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Friend Totaled My 2011 R1

11K views 121 replies 53 participants last post by  BleedsBlue 
#1 ·
Guys,

here it goes.

I need some advise and suggestions on where to go with this thing. I am so sad to even write this as I have been without a bike for almost 3 months.

The story goes like this> On August 20th I went on a trip to France. I decided to leave my bike parked in my buddies house garage (he lives with his parents so technically their garage but i dont think they were aware at the time) I live in an apartment and there is not underground parking.

I left him with the Keys to the bike in case he needed to move it around in the garage but did not leave him with the (ownership*title* or insurance papers) I also did tell him that he is not to take the bike out as I am only storing it.

I came to find out that he did take it out a few times while I was away. The last time he took it out he smashed it going 150KMS about 100Miles thankfully he came out of it with only a few scratches and no broken bones.

This is where is gets interesting. when he crashed the bike he dragged the bike to the side of the road snapped off the plate and ran away and got picked up by a buddy. I had made a phone call home (Canada Toronto) only to find out that the Police has called and spoken with my family regarding a bike accident.

Bike was towed and never seen again as it was way to much to recover in fees when i got back.

After speaking with my buddy who crashed my bike while i was in Paris he wanted to claim it as stolen from his property and I advised him that this is not a good idea as I only have 3rd party insurance (comprehensive so it would only cover the other car! But he didn't him any other car) and thats its best for him to turn himself in as if the police were to ask me where my bike was when i was away it would still lead to him.

The police have charged him with *Fail to remain*, *something else*, *no ownership-title* and No Insurance. He already had his first appearance on the 30th of October. He sent me a short text asking me for my papers but I said to him that I was not giving them to him unless I was given my money for the bike.

I dont really know what to do at this point, I have yet to see and Money from him for my bike and he is trying to avoid me, (*at this point he is obviously not a friend*)(So I could care less.) I have not spoken to the cops yet about the situation and im sure if i do they would want me to press charges as im sure they spent a decent amount of time looking for him in the bushes,.

What are my options here? I just want my money! its about 10500 as the bike had very low Km. It is sad and makes me so angry as i write this....

RIP 2011 Black Yamaha R1
 

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#2 ·
Man, I hate to read that. It makes ME sad.

As far as legal actions, I have no idea. Good luck with it either way.

p.s. Props for not touching your "friend". I would've given him the proper a** whooping before the legalities were involved. :chair:
 
#13 ·
Thanks Man, I really wanted to throw it to him. but no point on catching a charge for his a$$.

Man, some people. You never know who your real friends are until something like this happens.

I'd let him know, pay up or he's lookin at some time and that your going to sue him.
Told him that, his reply was, you cant get anything out of someone that has nothing so do what you have to do. M.F

take him to court! this has to be one of the most screwed situations ever.

y would u leave him the keys u can move a bike around a garage without keys????? and that too a 2011 nice ass r1. cmon man ur askin for it (heres the keys to my high performance sportbike and btw ill be out of the country for a while :ugh)

u either hope he pays or take him to court there's really not much else u can do since u left him the keys it cant be "stolen"....but its a pretty shitty situation i feel for ya man
The bike can be stolen as he has in no way permission to take the F&*cken thing and the fact that my papers were with me doesn't help him in any way....

I wouldn't wait for him to pay/whatever.

Sue his ass and get your money. If he can't pay I'd go after someone :fact
I think this is where this is headed.

Sorry dude, but you and he both fcvked this up 8 ways from Sunday. Let the cops arrest his dumb ass, then sue him in small claims court for the max you can get in small claims. Here, it is $10,000; I don't know what it is in Canada.
They raised the limit to 25K in small claims court. The buzz about this is that the speed limit in that zone where he crashed was 80Kms and he was doing 150Kms

You're screwed. He stole the bike and used it, so he's on the hook for it. You can get him for a felony as well. He knows he's screwed as well. Might as well press charges on him and get a judgment against him.
I was thinking about that and getting some sort of restitution order from the judge as a part of a setelment once he is charged for (No insurance, No title, fair to remain, theft over 5000, careless driving and whatever else coming his way.

Sucks to hear your story bro... Next time get full coverage w\ uninsured motorist :thumbup
I should have to get full coverage man. If i crash my bike I can live with paying it off.....
 
#4 ·
take him to court! this has to be one of the most screwed situations ever.

y would u leave him the keys u can move a bike around a garage without keys????? and that too a 2011 nice ass r1. cmon man ur askin for it (heres the keys to my high performance sportbike and btw ill be out of the country for a while :ugh)

u either hope he pays or take him to court theres really not much else u can do since u left him the keys it cant be "stolen"....but its a pretty shitty situation i feel for ya man
 
#54 ·
I'm pretty sure the friend would only be charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, which would be a misdemeanor. I was out drinking with my buddies at a bar one night, and a girl that we went to high school with back on the day came walking in. (she was a little nuts back then, but had matured "nicely") and thought she maybe grew up, so we invited her over to sit with us. She ended up hanging with us at that bar, and we got drunk. She was still ok to drive, so I gave her the keys to drive us all to the next bar. As I got out of my truck, she took the keys from the ignition and kept them with her. I didn't notice. I was drunk. A couple hours later, she was gone, and so was my truck. I was so mad, I could have bent a penny with my fingers. I called the cops and reported it stolen, and eventually found it the next day, back behind the bar we originally saw her at, and it was almost parked in a tree. Doors locked and no keys anywhere. Keyless entry, but no keys. She never answered her phone, and I had to spend 150 bucks for a new key and 60 bucks for a tow back to my house. The whole time it was missing, they said I could only charge her with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, because I gave her the keys. Lesson learned. May be a different story because his alleged friend wrecked his bike, but I woul imagine the whole leaving of the key makes it easier for him to get off the hook. Op, that sucks. I hope you get justice, in one form or another. I know I would.
 
#19 ·
If you seen this bike in person you would think otherwise. trust me! As a hobby I work on cars and sometime bikes and this bike is in no was workable.
 
#12 ·
If it was one of my "friends", I'm sure they'd wish they had died, rather than deal with me. Personally, that dude isn't your friend. Look at it this way, this guy took something that wasn't his, and was extremely reckless with it. The guy did something you told him not to do, he basically stole from you. Not a very good friend, IMHO. I'm happy hes okay, but he's still a f*$#ing moron. Tell him he's to take out a loan, or loans to pay what he owes you, or sue the hell out of him.
 
#14 ·
This is what he had promised me originally, I guess it was only to by time.
 
#15 ·
3 months and no $ ... he's only looking out for himself - not a real friend. I remember when I was about 20, a friend of mine loaned me one of those 3 wheeler ATV's ( I think they banned them later on..) anyhow I totaled the thing into a tree becuase I had a brain fart and went to pull in the clutch to change gears (it was semi-auto) so I actually was pulliing on the brake not hte clutch .. locked the wheel up and smashed it. about 5 k in damages. I went to my credit union the next day and took out a loan (got my dad to co-sign) and paid him. He had insurance but I didnt want to even go that route..

So do as the others are saying but maybe give him a week to either come up with the $ or tell him you are going to cops and court.

BTW - I have a triple car garage and live east TO so if you ever get a new bike and need to park it (I dont even need the keys..) just PM me.
 
#16 ·
as for all of you talking about why I left him the key! you always believe in others, your never out thinking everyone is trying to F888K you
 
#26 ·
Press charges, he will be found guilty, take him to small claims court, win your money, pay your attorney.....END

It will be a long drawn out process however, it will suck, and hopefully....you will have learned your lesson.

This is why I do not let my "friends" anywhere near the seat of ANY of my vehicles.

Thank you for proving my point!
 
#30 ·
I had a situation very similar to this. Had an 03 R6 and a "friend" totaled it out. I had just moved back to Cali from Florida and while on the drive out I was told a few days after my arrival in Cali, I'd be deploying to Iraq. I had zero time to prep any of my belongings so I threw everything in storage and handed the keys over to who I thought was one of my best friends. I had a full tank of fuel in the R6 so, I taught him how to start it up and asked that he pull it out once a month and start her up but not to ride it since he'd never rode a bike before.

I come back from a 7 month deployment and find my bike in shambles! I asked what happend an he had some bull shit story about how he thought the tire may have gone flat and the bike fell over. I knew it was bullshit and later thay day he admitted that he tried to ride it but crashed immediately. I immediately began to whoop his ass! In fact I gave him about 3 or 4 more ass whoopins after the 1st one!

The damage estimate came up to over 6K and he promised to pay for it if given a little time. I ended up deploying again and really haven't been able to catch up with his punk ass since!

I've thought about taking legal action but wasn't sure what difference it would've made since he's a broke bastard. And being that this happend about 6 years ago, it's probably too late. I did take some satisfaction in beating his head til it was flat but if still didn't make up for the fact that I no longer had bike!

Side note: leaving fuel in my tank when I deploy seems to be a trend with me! Did the same thing to my R1 when I deployed in 08! I need to get my shit together!


Sent from my iPhone using Motorcycle.com App
 
#32 ·
F88K man sorry to hear it. I cant afford to catch a charge over his ass. Im sure this is what he's looking for me to do and I dont want him to have the satisfaction of that!!!!

Insurance in Ontario is insane. I never put theft or comphrehensive on my bikes. Mind you I can easily buy another bike and never leave my bike unattended. At home Samson guards it :)
Thank bro, glad you understand where im coming from. we are getting killed down here! they wanted 12K a year for full coverage. 400% mark up on super sport!
 
#51 · (Edited)
1st of all... stop posting all this info on the net... press charges and take him to small claims...

stop posting all this info on the net... period

sucks to be you, fellow canuck... obviously yah both shit the bed on this one... there is no amount of advice
from complete strangers that will help... nothing to be gained from it... delete thread... do what you gotta do..!

storage locker would have been wayyy cheaper.!..
 
#52 ·
Thanks for the advice Beatrice.... but if you have nothing positive to say then dont comment on it. no body had a gun to you asking you to. The internet if full of knowledge from strangers. :boom
 
#53 ·
Really am sorry to hear this mate, i know what its like to have your bike damaged by others....

It seems to me that your stuck in a tricky situation, taking him to court isn't going to guarantee you getting any compensation especially if he has no money and if he's anything like some of the scum i know they would sooner go to jail than pay money...

Im hoping more guy's from your part of the world will chime in with legal advice so that you can explore all options.

Whatever you do please keep us posted mate and good luck....
 
#57 ·
i know alot of people in the niagara area that ride without insurance at all.
im 28 married with a house kids blah blah ....clean driving record and still pay 2200 for the year on my r1 for full coverage. ontario insurance is insane.

op sorry about the bike. hopefully everything works out in the end.
my advice would be try to have his family co sign for a loan to pay you off?
try keeping it as civil as possible untill the court date.

leaving the keys with him not the smartest idea, but i would have trusted the bike at a friends too, thats what friends are suppost to be for isnt it?
 
#62 ·
BTW, I find it funny that people are commenting that the risk of theft in Canada isn't as high as in the US, but full coverage insurance in Canada is 12K? Something is not adding up here.

Also, somebody else mentioned that his friend didn't really reveal his true self until after knowing him for 10 years; is that really the case? ....or did you just not see it for 10 years, or didn't really care for 10 years because it wasn't affecting you?

I've got "friends" who I consider very casual friends at best, but know damn well they would be completely untrustworthy if you had to rely on them, lend them something, etc. Then, I've got friends who I would let take my bike for a ride, knowing they would do the right thing if they fcvked up. Even then, the difference between a friend I actually let ride my bike, and a friend I would let ride my bike is I know the guy who actually rides it has insurance. Trust, but verify.--Pres. Ronald Reagan
 
#63 ·
BTW, I find it funny that people are commenting that the risk of theft in Canada isn't as high as in the US, but full coverage insurance in Canada is 12K? Something is not adding up here.

Also, somebody else mentioned that his friend didn't really reveal his true self until after knowing him for 10 years; is that really the case? ....or did you just not see it for 10 years, or didn't really care for 10 years because it wasn't affecting you?

I've got "friends" who I consider very casual friends at best, but know damn well they would be completely untrustworthy if you had to rely on them, lend them something, etc. Then, I've got friends who I would let take my bike for a ride, knowing they would do the right thing if they fcvked up. Even then, the difference between a friend I actually let ride my bike, and a friend I would let ride my bike is I know the guy who actually rides it has insurance. Trust, but verify.--Pres. Ronald Reagan
high insurance on sportbikes is not because of theft... it's because of high "wipeout" rate. Also, even within provinces in Canada the insurance is setup differently. In Ontario almost all sportbike are blacklisted thus making it very difficult to get insurance. It easier to be a crappy rider and get a litre Harley then to be an exceptional rider and get a liter supersport. List below.

On point of friend for 10 years ... I know a lot of guys who were married to and considered their wife their friend (and vice versa) for way more than 10 years and are now divorced and hate each other.... point - friends come and go and nobody is perfect...

Blacklist:

APRILIA
All models, except Scarabeo
BENELLI
Tornado TRE
BMW
S1000RR
DUCATI
All models
GUZZI
Daytona 1000
HONDA
CBR 600F, 600E2, 600F3
CBR 600F4, 600F4i, 600RR, 600SE
CBR 900, 900RR, 929, 929RR, 954, 954RR
CBR 1000 Hurricane, 1000RR, 1100X, 1100XX
RC51
RVT 1000
VTR 1000F, 1000 Firestorm
KAWASAKI
Ninja
750R
900R
GPZ 1100
ZX-6, ZX-6R, ZX-6RR
ZX-7, ZX-7R. ZX-7RR
ZX-9R, ZX-9RR
ZX-10, ZX-10R
ZX-12R
ZX-14
ZX 600, 600R
ZX 750, 750R
ZX 900, 900R
ZX 1000
ZX 1100
ZX 1200
KTM
950, 990, 1190 RC8, 1190 RC8R, RC8
SUZUKI
GSX 1300R, 1300R Hayabusa
GSXR 600, 600 Alstare
GSXR 750
GSXR 1000
GSXR 1100
GSXR 1300
RG 250
RG 500, 500 Walter Wolf
TL 1000
TRIUMPH
Daytona T595. 600, 650, 900, 955, 955i, 1200
Daytona 675, 675 Triple
Daytona Super Three
Speed Triple (T509)
Speed Quatre
Sprint RS, Sport. ST
TT 600
YAMAHA
FZR 600, 750, 750R, 1000
YZF 600R, 750, 750R, 750SPE, 1000, 1000R
YZF R1
YZF R6, R6L, R6S
V-MAX
VMX 12 V-MAX
 
#67 ·
On point of friend for 10 years ... I know a lot of guys who were married to and considered their wife their friend (and vice versa) for way more than 10 years and are now divorced and hate each other.... point - friends come and go and nobody is perfect...
to that point, I know several friends who are divorced after 10, and up to 20 years of marriage. It seems they were the only ones who didn't see that it was coming, because everybody else around them saw it.


.. apparently you still cant trust friends to do the right thing though... :shake
2 things I have learned to be true in my life:

1. the only person you can 100% trust is yourself, and that's not even foolproof.
2. initially assuming everybody is an untrustworthy douchebag until they prove otherwise is, unfortunately, correct the majority of the time.
 
#64 ·
i didnt read all the responses but heres my 2 cents. tell him hes on the line for the money for the bike. either he can go to his bank and get a personal loan to pay it off. or he can pawn everything he owns.
if he says no...to call it in stolen tell him if you call it in as stolen you will report that HE is the one that stole it.
if you have the emails, text or whatever communications you made with him that it was being stored there...and he was not to ride it etc etc then thats your ticket in court. show the judge you two agreed it would be stored not ridden. keys were only left if it had to be moved out of the garage for any reason. he took it upon himself to ride the bike at high speeds probably in an unsafe manner and its his responsibility to pay for the bike. in the end the courts/cops may tell you to report it stolen, charge your friend with stealing it and then you hope he pays something in small claims.
 
#70 ·
The first time I ever sat my ass on a Sport Bike was when I was 19 years old. My friend/co-worker just bought his brand new 2000 CBR F4 that he was extremely excited and proud to have. One morning after work (6 a.m), I asked him if I could take it for a spin and he said sure, let me warm it up. It was a fall morning with dew on the ground. I hopped on the bike after it was warmed up, started to let the clutch out and the bike took off quicker than I expected. The bottom fairing hit a curb in the parking lot and i dumped it. First thing I did was apologize about 20 times, then told him to take it in to get estimates. He came back the following week with an estimate of 1100 dollars to fix the left side fairings, and the stator cover. I went to the bank the following day and took out a personal loan and gave him the money. This is what a real friend does!! I feel for you because not only is he not paying you, but he didn't even have permission like I did to take the bike for a ride. You got hit with a double whammy. What a shitty thing to do to someone. If the roles were reversed......he would expect you to pay him! He is a liar and a thief and therefor I would sue him for the max!
 
#73 ·
friends dont let friends ride.. period :lol
 
#75 ·
kind of simple. he's already charged with traffic offenses. what statements did you make to the police? wondering why he hasn't been charged with use without authority ?
seems your "buddy" needs your help now. maybe it's time to hit him hard with some reality? tell him you will provide papers IF he signs papers (notarized) that he is responsible for the damages and agrees to pay in full by x amount of time.
sounds like he's quite irresponsible. would bet 100% the only way your going to recover any cash is taking him to civil court. if he doesn't sign papers owning fault i'd contact a lawyer. they will probably pressure parents (their home ) and that will help. little advice.. DUDE IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. stupid happens but he obviously DOESN'T RESPECT YOU to take your shit. period. :nopity:
 
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