breakdown/recovery for bikes over 10 years old?

[Tramp]

Hi guys..

this is a question for those that use bikes over 10 years old and have breakdown/recovery insurance for uk and Europe...

My present policy via the bank and RAC wont cover after the next trip so who do you use and recommend..

Ive herd of The German motoring organisation but never used there services or know if they cover older vehicles..

http://www.adac.de/mitgliedschaft/adac_ ... efault.asp

even basic recovery would do..sure this thread is important to us folk not on new bling machines..

[Maljones]

I use http://www.qdosbreakdown.co.uk for single euro trips. I can't remember whether it's 11yrs old or 16 yrs. the cover was adequate for what I needed. That said on my last trip the fuel controller gave up the ghost and I decided to source the part and fix myself due to the time element it may have taken. My main reason for using these policies is for repatriation etc but beware some weigh the value of the bike against these costs and have stated that it could be a financial write off against repatriation costs.

Mal.

[AndyB]

I only use the cover that I get with my CN insurance but when I questioned whether my 16 year old K1100 was covered in Europe they said yes and given that all calls are recorded I just made a note of the date & time of the call and forgot all about it.

I never had to use it but was quite prepared to argue my case if they'd knocked me back and threats of court action usually see them take the easy option of at least recovering the bike to a dealer.

[Richard Simpson]

Bikes that are over 10 years old are unlikely to break down and can usually be easily fixed if they do.

It's the modern Canbus ride by wire ones that will strand you.


Slightly off topic but my Ford Focus has a 'drive by wire throttle'.

It recently developed a fault which necessitated the replacement of both the throttle pedal position sensor and the FI actuator control thing (one had a hizzy fit and the other came out in sympathy). The parts alone cost about £200...luckily covered by an insurance. No way it can be fixed at home or by the roadside unless you have the diagnostic equipment.

All this electronic rubbish replaced a throttle cable. Throttle cables rarely break, and it they do are easily and cheaply replaced.

this has been a 'learning experience' for me. You can stuff your FI ride/drive by wire rubbish. I'll keep my carbs and throttle cables. Electronic ignition is great...I hope I never have to adjust another set of CB points in my life, but electronic engine controls...no thank you!

Happy with my crude old 950 KTM, 400 CCM and 250 Gas Gas.

[Foggy]

Hi
same as you owning "older" machines. Used to use various emergency cover (but never had to use) until my TL hit the magic 10, then due to Sw$nton trying to rip me off i went back to Carol Nash, and found that they gave me" European " cover.
I did ask, they assured me that it covered me whilst abroad.
Now how good etc it will be I don't won't to find out so to speak.
and i also travel with a group (toe ropes jump leads).
But it gives me a little bit of assurance.
As said before never had to use, maybe someone can enlighten me and others to how good they are time will tell but great question. (thumbs)

[92kk k100lt 193214]

I have a 1984 K100 RT and a 1992 K100LT.

No break down recovery, in theory but most insurance policies include it!.

Breakdown recovery is oversold, mostly it only picks up the bike and takes it somewhere, you still pay for the repairs. Ok, it covers hotels and onward travel but most of the time that's not much and a lot of the time you have already budgeted for them. I have had to call it in on cars but I think when you look at the premium you pay over a few years you wonder what's it for. I have also called in travel insurance and found it to be quite useless when you take account of premium and excess and restrictions. Stuck in a city? Go on line and you will find a cheap hotel in that city.

What we do have is a K100 forum and we keep in contact with everyone wherever we go, its an excellent network. What it means is if we go somewhere and get a breakdown we can call on someone local to the area, not necessarily for them to fix it but to recommend someone who can. A main dealer doesn't want to see a 30 year old bike, nor do you want to send your 30 year old bike there because you know more about it than he will. I think if the bike is older one needs to be more resourceful. If a K rider is in trouble in my area and I get a call there is someone I know who can collect him and sort him out, an ex BMW guy who knows them inside out. I have a list of names like that that I could use if I go to England, France or anywhere.

My battery failed on the LT on a holiday on a Friday morning. Called breakdown service, no problem they said, we will take bike wherever you want. Ok I thought, not much good as its the weekend, so investigated, went off with my son on the back of his bike, half an hour later had a battery in my hand at a lawnmower shop, back to bike and sorted. All for the cost of a battery I would have had to pay for anyway ands slightly sour about he guy who checked it a few weeks earlier and said it was fine [maybe it was, it failed suddenly without warning]. The effect was we spent a second night at the B&B in great company. A BMW main dealer in the west of Ireland on a Friday afternoon? Not a chance, there aren't any.

This morning I stopped to help a guy who dropped a 2007 Speed Triple on some ice. Left engine cover broken, oil leaked out, left footrest/gear lever hanger broken. To me that's a same day repair, inconvenience yes, but its a diy job even on a holiday, or one for any independent bike mechanic. Insurance company have a breakdown cover as part of their policy with no age restriction.......and treated it as such.

Personally it wouldn't trouble me if I found myself in a strange place with something similar, you get parts easily, someone to fix it easily and just go unwind. It may mean a change of travel plan but that to me is what biking is about. The thing about the cover is if you call it in you must do it their way and sometimes that can be half the problem.

[92kk k100lt 193214]

Foggy and Richard Simpson have it covered nicely. But, listen to what Maljones says as this bit is very true. Mine is with Carole Nash and I have the cover, for a 1984 bike.

Funny, I had a 2000 Merc, by 2004 it had been 3 times picked up on a breakdown truck. In February 2004 the guy picking it up told me he had already picked up 4 broken down 2004 Mercs, 6 weeks into the year!! My trusty Peugoet 405 dating from 1995 and which I still use has never let me down.

You can fix older bikes by the roadside. Break a throttle cable and you can make up something. Just make sure you have a few basic tools and bits and pieces. For a long trip you can always install a spare throttle and clutch cable alongside the existing ones, a neat way to carry a spare and allows a roadside repair. I modified the Ks to make the gas tank a quick removal for access in case its needed. The other thing is older bikes will generally give a clue something is on the way out.....like a cable going funny.

If you travel make a list of phone numbers and keep them handy.

[Richard Simpson]

Mercs from the DaimlerChrysler era are, without exception rubbish.

Merc spent a fortune on its acquisition of Chrysler (later sold for $1) and had to make it back somehow.

Easy way to do it was to reduce quality levels from German to Chinese.

It's what happens when you let an accountant run an engineering company.

A lesson to us all. Accountants are book keepers and they should stick to that.

[92kk k100lt 193214]

Richard,

That was an understatement and the bull***t they came up with was unreal. How dare you complain kind of thing. Dodgy repairs on top of it. Sadly from what I see they are still as bad.

The Merc will be replaced by a 30 year old one...proven track record!!

A 20 or 30 year old well maintained motor, if you work on the basis of repair or replace before failure of known items, will prove far more reliable and less likely to break down than a much more recent motor. Pop a spare belt, clutch and accelerator cable in the boot and you have covered the most likely failure items.

Bikes are the same. I never worry going out with someone on an old bike, it has never ever caused me inconvenience.

[hotbulb]

I have "personal cover" which covers me and Mrs.H, in/on whatever we're travelling in/on. Seemed like a good idea as my Land Rover is 46 years old ! (and the company is aware of the ancient vehicle )It's with Britannia Rescue (via the CSMA), but i think most of the others do a similar cover if you ask specifically for it.