is there really a big difference in the cost of insurance in different Street bikes?

[glockguy]

is there really a big difference in the cost of insurance in different Street bikes? I am looking into getting a bike but im told that if you get a a Crotch rocket like a Honda CBR 600 the insurance will be very high, compared to a bike such as a honda shadow.. I thought it all depended in the cc's of the bike... Please educate me

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[Silver Fox]

Yes. Street bikes are screwed. Best insurance who do not discriminate against the name of the bike is State Farm. Problem is they do not have to take you on as a customer so you need to have experince and maturity.

SF-

 

[cbzdel]

My wife has a full coverage on her 03 Jetta and she has a terrible driving record.. She pays like $600 every 6 months and that included our renters insurance at the time.

I bought a 2009 Yamaha FZ6R and asked for full coverage. I am older than my wife and have a close to perfect driving record. They quoted me almost $950 ever 6 months.

Both policys were USAA.. I called around but USAA was the cheapest. I got quotes as high as $1500 every 6 months!

My insurance payments would of been more than the bike payment! Good thing its not required in WA because I could never afford it at the moment...

 

[Arkitek]

Had the same experience with my Harleys...$257/6mo with State Farm.
Farmers quoted me $1200/6mo...go figure.

 

[Trlsmn]

What's the age bracket? One thing I did to save a few bucks is to get a policy where the bike is insured for full coverage 9 months of the year and just theft for the 3 months it sits in the garage.

Anything with a Z, X, R, F or S in the name will get the hose from the insurance company.

 

[Atroxus]

Yes there can be a huge difference. Anything the insurance companies classify as a sport or racing bike will be a lot more expensive to insure. About 2 years back I had a Kawasaki Ninja 500. I don't know why it wasn't considered a sport bike. Maybe engine displacement? Although it out accelerated every car I have ever owned and most that I had driven, and I once had it up to around 120Mph because I was curious where it topped out. My insurance was about $75 a month for full coverage and uninsured motorist. I was thinking about upgrading so I got an insurance quote for a zx6r and the same insurance company wanted to charge over $200 a month iirc.

 

[glockguy]

god thats crap... So what bike would you guys suggest? No Harleys lol but some kinda cruser.. im new to this whole bike thing

 

[Atroxus]

I have a friend that has a ZZR600 that she said her insurance company does not classify as a "sport bike" for soem reason, she says her insurance isn't that bad.(I can't remember exactly what she pays though) Not sure why the insurance company would classify it any different than the zx6r since they are not that different performance wise as far as I could tell from the short test rides I have had on them. But then again I don't expect insurance companies to make sense anymore.

Oh nm, I missed the part about wanting a cruiser.

 

[glockguy]

Well id LOVE a sports bike but the high insurance isnt worth it in my opinion

 

[billc]

I'm 45 y/o and ride a 2002 1100 Shadow. I paid $125 for this years (12-months) coverage-- That's full coverage with road side assistance for the entire year!
I was paying under 100 for the year on my Ural!
Allied insurance

Clean driving record helps also!

 

[glockguy]

I have A clean record for 3 years as of this month!

 

[Trlsmn]

I have a friend that has a ZZR600 that she said her insurance company does not classify as a "sport bike" for soem reason, she says her insurance isn't that bad.(I can't remember exactly what she pays though) Not sure why the insurance company would classify it any different than the zx6r since they are not that different performance wise as far as I could tell from the short test rides I have had on them. But then again I don't expect insurance companies to make sense anymore.

Oh nm, I missed the part about wanting a cruiser.

Women are not near as high a risk as your average 20 something male for the insurer either though.

I have A clean record for 3 years as of this month!

The problem is you are in a high risk category, mid 20's on a crotch rocket is the highest payout bracket for any M/C rider.

I worked for a M/C shop locally in the early 90's and I did all the insurance estimates so I have lots of experience dealing with insurance companies.

As was said before State farm is your best bet but I would lay odds that they won't touch you because of your age. Progressive seams to be the only company that will take just about anyone for a customer but the down side is they are not cheap.

 

[cbzdel]

I have a though time deciding between a sport bike and a nice cruiser style..

I got the FZ6R because of the price.. CHEAP.. Its a detuned Yamaha R6 and you have a upright seating position rather than laying on the tank.. Still has no problem going 130+ and its faster than any car I have ever been in and I even added a +1 front sprocket to give it better MPG (this also slows down acceleration but raises top speed)

My next bike will probably be a Honda cruiser.. I actually really like the new Honda Fury but I dont think its a daily rider type of bike

I ride daily, even in the rain, so seeing a flashy chopper style bike in the rain just seems strange, but then again so does a sport bike lol

would a Ninja 250 be considered a sport bike? that could be a option, I am sure it will still accelerate faster than a large percentage of any cars..

 

[Atroxus]

would a Ninja 250 be considered a sport bike? that could be a option, I am sure it will still accelerate faster than a large percentage of any cars..

Nope, the 250 gets awesome gas mileage too. I borrowed a friend's 250 once because my 500 was in the shop and it was my only transportation at the time. If I recall correctly I got something like 75mpg on the 250. It is fairly gutless compared to the 500, so you have to get the revs up there pretty far to get decent acceleration but it's got ample speed for the freeway. If you want a sporty looking bike thats not so expensive to insure I would recommend a ninja 500 as first choice, 250 as a close second.

 

[bugeye]

Go to the internet boards for the particular type of bike your interested in buying, if you search most will have an archive of talk about insurance companies, that is how I found out about progressive for my bike.

If the rates are high for you consider getting an older bike for cash and carrying only liability insurance. Markell has cheap liability insurance.

 

[deadeye]

I just renewed mine for $190.00 for the year with full coverage on a 83 Aspencade Goldwing and my 2003 1800 VTX both with full coverage. I was with Progressive and found Safeco to be about half the cost with all the same limits and deductables.

 

[glockguy]

Nope, the 250 gets awesome gas mileage too. I borrowed a friend's 250 once because my 500 was in the shop and it was my only transportation at the time. If I recall correctly I got something like 75mpg on the 250. It is fairly gutless compared to the 500, so you have to get the revs up there pretty far to get decent acceleration but it's got ample speed for the freeway. If you want a sporty looking bike thats not so expensive to insure I would recommend a ninja 500 as first choice, 250 as a close second.

A ninja 500 isnt expensive to insure?

 

[Atroxus]

A ninja 500 isnt expensive to insure?

Not really, I had full coverage+uninsured motorist from markell on mine for around $75 a month is I recall correctly. Sadly my bike was totalled little over a year ago when some dumb lady made an illegal turn on a red light and hit me.

 

[glockguy]

Yea But your in WA an the dont require you to even have insurance on a bike do that? or is that only if its paid off?

 

[Atroxus]

Yea But your in WA an the dont require you to even have insurance on a bike do that? or is that only if its paid off?

Insurance is not required at all here even if financed. I got full coverage though for my own peace of mind because the bike was financed. It was a good thing too cause the insurance paid the bike off for me when it was totalled, otherwise I would be paying still for a bike that that I can't ride anymore. Oh and the uninsured motorist coverage was a nice help too since the lady that hit me only had the state minimum for liability which was nowhere close to covering the medical expenses of 2 months in harborview edical center and 5 seperate surgeries over the last year and a half.