Motorcycle Insurance

Oct. 2 2009 I was out on my Harley Davidson motorcycle on my way to a job when some one turned left in front of me. I had two choices. Hit the pickup or lay down my beautiful bike. I chose to lay down the bike over hitting the truck. People that ride their bikes into other cars and trucks don't do so well. My bike sustained sever damage. The truck responsible had no damage. I was hurt and angry. I called the police, not the driver of the truck. The driver of the truck seamed to not care if I was alive or dead. They didn't come to see if I was OK or if I needed help. The only call to the 911 operator was mine. When the emergency people of Ogden Fire and Police arrived they did their typical good job. Ogden has some of the best emergency responders in the United States. I thank you. I had some serious injuries! The investigating Officer collected all the information to make a case against the driver of the pickup for failure to yield right of way, driving on suspended driver's license and no insurance. The no insurance part left me to deal with a $20,000 motorcycle that has $8,000 in damages, my injuries and not being able to work. I have insurance! What would have happened if I had been killed? Who would have taken care of my family? It is simply STUPID and against the law to drive around without insurance! John G. Moon Ogden

The comments to this article point out that regardless of the law people, for whatever reason, will persist in driving without insurance.  So what is a motorcycle rider to do?  Buy insurance yourself, that's what!  This is even more important in tough economic times because the estimate of uninsured drivers in Utah is about 12 percent.  In other words 12 out of every 100 drivers are out there driving without any vehicle insurance whatsoever!

When you purchase motorcycle insurance you can purchase what is called underinsured coverage and uninsured coverage.  Underinsured coverage kicks in if the driver who causes the crash has insurance but not enough to cover your damages.  For example let's assume the offending driver, like in the article above, turns left in front of you and causes the crash.  Let's also assume, not like in the article above, that the offender has the minimum coverage for bodily injury in Utah, $25,000.  Let's also assume that your total damages are $100,000.  You may get the offender's policy limits of $25,000 but what about the remaining $75,000 you lost?  If you had purchased adequate underinsured coverage of $100,000 that underinsured coverage would kick in because the offender was underinsured.
Uninsured coverage kicks in if the offending driver has no insurance coverage, like in the article above.  In that case, with clear and convincing evidence, you would make a claim on your own uninsured coverage.  If you had purchased $100,000 in uninsured coverage chances are your own insurance would pay for all of your damages.
So the answer is to make sure you carry enough insurance yourself to cover your damages should the other driver that causes the crash either does not carry enough coverage or no insurance coverage at all.  Furthermore, underinsured coverage is a right in Utah.  Often I discover that our clients have not made a knowing waiver of that right and under Utah law if that right to underinsured coverage is not made knowingly you are entitled to full underinsured coverage.  At utahbikelaw it is part of our routine investigation to make sure that you get what you are entitled to under the law in Utah when you are in a motorcycle crash.

Mystery Bike Revealed Part 1 Funny Bike 2

This unidentified bike was recently featured in Irish Rich's post on Phil Ross. It looked familiar and had South Bay Style written all over it, so I made an inquiry to a good source and after a chain of emails it's owner and builder contacted me.

This photo from Rich's blog started the inquiry. The stance and style of the paint seemed all too familiar.

The man responsible for the bike is Bruce Parrish. If the name sounds familiar it's because he was mentioned in the Why White Bear? post as it's painter.

The following is the email I received from Bruce. I'll fill in what he later told me in the captions.

Chris, I am the mystery bike owner and builder. I still have it. That was the 3rd. build of the same frame over a 10-13 year period. I have pictures from most all the projects I have been involved with over the years. I was a painter for a lot of South Bay bikes. AKA Painter Bruce.

The running mock up. One reason the bike looked familiar, the handlebars were lent to Joe Hurst when White Bear was in the Trident's Show. See last August's Header. All photos courtesy of Bruce Parrish

I hung out, partied and road with Dick Allen and the like from the Redondo Beach area. For a few years my paint shop was in the back shop of Phil Ross's known as "Parrish Arts. " I later became a metal Fabricator and called my business "Parrish Parts", worked for several businesses for about 16 years.

This was the 3rd build of this bike and 2nd of what Bruce called the Funny Bike. Funny Bike?... it's because Bruce built it like one would build a Funny Car. Bruce fabricated both the gas and oil tanks plus all the trick goodies you can spot.

I have been back on my own since 1992 with my business now as Parrish & Sons Specialties. Do check it out www.parrishspecialties.com Thanks for your interest and feel free to contact me. Happy New Year, Bruce Parrish


All laid out and ready to go. Something tells me this guy is meticulous.


The frame was altered to Bruce's specs. (2" in the back bone and about 3" in the front legs), by Kevin Daily of Zap Fab. Kevin started calling this style of neck a "Brucie -Neck". The South Bay Swoop sissy bar is unique as it's a true two piece type and mounts through the top of the fender.


More of Bruce's fine and tidy work. Most of the work was done while he worked at Dan Woods shop. Yes that Dan Woods. Prior to this he shortly worked for Steve Davis and largely credits him for learning and developing his metal shaping skills.


Bruce spent about two years (1976-'77), on the bike and was finished in '78. The bike was ahead of it's time. Note the attention to detail on items like the fender bracket, clutch linkage, the shifter and ratchet . This kind of machine work with these types of materials was pretty much unheard of in those days.


The bike could be run minus the top sissy bar section. Bruce knocked the center out of a 15" Porsche rim and had Buchanan's dimple and drill it for spokes. It was then laced up to a Kosman hub. The fork is an 18" over Dick Allen springer.

Here's the left side again, but this time all dolled up. The engine is a 1950 with S&S flywheels and Sifton cam. The carburetor was first an SU but was later switch to a Branch dual throat Mikuni.

It's hard to believe that this bike was never featured in a magazine. The bike was almost sold and disassembled many years ago, but Bruce still has it. Hopefully one day he'll put it back together as Funny Bike 3.

Bruce definitely played a part in the South bay bike scene and I'm honored to shed some light his contributions. He has since sent me more photos, some of this bike in it's other guises.... so stay tuned folks.... and oh yeah, don't forget to check out his website.