Craig,
I am sorry to hear about the theft of your favorite bike.
Your bike is insured for the replacement value under your home owner/renter insurance.
The issue at hand is replacement value. Be careful here, collectibles are not covered. (It is phrased something like this: "If the value of an item is due to its age or rarity...") However, few of our bikes are worth more than their modern counterparts. Just make sure you do not claim it is worth something because it is old and irreplaceable. Instead, say that quality custom bikes cost x.
If the bike was made for you, you can argue that only a new custom bike will replace it. Otherwise, you could argue that H.R. Morris or similar bikes with that particular geometry and features, in the size you need, are not commonly traded goods, (a lawyer friend of Dale Brown explained that at his bike club meeting after the last Cirque), so only a new custom bike will do.
Most of all, you need a few friendly bike shops who will write up an estimate each of what it will cost to replace the bike, based on a custom frame and new components.
I once had an old Celo Europa wrecked in an accident, and submitted two estimates to my renters insurance: One for a new Colnago with all Campy, and another for what I thought the fair value of the old bike was. The insurance called me, as they were confused about which estimate they should pay. When I said the lower one, they asked "Does that mean you are going to buy a used bike to replace this," and when I confirmed this, they paid with no more questions asked.
Good luck! I hope you will get the Morris back, though. Often, these bikes end up at police auctions or are donated to charities, so it is worth while contacting them and posting a reward for your bike.
The "stolen bikes" page on the VBQ site was taken down for a lack of demand. I'd offer to put it back up, but if it isn't checked frequently by those dealing with bikes, it's of little use.
Jan Heine Editor/Publisher Vintage Bicycle Quarterly c/o Il Vecchio Bicycles 140 Lakeside Ave, Ste. C Seattle WA 98122 http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com
At 9:38 AM -0700 6/13/06, cmontgomery wrote:
> Out on the back patio last night, working on my '65 HR Morris for an
>upcoming tour. Went in for dinner, came out an hour later and it was
>gone. Some evil person popped over the 6' fence, grabbed the bike,
>threw it over the fence, and skedaddled. Needless to say, I'm feeling
>pretty sick at the moment. This was my flagship. Of all the bikes I've
>ridden over the past 35 years the Morris was the finest handling machine
>ever.
> But that's beside the point now. Need to file a police report and
>get in touch with the home insurance people. I don't even know if it's
>covered, but will try anyway. I can come up with an estimate of parts,
>but what do you do about putting a price tag on an irreplaceable frame?
>Do I claim what I paid for it? I'd take it on the chin there. Or do I
>claim what a modern KOF would cost? They'd probably laugh me out of the
>state.
> Personal experiences welcome.
>
>Craig Montgomery
>Tucson