Wednesday 16 March 2016

Goodbye SV - You Served Me Well

On the 14th January 2016 I was involved in a minor accident on the M1. Riding in the outside lane, in peak time traffic at a speed of around 40mph my surroundings were pretty congested. As you can imagine, there is a vehicle close in front and a vehicle close behind. A car from the lane left of me decided it would be a great idea to signal and move into my lane, which of course there was no room for him to do so as I was there. I tried to move my bike out the way, steering to my right, however I had nowhere to go and the bike went over on the right-hand side.

A few car drivers stopped to help me as the driver continued to drive away. A van driver blocked his path so that he could not escape the scene. The driver denied any wrong doing and the highway agency swapped insurance details between the parties whilst I was given details of three witnesses. I rode home, thinking the bike was OK (it wasn't... I realised after I headed off that I had no rear brake pedal but hey minor problem...) and took pictures of the damage.



4th Dimension dealt with my case as my insurance cover was only TPF&T. They were really good actually. They came and collected the bike and took it to their workshop in Egham and on the same day I got a phone call asking what I wanted to do about the bike. The lower fairing panels were no longer available and if I wanted to the bike repaired I would have to do a compromise repair (due to the cosmetic damage mainly). I have had the bike for almost 5 years and put somewhere around 50,000 miles on it and so decided it would be better to have it written off.

Fortunately for me, the other side finally admitted liability (probably due to the amount of witnesses at the scene) and my bike now belongs to 4th Dimension. I actually got a decent value for my bike so I am pretty chuffed in that regard - but quite upset to part with it as it is the longest I have ever had a bike. It's been to Europe several times, with different people and been a rock solid commuter for almost 5 years. It is also the bike that was the catalyst for meeting my girlfriend (she is also an SV owner) and we've had a solid 4 year relationship.

So, farewell SV. I won't forget the memories that have been created because of you and will hang a (well cleaned) second number plate in my house in your honour. I hope that you are rebuilt and somebody else can you enjoy you like I have.