-UPDATE_
Well everyone here's what happened with the bike and insurance company: A couple of days after the adjuster visited my house (for which I was not present, but my dad was), I got a call from the agent I had been dealing with, and he was just checking on me and the process. He asked how I was and everything and I told them my arm is bothering me a little, nothing too bad, but he said "okay, we're going to send you $300 compensation for your injuries."
I had gone to a college campus doctor to get looked at the day after the crash, so I didn't have to pay out of pocket for the visit, and wasn't planning on visiting the doctor again because I really did think I was going to be fine. In fact, I think I am now, I don't feel anything from the crash anymore. But they decided to just give me some money in hopes that I'd shut up about my arm I guess, so whatever, I'll take it!
The adjuster called me the next day and had some questions about the bike, like any kind of upgrades. He also asked about any other damage to my riding gear. He had looked at all this at my house, but was double checking. I told him about the $240 I spent on suspension last year, since that was the only thing I could think of that was an upgrade. He also said he'd include a $30 allowance for my riding gloves (which is what I told him I'd paid), and a $45 allowance for boots. I told him my boots were fine, just scuffed, but he included that money anyway. I didn't have to provide a receipt for any of this, so I probably should have told him I had $70 Held gloves or something, but I didn't.
Anyway, he got back to me in a couple of days with the value of the bike: $1870. That's actually right around what I have into it, so I wasn't going to argue the price. I thought it would be much much lower. So they take 30% off of that for salvage, since I'm keeping the bike. Also, they added the $75 for my riding gear. It's all been approved and now I just have to wait for the paperwork.
Overall, I feel very lucky and am fairly impressed with how the insurance company handled the claim. It was the driver's insurance, not mine, and it was Allstate. I think it was pretty hard for them to deny fault in this accident, so maybe that helped. They were good to me, and made an effort to account for any expenses related to the accident. They even asked how I got the bike home, and if I needed compensation for that. I know these things aren't always this smooth, so I feel pretty lucky.
In the meantime, I've purchased a few parts I need from Ebay, and have also bought another bike! For $200, I landed this 72 CB500, which has been sitting for 25 years with only 11K miles (why do people do this?).
It looks nicer in the picture than it is, but there are a lot of good parts here. The engine is stuck and everything is coated in a quarter century of rust, dirt, oxidation, whatever. This bike is 100% original (except for that retarded sissy bar-anyone want it?), so it was actually a little unsettling to rip parts off of it. Next year, when I get back from my trip, I'm going to fix it and put it on the road!
Here's what I got from it:
The handlebar and controls which were in excellent condition, including the OEM grips!
The alternator and cover, which took a lot of cleaning.
The starting motor (mine has never worked).
Right foot peg
The tank and side covers are somehow near immaculate. Everything else on the bike is crusty, rusted and nasty, but the tank is beautiful inside and out and the side covers are perfect. I was nervous about removing them in one piece but they came out okay.
I won't use the front fender since it's pretty well rusted, I'll probably try and bang mine back into shape:o
The speedometer on my bike got ruined, which I didn't know about. This was upsetting because the gauge face was perfect and I had just cleaned and painted the gauges. Anyway, the one on the brown bike is different, so I had to order one on ebay. Apparently this gauge was used on 1.5 years of the CB500, and one year of the CB/CL450.
I'm not sure if I can save the original exhaust on the brown bike. The #1 muffler is completely useless, rusted right through. The others may clean up okay, but the headers feel heavy and blocked on the inside with rust of something.
So I think what I'll do is take the brown tank and side covers and put them on my green bike. My green bike will become a 90% stocker, and when I get back from my trip, the "brown" bike will become green and get some modest changes like lower bars and aftermarket lighting.
So that's what's happening. My goal is to get the bike back together ASAFP so I can depart on my planned summer trip on schedule (June 11). The money from insurance that I won't use on parts will go into the travel fund, which is a little meager! I may start a project thread and put all this stuff in there, if I have time.
Thanks for looking and ride safe!
