pack. Between the standard knife, the rape whistle, the fire starter, and the water tablets I keep with it, it would have been great.

I live on the west side of El Paso so, New Mexico is closer than the airport. We should meet up at some point and ride.

Originally Posted by Johnf3

You say the road was marked on the map? Which road was this, number or name. The Lincoln National Forest just redid their maps within the last year or so and I don't know of any true roads that are on the map that also are restricted to vehicle width, which is how you described it.

Just curious which road you actually think you were on. I am pretty positive you were on an old closed road.

FR 5543
It may or may not be a closed one at this point. However, I checked the Forestry website, and their vehicle maps indicated it was open to vehicles 50" or less in width, so its a '4-wheeler' road, by their map. Not exactly a firm support of approval as a true road, but it was a 'road' for a while. It certainly doesn't go all the way through anymore physically or forest map wise, but GPS indicated it was (which is wrong) Of course, the ultimate responsibility is mine, and I admit that, but it was an accident, and not intentional offroading.

Here was my entry route, the best I can tell.
http://goo.gl/maps/x0L32

Here's my walk out.
First Track:
http://goo.gl/maps/t1okx
Continued: (Point B is where I got a ride from the camper)
http://goo.gl/maps/1WA0z

Here's my recovery route:
http://goo.gl/maps/0jKry

[slide]

Originally Posted by Snarky

J
FR 5543
It may or may not be a closed one at this point. However, I checked the Forestry website, and their vehicle maps indicated it was open to vehicles 50" or less in width, so its a '4-wheeler' road, by their map. Not exactly a firm support of approval as a true road, but it was a 'road' for a while. It certainly doesn't go all the way through anymore physically or forest map wise, but GPS indicated it was (which is wrong) Of course, the ultimate irresponsibility is mine, and I admit that, but it was an accident, and not intentional offroading.

You cannot count on these roads or the info you get from the FS to be accurate. There are too many of these old roads in this state to be kept track of. A major rain storm can change the status of a road in an hour but take months to discover the change (years?).

I think I posted that on my GS (1150) I hit a road which clearly showed going through but which was a complete dead end. That's when I spun my bike because the road dead ended in the middle of a steep slope down. No way could I do a 180 with the tires touching the dirt. Even if I were 7' tall, it would take a 3 or 4 point turn that way.

[Twilight Error]

Originally Posted by slide

You cannot count on these roads or the info you get from the FS to be accurate. There are too many of these old roads in this state to be kept track of. A major rain storm can change the status of a road in an hour but take months to discover the change (years?).

I think I posted that on my GS (1150) I hit a road which clearly showed going through but which was a complete dead end. That's when I spun my bike because the road dead ended in the middle of a steep slope down. No way could I do a 180 with the tires touching the dirt. Even if I were 7' tall, it would take a 3 or 4 point turn that way.

A couple years back, I got on a road in the Adirondacks in NY that my GPS said was real. Within a mile, it degraded into a skidder track. In two miles, the skidder driver had built a bypass around a bog. I, quite stupidly, dove straight into the bog. Made it all of 3'. Spent six hours getting the pigbeast out of that hole.

[slide]

Originally Posted by Twilight Error

A couple years back, I got on a road in the Adirondacks in NY that my GPS said was real. Within a mile, it degraded into a skidder track. In two miles, the skidder driver had built a bypass around a bog. I, quite stupidly, dove straight into the bog. Made it all of 3'. Spent six hours getting the pigbeast out of that hole.

Good you could get it out at all. I never had an adventure nearly as bad as the OP with the GS, but I was acutely aware that it'd be darned easy to get into a situation where I'd have to walk out.

[Twilight Error]

Originally Posted by slide

Good you could get it out at all. I never had an adventure nearly as bad as the OP with the GS, but I was acutely aware that it'd be darned easy to get into a situation where I'd have to walk out.

Yup.

After that, I started carrying a comealong when I head to places I *think* may hold more adventure than the pigbeast is capable of. I've also come across ATVers who stare goggle-eyed at me when I roll up to them. I've been several places that everyone knows a bike as big as the GS can't go. I've got the dents in my fuel tank, scars on the crashbars and puncture holes in the skidplate to prove it.

[Pariahtize]

Wow, that was classic!

Thanks for sharing this. It was a well-documented account of nearly everyhting one should not do.

Hell, we've all made our mistakes; and will continue to do so. Even the well-prepared find themselves in horrible circumstances that they (sometimes) cannot overcome. . .not saying yours was a "horrible circumstance", but it certainly became an issue!

I always "try" to prepare for an overnight, a basic breakdown, a basic medical (part of that is mole skin for walking-blisters). When you don't prepare is when it seems to happen (I'd better knock on wood before I jinx myself!)