Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/141041
not vary according to the displacement of your cycle. That makes this option an insurance bargain, of sorts. Kind of like the ' new innertube you bought where they threw in a can of leak sealer for an extra fifty cents. You may never need the little knic k-knac k for as long as you live , but the one time it does get used makes ita bargain. In all seriousness, extra liability coverage d o esn ' t cost very much m oney, and co uld save you from financial ruin if you happen to be unlucky. Do not think that because you just turned eigh teen and your estate consists of a motorcycle and a stereo that you can n o t be sued for a quarter-of a million dollars if you make a mistake. The courts will relieve y o u r parents of what they can n o t take from you, Fo r that re ason alone, y o u parents might do well to co nsider making your son buy added liability cove ra ge or, better yet, b uy it for him. A study o f several motorcycle in surance rate sheets show similarities in so m e areas, disparities in others. For example, the price fo r a full-coverage policy (c om p re hensive, collision and liability) for a 25 0 twin does n ot vary widely . T he same holds true fo r every other size bike. T h e new 903 Kawasaki is an interestin g exception to this statement.. . Th e average rate shee t puts this bike, and the rest of the new crop of over 725cc multi-cylinder superbikes, in the most expensive ca tego ry. Multi-eylinder motorcycles cost more to insure than the equivalent single or twin. An --over·750cc multi costs twice as much t o insure as a mere 750cc multi. However, one or two insurance companies will udnerwrite the new Kawasaki as a 750. It pays to ask about the cost of insurance when you price the new m odels. Variance in rates from company to ' co m p an y shows up in the deductibles, T he deductible provision in an insurance policy makes you pay for the deductible amount in a claim, while the insurance pays for what is left over. In som e case, this m ay be a large amount. In others, you may pay out-one hundred dollars to get back fifty. The p h y sical property , comprehensive, and collision coverages have this deductible p rovision. It can range from thirty-five to two hundred and fifty dollars, depc;nding on the ' d i s p l a c e m e n t of the .motorcycle. Insurance companies claim that this provision allows them to keep rates down by reducing the chance of false claims and p ay in g for the cost of processing a claim. This may strike you as unfair. The variance in the deductible amoun t for a speci fic motorcycle from , com p an y to company indicates a ch arge-wh at-y o u-ean-ge t attitude on the part of motorcy cle i nsurance companies. You sbould balance full coverage prem ium c osts against deductible amoun t : and compare several differen t companies. The results will help y ou to make a more in fo rmed and, 'p o ssib ly , les s co stly insurance decision. Here are so me other t idb its o f information that may help when you buy insurance. BMW's and Moto-Guzzi's cost about as m uch to insure as a 450cc m o torcycle. San Francisco residents can expect to add fifty percen t to the cost of a regular motorcycle insurance pre mium. Extended forks add a comparable' amount to your premium cost. Motorcycle Drivers Education gets you a ten p ercen t discount, as does insuring a second cycle with the same company. An approved anti-theft d evice removes five percent fr om your premium, while custom equipment adds ten percent of its own value to y our cost. . These last three are worth taking a closer lo ok at. Motorcycle insurance cc>-~panies claim that theft is their number one problem. To a certain extent, they're right:. m otorcycles are easy to steal. A large n umber of them change hands illegally each year. The ins urance companies usc this fact as a justification for high rates. Yet they offer m o re incentive to bring them new business than they do to fight their number one problem. This may make sense fro m a business poin t of view, but it rubs the insurance buyer the wrong way . Custom equipment may do the same th ing. L ike cars, motorcycles often be come instruments o f personal expression. That neat fiberglass tank makes y o u r bike uniq ue. A thief might agree. Insurance for that tank adds ten percen t of its value to the cost of your premium. If the tank, or bike gets .oj., , ;. " " l ~ · 1 1 ·1 '1 't s~OA~n' TY,3!1 Ili.'i"a ~~tIi~fV~ , ge. " .c~ percent nac .. .•uter- th depreciation, and deductible get added up. If y ou decide t o customize y our motorcycle, buy a chain or alarm. Take the discount for the anti-theft device and forget about insuring your custom items. You will find yourself better off in the long run. Just present the re cei pt for the device to your insurance agent or salesman, ' . Thus far, this discussion of insurance has deal t with coverage for licensed street-legal motorcycles only. Yo u can buy insurance for your dirt bike , but it is very restricted. The insurance companies offer com prehensive coverage only ; you cannot buy liability or uninsured motorist coverage. You can buy collision coverage, usually for twen ty-five dollars, but it carries a one hundred dollar deductible. In mos t cases. the deductible exceeds the premium. Clearly, insurance for y o ur dirt bike offers protection in on e area; loss from theft. You will probably fin d that a stro ng chain and a locke d garag e arc: cheaper. • One las t it em: Motorcycle insurance co mp anies d o have the · equivalen t of good driver discounts. In addition to th e dis cou nt fo r motorcycle drivers education, the insurance co m p any m a y reduce yo u r premium ten percent p e r claim-free y ear. At ·th e same time, the co m pany w ill usually reduce y ou r deductible amoun t twen ty-five dollars per year until it reaches a fifty d ollar . minimum. That about does it for motorcycle insurance, There isn"t much more t o tell. I bope you haven 't gotten too J .. e prermum costs, favor. You can reread any part of this article that you do not understand but ' In a motorcycle showroom, the pressure is on to buy that bike and take it home. Don 't let y ou rself be hurried. The most intelligen t thing you can do wh en the time co me s to b u y in surance is take th e time to read the . insur ance con tr act. . Do not be embarrassed if you don 't understand so m e o f the legal language. The insuran ce s a l es m a n has the re sp on sibility to explain to you every th ing th at you d on ' t understand. Eve ry sen te n ce in an insurance c on t rac t can b e ex plaine d by the sales m a n in wo rds of one sy lla ble. If y ou do not cat ch o n righ t aw a y , ask h im t o explain agai n . Ask him to write all o f the m ath ematics d own on p aper whe re you can see and u nderst and th em. If the sa lesm an will n o t take the time t o do this f or yo u , d o n ot b u y yo u r insurance, or mo t orcy cle, fro m h im . Af ter all of this, d o y o u still want to know h ow to ge t a real good deal o n m o torcy cle ins uran ce? Oka y, I'll te ll you . T a ke m otorcy cle drivers ed uc a tion . T h en buy two . minib kes eq uip ped with crash b ar s an d · th ef t ala rm s. Never ride th em an ywher e. You won 't pay very much fo r insuran ce, b ut you won't need it, eith er . If yo u decide to buy insurance any way, keep you r wits ab out y o u. Try to defin e yo u r in su rance needs before y o u sit d own wi th that sale sman. Don 't le t him o versell you , a nd don't undersell yo urself in coverage. And good lu ck. • con fused while reading th is a rticle. In surance is, unfortunatel y , a very c o n fu s in g subject. T he insurance sal e s ma n will u sually m a ke this con fusion and ambiguity w ork in his 1st ANNUAL ~,"~ST. PATRICK'S MOTOCROSS tQt::~~ ~ ;;y~ March 18, 1973 1st .125cc National Championship LIMITED TO 125cc CLASS BIKES ONLY CASH TO 125ee PRO's 125 JR'S SEE fAaORY TEAM RIDERS 100% TROPHIES TO FINISHERS $ 1,000.00 / 2nd 600.00 3rd 450.00 4th 300.00 5th 225.00 6th 200.00 7th 150.00 8th 100.00 9th 100.00 10th '75.00 SATURD AY MA RCH 17, 1973 A L L JR & NOV RACE 100ee - 250ee & 500ee 50% TR OPHI ES $10 MAIL ENTR Y SUNDAY MARCH 18, 1973 125cc PRO &JR CLASSES ONLY ALL ENTRIES CLOSES MARCH 1st MAI L ENTRY - $30.00 POST ENTRY - $100.00 3-20 Minute Matos for Juniors 2-30 Minute Mat os fo r Pros SPECIAL 5' TROPHY FOR SPONSOR OF 1st PLACE PRO RIDER ON CAUfORNlA'S RNEST MOTOCROSS fACIlTY ARROYO CYCLE PARK SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF Mail standard entry form, or informat ion normally contained thereon to : SHAMROCK ENTERPRISES t ~t'en a" Conside r insura nce in the actual costs you pay for the pleasure and convenience of riding a ~ motorc ycle o n t he streets of America. 1l> J 905 E. 19th St. Santa Ana , Ca. 92706 • INFO : (71 4) 887-2714 or (7 14) J 543-9914 1 .1 J •• I I' • I' 1 " , I t: I SPECTATORS: ADULTS .$ .5 30 UNDER 12 $1.00 UNDER·7 -F E RE • 4" 1 1. nn ~ ~ 1 . t. 1 f! :~ .] ) ( J.!.I) " :. 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