Insurance Question: Writing a bike off (and necessity of replacing frame with damaged steering lock)

Help & Advice
1

Hi. You may have seen my post about attempted theft outside Metropolis in Vauxhall last week. During the incident the following damage occured:

  • broken clutch lever (I've ordered a replacement and will replace myself)
  • bent gear shifter (I've ordered a replacement and will replace myself)
  • broken yoke at head of triple tree where they broke the steering lock (the main thing I want my insurance to pay to replace)
  • slightly damaged "hole" that the steering lock goes into on the frame
Having gone for a quote (at an official dealership) they "recommend" replacing the entire frame since the hole that the steering lock goes into is slightly damaged/warped and wont be as "stiff" as it was before the damage. I havent received the quote yet, but I am rather worried that it will bring the cost of repairs up to (and probably over) 50% of the market valuation of the bike (it's not a high end beast, though it is only 2 years old with ~1k mileage), which is the start of the region where the insurer just writes the bike off.

I’m basically just posting this looking for positive reinforcement of my idea to tell the dealership I dont want the quote to include the frame replacement, and to just live with a loose steering lock (which the whole incident proved is basically a useless theft deterrent against a mildly knowledgable thief anyway)

Anyone happen to have opinions on this? Am I being paranoid and should send the full quote to insurers? If I send the full quote and then the insurer says “WRITE OFF!”, can I then retract that quote and send a new one just for the yoke repair?

Does anyone work in vehicle insurance on this forum? :slight_smile:

2

Don’t the insurers insist on their own appointed mechanics to asses this things anyway. Otherwise they might be defrauded.

Have you already started a claim?

3

I can advise you if needed
Drop me a PM with number I give you a call mate

4

The insurers will have to accept an engineers report from a Main Dealer.

If the engineers report recommends replacing the frame the cost of parts + labour will make virtually any motorcycle a write off.

5

the cost of the parts isn’t the worst part, it’s the labour in swapping everything over to the new frame. far more than the cost of the parts

6

Thats what I figured, the cost of the parts (but mainly) the labour will be huge. I guess I wait to see what the quote comes back as. Then if it is close to or above 50% of the market value, I’ll ask for another, without the frame replacement included. Because honestly, I can live without a useless steering lock anyway, and just rely on the other security I now use on an ultra-paranoid level.

The insurance assessor did have a look at the bike, but did NOT note the warped steering lock bolt hole. So I’m still in two minds as to whether to even reveal that to them. No idea if it would be in their interests to write the bike off or to pay for repairs without the frame replacement. I suppose that depends on the cost of the latter.

7

Perhaps I’m missing something here, but once you’re already claiming on insurance, why bother replacing some bits yourself?

8

I had a bike written off in 2010 which was due to possible frame damage. I forget the wording on the main dealers engineers report but it was something on the lines of subject to further inspection of the frame alignment.

If you managed to persuade the main dealer to exclude any frame damage from the engineers report I’m sure the exclusion will be noted within the report. As such I’m sure the insurance company would reject the report as being incomplete. Also as useless as steering locks are I’m pretty sure all insurance companies include a clause about the use and function of them, logic tells me that a faulty steering lock would result in no theft cover.

9
Perhaps I'm missing something here, but once you're already claiming on insurance, why bother replacing some bits yourself? monkimark
No, you're not missing anything. I kinda just wanted to do it myself to start getting used to doing small things on the bike (baby steps) but will let them replace with the stock parts, and then probably replace again with the parts I ordered (I ordered a pivoting cluth and brake lever, and a shifter with a bendable top).
Also as useless as steering locks are I'm pretty sure all insurance companies include a clause about the use and function of them, logic tells me that a faulty steering lock would result in no theft cover. National Treasure
That's a good point.

… worst fears. Quote has come back that is basically the same as the market value of the bike. Surely the dealership knows this will result in a write off. He’s said to tell the insurance assessor to contact him to discuss the quote, which I find fishy.