Son Attempts a Joy Ride

[mhenderlong]

When I got home Friday night a week ago my wife meets at my car which she normally doesn't do so I was wondering what is up. She tells me that our son dropped my 2007 RSTD in the garage. I thought that isn't that big of a deal since I have fallen over once and nothing happen to the bike. When walked past it it definitely was not just a fall over. The crash bars were nearly ground completely through, running lamp on left side busted, windshield scratched on the edge and the left side lower is busted. I walk into the house and the kid is covered in road rash. He still claims the bike fell over on him the garage but I could tell this was a story.

 

Anyways I make a list of parts and start searching on the net for the least expensive parts supplier and I nearly had a heart attack on what Yamaha wants for parts on these bikes. The front trim ring on the headlight was a whopping $152, cheapest I could find, the lower was the worst since it is just a piece of of ABS plastic which costs $258. Well after the cost reach $1200 I decided to call the insurance company. Met with the adjuster on Thursday and he was not even phased on the cost. After 15 minutes and he has an estimate of $2600 which I have $500 deductible I think I did alright. I still have a dent in the gas tank to get fixed. I guess I have never realized how bad the manufacturers were raping its customers for the cost of parts.

 

I am just glad the son is alright except for the fact he won't come clean on what happen. I guess from now on the motorcycle keys go with me every time I go out of town.

 

 

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[GAWildKat]

Yeah, went through the broken bike in June. One of my husband's coworkers backed into his new bike. Guy was nice, admitted fault and informed his insurance. The front fender was over $500 to replace. The rest was the throttle grip, brake lever, and a couple of "minor" things on that side of the bike. Took forever to fix because the dealer couldn't find an oem fender for 2 weeks. Hope you have better luck.

[billmac]

try pinwall for used parts. If lucky the color will match your bike.

[djh3]

Well you have to kind of remember the parts for the 2nd gen RSV have been out of production for probably 4 or 5 years now even thought the last "new" one was sold as a 2013, I would bet anything after say 2010 was built with existing stock of parts. If the lowers and fairing etc were made of fiberglass they sure would be a lot easier to repair. They are kind of like Corvette parts if someone has them and you want them.......... Because a fender off a malibu aint gonna work.

[Motiv]

Just glad your boy is OK for the most part, don't know his age but a sweet looking bike like an rstd sure would be beckoning me to ride it. He's probably just scared dad will be mad at him, he'll come clean some day.

Good luck with your parts search.

[BlueSky]

I hope you can come up with some appropriate disciplinary action for the son for his sake.

[aharbi]

Don't know how old your son is. But time for some real guilt as a lesson. Put the facts on the table, the damage to him and the bike. You know because you have dropped it and this was much more than a drop. But what hurts you the most (the guilt part) more than the damage to the bike is that he lied to you. You thought he loved you enough to tell the truth, what did you do wrong as a dad in raising him where he felt he couldn't tell you the truth (even more guilt). Let him stew over it a few hours/days, let the guilt sink in. He'll come around.

[Beach Bum]

Or take him out to the woodshed....

[DblTrbl]

try this site. I have purchased numerous things here. The OEM are not really discounted but you can get ANYTHNING for your bike. The accessories have a nice discount!!

 

http://www.starpartshouse.com/

[JohnT]

Stellar advice on the part of aharbi and beach bum.

[Eck]

My son would be paying the $500 deductible for sure, and he would be helping me remove and replace every part on the bike.

 

I took my dads bike one time. I marked the floor where the tires and kickstand were, and disconnected the speedometer cable. Off I went all day riding.. stopped at the gas station and filled it back up, put it back in the garage aligning tires and stand back in same place. Later that evening my dad said:Well, did you enjoy riding my bike. I said WHAT?? He said next time please reconnect the speedometer...duh............I never again took his bike or anything else...

[Freebird]

I have the opposite story. I bought my second bike when I was 15. A '66 or '67 250 Harley Sprint. I was flipping burgers at a local Sonic Drive Inn in NE Texas to make the payments. For some reason that I didn't understand at that moment, my dad decided that he should drive me to work that day. Later in the evening I look out the window of the Sonic and there was dear old Dad, circling through the parking lot on my bike and waving at me.

 

He deserved it though because he helped me a LOT keeping that old bike running.