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Now what do I do?


fz07nc

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This past weekend was an adventure. I had the opportunity to ride out to the Smokey Mountains, camp overnight, and ride the Tail of the Dragon. Everything was going smoothly until Sunday afternoon…
 
 
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I had just completed riding the Tail of the Dragon (South to North) and I decided to cut across east to Gatlinburg. I turned down what looked to be an excellent country, mountain road… Happy Valley Road. Ironically, I had a terrible time on this road; I was not happy at all.
 
 
Not 2 miles after heading down Happy Valley Road, I encountered a house with not 1, not 2, but 7 dogs in front (near the ditch). As I approached the entry-way to the home, I slowed as to not hit one of the dogs at full speed. The dogs became agitated and ran out into the road and started chasing me. In an effort to spook the dogs back to their home, I revved the engine, but they would not shy away. I’m not certain if the dog bumped me over to the right, or if I just caught a slick patch of dirt, but the next thing I knew, the bike was out from under me. It skid about 15 feet on the OES frame, fork, and rear axle sliders. Thank God for these.
 
Furious with adrenaline pumping, I picked up the bike to assess the damage.
 
 
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The handlebars were bent, pinched right at my RAM mount.
 
 
The clutch lever was broke in half. A real shorty lever now!
 
 
The left bar end and OES sliders were scraped up.
 
 
The shifter was bent.
 
 
The stock left mirror broke off.
 
I had a decent amount of pain in my knee, but I didn’t become worried until blood started to show through my jeans.
 
By this time, the dogs had begun to retreat back to their home front, likely boasting about their ability to drive a motorcyclist off the road.
 
 
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The amazing thing is, I have video evidence of this entire event. I set up my phone on my GPS mount 5 minutes prior to riding down Happy Valley Road. I thought it would be cool to see the scenery after my ride.
 

 
3 days later, I have a decent scrape on my left knee, bruising on my left shin, and a scrape on my hand. I think this will all heal within a month.
 
 
So my question for you all is… what do I do now? Do I file an insurance claim? Do I send a letter to the owner of the home? Do I pursue legal action?
 
Thanks!
 
 
 
 
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Notify your insurance carrier, tell them everything and save copies of whatever your give them. File a police report with the agency that has jurisdiction where the home is. Contact the local animal control. Once you have done all this and gotten some feedback then consider contacting and attorney. Glad your overall ok and the dogs didn't attack you on the ground. pH

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You can sue for anything, I wouldn't be surprised if you won that one. Attacked by loose dogs caused accident. I doubt the dogs "pushed" you down but looks like you took evasive action because you feared for your safety (hint).

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You have to sue the dogs owner, don't just assume they belong to the homeowner they could be strays or belong to a renter or something odd ball. Do not approach the homeowner contact your insurance they will advise you.

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Wow man so sorry to hear this! I wouldn't be a very happy camper right now.
 
Some dogs just have a hatred for motorcycles or cars. Every time I go to my parents there is a Boxer at the first driveway that will chase me in my car, barking and biting at my wheel. I'm surprised he hasn't been run over yet. Thankfully He dont Chase Me far due to his fear of getting his butt whooped by my protective dogs again if he gets near my parents property. Silly thing is he doesn't even live near that first driveway, and the owner doesn't seem to care what so ever. I haven't and don't want to ever experience it on the fz.
 
Anyway I don't mean to hijack the thread or anything, just sharing my experience.
 
PH gave perfect advice. The sooner you file the report the better, as this type of thing can take a while to deal with. Don't let these dogs ruin your summer riding time! And I really hope the owners get their ears chewed off about this and learn to control their animals. Who needs 7 dogs anyway?
 
Good luck man and I hope you can get this situation dealt with as soon as possible. Stay safe out there!

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Sorry to hear about your accident. Glad you are mostly okay. Seems like the Frame Sliders helped out quite a bit. Hard to protect the handlebars though. I agree with what was already advised here. Good luck. Hope you let us know how it turns out.

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2wheels4life

I am an animal control officer. The owners of the dogs would probably get is cited for having dogs at large and I'm sure they aren't neutered so intact male at large could be pricey if there were a couple. The video is not good enough to prove dogs made contact with you to cause the crash. Without teeth breaking skin or a good video of an attempted bite the word ATTACK wouldn't be used when reporting it. More like chased. Dogs don't attack passing cars they chase them. I obviously don't live in your state and laws vary but I've had my hands tied on more than one occasion in these types of situations because animal laws just aren't tough on offenders. More honest the better. Make it clear they made your focus shift from the road but adding evasive maneuver when the video doesn't show it could be a mistake. Your word means less if they feel you exaggerate. Just my two cents. Good to pursue at least for the dogs sake of nothing else comes of it. Good luck

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Does it change anyone's opinion about filing with my insurance for a claim if I provide information that my deductible is $1000? I have full coverage with Progressive, but I'm totaling the damages to be less than $500 in parts.
 
I suppose if something else should happen this year, the damages would be covered after reaching the deductible.
 
I found out that motorcycle insurance and deductibles work on a per incident basis.  It's not like health insurance where it's cumulative and adds onto each other.

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I am an animal control officer. The owners of the dogs would probably get is cited for having dogs at large and I'm sure they aren't neutered so intact male at large could be pricey if there were a couple. The video is not good enough to prove dogs made contact with you to cause the crash. Without teeth breaking skin or a good video of an attempted bite the word ATTACK wouldn't be used when reporting it. More like chased. Dogs don't attack passing cars they chase them. I obviously don't live in your state and laws vary but I've had my hands tied on more than one occasion in these types of situations because animal laws just aren't tough on offenders. More honest the better. Make it clear they made your focus shift from the road but adding evasive maneuver when the video doesn't show it could be a mistake. Your word means less if they feel you exaggerate. Just my two cents. Good to pursue at least for the dogs sake of nothing else comes of it. Good luck
The dogs being in my lane isn't enough evidence?  I know I'm biased and my video isn't the best since it's not head-on forward with the bike, but this seems absurd. 
 
 
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bmwpowere36m3

Glad your okay. Asses the damage to yourself, medical costs and bike, parts. Then determine if it's more than your deductible. Depending, it might not be worth filing with the insurance company as rates might increase.
 
I don't see anywhere near $1k in bike damage, I'd venture around $500 not including labor. Filing a police report won't hurt, but as mentioned the only people that can be held accountable might be the dogs owners. Also worth noting some insurance companies or policies don't cover collisions with animals. So best to do your homework first.

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I feel your pain but just be glad you are ok and fix up your bike and ride another day.
 
Odds are nothing will come of it but you do what you feel you should. Most the time you will be wasting a ton of time ad money just to prove a point.

2015 FZ-07 2003 2014 GSXR 1000

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I would at minimum call animal control no matter what you do. Not only is it unsafe for the dogs to be running in the road, this could happen to others. One dog running around is one hazard but, even in a car a pack (and 7 would consist of a pack to me) would be enough hazard for someone to possibly drive off the road or cause serious damage.
 
Im surprised they didn't attempt to attack you. You can clearly see the brown dog coming at you with aggression (noting the standing up hair on his back).
 
Glad you are okay and its good to see the sliders did their job at relatively low speeds. They seemed to have saved the expensive stuff from being damaged. Look at the bright side.....you now have a reason to upgrade the bars.

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howworkclutch

 
i'm near charlotte. if you need help fixing it hit me up
 
 

-HowWorkClutch

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2wheels4life
I am an animal control officer. The owners of the dogs would probably get is cited for having dogs at large and I'm sure they aren't neutered so intact male at large could be pricey if there were a couple. The video is not good enough to prove dogs made contact with you to cause the crash. Without teeth breaking skin or a good video of an attempted bite the word ATTACK wouldn't be used when reporting it. More like chased. Dogs don't attack passing cars they chase them. I obviously don't live in your state and laws vary but I've had my hands tied on more than one occasion in these types of situations because animal laws just aren't tough on offenders. More honest the better. Make it clear they made your focus shift from the road but adding evasive maneuver when the video doesn't show it could be a mistake. Your word means less if they feel you exaggerate. Just my two cents. Good to pursue at least for the dogs sake of nothing else comes of it. Good luck
The dogs being in my lane isn't enough evidence?  I know I'm biased and my video isn't the best since it's not head-on forward with the bike, but this seems absurd. 
 

 
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2wheels4life

I wasn't trying to say the dogs didn't cause the crash. Just meant be careful how you word it. I am speaking from a strictly animal control stand point not civil or who will pay for damages. That's plenty of evidence for animals at large. Animal control has a hard time using the word "attack" because that usually means the beginning of the end for that dog. And as animal control you see plenty of "attacks" that end with dismembered animals or multiple bites that do more damage than a normal fear or territorial bite.
 
I am completely on your side and I have helped owners fund and fix fences to keep dogs like this off the street. Not that I wanted to but I had no choice if really wanted to fix the problem. Punishment is a slap on the wrist even in large scale neglect or abuse cases.

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Do as others have mentioned, find out for sure who's dogs they belong to because I'm sure they have leash laws there and should be contained to the yard. If the owner was negligent in doing so (appears he/she was) then you definitely have a case. Good to hear you weren't hurt bad, sorry about your bike as well. I had a dog come at me a few weeks ago but I tricked him and got lucky. I slowed down so he would match my speed and down shifted and when he was about six or so feet away from the bike and still coming at me I slightly steered way from him, revved up/popped the clutch and shot past him. He wasn't expecting that and couldn't correct in time to touch me or the bike. Made him look stupid .... like this dog!
 
 
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Beemer

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it deserves a police report. But if you're no longer 'local' that might be tough.

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I have had dogs chase for years, usually just slowing or stopping will confuse them and allow a safe escape. About 5 years ago a dog on my route home from work/shopping actually attacked the bike with me and my wife on board. Crouched along the road then attacked the front wheel. Guess he got tangled up with the wheel and wound up going under the bike; the dog is a large breed (Rhodesian Ridgeback maybe) and there was blood everywhere. Luckily we did not go down and I stopped to check for damage; with none apparent I just gave the owner a piece of my mind and went on, thought the dog would surely die. Turns out my wife got a large hematoma on her shin and the collision had destroyed the front fork seals (started leaking the next day) of our DL1000. Unfortunately the dog lives till this day and still attempts to attack the bike if I use that route; he will back off if I stop, dismount and go for a rock to toss at him. I confronted the owner twice again when they just watched this happen but they don't seem to care, tell me he does that to motorcycles and a local trash truck. I've been taking a longer route to work to avoid the situation but find it really annoying. I called the local animal control but they tell me since there is no leash law here.....too bad. In retrospect, I should have called police and stayed put when it happened and would advise anyone else to do the same. Could have been much worse than me replacing seals and luckily my wife had no lasting issues.

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Just like kids, some mother$ers shouldnt be allowed to be responsible for other lives.
 
I would call animal control and at least report the fact that there is a pack of dogs terrorizing that stretch of road. That is downright dangerous and someone is eventually going to get hurt there if those dogs really are dumb enough to chase a vehicle.

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The trick, not to Monday morning 1/4back the OP but more for anyone else who encounters dogs on country roads, is to maintain speed as you approach and when the dogs have your speed down and are running to intercept...increase your speed when they get within about 10 yards or so and zoom by them. They won't be able to adjust to your new speed in time.

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motomachines

The only bad thing is that there is a decent chance these dogs were a pack of feral dogs, as the area in and near Gatlinburg is known for having this problem. They roam around like they own the place!

Moto Machines
Importer and Distributor for Hepco & Becker and Ermax Products
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The only bad thing is that there is a decent chance these dogs were a pack of feral dogs, as the area in and near Gatlinburg is known for having this problem. They roam around like they own the place!
Yep none of those dogs have tags or any sign of human ownership. So to prove who's dogs they are is next to impossible (if feral is not the case). the best thing you could do is call animal control and try to get them off the roads. 

2015 FZ-07 2003 2014 GSXR 1000

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snowdriftless
The trick, not to Monday morning 1/4back the OP but more for anyone else who encounters dogs on country roads, is to maintain speed as you approach and when the dogs have your speed down and are running to intercept...increase your speed when they get within about 10 yards or so and zoom by them. They won't be able to adjust to your new speed in time.
I second this ^^^^^

P1: Vice? I have no vice, I'm as pure as the driven snow!
P2: Yeah but you've been drifting
 
All the gear all the time!

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actually, the "MSF approved" solution is to decrease your speed for a few seconds. This will cause the vicious canines to re-calculate their intercept point, and having changed to the new trajectory, THEN you accelerate as they approach.

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