The old people say that good things come to those that wait. Of course, most of them have been waiting forever, so I suppose their perspective is tainted. Be that as it may, patience is indeed a virtue and I'm realizing the value of this more and more each day. I'm learning to resist the temptation to fix things immediately. Take a little time to think about what is actually broken, and how I might not only fix it, but prevent it from breaking again. I'm going to write more about this later but for now, let me share the events of this week with you.
My crashed bike has been at Friendly Yamaha in Baton Rouge for a couple of weeks now. When the Geico dude couldn't even find "FJR" in his laptop computer, I got an empty feeling in my stomach. In my work life, I've settled hundreds of insurance claims. The quality of the claims adjuster can have a HUGE effect on the outcome of the claim. Still I kept positive and was relived when he instructed me to bring it to the dealer for the estimate. At the very least, the professionals at the dealer would make sure they checked everything out thoroughly.
Well, they checked everything all right - the estimate came in last week. It was 3 pages long and the bottom line was WELL north of $13,000.00. It's hard to imagine that much damage, but the Tupperware is pricey. I knew immediately that the bike was totaled, but Geico dude is still fairly clueless. Yet again - patience is called for and I kept talking to myself. And I talked with Redfish Hunter too, which was a big help.
Finally yesterday, Geico dude calls and offers the total settlement. It sounded pretty good and I asked him to email it to me. I read over the details - all accessories that were damaged were offered at full replacement value. I would be allowed to remove all accessories not damaged and keep them. My riding jacket, pants, and gloves were not covered. But they would pay for my helmet and tinted shield with no questions asked and no salvage retainer. Since I did not hit my head in the crash, and the funds to replace my helmet (which I would not need to do) were just about equal the cost of my jacket, pants, and glove - I felt that was OK.
Also included was a very generous offer to cover the majority of the cost to rent a U-Haul truck and get my bike home. My towing coverage would have paid to tow my bike from the scene of the crash to the nearest Yamaha dealer. Back home, I asked Google and it turns out that Durango Yamaha was the closest. I called them and asked who they used for bike towing. They gave me a name and I called that guy. I asked him what he would have charged me to tow my bike to Durango from the scene of the crash. "$75.00 plus $4.00 a loaded mile." Simple enough - back to Google, determine the mileage, add the tax, and submit it to Geico for consideration. Imagine my surprise when they not only agreed to pay me in lieu of the towing company, but upon their own verification of my figures, determined that they actually owed me MORE than what I asked for. Wow - Geico dude is starting to weigh in my favor.
As all of this is transpiring, and to be honest quite a while before, I was thinking about what I was going to do after my claim was settled. I came to the realization that I was not going to stop riding. Quite frankly, even my mother knew that was going to be the case. The '14 Red is still my dream bike. The fact that I made a ridiculously stupid momentary lapse in judgment doesn't change that. Finding another new one was going to be tough, and no matter how good Geico dude gets, he ain't gonna cover the cost of a new one anyway. However, I was aware that a used '14A was for sale at Friendly Yamaha. With only 1400 miles on it, at $12,999.00, I was interested. Of course you peeps know the drill - Pants pays cash for his toys. If someone buys this thing from under me, well then, it was just not meant to be. Patience, old grasshopper. Patience.
Back to yesterday, I met Geico dude at his office about noon. I told him that I thought the Actual Cash Value (ACV) of the bike was a little low, and asked him how he came to that figure? He showed me 3 "comps" (comparable bikes for sale of like kind and quality). The first one listed was the bike for sale at Friendly. The other two were at least 500 miles away. I told him the other two were irrelevant because of geographic distance, and asked him for the full $13,000.00. He indicated that my bike had 6000 miles on it, and that deserved some consideration. So I gave in a couple hundred bucks and he cut the check.
Fifteen minutes later, with my check deposited in my bank account, I called Friendly Yamaha. Time to introduce them to The Golden Rule - he who hath the Gold, makes the rules. I low balled my first offer and reminded the salesman that it was November - good luck waiting until April for good riding weather and other offers. He countered with $12,000 and I figured that was close enough. I left a deposit over the phone and told the boss I'd be "sick" today.
This morning, Dad and I loaded a few tools and my riding gear in the truck and drove over to Friendly. We were glad to see the two Redfish there. My "new" bike was in the parking lot, and Redfish Hunter had looked it over thoroughly. Unfortunately, they couldn't stay as they had other business to attend to. Shortly thereafter, G-Squared pulls up in his bike and it was great to see him. Very nice of him to come by on his day off. Gary was able to learn who owned the bike I was buying, and assured me that it was not abused.
Dad and I spent 45 minutes pulling off all of my undamaged accessories off the totaled bike while the salesman prepared the paperwork for the new bike. I was VERY pleasantly surprised to learn that my YES warranty from the totaled bike can be credited and used toward the YES warranty for the new bike. For $40.00, I got a full YES warranty with my purchase. We found some kind of problem with the left saddle bag latching mechanism, but the YES warranty will cover it and I left that bag with them to repair. Otherwise, it has two paint chips on the right saddle bag the size of a pin head and that's it. This bike comes with a tank protector and a set of 1" bar risers. I got the service history on the bike (all service up to date), picked up a couple of oil filters and a bottle of whale jiz (ZIP IT!!!!!), and I should be good to go.
As the dealer is putting the final touches on the paperwork, I called Geico to cancel the insurance on the totaled bike, and put insurance on the new bike. With my rear end generously lubed, I answered the questions and waited for the inevitable. This is got to be it. It's gone way too good up to this point. There are no free rides in life and NOW is the time to pay the piper. When she told me that my premium actually DROPPED $29.00 for the year, my heart skipped a beat. How can that be, I asked. Well, I turn 50 this month and apparently, I'm now in a lower bracket. Okie - dokie, don't ask, don't tell. Wow.
My dad drove my truck home and I rode the bike. Truthfully, I've had better rides. The accident is still fresh and my mind was kind of messing with me. That will calm down in time. Hopefully my new found patience will serve me well for this too. I've really got to bear down and get back to the basics with my riding. Distractions will have to wait until I can stop.
But the bike is wonderful. It seems to idle better than my other one, and the 1-2 shift also seems just a touch smoother, if that is even possible. All gages are showing what I expect, and I think I've got a keeper. I will have to endure the friggin Battle-ax tires a while, but all things considering, that's a small price to pay.
Over the next few weeks, I will be re-farkling the new bike and getting to know her. The learning curve this time should be far less steep.
So good things indeed come to those that wait. Pants is back in the saddle and the adventure continues.....
Stay Thirsty, my friends.....
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