[GreyBear]

Howdy, long time since I posted last. But summer daylight was burning, Logged a bit over 8K so far this year been All through the Carolinas, Tenn, Arkansas, Ill, Mo,Ind, Va, Ky, Md, WVa, Pn, Fl, Ms, La, And bits of Kansas, Ok and Tx....and was fine until I pulled into Tuscaloosa, AL. Had ridden hard that day got caught up for almost 4 hrs in the broiling sun waiting for a wreck to get cleared, and was worn out. So I pull into a Motel 6 and get a room. Parked the bike under a light pole, locked the forks and rear brake, wrapped my cable lock through the frame and around said pole. Took a dip in the pool, grabbed some ice and had a drink then crashed.
When I get up in the morning I didnt need any coffee to get my blood pumping....I look out the window and there is my beloved Iron Steed, Moulon Rouge lying on her side. I was down the stairs just stopping long enough to grab the cell phone and if anyone was still asleep, they woke up fast. (So if you hear anyone talk about waking up and looking out to see a shaved head tattooed guy swirling in a blue fog of profanity......that would be me.) I called 911 and had them send a car, then called the motel office. Jeeze, I hope I am not offending anyone, for I am sure that everyone in the state of Al isn't an inbred freaking idiot, but I have never dealt with such before. Apparently the hit and run artist did thier deed between 23:00 and 01:30. I say this because several people INCLUDING the manager of the motel saw the bike on it's side. Did anyone bother to call my room or come knock on the door? NO. The useless POS that hit her and ran off didn't of course but what was up with the rest of these folks? I was livid. I finally asked the manager ifit was the custom of people riding expensive motorcycles to just pull up and throw it on the ground instead of putting down the stand, like some kid with a bicycle?
The officer that filed the report figured it was probably some illegal working on one of the numerous construction jobs close by. Maybe so. In a way I would sort of hope so. At least someone afraid of getting deported would have some sort of excuse for not doing the right thing....
The damage wasnt terrible. In the old days I would have probably not fixed it until winter and tear down. Rear fender tail light one turn signal mirror dent in tank foot pegs scratched....windscreen trashed ( it took a lot of the force when she hit the pavement). I used some cable ties, some JB Weld and a tire iron to get her back on the road. Took it slow to make sure nothing was tweaked as far as frame etc went. Then opened it up and came on the hell out of Alaf*&^%inbama. Have ridden her dail since and except for cosmetics shes fine.

On a bright note: My hat is off to Progressive Insurance. They have a claims adjuster found scratches I didnt see and cut me a check within 45 mins after seeing the bike. There was a bit of difference in what the stealership would do it for and his estimate and no biggie after talking with them he cut a second check for the difference.

I usually don't stay at motels unless I can pull the bike in the room. I was tired and they didn't have a ground floor room so I broke my own rule...fortunately it wasn't any worse.

Ride Free......and watch out for motel parking lots....
Bear

[chucktx]

sorry to hear of your demise bear.....and your right....pos was prob. illeagle. glad it isnt any worse than it is. hope all gets repaired to your satisfaction and congrats on your trips!!! hope they were fun!

[AFNurse]

Ouch Bear...that sux!!! I did my Sturgis run....stayed in 2 motels (one up, one down, and tented everything else). BOTH motels (think both were super 8) were accomidating.....one allowed me to park the bike in the covered load/unload zone and could be seen from the front desk under good light, the other had me park in a zebra striped area that was just off of the same type of overhang..... and again, could be seen at the front desk! Coming back there were LOTS of bikes at this hotel.....so think that everyone kinda looked out for everyone....you knock one down, you get a bunch! Glad that Progressive was there for you and that no serious damage was done.....another good thing was that when your hit and run occured, you were not ON the bike....that sorta thing will leave an even greater lasting impression.... Someday, I will have the time to put on the kind of miles you do. alas, I had to make up lost miles in 9 days doing 4200+ which I know put me over 5k in less then 1 month....but only have 1-2k for the rest of the year..... Ride free!
Nurse

[GreyBear]

Thanks for letting me rant. Yes it could have been a lot worse. And AFN....when your'e an old fart like me you can ride more too. <S> I used to be able to ride like that in a short time, party most of the time there then ride like hell to get back and work....but those things are for younger guys....now I can still do the same milage...I just need a month instead of a long weekend!


Ride Free.....

[AFNurse]

Originally Posted by GreyBear

now I can still do the same milage...I just need a month instead of a long weekend!
Ride Free.....

You could still DO the ride, just not as much fun....I would LOVE to have the time to turn that ride into a month!!! 938 miles was my longest single day ride......I did it, could have broken 1k if I needed to, but got home, so why bother..... would have been much more interesting tho to expand it into 1-2 more days ride....see some of the sites. I am just thankful that I have an E Glide and not a sport bike!!

[Goose]

You didn't notice some little Gremlins hiding in a newspaper machine near by, did ya? I kinda like that little blonde headed dingy one, might be kinda fun.

[Peyts]

Sh*tty deal, GreyBear! I HATE these little *****s that bang into something and then just take off. Have a set of pills and owe up to the screw-up! I could care less if it was an illegal or not... piece of sh*t in my book... plain and simple.

As for Progressive... good on you to give kudos when they are due... not very often that an insurance company is anything but a pain in the ass to deal with.

Stay cool, bro... glad to hear that the bike still opened-up like a prostitute.

[chucktx]

Originally Posted by Goose

You didn't notice some little Gremlins hiding in a newspaper machine near by, did ya? I kinda like that little blonde headed dingy one, might be kinda fun.

im with ya there goose!!!!!! might be fun to ride a time or two!!!!

[mwelych]

Progressive is probably one of the most inexpensive and accomodating insurance companies that I've ever dealt with. They were there when I totalled my sporty, and I'm still with them. There was no rate increase either!!!