Would you cancel covereage?

[GilaMinumBeer]

I have a 2004 Honda Shadow Aero. She's been sitting in the garage now for 2.5 years and I see no chance in the near future that I will EVER have time to ride it. I have 2 babies in the house and share the burden of transport to or from daycare with my wife (using 2 seperate vehicles).

I do maintain the bike but, in 2.5 years the most I have done is ride around the block.

I find myself searching for Insurance (Home and Auto) and I can;t help but to ask myself why I bother keeping coverage on the bike.

Would you?

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Now taht I have posted I realize that I have had to keep it insured in order to keep it tagged and avoid fines for late tagging.

Stupid laws.

 

[Mutilated1]

Check if your homeowners insurance covers it while its parked in your garage.

Of course if you really don't see a chance of you ever having time to ride it, it sort of begs the question of why you don't just go ahead and sell the bike ?

 

[rsmith179]

Being a licensed insurance agent in Ohio, I would reccommend that you keep at least physical damage on the bike. Best bet, call up Progressive or Geiko and ask for a motorcyle quote for only physical damage. This will cover your bike in case your house catches on fire, it is stolen, etc. Your homeowners insurance will not cover the vehicle in your garage. This coverage will not cover you for any type of liability though. So if you plan on taking it back on the road, you can just call your agent or insurance company to add liability back on. Once you're done riding, give them a call back and let them know that you want to go back to just physical damage coverage.

I'd hate to hear that your bike got stolen or something like that and you had absolutely no coverage on it at all. With that being said, if you don't care about the bike and if you can afford to go out and replace it if something happens, maybe dropping it off of coverage is not a bad thing for you.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I have considered selling it. But, it's paid for so it's not like I have a payment looming over it. I have the room to store it and I do very much enjoy this bike.

And finally, I just don;t see me getting what it's worth (to me) considering how deeply discounted some bike are going for now.

I paid around $8k for the bike (new) and all the accessories (bags, etc, etc) and couldn;t see selling for less than $5k or $6k. And I don;t think that is a realistic expectation right now (maybe ever).

 

[homebrewer_99]

I read one of these guys is an agent? Why didn't you mention "storage insurance"?

I used to store my Fiero over the winter using SI. It only cost me like $65 for the year. I used to do it every year...and you can still take it out for a spin every once in a while......just not daily.

 

[farmbrewernw]

Dude you need to get a bike you enjoy more, I've had bikes I liked riding but they never really made me want to ride them all the time, thus they sat in the garage a lot. The bike I have now gets me excited about riding, it makes me want to ride. That's the sort of bike you need, something that is easy to get on and be thrilled. Despite being really busy there is always time to fit in a 30 min ride ever once in a while, hell use it as a commuter and then you'll get more riding in, that's what I do in the good weather months.

 

[Donasay]

One of my friends used to only insure his bike during the summer, canceled the insurance in the winter and parked the thing inside, re-instated the insurance every spring.

There are of course pros and cons to not having the bike insured, the biggest con is not being able to take it out any time you want and waiting a week to get everything in order before you ride it again.

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

Keep the bike, but get basic insurance and put a "non-op" on it if you don't plan on riding it. Get some fuel stabilizer in the tank and run the bike for a few minutes. Also get some oil additive as well. This should keep the oil and gas from gunking up and costing you money to restore the bike in a few years.

 

[rsmith179]

Homebrewer... storage insurance is just another name for a physical damage only or non-op policy. And yes, I've been a licensed P&C agent in Ohio for over 5 years. Dealt with this all the time at the company I used to work for. And no... you cannot take that bike out for a quick spin if you don't have liability insurance. I mean, you could, but if you were pulled over you will for sure get your license suspended as you are required by state law to carry liablility coverage whenever your tires hit public roads.

 

[golfnmotorcycles]

How's about I split the insurance with you and ride it for you. When you want it, it will be here :rockin:


I've got a 99 Valk Interstate. Full coverage insurance with low deductibles is still so cheap that I hardly think about it. Before that I had an 03 Shadow Ace - pretty much like the Aero, but chain drive and two carbs (I think I read that the Aero went to one carb). I wish the Valk had one carb....instead of one for each of its 6 cylinders. Average mileage stays in the 30s, but I work the throttle pretty hard.

Good thing is the bike is a Honda. As long as you ride it once in a while (keep the fuel from gumming up) it will probably fire every time you hit the ignition. The value (resale) will keep dropping but it will always be worth more than that to YOU, so holding onto is the right thing to do. If it was eating into your wallet, that's a different story.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Dude you need to get a bike you enjoy more, I've had bikes I liked riding but they never really made me want to ride them all the time, thus they sat in the garage a lot. The bike I have now gets me excited about riding, it makes me want to ride. That's the sort of bike you need, something that is easy to get on and be thrilled. Despite being really busy there is always time to fit in a 30 min ride ever once in a while, hell use it as a commuter and then you'll get more riding in, that's what I do in the good weather months.

Oh no, no, no. I am thrilled with this bike. I just literally don't have the time for it, right now. I mean, 30 minutes to cruise on teh Honda is less valuable to me than a 30 minute pedal bike ride that my 2 year old can enjoy too. I guess I am more of a family guy than anything else. I always try to include my son and of course, now he's learned to expect it. With another child barely 3 months old. I won;t have that kind of time for a while.

As commuter goes, no can do. I used to do that before the first was born. If it was safe to ride to work, I rode. But these days, I drop him off at daycare and Mom picks him up. It's just easier that way with our schedules and I am okay with that. Of course, I choose it this way.

One day my boys will be old enough that either they (one atleast) can ride with me or, they won't care.

As to the Others who have responded, Thanks. You have given me some things to look at.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

How's about I split the insurance with you and ride it for you. When you want it, it will be here :rockin:


I've got a 99 Valk Interstate. Full coverage insurance with low deductibles is still so cheap that I hardly think about it. Before that I had an 03 Shadow Ace - pretty much like the Aero, but chain drive and two carbs (I think I read that the Aero went to one carb). I wish the Valk had one carb....instead of one for each of its 6 cylinders. Average mileage stays in the 30s, but I work the throttle pretty hard.

Good thing is the bike is a Honda. As long as you ride it once in a while (keep the fuel from gumming up) it will probably fire every time you hit the ignition. The value (resale) will keep dropping but it will always be worth more than that to YOU, so holding onto is the right thing to do. If it was eating into your wallet, that's a different story.

Yeah. At $150 a year the cost isn't a burden but, it does seem a little un-necessary given the circumstances.

 

[springer]

can you turn in the plates then drop liability? In NY you can drop the liability insurance on a motorcycle without turning in the plates but you can't do that with a car.

Homeowners doesn't cover motor vehicles here in NY unless thay are for the sole purpose of maintenance of the property IE a quad use for plowing or moving dirt and landscaping same with a truck. And this is for comprehensive only claims like theft fire

 

[remilard]

you are required by state law to carry liablility coverage whenever your tires hit public roads.

Not in all states.

 

[The Pol]

I have a really silly question perhaps. If you have not ridden it in 2.5 years, and dont see yourself doing so in the near future. Why do you still have the bike?

Id have sold it about 1.5 years ago.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Homebrewer... storage insurance is just another name for a physical damage only or non-op policy. And yes, I've been a licensed P&C agent in Ohio for over 5 years. Dealt with this all the time at the company I used to work for. And no... you cannot take that bike out for a quick spin if you don't have liability insurance. I mean, you could, but if you were pulled over you will for sure get your license suspended as you are required by state law to carry liablility coverage whenever your tires hit public roads.

All I was told was "storage insurance". I would think you guys would have another name for the same thing.

My agent said all I have to do is call to let him know I was tkaing it out for the day. Once you have the insurance card for full coverage, or whatever you carry, it's not replaced with a "non-op" card.

All I can tell you is what I was told...and did. The phone call probably took care of the liability situation.

 

[dataz722]

Ok, I will be honest. I didn't complete read all the other posts. I just quickly skimmed though so if I am repeating anything im sorry. First I am an insurance agent so you really have two major choices. 1 turn in the tags or not. If you do not turn in the tags then you are REQUIRED BY LAW to have atleast liability coverage on it. What I would reccomend would be if you keep the tags then take state minimum liability with full coverage. If you do turn in the tags then I would still take physical damage coverage on it. Actually I take most of that back and want to ask 1 question first. (sorry about ramnbling, ive been drinking) What is the bike worth? If it is a decent amount then take my prior advice. If it isnt worth a decent amount then either take state minimum liability if you keep it tagged or nothing at all if you turn the tags in.


edit---- disclaimer! I do not do insurance nor am I licensed in your state so it is possible laws could vary.

 

[farmbrewernw]

Oh no, no, no. I am thrilled with this bike. I just literally don't have the time for it, right now. I mean, 30 minutes to cruise on teh Honda is less valuable to me than a 30 minute pedal bike ride that my 2 year old can enjoy too. I guess I am more of a family guy than anything else. I always try to include my son and of course, now he's learned to expect it. With another child barely 3 months old. I won;t have that kind of time for a while.

As commuter goes, no can do. I used to do that before the first was born. If it was safe to ride to work, I rode. But these days, I drop him off at daycare and Mom picks him up. It's just easier that way with our schedules and I am okay with that. Of course, I choose it this way.

One day my boys will be old enough that either they (one atleast) can ride with me or, they won't care.

As to the Others who have responded, Thanks. You have given me some things to look at.

OK well when you put in the fact that you take the kids to day care and all that other stuff I guess all you can do is park it, I'd just take the insurance off of it.

 

[Zul'jin]

With gas back under $3 a gallon, under $2 in some places, the demand for motorcycles has gone down some. Still, the demand remains higher than before $4+ gas. Also, the warmer the weather, the higher the demand. You may get more than you anticipate if you sell the bike this spring or summer.

Since you are not going to sell it, I wouldn't unless I needed the money, keep it insured. In a pinch, like if one cage breaks down, your bike is a backup vehicle. Maybe not for kid transport but, you can still get yourself to work on it. Getting to work is worth money. Insurance on the bike for a year is most likely less money than 5 days or more of car rental.