Insurance question

I've been thinking about getting a motorcycle for a while (usually
bicycle, but have a new longer commute and hate sitting in the car !).
I've read some useful stuff on here and plan to take the MSF course. I
was wondering how expensive insurance gets for a new rider. I've been
driving 15 years, so assume it wouldn't be as expensive as if I never
had any sort of insurance before. Obviously it depends on various
factors, but should I be thinking a few hundred $ per year, quite a few
hundreds, or even more ?

Thanks !

 

It depends on the motorcycle and your driving record.

R1 or GSXR thou = $$$$$$$$$$$$$
My SV650 is ~ $490/yr with 0 tickets/accidents.

 

basic liability, even extended coverage liability, is fairly cheap.
collision coverage is very expensive.

If you buy a new bike on a bank loan or dealer financing, you may be
required to carry comprehensive and collision. Don't, especially not for
your first bike!!!!

Instead, find a small light used bike around 500cc that you won't mind
dropping a few times in parking lots, etc, and figure on using that for
the first 6 months to a year.. GS500 or something. if you're tall (long
legged), a dualsport dirt bike is a good way to go. DL400 or something.
Can find all kinds of servicable bikes like this for around $1000 or $2000
or so.

examples in the bay area...
http://www.craigslist.org/sby/mcy/30409907.html
http://www.craigslist.org/pen/mcy/30388815.html
http://www.craigslist.org/pen/mcy/30374444.html
http://www.craigslist.org/sfc/mcy/30365354.html

http://www.craigslist.org/nby/mcy/30350539.html (this is a relatively new
GS500 for $3400)

http://www.craigslist.org/eby/mcy/30325502.html



after you've ridden one of these a few months, you'll have a much better
idea what you want.

 

The numbers vary widely, depending on insurance company, your driving
record, your motorcycle experience, and the bike you're insuring. Each
company puts a different emphasis on each of these factors--some don't
care what type of m/c (sportbike, cruiser, standard) but only engine size,
others carefully rate each different model.

If you're looking for a standard, say a GS500, or a Bandit, or even an FZ6
(!), and you have a clean driving record, and you've passed the MSF
beginning course, you could probably find full coverage in the
$250-500/year range.

 

Uninsured motorist coverage is also pricey, but IMO worth it.

State Farm is reasonably cheap, especially for high-cost-to-insure
bikes (eg, R1s etc) if you are a car customer, because of how they
write policies.

Agreed. Cash only and self-insure on collision & comprehensive.

EX500/Ninja500 is probabyl teh best in the US, a bit more get up and
go at the high end (it's happy on bay area's 75 MPH freeways), cheap,
and common on the used market.


IF you ABSOLUTELY MUST buy new, and absolutely MUST buy something
covered in plastic, get the "new" GS500: It looks like a GSXR but is a
nice beginner bike, low cost, and buy tipover protectors/framesliders.

 

If you shop around you'll get quotes from $2400 a year down to $500 a year
for the same bike and same coverage.

Some companies obviously won't even give you a quote because they don't
cover bikes.

I found State Farm had the best rates, at least last year when I was doing
my shopping. I didn't end up getting a bike and don't have the agent's
information or I'd post it here.

 

State Farm price coverage based largely on displacement.
So they're usualy pretty cheap for smaller displacement fast bikes
and not such a good deal for large displacement but slow bikes.

It's up to each agent as to whether they will insure a bike
for someone they don't have a car policy for.


Eric

 

Generally speaking, motorcycle insurance is cheaper than car insurance
by a considerable margin. The reason is that the biggest claims are
liability claims and it's hard to do as much damage with a motorcycle
as you can do with a car.

Motorycle insurance pricing is strange, though, because different
companies factor in different things in estimating their exposures, so
shop around.

Al Moore
DoD 734