Wrecked my Magna

[buster]

Looks like I'm out for the Colorado trip.

Ahole came off the highway and made a right turn across 4 lane access road almost over the top of me.  10 ribs broken in 14 places, shattered scapula, punctured and partially collapsed lung.  After 2 weeks in the hospital, I'm walking around the house totally numb from 5 different pain meds and 2 different muscle relaxers, beginning outpatient therapy tomorrow, and glad to be alive. 

Looking for ideas for my bike, currently at DFW Honda.   If I were to get new parts, it would be over $3700 without labor:
- headlight
- windscreen
- Tach and cables
- master cylinder
- throttle and grip
- right foot peg
- right exhaust is badly scratched (cosmetic)
- Leatherlyke saddle bags are cracked
- mirror
- handlebars are bent a little

I feel like I'm done with this bike and ready for my 11th, so major options identified so far:
1) leave it at the dealer and take a trade-in credit of a few hundred dollars, maybe buying a '98 Valk (least lucrative but still appealing as it is easiest)
2) get it home and sell the whole bike for parts or as a project bike - it runs, so could I hope to get more than a $400?
3) get it home and sell it a few parts at a time - probably the most lucrative but very time consuming, used limited garage space, and a pain.  Engine runs, 52K miles, several Cyclistic parts, I think no scratches on the tank..., AGM battry is 3 months old, progressive fork springs 6 months old, Barnett Kevlar clutch is 1 year old
4) Get it home and try to rebuild with used parts (least appealing for me)
5) ?

Thoughts?

Marty

[LateStart]

Buy my 98 magna for 1700 and keep your bike as a parts donor.  I live just north of Allen. 

[hootmon]

I'm with Late start...
If you like the Magna, you can pick them up for less than $2500 all day..
Take what parts you can off your donor bike (cyclistic parts etc)..
Then either just save the bike for parts, sell parts off of it.. Are the forks straight, someone was looking for forks...
Glad to hear you survived.. Hopefully they had good insurance and you can get some compensation out of the situation..

[hop along]

Buster, glad you're ok.  Hang in there with the therapy-it won't be easy but will be worth it in the long run.

If you have the room and are attached to certain parts on your bike, the idea of using it as a donor is not at all a bad one.  Keep what you want (take the time to store properly if need be) and sell off the rest.  The $$ expense to rehab it isn't likely to be worthwhile. But a new to you Magna will be less than a new to you Valk if the Valk is in good condition.

And-if the dealership/insurance/whomever is patient... I strongly suggest getting everyone on board with being patient while you make  a decision.  I find that those meds seriously cloud my thinking process.  You'll want to be happy with your decision-and the best way to ensure that (in my opinion) is to wait until you are off those meds.

Hop Along

[buster]

Ahh, OK, that's option 5), I found your previous posts about your '98 - what kind of exhaust upgrade is it?  Any saddle bags?  $1700 seems pretty low, what are it's weak points?  Would it be in shape for the trip to MootMag (not that I'll be ready that soon, but just as an example).  Does it have a wind screen?  Feel free to PM me if that is more appropriate.

This also also gives me an idea for option 6):   Since I've done so much to mine and it runs so well, I could buy a running bike and use it for parts versus paying $3700 for new parts.   How crazy is THAT?!
Negatives of options 5) and 6) are
a) squeezing 2 bikes into the garage, although maybe only for a few months....
b) I'm starting to like the idea of getting a Valkyrie

Advantages are that I'd keep the benefit of things like my custom hydraulic lift and brand new spare tire not yet mounted, and maybe sell some parts as well, and this is the cheapest way to get back to where I was.

Great advice, Hop Along,
" You'll want to be happy with your decision-and the best way to ensure that (in my opinion) is to wait until you are off those meds."

It'll be months before I can ride again, so no reason to rush into a decision while I'm 'comfortably numb'.  The meds help me understand where the term 'numbskull' came from.  There's no insurance involved (Ahole didn't stop, no one caught a license plate number, and I didn't have collision since I didn't pay much for it), so there's no rush except that I might miss what seems to be a really good deal from LateStart.

Any more ideas?

Thanks,
Marty

[Jerry G Turner]

Buy a new Goldwing and ride in style. God's blessings get well soon.

[LateStart]

If you're not to far from Allen TX I can drive it over this Tuesday evening.  Nothing weak about it.  The choke enrichment circuit may be partially clogged but it has never bothered me enough to even think about pulling the carbs. 

The bike frame just doesn't fit me.  I can throw my leg over my v65 and I become one with the bike not so with the 3G.  I like the bike just fine.  I learned on it and 6 months later I found a v65 on craiglist and the 3G gets out of the garage a few times a month and that's it.  I have a set of throwovers you can have.

I'll pm you a pic Sunday evening.   

[TLRam1]

Glad you are okay Marty, really sorry to hear about any of us having a mishap, also glad to hear you have an interest to keep riding, I (others also) would miss your friendship.

Good ideas above, depends on what work or how much you are willing to do. Keep in mind, a wrench session could be put together in order to help you get something going, if you go that direction.

[LateStart]

Sent you a pm but not sure it worked. Looked in sent folder wasn't anything there. I'll try again.

[MagnaMan]

Glad to hear you're on the mend.  I was sore for several weeks after my spill at MootMag and I didn't break anything. So I can only partially feel your pain.

You have a lot to think about. However since you won't be riding soon. You may want to just put some fuel stabilizer in it and drain the float bowls while you heal up.

I think you've got some good options. The last option you mentioned could be pretty cheap if you find a parts bike. There's usually always someone on Craigslist trying sell a Magna with a lost title. That's $200 to $300 to get straightened out, so I usually make them an offer as "parts."

However LateStart's Magna is black. So you could easily use his as the base and swap out your goodies and tank if you want to keep the color scheme. Then you can gradually disassemble your bike and store it in the attic. The only thing you can't easily store in an attic is the engine of course.

And don't forget, you can always host a wrench session at your place and get some DFW Mootsters to come over and help you swap parts.

[MagnaMikeD]

Marty, I'm sorry to hear about your accident and very glad you are on the mend.  Hang in there and I pray you recover quickly.
Mike

[v4_jeff]

Glad to hear you weren't injured more seriously than you were, sounds like it could have been much much worse! Speedy recovery and good luck finding yourself a new ride, let us know if you need any help. I'd be happy to go take a look at anything in the Austin or surrounding area you might be interested in.

Don't know if you've considered newer bikes, the CTX1300 and F6B look like really interesting machines.