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Today, a careless driver rammed into my parked LiveWire, having overshot their parking spot and slamming into my bike. My wife and I came out of a coffee shop to discover the driver standing over my ruined motorcycle.

With the experience today, I am not sure that a hit and stay is really any better than a hit and run. We got to watch them drive off while I got to wait more than 3 hours for a tow.

Insurance claim has been filed. Initial assessment is grim. The adjuster working with the shop will be making the final call next week.

 

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At least a tow arrived for you in three hours!

I hope this is an easy transition for you, besides the initial experience.

Thanks. Harley Owners Group really came through on the tow. Progressive has been great.

 

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Sorry to hear about your bike. I hope they either repair or replace it promptly and to your satisfaction. I‘m a retired claims adjuster if you have questions I’ll help if I can.

Thanks!

 

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My ELW may well end up as a veritable Ship of Theseus here. The new parts list from the estimate is more than four pages and includes the right frame spar with the VIN. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to get all of these parts together. The bike was in perfect condition and only three months old. Hopefully, all of these parts get it back to perfect.

With that, I’ll be missing the rest of the riding season. Plus, there’s the diminished value thing as my LiveWire now will have a recorded accident and I wasn’t even riding it. Not awesome.

Now, I wait. With the anticipated wait on parts, I am probably looking at anywhere from 3-6 months for this exercise.

 

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Update:
Some parts are backordered until November 2023. We’re trying to pull some strings, but it will likely still be in pieces waiting on parts when the riding season starts again in earnest. While it’s going to be a wait, I am looking forward to getting the bike back sometime next year — worth the wait.

In the interim, I picked up a little something to ride while the LiveWire is out of action…

 

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I wonder with a bike like that, how it will temper your LW feelings next year? It is interesting how much performance the LW can provide if you are able to adapt to electric.

I am genuinely looking forward to what electric motorcycle Ducati brings to the table for the general public. I think they may have to dig deep with what the LW offers to bring me back. I kind of always assumed I was a Ducati owner...

I previously owned a Monster 796, and it was all the bike I needed. But the LW really surprised me with all it offered, and yet was so similar and adaptable. The LW takes more effort in the corners for me but it is an adjustment phase as I learn to deal with it.

These are all my personal observations. I believe a lot should be accomplished on your LW over the winter, and the difficult parts will come.

I love the LiveWire. I got the Supersport, because the two bikes are very different experiences and can easily co-exist in the garage. I've ridden Testastretta superbikes before so the new Ducati feels very much like home for me. Good to be back in the saddle. Almost 25 years ago to the day, I bought my first Ducati Supersport, but that was a very different kind of machine -- 2 valve heads, oil and air cooled, and zero electronic tech or aids.

I find that I can be very quick in the corners with the LiveWire. The throttle response is instant and it transitions really well. I can't wait to get it back.

I just got caught out in the rain on the Ducati and it was still a great ride. LOL

 

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Are the backordered parts all the way to Nov of next year? I thought Tesla was bad...

Congrats on the new bike. I am a big fan of Ducatis, just not their maintenance intervals. The fuel pump just died on my 1260 Multistrada and it was a $1300 part and a fair amount of labor. Ducati fuel pumps are exactly the most reliable and apparently very sensitive to ethanol. I never ran E85 but the dealer said that the've seen a lot of issues since almost all gas has at least 10% ethanol and maybe the blended in more. So I'll just look for gas without any ethanol going forward for it. The one on my xDiavel S died too but that one was covered under warranty and had a different failure according to the dealer and had a lot fewer miles.

My Ducati ownership experience goes back to when they had 3000 mile valve service intervals. They’ve come a long way on the maintenance front.

The use of ethanol in gasoline is a problem in the US for european bikes. It basically dissolved the fuel pump in my MV Agusta F4.

Like anything Italian, needs very regular exercise. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion. Lol

 

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Are the backordered parts all the way to Nov of next year? I thought Tesla was bad...

Most of the parts should arrive within 90 days, but a few parts, necessary to make it roadworthy again, have a much longer lead time.
In this collision, stuff got broken that you aren't supposed to break.

I've had people ask me "Why don't you insist on having them total it?"

1. With so many parts being replaced, this bike will be, for practical purposes, new again. I only had it for 3 months and it's effectively restarting the ownership clock. Truth be told, I'm not going to find a used one as nice and pristine as mine.
2. While they're great and nearly identical bikes, I actually don't want an LW1. The ELWs are historically significant motorcycles for the HD brand and will be likely worth more down the road. That is, unless HD decides to fold LiveWire back into the company -- crazier things have happened in HD's history.
3. I'm lucky to own it outright. If I was making payments, I might feel differently about it. Without making payments, I'm in the fortunate position to be more flexible. I love the bike and willing to wait for it to be reborn. I am also lucky to have another bike to ride while I wait.