Originally Posted by
Mojo31
If this is for an insurance claim, then I doubt many insurance adjusters would distinguish between a damaged bike and damaged components. The fact that the wheels are damaged, the shifter and other parts scratched up, and the shifter twisted on the bar would demonstrate that they should pay you for the value of your bike.
The downside is that most insurance will only pay fair market value and not replacement cost. I would start thinking about how you are going to convince the insurance company of the fair market value.
Once you settle up, you can decide to either buy a replacement or repair this one.
Fair market value is what they'll use for a claim on your own collision insurance. I'm not sure that liability is so restricted. Hiring an attorney after my motorcycle crash was, in retrospect, smart. Mine was reasonable and soft-spoken, and really helped getting a fair settlement. I got some right of it away, and for the rest, we just waited until they wanted the case off their "to do" list, and met halfway. In my state, uninsured motorist coverages on several insured vehicles are combined, so if you have $25K coverage on three vehicles, you have $75K of coverage. Only an attorney would even be aware of that, for example.