End of the road

[peterbaron]

furious_blue, did you ever start riding again?

VLJ, had a bad motorcycle accident (as a ride pillion) 1/2 century ago... and started riding again before full recovery.....

[VLJ_imp]

GoldOxide, I don't know whether it's a sign, but it certainly has become a stark reality. I never imagined it would prove this difficult to sell a relatively rare, exceedingly beautiful, functionally perfect, cosmetically pristine, bone stock Honda streetbike. It may turn out that my only options are to sell her to a dealer and get my head ripped clean off, which I am viscerally opposed to doing, or keep her and eventually begin riding again, neck and foot willing.

The way things are looking financially, I just don't see that latter option as being a reasonable, responsible choice. State disability income, which I'm surviving on at the moment, is short-term. It doesn't last forever. Once it runs out later this year, and if it turns out that I am unable to return to work by then, I will have zero income. The process of applying for and being granted permanent disability usually takes two years. Almost no one is ever granted permanent disability on the first attempt. It nearly always requires a minimum of two tries, and the hiring of a disability lawyer. With all this staring me in the face, continuing to pay the $180 extra each month for motorcycle insurance and garage fees in order to keep a pretty motorcycle that I can't even ride is a luxury I simply won't be able to afford.

It's just basic math.

My attorney has filed a lawsuit against the guy who hit me. No one disputes that he is 100% at fault. He was eighty-five years old at the time of the collision, and his assets are limited to a paid-off $700,000 ranch up in Loomis, along with nearly $700,000 in cash in his bank account. He has full 100/300 auto coverage.

Here is where it gets tricky. His auto insurance is offering to pay the full extent of his policy, $100,000, and that's it. My attorney receives one third of any settlement. We know that if it goes to court then the old guy will lose, probably to the tune of an extra two hundred thousand dollars. His attorney's strategy is to wait me out in the hopes that I will cave in and accept only the insurance limits as a total settlement, knowing full well that I will run out of income long before a court case is settled, which will take a minimum of two years.

Again, just basic math, which, at the moment, is decidedly not my friend.

It's now a poker game.

[furious_blue_imp]

Man, this really sucks. By State law I'm able to keep a bike unregistered for the road and uninsured as long as the bike is not ridden on public roads, for about $10 a year. Hope it works out for you.

[VLJ_imp]

I already paid the registration. It's paid until 2021.

[furious_blue_imp]

oh, I get it, you're trapped. Crap...

[VLJ_imp]

Yep, I paid the registration because I thought that I might need to have my buddy ride the bike somewhere, such as to a dealer, to deliver her. I'm just amazed that no one has stepped up to claim my bike. There have been so many people here posting threads, looking for CB1100s. I thought she would sell within the first week. Now, with the price having dropped so much, I'm even more amazed that no one has jumped on this.

I'm clueless. Is it the coronavirus? Do I have spinach stuck between my teeth?

[dave]

VLJ, sorry to hear that you haven't healed yet; but have faith. My friend broke his neck in four places in a motorcycle accident and was in a halo for almost two years. One of the four vertebra was not healing. I gave him the electronic bone stimulator that was prescribed to me for my broken wrist, and he it wore it 24-7. His neck finally did heal. I'm not saying it was because of the stimulator, but I just wanted to let you know that there is still hope your broken vertebra will heal. Will pray for your healing.

[VLJ_imp]

Dave, my electronic collar cannot be used 24-7. It's on a daily timer that will not allow the user to use it more than thirty minutes per day. They call it a bio-device. It can't be returned or re-used. It has a nine-month lifespan, at which point it dies and must be disposed of as e-waste.

If I try to use it more than once in a day, it just flashes a happy face at me, telling me to bugger off until tomorrow. The strangest thing about it is that it gives absolutely no indication that it's on. All you have is the countdown timer. Otherwise, it makes no sound. It doesn't hum, or vibrate. No odor. Nothing. You just start the timer, strap it to the back of your neck, let it count down its thirty minutes, and hope it's actually doing something.

[GoldOxide_imp]

(*sigh*) Disappointing Veal, everything. I don't know anything about motorcycle re-sale in California, however, I suspect that state has an abundance of bikes given the great riding opportunities of the state. So is the state market flooded with bikes? Is a timeless classic-styled UJM not in demand in CA? It must be well into spring riding season there, ..., however, I am sure COVID-19 is now a distraction to shoppers.

It appears the bike doesn't want to let you go.

[pdedse]

Like others have mentioned, sorry to hear of the health issues. I still hope that your neck can heal.

Have you talked to any dealers about a consignment sale? I've read online of dearler taking 10% or more of sale plus monthly charge. If I remember right you went to dealer about an hour or two away for better price. Maybe you could talk to the guy who sold it to you, explain frankly what happened, ask him if they would maybe go for a flat fee of $X amount to help you out.

But it might take waiting this virus thing out for several weeks / months. So hard to say. It just takes one buyer.