Stopping on a heavy bike.

[steve59]

I'm done being sick now, coming home from the gym yesterday an old lady [when I call a lady old she's old] did an old lady thing at intersection and I bumped her rear bumper at a couple mph. I lost balance and went down while this OL still in her condition has her car in reverse and begins to attempt to roll over my NEW R3 while I'm tapping on her window to get her attention, she came back to reality while her rear tire was on my front tire attempting to continue backing over my bike and as she was returning to reality I asked her to stop going in reverse as she was running over my motorcycle which she miraculously did before more damage was done. As I was lifting my bike up she decided to turn right and disappear.
I caught her plate # and dec ided to ride the 1-2 miles home to assess the damage b4 calling local leo. First note to self, I've been off cruisers too long and as great as the r3r storm brakes are heavy mass still takes more time to stop! Had I been on either my SDR or SAS i'
d have had 2-3' left b4 bumping her, 2 Triumph really went unconventional with the R3. My left mirror and shift lever broke off. The mirror will need to be replaced because the mold that set screw is thin and sheared off, it took some time to round the circle enough to fit, piece the plastic shim together and cut a new screw [sallzall] to length for a washer/screw tightening solution. The shift lever was more surprising as the other bikes I've owned use a screw thru shift arm into pedal and from the few pieces I found on the ground around the bike there was no screw. A stem slides into lever and that's it. I removed the screw holding the lever, drilled a hole into backside of pedal and added a screw with washer to prevent it from coming off again. The upside to the story is at 5'8" 150 lbs this new R3 is light enough for me to lift back up by myself! sometimes there's no good purchase to grip.
There is a 1.5 inch crease on top of tank where handlebar must had hit it, I think the fact that I bumped her rear tire causing the drop would make me the responsible party regardless of what she did and as I was viewing the whole intersection I honestly can't say when her car went into reverse. In short I don't want an Insurance claim to properly repair damages unless I'm certain she's at fault. If you made it this far would you file a claim or write it up as experience?

 

[atomsplitter]

"would you file a claim or write it up as experience?"

Tricky question. The person hitting the rear of any vehicle would get the citation for not allowing enough stopping distance. That's a general rule the police use, they don't care how anyone ended up smacking somebody else's tail, they just write the ticket. Since law enforcement hasn't up to this point gotten involved, there may be a reporting issue if the damage is over a certain dollar amount. The Insurance Company will want to review the police report because if they pay out on a claim they will want reimbursed under their "rights of subrogation" rules and that means they go after either that little old lady or the vehicle manufacturer(s). Insurance companies aren't a charity, they don't want to pay claims, and they don't want to lose money when they do. So based on my reading that you were fairly unscathed, and you've made enough makeshift repairs you can still ride the bike I'd say you're lucky to be asking that question above and it's entirely up to you what you do next.

 

[steve59]

That's my take on it also. Without a witness that could confirm that she put it in reverse without even being aware does leave me at the mercy of sop.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

When you say she did an old lady thing what did she do? Did she pull out in front of you prior to reaching the intersection or possibly change lanes quickly or just stop suddenly? Regardless who’s at fault she is in violation of Hit and Run. She like you are required to exchange drivers information. Now, what did she do prior to the collision and what did you do?