Tesla'ed in a Parking Mishap

[rdprdp01]

Already did all that to make it less noticeable, and it worked. But the Chrome Plate has been scraped to the metal. Chromers in California are unwilling to rechrome a muffler because if the seal leaks the Chrome they use will become contaminated. I have not loooked in Texas. I will sort out something else if the careful touchup I plan to do fails miserably.

It is good enough as is, but I would like to restore it to its previous state. Thanks very much for thinking about it and the suggestions. I welcome more. David

[dave]

I thought I would share my story about a friend of mine who was involved in a similar accident about 20 years ago on his Harley. He was going very slowly through a shopping center parking lot when a car pulled out in front of him. He slammed on the brakes, lost control, and had a gentle tip over. He never came into contact with the car. The damage was minor, just scratches to his bags and fairing. The car owner stopped, and when they talked, the car owner insisted that he was not liable because "no contact was made". My friend took the guy to court to pay for the damages, but the judge ruled against him. I don't remember exactly how the judge reached his conclusion, but my friend was pretty upset. Maybe it would have been different if he had run into the car?

[pdedse]

I thought I would share my story about a friend of mine who was involved in a similar accident about 20 years ago on his Harley. He was going very slowly through a shopping center parking lot when a car pulled out in front of him. He slammed on the brakes, lost control, and had a gentle tip over. He never came into contact with the car. The damage was minor, just scratches to his bags and fairing. The car owner stopped, and when they talked, the car owner insisted that he was not liable because "no contact was made". My friend took the guy to court to pay for the damages, but the judge ruled against him. I don't remember exactly how the judge reached his conclusion, but my friend was pretty upset. Maybe it would have been different if he had run into the car?

That's a tough one.  A motorcylist knows that he wouldn't have gone down if it hadn't been for the driver pulling out in front of him, so it feels as if the other driver is at fault.  Yet if the same thing happens between two cars and no contact is made, there is no issue because the car doesn't "go down".  The two drivers may exchange some words, but that's about it.  An inherent risk to mc riding is just that--we can go down where a car stays "upright".

[emptysea]

I thought I would share my story about a friend of mine who was involved in a similar accident about 20 years ago on his Harley. He was going very slowly through a shopping center parking lot when a car pulled out in front of him. He slammed on the brakes, lost control, and had a gentle tip over. He never came into contact with the car. The damage was minor, just scratches to his bags and fairing. The car owner stopped, and when they talked, the car owner insisted that he was not liable because "no contact was made". My friend took the guy to court to pay for the damages, but the judge ruled against him. I don't remember exactly how the judge reached his conclusion, but my friend was pretty upset. Maybe it would have been different if he had run into the car?

Really tough to prove fault in parking lot accidents generally, and even more so when the two vehicles didn't touch.   It also depends upon the liability laws in the particular state.   Finally, if the judge was a BMW rider, then he was probably thinking that your friend shouldn't have been riding the Harley in the first place.  

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I'm late to this thread.

The rebuild looks great.

I'm a little curious why the self-driving car aspect of this is considered important to the circumstances of the accident. Are you contending that the Tesla did not "see" you? If so, is it any more probable that the driver would have? (I would argue that it's not). Or was it just that the self-parking mode makes abrupt movements (try it in a Ram 1500 pick up...terrifying) that you had not predicted? I completely agree with your message to be extra cautious in parking lots, but I'd rather be in a parking lot filled with self-parking vehicles than one filled with 80 year-old drivers parking themselves.

[Gone in 60]

My ex-insurance investigator instinct says that if no contact was made between the bike and the car, especially in a parking lot at low speeds, the liability would be too hard to prove on the car driver, and could be directed back at the rider for not having enough control to keep a bike from tipping over, that it would be very difficult to prove in the rider's favor.

emptysea:
"I completely agree with your message to be extra cautious in parking lots, but I'd rather be in a parking lot filled with self-parking vehicles than one filled with 80 year-old drivers parking themselves."

HaHa! Sounds like something Mrs. G said on Saturday. We currently have fleets of Waymo (https://waymo.com/) self-driving cars running around the Los Angeles area. They are driver-less Jaguar SUVs that can be hailed via an app like Uber. They are easy to spot, with large sensors attached all over them, and for the most part, drive around very predictably and safely. When Mrs. comes with me to the museum, she spends the time during my four or five hour shift walking up to a nearby shopping center where she sets up her computer in a coffee shop to get her work done. She has to pass the intersection of 3rd and Fairfax, a very treacherous and busy intersection for pedestrians. Typically cars dart around trying to beat pedestrians. She commented yesterday that "I'd rather have the street full of Waymo cars than these crazy drivers!"

[BV_Prostaff]

Man, sorry to hear about that! Glad you're OK, and that you found some solace in taking the time to bond with your bike a bit more, even if it's through the process of repairing it.

Can't do much for that muffler, but the mirror is easy to replace. The engine guard can be sanded smooth and reshot with some Rustoleum satin black textured paint, and it will blend right in, trust me. You can sand out that scratch on the clutch cover and hit it with some VHT high-temp clear paint, and it will blend as well.

I'm a "visual perfectionist" and am cursed with the need to have cosmetic perfection. I did some great bonding with my NC750X over the past few months. It had tipped over, and the owner had done an admirable job of touching up the side fairing and engine cover. I used these points as a price bargaining chip, and thought I'd be fine with the condition. But, I had to find a matching color for everything, sanded and reshot, and now she looks perfect, and I have mental peace and some satisfaction of a job well done. I was luckier on the muffler... it has a stamped, brushed muffler guard, and I was able to sand it out and "rebrush" the look with steel wool.

Regarding the comments about Whole Foods... yeah, park far and clear. We always do. Overpriced? Hit Whole Foods early on Sunday mornings. That's when they mark tons of stuff down by 50% to clear it out. Mrs. G makes a sport out of getting the bargains.

I had the NC700X and now ride the 2014 CB1100.  I miss the X.  It was super easy to move around and not too heavy.  I like the DCT clutch as well.  Does the 750 have noticeably more power than the 700?

[Gone in 60]

I’ve never ridden an NC700, so I really wouldn’t be able to make that comparison. For as little power as it has on paper it’s quite fast enough for my needs.