dilemma please help.

sha-ronlush

Hi my son has been the proud owner of a baotian monza 125 since Nov last year,we did have a minor problem which was solved, however 2 weeks ago he rode into a post and caused alot of damage.
The frame has been bent and alot of front panels broken , they have currently estimated £1000 to completely fix it. We dont know what to do as this is a nearly new scooter that cost £1400.
He is insured third party fire and theft

Any ideas or past experiences would be greatfully recieved.
Many Thanks

marlot

Can you get a price to fix without doing all the plastic panels, and let him ride it around without them?

Alternatively, there are people who can do plastic welding - it may be cheaper to repair some of the panels (than replace them).

I guess the third alternative is to see if you can find a similar scooter for sale which has a good frame but a knackered engine, and make one good one out of two wrecks?

s_b

ive looked and cant find you a frame and thats the ball breaker
either buy another and keep this for spares or offer it on something like ebay
tough call but life happens

sha-ronlush

Yes they said the labour would be approx £500 so thats the biggest chunk,he said he hasnt got the equipment to straighten the frame its 5 inches shorter tho.

sha-ronlush

Update my son says he feels the throttle stuck on and he couldnt stop,we went to scene of accident(car park and only 10 yards) and it adds up really, have rang the dealer and told them and they are checking throttle cable.
I wonder if we have a case?

paddedjohn

Too late for now but in the future it might be worth paying a couple of quid more for fully comp insurance, in some circumstances it can even work out cheaper.Are you saying he only drove for 10 yds across a car park and he bent his frame?

sha-ronlush

yes i went to have alook where it happened and cudnt believe it! it was no distance at all..
the dealer just rang me up and said the throttle cable wouldnt do that,its either stuck or not stuck theres no in between.

Cash-Strapped.T32

Tbh if the cable was sticking it would likely be easy to find at the garage or to check yourself when you get it back.

Not to sound disparaging at all, I don't mean it that way, but I know from experience that on a small nippy scoot it's easy to take off from a standing start just a bit too quick and this jolts the rider backward suddenly.

For a moderately new beginner the natural, often subcouncious reaction is to grab the bars tighter as the bike moves forward & the rider's body leans back, and to use them to try & pull yourself back to an upright position.
This holding onto the bars with your arms at full extension means your wrist simply can't roll-off the throttle, because your arms can't extend any further to make the action possible.

It happened to me once on a 50cc stopped for a right-turn, bang outside my work's carpark.
I took off too quick as above, couldn't slow down for the immediate turn & managed to plant the bike nicely into the grass verge.

The whole scenario lasted only a second so there's little time to react; Simple experience prevents it ever happening again, but the point of typing all this is that in the moment it's easy to "feel" like the throttle is stuck momentarily, but more often than not it's just the old death-grip preventing the rider from rolling off which makes you lose control.

sha-ronlush

Yes i guess your right,, pleased you didnt have a post in the way!
He been riding for 4 years tho! still never to old to learn are we?

Cash-Strapped.T32

Agreed, no-one's ever too experienced to learn owt new - But tbh my certainty isn't quite so certain having learned he's been on the road for 4yrs - That's a shade longer than me.

However I'd add that on an Aprilia forum I sometimes post on, a middle-aged guy (American) got a brand new bike, and did exactly the same thing, ploughing the bike into his neighbour's front yard from the same standing-start scenario I outlined above (obviously waiting to turn onto his own yard).
He'd ridden for years before getting this bike but had been off the road for a while & it just took him by surprise.

Ps: the fact you're posting about the bike & not the injuries is the important part to focus on though - Best of luck! :cool:

sha-ronlush

Yes thats very true!! pleased to say a few bruises was all he had,thank goodness.He is now considering paying to get it back on the road. Will ring the dealer tomorrow.