I asked to ride my friends motorcycle and i crashed it, it was brand new and he had not added insurance yet, do i have to pay?

This depends on several things. Your friend (of course) needs to contact his insurance company right away. If he already had insurance, there is often a grace period when a new vehicle is purchased, where it is covered by the existing insurance. I am not sure if this applies to a motorcycle, or if it applies to your friend, but that needs to be examined. Next question, was there a loan on the motorcycle? If so, the lender may have required insurance, so maybe he got insurance through the lender?

Do you have insurance? If so, it can be tendered to your car insurance, if you carry comprehensive and collision coverage.

Are you uninsured? If so, it may be covered by your friends uninsured property damage coverage.

In short, every possible avenue for insurance needs to be investigated.

You need to seek legal advice immediately.

The bottom line however; if you borrow a motorcycle, and then wreck it, you are responsible, unless you can find a source of insurance to pay for it.

Also, please read this disclaimer. The following was not legal advice, but just commentary. I can only give advice to current clients, and after receiving complete information on the specific situation. With that said, I hope you found the comments helpful, and a starting point for your situation.

Adam Sorrells
Law Offices of Adam Sorrells
Chico personal injury lawyer.

Why wouldn't you have to pay? You borrowed something of someone's. It was new. You broke it. You didn't have insurance to cover it. You owe your friend.

My question for you would be, "do you think you're responsible?" If you think "no", I'm wondering why that would be.

If you are uninsured and your friend's property insurance won't cover it, then you absolutely owe him. You rode it, you crashed it, you owe him.

Your question seems to confuse liability with insurability. Whether or not there was insurance is irrelevant. You are liable to pay your friend because you crashed his motorcycle.

With regard to the question of whether or not your friends insurance may cover the motorcycle via some sort of grace period, your friend should immediately contact his/her agent as this question can only be answered by reviewing the policy of insurance. However, bear in mind that coverage will only apply through the insurer's contractual grace period if your friend purchased the motorcycle as a replacement for a previously insured motorcycle that he was replacing.

Yes!

Most likely, the answer to your question is yes, you would have to pay. But, you should not have to pay just any amount to get it fixed. Have three estimates done which would give you a range of possible costs to repair.

Even if your friend had insurance, you still would be liable for the damage caused. Think of it like this, if you loaned a computer to a friend and he broke it, who would be responsible? Your friend would, for the damage. While there is no intent, it is still something broken while in your possession and use. Even if there was insurance, the insurance carrier could look back to you to pay the damage. While your auto insurance may not cover motorcycles, do you have renters or homeowners insurance? I would check, if you do, that coverage. Something like an unbrella policy may help you, if there is coverage and you have that type of policy. Accidents happen, and I am sure your intent was not to crash the motorcycle, but yes, you are liable for the damages incurred.