motorcycle insurance

[Christophe Noel]

When I was 25 I developed a fondness for Ducatis and it crushed my wallet. There is no way around it, until you hit your 30s, any bike even remotely considered "sporty" is going to involve huge insurance dollars. I think I paid $3000 a year for my Ducati 916 when I was 25...nearly 20 years ago. And it completely made sense. When it got tipped over by some idiot in a parking lot, the repairs exceeded $1800. For a tip-over.

 

[ZMagic97]

I had Progressive when I had bikes and loved them. Geico tried to rape me badly..

 

[calicamper]

hey guys

i kind of searched around but i couldn't really pinpoint anything directly on the information I'm looking for

I'm looking at getting a bike again, i haven't ever had a new bike but i used to ride a honda CR250L for a while, and was did my fair share of time on KLR650s in the Air Force. i think the insurance i had on the Honda was something like $25 a month for full coverage, but it was only a $2300 bike.

this is going to be the first time I've bought a new bike and i had my eyes set on a Duacti Monster 1200S or a BMW R9T. I'm super confused about the insurance on these new bikes. the Ducati is $16,000 and the BMW is $15,000, not a big price difference. they're both 'naked sport' bikes but they're not super bikes, which is why I'm left so perplexed by this. id be financing a partial amount on the bike so i know full coverage is needed but this is where its crazy for me

im 25 year old male, married, no accidents or tickets and i own a home in a safe area

Progressive wants ~$1300 a year for their standard rate (seems reasonable)
All State wants ~$6300 a year (******)
and my current carrier, Kentucky Farm Bureau (who has been really good to me and insures my modified 2010 4Runner with full coverage for $57 a month) wants $4700 a year


am i missing something here? i feel like I'm getting totally taken advantage of here

Your AGE is the biggest issue any guy between 25-30yrs will get just wickedly screwed on the Motorcycle insurance. Take a very well respected riding course or advanced riding course that is recognized by the insurers your considering this can drop your price a sizable amount given statistics show riders that take these courses have dramatically different statistics regarding risk etc. I took both from a hard *** British Lawyer who flunked half the class in the first two days we started out with 25 riders and ended with 14 of us that made it through the course. Yes you learn some **** even if you've been riding for years. I highly recommend it! That and the insurance savings was worth it. I think I was paying $900 a year when I was in my mid 30's that wasn't too long ago and I was riding the daily commute to work year around I did 65,000 miles in 5 years. Zero close calls but lots of avoided disasters in the making had two cases where the car behind me hit the car infront of me as I filtered by stopping traffic!!! I refuse to ride in states that do not allow lane sharing you can't hit whats not there! If your married and plan on having kids get your life insurance now!!!! Don't wait given they jack up the prices on you the older you get, I made that mistake and it cost me about $1000 more simply due to my age vs had I gotten it 5yrs earlier.

 

[marshal]

i don't doubt that my age is a huge contributing factor, but the rate is ridiculous for a non super/hyper/sport bike. even Ducati classifies their bike as a sport/touring. it has an upright/british clubman seating position. its not made to go fast in a straight line, its meant to climb mountain switchbacks. granted, thats semantics for a insurance company.

i spoke with my auto agent today and discussed the difference between the Geico quote i received compared to Farm Bureau. he pretty much told me he couldn't answer because he had no idea why his premium was 8.5x higher than Geico's. his only thought was that there might be a difference in the PIP (personal injury protection) but that wouldn't add more than $100 over the course of the entire year. he just thinks that FB might have had bad experiences with the ducati's and classified them as different types of machines. he told me he would definitely go with the Geico based on what coverage was selected and the price available. they seem to be the best deal right now, though I'm trying to figure out how their quote works and if much will change when it goes to the underwriter.

as it stands the Policy that Geico has offered me with my accident (mother ****ers) would be about $80 bucks a month in the end with taxes and fees. not too bad all things considering

 

[agavelvr]

i checked out Geico on your guys recommendation, $49.77 a month for full coverage. i seriously can't believe what these other insurance companies are smoking.

That is an unbelievable rate for your age and that kind of power on two wheels. Are you sure they are quoting you comp & collision in addition to state mandated coverage? Are you sure they didn't quote you a auto policy Rates vary by state and company, but it is hard to believe they will cover you for $600 a year.

Your KTM 690 example was entertaining, proves you need to shop around. It's a free market and companies vary on their risk costs. I was paying about $400 per year for full coverage, extra medical/uninsured motorist coverage, with a $500 deductible for on a 690 earlier this year with AMFAM. My 640 and xchallenge are slightly cheaper due to age/value of the bikes.

 

[GR8ADV]

for ****s and giggles i got a quote for a KTM 690 Enduro R, you know- overgrown 690cc single cylinder 60hp dirt bike. guess how much that was... the first two numbers of all the previous quotes were the same.

Ok I am not smart enough to figure out your comment. How much was your quote? I am 55 with a 2010 690. Liability and underinsured coverage, Comprehensive (50 dedct), and Collision (500 deduct). $330/year.

 

[marshal]

i was quoted $4700 a year for the KTM as well, which doesnt make any sense to me


been kind of toying with the idea of buying a '16 690 and put some conti trail attack 2 tires on it (90/10) and having a ball with that. 66 horsepower and 300lbs would be loads of fun. Geico offered me $420 a year on a 690.

 

[GR8ADV]

i was quoted $4700 a year for the KTM as well, which doesnt make any sense to me


been kind of toying with the idea of buying a '16 690 and put some conti trail attack 2 tires on it (90/10) and having a ball with that. 66 horsepower and 300lbs would be loads of fun. Geico offered me $420 a year on a 690.

It is one of the most versatile bikes around.

 

[calicamper]

The insurance companies keep their policy math pretty close to their cuffs. My understanding talking with people that were working within the core HQ of an insurance provider is that every aspect has more or less data tied to it everything from the model of the vehicle to age, location etc - given they are more or less playing a game of how much risk they see from the data. A KTM with sub 30yr old riding it probably has a much much higher rate than a basic daily commuter type street bike that however could be different based on the region your in! Very few commuter style riders that gap or difference is probably zero to almost zero between the two types of bikes etc. By the way my cousin was killed riding his KTM three years ago two houses down from his own house! His mistake he took off like an idiot blasting up the street hit a minivan head on. No idea what he was thinking apparently wasn't thinking about much or he would still be here today. His insurance was weak sauce and almost resulted in a massive mess. My experience is that cheap insurance is great till you need it then its absolute crap. LOL I think Geico got in big trouble recently because part of their risk data they were using was based on the persons income and possibly EDU background which starts to touch on issues regarding profiling and going down that path of disaster etc. But when you think about it, any factor that shows a trend where some people are higher risk than others is probably going to be in play in some respect with insurance cost.

 

[marshal]

It is one of the most versatile bikes around.

do you have a thread on your bike and your exploits with it? wondering if buzzing a long at 70mph for long distances is too much for the single cylinder. I've had a plan to ride to Bonneville for speed week in 2017 for a few years now to watch Indian try and take back their title, i wonder if the KTM is up to the 2400 mile round trip journey

 

[GR8ADV]

do you have a thread on your bike and your exploits with it? wondering if buzzing a long at 70mph for long distances is too much for the single cylinder. I've had a plan to ride to Bonneville for speed week in 2017 for a few years now to watch Indian try and take back their title, i wonder if the KTM is up to the 2400 mile round trip journey

With the stock gearing you can ride 70+ mph as long as your *** can stand it; which will be a lot less than you think. Put a set of supermoto rims and tires on it, and the thing rips. Mix your trip up with a bunch of offroad and you will get the full value of the bike. This is one of the best 70off/30on bikes around. If you are not planning on much offroad there are better choices. If your life is more 70on/30off, I would look elsewhere for a more comfortable ride and better wind protection. The BMW 800 would be a nice bike, and you can pick them up used very inexpensively (bmw has terrible residuals). I put 60k on a 1200 GSA and loved it on road and off. (until I had to pick it up) The tenere is also a great bike for that mix. They are cheap, but I found them to ride big and heavy, and you get what you pay for in regards to an offroad capable bike. The DUC Multistrada always seemed silly as an offroad bike with that 17 inch front rim. But if all you will be doing is some gravel roads, then it wont matter. It would be the most fun on the road as well.
.
As far as exploits go, I sold the GSA a few years ago and got a Goldwing for two up on road touring, and the 690 for the offroad stuff. Most trips are more up to the individual than the bike. On the GSA I was across the US and Canada several times, did the WABDR, went as far north as the Arctic Circle and as far south as Honduras. On the 690 I have done BAJA, the Continental Divide offroad from MX to Canada, the WABDR, AZBDR and UTBDR.
.
So as you have likely found out, the options available and more importantly the different opinions on the subject, will consume you. But hopefully that is part of the fun. FWIW, we have now completed one of the greatest thread hijacks in a while. But since you are the OP I guess it is ok.

 

[marshal]

well i assisted in hijacking my own thread. I'm young and dumb so a bottle of Ibuprofen and a 6 pack of beer at the end of the day will do a lot for forgetting spending too much time on an overgrown dirtbike.

Geico just emailed me back and confirmed many questions i had with them on the specific details associated with underwriting and some of the fine print associated with their policies.

at this point going forward i think it will ultimately just be which bike i want to buy. it looks like I'm already falling in with the normal "i need this bike for this purpose, and this bike for that one"

here goes the collection

thanks for the help guys

 

[calicamper]

well i assisted in hijacking my own thread. I'm young and dumb so a bottle of Ibuprofen and a 6 pack of beer at the end of the day will do a lot for forgetting spending too much time on an overgrown dirtbike.

Geico just emailed me back and confirmed many questions i had with them on the specific details associated with underwriting and some of the fine print associated with their policies.

at this point going forward i think it will ultimately just be which bike i want to buy. it looks like I'm already falling in with the normal "i need this bike for this purpose, and this bike for that one"

here goes the collection

thanks for the help guys

;-) Yup way too many cool bikes really good at certain stuff and not ideal for other stuff. Don't laugh my daily commuter was a 2002 Honda Silverwing no joke 6 miles of city life then 18 miles of high speed highway it was perfect! Even fit my laptop, dress shoes and sport jacket under the seat. 65,000 miles commuting on it! Absolutely terrible for gravel driveways! Actually pretty interesting on Sunday Morning Highway 1 group rides typically very comfortable sitting in the 2/3's to the front of the group position while hauling 10 bottles of water under the seat HA HA. First time I rode with those guys they nearly fell over when I popped the seat and started handing out bottled water to everyone. HA HA I did one long ride with camping gear ended up riding with a Goldwing bombing down I5 at 90mph for over two hours did just fine. For trail fun I'd like a simple light weight 250 I could ride like a Mt bike but still cruise into town on for a bite. For the big miles nothing beats the sport touring rigs they just destroy the miles on the pavement and are dream to ride.

 

[calicamper]

My next ride will probably just be a simple light little 250 I can easily rack on a hitch rack or toss on our trailer and haul to fun places. After 65,000 miles in the seat riding to work for 5 years I'm not really into the Iron butt long rides. Though I rented a nice Honda ST touring rig years ago and did a long ride with a friend. That was fun the big sport touring rigs are just wicked machines on the pavement. But I'd rather do that in a cage ideally in a fun one like a two seater with the top down.

 

[marshal]

i'd probably ride a bike to work when i could. i have reservations with dealing with rush our traffic, though i don't see it but every now and then. i work for the rail road so I'm on call 24/7 and the morning and evening rushes are far and few between. i can't see myself putting more than 10,000 miles on a bike a year anymore commuting, but it would be nice to remove that much from my 4Runner yearly. i have an 80 mile round trip to work. a bike would pay for itself in fuel savings pretty quickly i think, but its more about fun per gallon for me. Ducati's arnt particularly known for their high fuel efficiency, they're pretty well pigs.