neighbor's garage caught on fire

The neighbor's garage caught on fire and could be a total loss. I let him know I would HAPPILY clear out the melted snowmobile, Harley, lawn tractor, and burnt up wiring. I thought I had read where scrap yards can't take burnt wiring anymore due to many people illegally burning the insulation off. Is this true and if so what steps would I need to be able to bring the stuff in?

Call the yards in your area and ask them. Tell them the situation and see what they recommend.

Wouldn't the insurance adjuster want to inspect the items first and require your neighbor to document what he does with the items since they will be reimbursing him for the destroyed belongings?

Once the insurance adjuster does come out (today) they will definitely just say everything inside is trash and pay them for it. Once that happens I don't think the adjuster is going to care what happens to the junk. Might be wrong, though. I haven't dealt with this stuff first hand before.

Insurance company will want the bike and snowmobile it will go to the junk yard just as if you total your car. If he keeps them they will adjust the insurance payout the difference the junk yard would be giving them. I'f you do get to scrap I would split it with him.

Originally Posted by Tincankeith

Insurance company will want the bike and snowmobile it will go to the junk yard just as if you total your car. If he keeps them they will adjust the insurance payout the difference the junk yard would be giving them. I'f you do get to scrap I would split it with him.

Junk yard would charge him to haul these away at this point. If it wasn't rude of me I'd go take some pics. This stuff is burnt up bad! It won't add up to that much scrap. I'll be able to easily fit everything in the bed of my Ranger.

Originally Posted by Mechanic688

... the adjuster told him he could have it.

In my experience with insurance claims, almost every single time I was told to keep whatever the damaged property was. I would guess that most insurance companies don't want the headache of adding the logistics of picking up/transporting and salvage/scrapping things. It's easier to let the insured deal with it.

I got the go ahead to take everything but the.....



....Harley.



The insurance adjuster wasn't sure if there was any value left in the Harley. Come Monday or Tuesday I may get the go ahead to grab it, too.

Much of the aluminum is melted and puddled on the floor. Notice the puddle to the side of the Harley exhaust. Normally I spend a ton of time dismantling stuff, but this load is getting brought in pretty much untouched. I don't want to mess with the soot, and also don't want to work on the stuff where my neighbor could see. I think he would rather just get it gone and move on as quick as possible. He does seem a bit torn up about it. No one was hurt in the fire.

I just about shed a tear for that Harley.... And I don't even own it...

Originally Posted by wannabemechanic

I just about shed a tear for that Harley.... And I don't even own it...

Yeah, I thought about posting a warning post to not scroll any further down if you couldn't handle the site of a burnt up Harley. If it helps, it was a sportster.

Looks like 1 mean fire. If the gas tank and back fender survived, the frame might have also. Even though its a sporty, its still a harley frame and could be worth anywhere from a few hundred to maybe a grand.

iI'd say the tank and fender are definatly worth more than scrap. Even if not as reusable parts, might be useful to an artist or something. In my highschool fab class we would bend, damage, fix and paint/clear steel panels. After I left I found out they started custom painting motorcycle tanks as projects...kinda made me sad.

And as Mspotatohead said, the frame may be worth some money. I know you probably don't want your neighbor to see you ravaging his prized possession, however you could always split the money with him, out of sympathy and to help build your friendship. You never know where it may lead.

As a die hard Harley rider I can say without any doubt there is nothing on that sporty that I would use on a bike after being exposed to that kind of heat.
Modern frames are tin junk the way they come from the factory but what would be of some value would be CLEAR title and the VIN numbered casting from the neck that the fork mounts through for building a custom bike with aftermarket parts......as long as the numbers match.
ALSO THE SECTION OF ENGINE LOWER END CASES WITH VIN NUMBERS