Sportbike Insurance...

[BLUE TONKA]

Due to the rising fuel prices, I am looking into buying a used 2006 Yamaha R6 for commutes. I basically found my bike that I want, but I was wondering what insurance looked like for these bikes. I don't even know what kind of coverage I would want or need.

I will NOT be stunting, infact I probably won't even speed because I have had too many friends go down on bikes, and in a couple cases lost their lives. I do, however, want to be completely covered so if anything does happen, I am not screwed.

In order to make this purchase beneficial my insurance has to be around $200/month or lower. Is this possible??

What companies would offer this? I heard I shouldn't go to my main insurance provider (AAA) for motorcycle coverage...is that true?
-Thanks for any insight!
Matt

[Fjamming]

BLUE TONKA previously said:

Due to the rising fuel prices, I am looking into buying a used 2006 Yamaha R6 for commutes. I basically found my bike that I want, but I was wondering what insurance looked like for these bikes. I don't even know what kind of coverage I would want or need.

I will NOT be stunting, infact I probably won't even speed because I have had too many friends go down on bikes. I do, however, want to be completely covered so if anything does happen, I am not screwed.

In order to make this purchase beneficial my insurance has to be around $200/month or lower. Is this possible??

-Thanks for any insight!
Matt

Bike insurance is incredibly expensive for younger riders-and for good reasons. If this is your first bike, a R6 is going to be a very dangerous choice. I'm not saying you're not mature, just that the bike is not friendly to new riders. Oh, did I say the insurance is going to be expensive? You'll want the as much coverage as you can.

[TiFJ]

I'm also thinking about picking up an R6 or maybe a CBR600. I'd be interested to know what insurance costs too.

[Swingshiftworker]

BLUE TONKA previously said:

Due to the rising fuel prices, I am looking into buying a used 2006 Yamaha R6 for commutes. I basically found my bike that I want, but I was wondering what insurance looked like for these bikes. I don't even know what kind of coverage I would want or need.

Just call around. You'll need the same coverage as you have for a car. The cost of insurance depends on the bike (make, model & year), your driving record, your riding experience (motorcycle specific carriers definitely ask about this, others don't) and your age. The R6 will be considered a higher risk bike and will affect your cost of coverage accordingly.

If you are a "mature" driver and been a loyal customer, I'd suggest asking your automobile carrier if they'll also cover your motorcycle. State Farm is my carrier and they do not normally cover motorcycles, but do so for me because I've been with them for over 25 years and, in addition to other coverage, insure all my other vehicles with them. I am between bikes now, but the cost to cover a 2002 Ducati 998 (a high risk & high cost bike) was about $700 a year (a couple of years ago) in San Francisco (which is a high risk accident area) -- the same as a couple of my cars -- and that takes into account my being over 50 years of age with no tickets or accidents. Coverage by high risk motorcycle carriers like Progressive will probably be much higher, especially if you're younger and have a less than pristine driving record.

However, I've said this in other threads in response to people talking about getting a motorcycle to save gas money and I'll say it again. DON"T DO IT!!!

Riding a motorcycle for "fun" occasionally or on uncongested highways is one thing, but riding it everyday in congested commute freeway traffic is entirely different. It is really NOT a good idea to use a motorcycle as a commute vehicle. Whether you're an experienced rider or not (I've ridden for over 40 years), your risk of injury rises substantially when you ride in congested traffic and goes up even more if you're doing it EVERY DAY during commute hours. As you know from your own experience, motorcyclists are more likely to die in an accident than a driver in a car simply because you do not have a steel cage protecting you. Even if you know what you're doing (scan ahead, anticipate problems, maintain proper lane position, etc.) to avoid contact with other vehicles, a mistake by any one in a car can kill you. I live in San Francisco and I hear of motorcyclists going down and/or being killed in commute time accidents more and more often. In fact, a motorcyclist was killed this morning in an accident up here!

If you want to save gas, buy a hybrid (or simply driver slower and accelerate/hard brake less). You will get the same mileage in a hybrid as you will on a motorcycle (maybe even better) and you will be much safer. Yes, a car costs more to buy and creates parking/storage issues, but you'll save about the same amount of money in gas, probably pay the same or less in insurance and will be much safer and will be able to use the car for more things than you will the bike. Just my $1.50 worth on the topic.

[Jasper007]

I have a 2007 Suzuki GSXR 1000. Prior to buying it, I called up various companies to check on rates (I have diff insurance on the cars).

State Farm by far, had the best rates, my monthly payment is $46.00 a month (I am 40, married, not one ticket on my driving record, or accidents).

All the other companies I contacted were over $2000 and $3000.00 a year (I didn't understand, my record is perfect)-but I guess it's the bike (sport).

My prior bikes were GSXR's and a Hayabusa, and all my rates were great through State Farm.

My agent did tell me that with State Farm, their insurance is more on Harley's (bikes like that) then Sportbikes. The other companies seemed to be reversed with their rates.

Prior to buying the GSXR, I did look into a Ducati 1098 and a Aprilia RSV1000, and on both those bikes, the rates were just a few dollars more.

Good luck, and be safe.

Also, consider taking a safety course, it may drop your price of insurance.

Jack

[mising]

I have been riding on and off for the past 20 yrs, but I have always had my bike insured alongside my other vehicle(s), as I have noticed that stand alone insurance was waaay more than combining them on one policy. My rates usually increased about 10-20 dollars a month for full coverage. In addition to age and experience, a BIG factor for a lot of insurance companies is whether or not you have taken an approved riding course. This alone will knock off a decent percentage of your premium.

Check out Motorcycle Safety Foundation for a location near you. The course normally costs around $75.00 for three days. It is well worth it, you will learn more in those 3 days than you would on your own in 3 years, along with the nice drop in insurance premiums.

As far as AAA, I am with them now, and have had 2 of my previous bikes insured with them, and have been quite happy with their service.

State Farm is the only one I have had issues with. I had an 96 RF900 stolen, and had to fight and fight to get them to cover it, and even then I only got about a third of its value. I had an alarm, a disc lock and it was chained to a pole! They said I should not have let it get stolen?! Needless to say I dropped them as soon as I received my check...

Hope this is helps,
Mike

[jeshua]

I've started looking at bike as well. But I will be getting a much smaller bike, right now I am thinking I will go with the Suzuki SV650 when I get one. It will get about 50-60 mpg and cost around $6k out the door new.

I think Swingshiftworker brought up some good points though on safety if used as a commuter. As far as mpg and cost I think the bike will come out on top over a hybrid, depending on size of bike of course. But if you don't plan to speed or do stunts why get the big bike why not something smaller that gets better mileage and is easier to ride?

[Fjamming]

That's a good choice Josh. Power delivery is more predictable and manageable. A used bike is not a bad choice for a first bike either. A new rider is more likely to lay down a bike. I know, I've lay mine down moving it around the garage! You'll need to figure in jackets, pants, gloves, helmet, shields, etc into your cost of ownership. As Swingshiftworker said, if you're buying it to save gas, don't do it.

[jeshua]

Fjamming previously said:

That's a good choice Josh. Power delivery is more predictable and manageable. A used bike is not a bad choice for a first bike either. A new rider is more likely to lay down a bike. I know, I've lay mine down moving it around the garage! You'll need to figure in jackets, pants, gloves, helmet, shields, etc into your cost of ownership. As Swingshiftworker said, if you're buying it to save gas, don't do it.

When I do buy I will definitely look at used stuff, but I don't think that will be for a while.

Thats the stuff I haven't added up. I am sure thought that it will add another 1000+ easily to the cost.

[crestwood36]

I'm going to pepper in general bike preaching along with my insurance advice.

First off, Insurance:
If you are under 25 it will suck but is manageable. I paid about $130 a month for my Ducati Multistrada 620 in Pittsburgh, PA before I turned 25. After that, it dropped to $30 a month. This is with State Farm, the same company I have for my auto and home insurance. You will get better deals by bundling your insurance. If you have a lean on the bike you must have comprehensive insurance. Your best bet is to call different companies and get quotes.

Your second form of insurance is gear (actually this is your first, but I didn't want to be too preachy). Get a SNELL certified helmet. These are rated for puncture. Wear motorcycle specific boots (I didn't when I highsided a year ago and paid). Wear a jacket and pants with CE approved armor. Gloves are also a must. There are cold and warm weather versions of all of these. I am a firm believer in ATGATT (All The Gear All The Time); this is especially important if you are going to use your bike as a daily driver.

Bike:
In the end this is your decision. I will warn you about this though. Bikes that have an R in the name are typically track ready bikes. This includes GSX-R, R1, R6 (there's a reason why the Yamaha page for the R6 has a guy on the track), CBR-RR. These take a lot of added skill in order to properly handle the additional hp and torque. By this I mean being able to do things such as manage clutch control in a turn, utilizing your powerband properly, knowing when to use your front breaks to shift the weight of the bike forward, how to threshold break, how to handle front vs rear wheel skid, how to countersteer, etc. I've hear of far too many new riders that have died because they had way more bike than they could handle. Punching the gas pedal in a car is a lot different than twisting a throttle. When you get thrown back your hand will open up the throttle even more. You don't need to be stunting to die. If you have too much power and not enough experience you can easily kill yourself running to the grocery store for milk.

SV650's are great starter bikes (they come with ferrings or as a naked streetfighter), especially if you can get a hold of one with ABS. Another good option to have is a slipper clutch (not sure if SVs have this). This prevents you from dumping the bike on the ground if you downshift at too high of an rpm. My best advice would be to get a bike that you won't care about dropping (because it will happen) and one that is inexpensive enough to be resold to another newb when you have outgrown it.

Feel free to take or disregard any of this as you see fit. I'm being realistic because I want you to be safe an enjoy owning a motorcycle. So-Cal has some amazing roads that I hope you have the opportunity to ride.