Little help with hunting required, please

[randlemarcus]

Bless the insurance companies, little poppets.

They've re-read their policy, and decided that the New for Old clause has a sub-clause, restricting that right to the first owner only. As I'm not, that means I get to play Kasbah Haggler with them. Deep joy, and what fun. Biketrader and PH classifieds seem to be coming up mostly empty for comparison pricing, but the Glasses guide is low, and I have no intention of accpeting the paltry price they will try for. So....

2007 (September) MV Agusta F4 312R.
Full MV Agusta Service History (600 and 3800 miles)
Immaculate bodywork
Less than 3900 miles on the clock, just run in, no mechanical issues

Highest prices welcome, with linkages...

Thanks in advance, peeps.

PS Quite tempted by the 1098S - first hand experiences?

[RumpleFugly]

Bloomin insurers wriggle out of everything!

There's a couple of 312's on MCN

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/bikesforsale/sea...

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/bikesforsale/sea...

1 From Biketrader

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/bikes/MV+...

They've all got slightly less miles on them though. Hope they're some use.

Oh and I've no experience of the 1098S but I know I want one...

[randlemarcus]

little bump for the day crew before I open this can of worms again...

[Chilli]

randlemarcus said:

little bump for the day crew before I open this can of worms again...

Mate, what's happened now? Have I missed something?!

[AlexHancock]

Chilli said:

randlemarcus said:

little bump for the day crew before I open this can of worms again...

Mate, what's happened now? Have I missed something?!

+1 Crash/Stolen? You're going to need £12K+ to replace it but I bet if you were selling to the dealers they'd be offering £10K so I'm guessing that'll be their offer. Good luck.

[randlemarcus]

sigh...
Short story is winter day, new tyres, cold new tyres and a freed-up used-to-be-slightly-sticky throttle do not make for a happy landing.
six and a half miles an hour, plus one highside, minus anyone else being involved equals six and a half thousand pounds worth of damage.

So thats where we are. Just got off the phone with them, after explaining that no, the F4S isnt quite the same, neither is the F4R. This was why the premium was quite high, chaps. Mutter mutter.

[AlexHancock]

Sorry to hear that. Did they write it off with £6.5K in damage? How about emailing all of the MV dealers about a replacement and getting them to quote how much you'd be expected to pay even if they don't have a suitable bike at the moment. Edited to say - 3x have two 312 demos available for £12.5K.

I've still got my original 750 and I'm thinking about a 1000 but I'm not sure if it's worth the extra £6K or so. What did you think of your bike?

Edited by AlexHancock on Monday 31st March 15:22

[randlemarcus]

AlexHancock said:

Sorry to hear that. Did they write it off with £6.5K in damage? How about emailing all of the MV dealers about a replacement and getting them to quote how much you'd be expected to pay even if they don't have a suitable bike at the moment. Edited to say - 3x have two 312 demos available for £12.5K.

Yup, the engineer declared it "beyond economical repair" at that price, presumably as their salvage chaps guarantee them 45% of retail back for the wreckage. I wasn't arguing too hard at that point as RSA had told me that the policy was operating under New for Old as the bike was less than 12 months old, so the prospect of an 08 312 or an 08 1078R was floating on the horizon (slipper clutch for the 312, slipper clutch, and WSB spec brakes for the 1078 on top of the extra cc). Now they've suddenly read the clause and said that only applies to a V5 with one owner on it, I'm a little grumpier. I suspect a repair/respray on the panels would bring that down a bit, but still havent seen the detailed estimate as I'm away a lot at the mo, so am a bit wary of what comprises the rest of the 6.5K that isnt simply plastics and clip-ons. Its not frame damage, as I was quite lucky not to bend things there.

Damn fine plan on the emailing thing. I suspect it will be cheaper for them to buy a 3x ex-demo bike, as they are no longer the importer for MV and want rid of the 07 dead stock.

AlexHancock said:

I've still got my original 750 and I'm thinking about a 1000 but I'm not sure if it's worth the extra £6K or so. What did you think of your bike?

Utterly gorgeous. As I've only had it since December, I havent had a huge amount of time on the dry sunny twisties, but I had an F4S since Nov, and they are both infinitely wonderful bikes. In comparison terms, the RSVR was slightly better on the handling side, but that was after a good summers hard riding, and I was just getting into this bike. Comparisons to the 04 Blade are useless, as both F4s, for me, simply outshone it on every single level. I changed to move away from a perfectly capable but slighty uninvolving ride on the Honda, and got that in spades.

I'd thoroughly recommend visiting Red Dog's site, looking at that, and then ringing Mitch or Mike down in Edenbridge, and going along for a couple of test rides on the various ones they have in. I did have a chat with Mike when I was trying to find the bike (the salvage boys took it the day after it was declared BER :grump: )about trying the 750 SPR they have in, and he seemed to think there was a gulf difference tween the 750 and the thousand. Certainly, I found the available power very useful for the long haul stuff, and the fuelling hole at the low end didnt bother me on the F4S and was completely gone with the better ECU on the 312R.

[AlexHancock]

Thanks for the info. I'm not sure I need the extra grunt and love the first F4 (and the fact that it doesn't depreciate any more) but do have an itch once in a while.

[randlemarcus]

£12300 for the bike, plus either retention of, or % reimbursement of the invoice for the sparkly new Meta alarm system. Took a while, but mostly happy with the outcome.
Question now is 1078, 312, 1098S, or an 08 Blade and cash in pocket.

[randlemarcus]

£12300 for the bike, plus either retention of, or % reimbursement of the invoice for the sparkly new Meta alarm system. Took a while, but mostly happy with the outcome.
Question now is 1078, 312, 1098S, or an 08 Blade and cash in pocket.

[AlexHancock]

randlemarcus said:

£12300 for the bike, plus either retention of, or % reimbursement of the invoice for the sparkly new Meta alarm system. Took a while, but mostly happy with the outcome.
Question now is 1078, 312, 1098S, or an 08 Blade and cash in pocket.

Well done, a good result.

I'd quite like the Blade as an additional bike but I think I'd find it a bit characterless as an only bike. A 1098S would be interesting but I'm more tempted by the 1098R - I'd also wait anyway as it's likely there'll be an 1198 sometime soon. I'm an MV fan so would always have at least one - so I'd vote for the 1078 However, there are rumours of a replacement for the F4 at some time if MV can raise the funds.

It's fun choosing though!