As they are prone to corrosion on the front forks and engine cases, I decided to keep it just for the dry, sunny days. As the weather has been pretty glorious recently, I have been riding it every day and it has been awesome until last weekend when I rear-ended someone.
In short, the car in front had to brake as a football bounced into the road and I didn’t manage to stop in time as I was looking at my satnav. Thankfully it was only a gentle tap and the GSX was fine. However, I did crack the Range Rover bumper I hit, and my insurer has said it’s going to be a few grand. I couldn’t believe it.
The question I have is that upon checking the front end of the GSX, I noticed the front tyre was on the wrong way round. With that in mind, do you think the “blame” for the accident should rest with whoever fitted the tyre? If so, can I direct the claim to them, rather than it affecting my insurance?
I got new tyres fitted not long after I got the bike and have only done about 3,000 miles on them. I am more than happy to take the tyre shop to court if need be.
Answer
By your own admission, you were looking at your satnav and then rear-ended a car. Further, you did this on a dry, sunny day with tyres that you had already ridden 3,000 miles on (roughly half their life, in my experience).
So, no, you can’t “direct the claim” to the tyre fitter. Whilst I accept the tyre may be on the wrong way round, that had nothing to do with you hitting the rear of the Range Rover. Instead, the reason you hit it was… you guessed it… you. You need to man up and accept you made a mistake on this occasion.
I would just add that if you were riding in the rain and actually paying attention but were unable to stop – i.e. because the tyre tread was the wrong way round and not dispersing the water – I would have a different view.
Andrew Prendergast
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – August 2025
