So, this morning, was on my way to work on my 848 evo corse se, my own fault, cold, morning dew and not thinking, meant I lost the back end of my bike, it recovered wriggled a bit and spat me off. The damage is: top fairing bracket snapped, top fairing snapped, aluminium tank scratches into metal, side fairing scratches, rear fairing, clutch cover, peg, lever, handlebar, mirror..... I have never claimed on motorbike insurance before, its insured for £9000, my excess is £450..... 1. What happens? Do you think it will be a write off or will they try fix it? Can you fix the aluminium tank? 2. Do they take it away? Which is fine if they are writing it off, but if it is going to be fixed can I choose where it goes? 3. Can you buy it back if it is written off. Finally... 4. Should I just take it on the chin and fix it. I know a few of these questions depends on the small print of my policy, but any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Bad luck mate, we've all been there. Youre ok and the rest is metal and plastics. Personally, I'd fix it myself. The tank can be repaired. Its not as bad as it looks, but check your lock stop too. That will be bent. I think insurance may write it off. Fix it yourself and then no Cat N(?) Cheap chinese front subbies are okay, I bought one for my 1198. Identical to ducati item, prob made in same factory. Mine was £110 I think. Sidepanels and tail come up on fleabay. Keep em peeled.
My opinion, for what it's worth: The last thing you need is to get your insurance company involved if you don't need to. They might write it off, or they might get it fixed, but either way you'll be paying for it one way or another through your premium for years. Get on Ebay for a load of used parts and either fit them yourself or get a local independant to do it for you. If you are using it for commuting I'd be living with the cosmetic only damage as it could easily happen again.
When you're sourcing parts ....esp footpegs and rear brake levers .. I found secondhand eBay items often with damage were cheaper from dealers .... As Nasher says . Factor in Insurance loading on future premiums ..... You can already bank £450 towards bits if you go the DIY route. The cosmetic items could be picked up as and when available.
Is your NCB protected? If it is, I'd claim as it's just easier. That's what you pay for at end of the day . If not, depending on how much NCB you have I'd look into repairing myself. I never used to claim but recently have just let insurance companies sort stuff.
If they write it off they pay you out . Only a selling issue if you buy it back from insurance company.
I don't think it makes any difference in reality if your NCD is protected or not. It seems they are always able to find another excuse to up your premium at renewal time. And as they are all in Cahoots any other quotes you get will also be inflated.
Cheers guys, I am err...ing on the side of fixed it. All I really need to get up and running again its a fairing headlight bracket, I might even be able to bend the footpeg bracket and gear lever straight. I took it up the road for a quick ride, mainly just to "get back on the horse" and its fine, the lock stops are still there and everything. Otherwise yep, insurance will go up, and I have the hassle of waiting, them umming and aghing and if they take my bike away. So time to start searching for a headlight bracket lol
Be gentle on foot peg bracket. The frame lugs may snap. I used my rear paddock stand pole to do mine. But gently does it. I didnt use heat coz of paint. Use other side from above to guage levels. To do the lockstop, I heated it gently with a heat gun over a longer period and then tapped it gently against a club hammer with a smaller hammer. The paint is unseen here. I hand painted any blemish afterwards. You may also need that long bit that connects to inside side panel then to engine, mine bent. Looks like your fork feet got away with it.
Keep in mind that you will get screwed on future premiums for the next few years and thst is not just on your bike renewals but also on your car and possibly on other insurances as well. Shop around for parts and services and probably have it all good again for a fairly reasonable nett cost after you factor in the insurance excess saved and the cost of parts and labour.
I’d fix that myself but then I treat claiming on insurance as a last resort. I bought my 899 as a cat N write off and it had less damage than your bike so I’d say it will be written off.
Part Number 82929431A https://www.bike-parts-ducati.com/ducati-motorcycle/assignment_spare_parts/82929433A £179.10 If you call your local Ducati Dealer they could probably do it cheaper.
My view. Insurance would write it off in a heartbeat. Your next premium will rise significantly. Options. 1. Insurance (but see above) 2. Patch it up and live with it. How long and how well your repair is depends on money, time and pride. 3. Sell it as a damaged repairable not on register 4. Track it and buy a cheap commuter.
Agreed - if you add up the cost of brand new replacement parts then it’s thousands - insurance wouldn’t repair that tank - they would price it up as new at - wait for it…. £2630.98. I you are really patient and wait for the parts to come up on ebay then you might eventually find them all but it could take years and is still going to set you back a fair bit of cash as it’s the specific Evo Se colour scheme. You could repair and respray the broken fairings - but they are never going to be ‘as new’ again. Original Decals are available so that aspect isn’t a deal breaker. One alternative would be to get a complete set of repro Chinese fairings - but again that devalues the bike. The tank is lacquered alloy which would require specialist repair. So if I was going down the cheap repair route I would just get carbon protectors to cover it. One way or another this is going to cost you. Don’t underestimate the cost of getting it back to mint condition - if that’s what you have in mind then you may find it cheaper in the longer run to just get it written off and pay the increased premiums.
Or fate could step in and instead of taking years to find the parts then you could take a drive up to scotland and buy this lot! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/28497743...QrJuWvois8NdwEHgEo36wlobVM0yEXkIaAioTEALw_wcB Not completely perfect but most of it is good and you could sell the bits you don’t need to recoup costs!
