Accident repair : What happens to your bike?

What happens when you crash your bike and it comes to Altamura?

In the following section weíd like to show you what happens to your bike when it is repaired at Altamura. With over 150 bikes being repaired at any one time there certainly no shortage of examples; some are very badly damaged, some the damage is just minor and sadly some are beyond economic repair.Pretty well everything could be repaired but whether a bike is repaired or not depends on the individual insurance company and the percentage of the value of the bike that they allow for repairs.

The pre-accident retail value is determined by checking a number of databases most usually one called ìglasses guideî and by looking at what a particular make, model and year of bike is trading for on the open market. A salvage value is then placed on the vehicle which is percentage based on the contract a particular insurance company has with their salvage agents and can vary from 10% up to nearly 50%. Clearly at the higher end of the range the chances of your bike being repaired, even for ralively minor damage is greatly reduced.

So what happens to your bike after its picked up by our logistics team?

Estimation & Approval

1. The first step is to do a detailed estimate which means getting the bike on the bench and going over it with a fine tooth comb to determine exactly what has been damaged. This is sometimes not as easy as it looks because not every aspect of the bike can be visually inspected; experience does however mean that most things do get spotted. Missing something is not a problem because during the repair process if other damaged items are found they can be sourced and added later but it can frustrate the owner when we have to wait for the extra part to come in. All the major components will be inspected incl. wheels, forks and frame and if the bike is very badly damaged a geometry check will be carried out at this early stage to avoid costly additions later in the repair process. The final estimate will include all the parts that are needed, the specialist repairs that will have to be done and any other checks that may be required.
2. Once a detailed list has been made then the cost of the parts are obtained. Genuine parts from the manufacturers are always used unless alternatives are specified by the owner or where an after market part is already fitted to the vehicle. The cost of the parts is then combined with the costs for other work including the labour to give final estimate for the cost of repair. This is then sent to the insurance company.
3. In most cases the insurance company will send an engineer to see the bike at Altamura who will go over the estimate with one of our senior technicians to confirm the work to be done. Cost will be discussed although rarely are the figures disputed. It will become clear at this stage whether the bike will be a total loss or whether is can be repaired. Sometime the cost is marginal in which case we often contact the owner to see whether they are keen to keep the bike on the road. If they are then we try and find compromise solutions to keeping costs down however this is never at the expense of safety. Once everything has been agreed then an approval to repair (or not) is issued and we can go ahead and get started. The process of getting approval can take time and is sometimes a cause of delays and like many things some companies are more efficient than others.

Parts and Components

4. Once approval has been gained, the next step is to order the parts. Whilst many people donít always believe it waiting for parts is almost always the longest part of the process. We often hear of customers being told by their local dealer that they can get the parts in 1 or 2 days. This is not the case; if a dealer can get a part in that time frame then so can Altamura so there is no advantage to going to your local dealer to improve time of repair.

Stripped for Repair

5. Once the parts come into stock, the bike is moved into a part of the process that we call "strip for repair". In this stage the bike is stripped down, all the broken parts are removed and the new ones fitted. It is also at this stage that we carry out a detailed geometry check to ensure that all the major components on the bike are properly aligned. If any faults or problems are found then these will be added to the worksheet approval gained from the insurers if necessary and the rectification work carried out. If any bodywork or the tank requires repair it will be removed and will go to our paint shop where it will spend 2-3 days being repaired and refinished. Check out the repair and paint sections of the website if youíd like to know more about the paint part of the process.

Checking Alignment

6. The geometry check is a key part of the accident repair process as it ensures that all key chassis components are correctly aligned. To the trained eye the visual inspection will tell much about the damage to the bikes chassis but it is only possible to be absolutely sure by making detailed measurements.
   1. The first step is to establish that the wheels are correctly positioned behind one another. This is done by placing two accurate straight edges along the bike and measuring the position of the front wheel relative to the rear.
   2. The next step is to check vertical wheel alignment to make sure that both wheels are in the same plane. This is done by measuring the front wheel relative to the rear wheel with what is essentially a fancy electronic spirit level. This is an important measurement in that it identifies any twist if the frame or forks
   3. Once this has been done then the headstock angle is measured to ensure it is within factory tolerances and the forks checked for any twist.
   4. Finally the wheels are removed and dial gauged to see if there is any run out in either the rim or the discs.
7. The penultimate step in the repair process is to put all the bodywork and any final parts back onto the bike to complete the workshop part of the repair. All that remains is the road test and valet.

Road Test and Valet

8. The road test is an absolutely critical parts of the repair process as it checks practically whether your bike performs as it should do on the road. It consists of a series of structured observations on each of the main functions of the bike starting with a check of all the lights, indicators and horn. Once on road test the very first thing that is checked, at low speed, are the brakes to ensure that they work efficiently and there is no judder from the discs. Once confident the bike will be ridden in low and high speed situations through a variety of corners to ensure turn in, tracking and handling are consistent in all situations. Clearly the engine performance is also observed although in is very unusual to have any engine based problems after an accident. The total road test will be 5-10 miles.
9. On completion of the road test the bike ready for a wash and valet by hand to ensure that it is returned to the owner in as good if not better condition than it was pre-accident. It is then ìRTGî; ready to go back to the owner and thatís the job of the Altamura Logistics Team