Broken GTR

[wiltsguy]

Just back from an 'end of year' trip to the Costas - Malaga area. Got a four(yes 4) berth cabin for little money from Portsmouth to Santander and spent a week in the sun in hotels at 20 Euros a night incuding safe parking. Brill roads,weather hospitality etc - and a great ride back up the A4 to the boat on Sunday evening.
Got on the boat on Monday afternoon and had the roughest passage ever arriving in Portsmouth on Sunday pm.   
Got called to the bike early to find it had been tipped over and thrown about in the storm.
Busted fairing , panniers , snapped off mirror , scratches everywhere.
Bike is a month old only and looks very sad.
Brittany Ferries have put their hands up and offered to pay for everthing including car/bike hire , retrieve costs . Recognition of my distress (whatever that is).
Should have the damage report in a week and my guess is £5 to 6 k , although we might discover more stuff when the panels are pulled.
Anyone else gone through this ???

nb. the bike went superbly and if it is beyond repair I WANT ANOTHER ONE !!!!

[Winston Smith]

Fortunately no.

What a bugger.

Good they offered to make good though.

[mecki]

I'd be devastated if that would happen to me.
But at least you get generously compensated and don't get stuck with repair bills or loss of claims-free bonus.
I always thought that ferry companies make you secure your bike yourself so they won't be liable if something like that happens.
After all if you secured it it isn't their fault if you didn't do it properly and the bike falls over.

[Lonewolf]

Damn sorry to hear that, as mecki has said I'd be gutted too if that happened to my 4 year old GTR never mind a new one. I think you are lucky that they didnt put the damage down to an act of God, i.e. with the rough sea crossing. Hope everything gets sorted and quickly for you. I'm not sure what the cut off point is with costings for damage, if you have 6k+ worth of damage it could be written off.  ???

[jenros]

shit, !!!!!!!,i was gritting my teeth reading that mate,id be wanting to kill some bugger if it happened to me :(,

[simbad]

Not a great end to your trip ... sorry to hear that. Glad I wasn't on that crossing - last time I did it felt sick as a dog but the sea was really flat!
Did you have it on the centre-stand or side stand? Hope you get it all sorted ...

[Kwikasfuki]

I feel your pain. Hope you get it all resolved

[cpettifer]

Argh, how frustrating. So glad to hear they have said they'll sort it though. Did they secure it (well, you know what I mean), or did you have to do it? I'm guessing they must have done if they are paying up?

[wiltsguy]

Mine was the only bike on the boat although I quickly hooked up with other passengers with a bike at home .  On arrival I had offers to get me and broken bike bits home.  Lovely people.
The bike was tied down by a Brittany Ferries matelot and when I suggested a more secure method I was told "clear off , we do this all the time"  !!!
Like others on here I cross La Manche a few times a year and never had a problem  on either the train or the boats before. 
The ships first officer , nice young man called James ,   was most sympathetic and made a full report with lots of photos which he emailed to customer services in Plymouth before we even arrived . Importantly he also accepted full liability to me and my new friends.
Bit more -- Customer services told me their insurance arrangements for fixing things until I reminded them that I was expecting Brittany Ferries to see me right and if they wanted to recoup the cost then they should
talk to their insurers. I want nothing to do with the insurance company although I will naturally cooperate with the assessors.
Sorry to bore you all but final point, the photos show my helmet locked on to the tail rack . Hence new Schubert on order shortly as they told me I can't use a helmet that has been dropped.

[Winston Smith]

P&O North Sea Ferries will not secure bikes for passage.  They provide ropes/towels etc. but leave the customer to secure the machine to avoid claims.

Nice that Brittany Ferries have taken liability.

[zedmeister]

Sad to read this, hope all goes well with your claim, although with the ammount of damage you say, i would think its a write off. I know this because i too had misfortune in february 2010. Some scum broke into my garage and nicked most of my tools, i did not care about that, what i did care about was my black beauty covered in white gloss paint!!!!. The scum had opened a tin and literally threw paint all over the bike and anything else that got on the way. I called the police etc and also my local dealer who came and took the bike away, after a week or so i got a call from the dealer to say the assessor had been and had written the bike off and would be collecting the bike 2 days later. I had to act quickly because i needed to swap the screen , seat, autocom, heated grips. I got there and saw the mess in all its glory, i was gutted even more, until i happened to peel a small piece of paint from the tank and it came off in one piece and left no marks ( it had started to harden like rubber) so i began peeling other bits and they came off the same, O.M.G i thought this maybe salvegeable. I made a call to the assessors office spoke to them and i was given a ridiculous price to buy it back, needless to say i bought it back, it took me 2 days to clean it up to showroom condition. A friend who is a spray painter told me because i polish the bike to death this is why the paint could not get a hold because of all the wax on the surfaces. OK i know what you are saying i now have a CAT D ( Malicious damage, not accident damage ) but i have had it from new and know its full history runs like a dream first time every time, and it is still worth 2 thirds of a non CAT bike.

Now i can tell you plastics etc are not cheap my bike was quoted at £5350 for repair PLUS LABOUR!!!, Here are a few prices  Tank - £1100 - clocks - £800 - All  plastics inc pannier lids -- £2500  -  other bits £950.

The moral of this story is
1) DO NOT store any paint products in your garage / shed etc unless you want an instant colour change

2) Polish your bike every minute of the day, stops any crap sticking to it ( except mud and flies ) and makes it look good.

[Kwikasfuki]

Out of curiosity how much was the buy back price? Was this the ZZR or GTR?

[zedmeister]

No i dont mind telling you at all Kwik, this way the forum should have a rough guideline should the unspeakable happen. This was the GTR, basically its worth 1x third of the value at the time of the incident if you want to buy it back, mine was valued at £9k at the time, so i paid 3k to buy it back, i had a £250 xs and storage at £7 per day ( 10 days), so effectively i bought it back for £3320. Now as said it is now worth two thirds of a normal bike in the same condition / mileage.

I plan to keep it for a while ( unless i get a reasonable offer ) its still in immaculate condition ( 09). I did take it to several dealers to see what they would give me against a new trade - in, i told them it was CAT D and the best was £4800 the worst £4200, bearing in mind they would put a 25 - 30 % mark -up on the bike making it nearer £6000 in the shop.
Recently i saw a 10 reg CAT D ( new shape ) on autotrader in blue for £7500 and it sold quickly, so there must be a market  somewhere. Really when you think it has not been in an accident etc, its not bad for a straight bike.

I would consider swapping it for the 1440 when it comes out though.`

[Kwikasfuki]

As long as it was fairing damage (and it could be proved that it was) I would buy a CAT D. I did inquire about the one listed on eBay, asking for pictures prior to the repair. They never got back.

[wiltsguy]

Not quite a write off. And I'm happy about that - not sure of the 2012 colours.
Assessors had a quick glance and said replace all damaged and marked parts , including fairing,mirror and brackets , endcan and kickplate (£800 gulp) and right side pannier complete except the lock which I can transfer to keep the keys right.  New lock assy is £250 but comes with an unmatched key. Few other bits and bobs bring the parts cost up to £4k and there's a complete days labour on top.
I've warned them I will be inspecting the repaired stuff super carefully and not signing off on anything till I'm happy.
Nothing is going to happen for a couple of weeks though with Christmas and stuff but won't be needing it for a while so no probs.
Also if played nicey nicey hoping for another ferry crossing or two.
Happy Christmas everyone  :)