Looking for answers to which breakdown cover company is the best. I posted a thread on the Ducati ST Forum. I was surprised as to how a few riders had tales of woe to tell. I mentioned this to Colin at Ride magazine and he thought it a good idea to put a piece in the magazine and offering bikers their say on the tales of poor mechanics, long waits and get you home journeys, but only if it's within 10 miles. On the other hand, of course, there will be tales of excellence, so if you feel the urge to pass on your feelings on the subject, let Colin know about them. You can contact him at - [email protected] Cheers Dave Hughes
Been in the AA for years, membership is worth its weight in gold. When you are 150 miles from home in deepest darkest Wales with a blown engine I could not care if they took 20 mins longer than expected!!
Alas bikes are harder for most companies to deal with than cars so will always take a little longer unless you are within a snatch of a major city, whereby a specialist lift n shift business (eg motorcycle sos) can come grab you. Also worth noting most bikers think they have long distance recovery with the £29 insurance bolt on product, then get whacked with a large recovery charge over 10 miles or even if they have a recovery policy its often only 50 miles so again a whack in cost. Thats the key difference between most policies and those the AA/RAC have and also where the VFM kicks in. But you will wait a while
I get free AA coverage with my bike insurance, which covers both bikes. Used them just the once and the bloke came on a AA branded scooter, fixed the problem and gave the bike a little check over. Very helpful and good service too :smile:
RAC cover on me whatever I drive / ride apart from commercial vehicles. I've only had cause to use them with the 900SS and they were excellent, collected me from the roadside and took me home then came back the next day and took me to the local dealer. There wasn't a huge amount he could do on the roadside as there was a stonking big hole in the crankcase.
I have been rescued three times using the rescue bit on my carol Nash multi bike policy.worked a treat for me. I have group insurance policy through work as well.that is life insurance, travel insurance and breakdown insurance. The breakdown cover is for me and the wife any vehicle bike and car and is European cover as well.the euro cover is limited to vehicles 10 yrs and under.All for £20 a month which I am happy with
My tale of woe was not with the breakdown service - they were great - but with the insurance that arranged the cover. You can read it here: http://ducatiforum.co.uk/f45/screwed-insurance-warning-tale-6063/
I also had to use Carol Nash breakdown cover. A van came with a power driven ramp and great bike anchor points inside. Was so impressed I forgot who the company were. Fantastic mechanic and great van, However fell out with Carol Nash when I changed bikes and they charged me an arm and a leg and forgot to tell me my execs had doubled. Regards Steve
I used Carole Nash breakdown service waited for 3 hours think they had to build a breakdown truck to take a bike!!! Thank goodness I didn't have the embarrassment of a flat bed instead Dizzy was tucked behind The driver was a bike enthusiast too and even gave me his number for a ride out ;-)
just dont put the wrong fuel in - it seems to be an extra charge - I asked when on the call to recovery - £250.00 to drain and pop a gallon of the correct fuel in on the side of the road (and dispose of old fuel because of course madam that would have no value - yeah right) thank goodness it was only my car and could get it towed home for free (although they would have still recovered it for free)
Was with the AA for years. When my 400 Bandit lost power and conked out on me riding home on the dual carriageway, I only had to wait about 20 minutes, the guy got my bike started again (reckoned it was crud from old fuel blocking the fuel lines and told me not to run it down to near empty before filling up) and followed me in the van as I rode around 5 miles to the Shell garage near home to fill up. No complaints. Les impressed when I dropped my Bandit (botched U-turn), snapped the brake lever clean off so couldn't ride home. 6pm on a Sunday evening, 40 miles from home, with the other half still on L plates so unable to take me pillion. The best the AA could offer (arguing it was an accident not a breakdown) was charging me fat end of a hundred quid to take the bike to the nearest garage after a long wait (no guarantee it would be a bike garage, let alone one happy to do anything to a grey import 400). Paivi rode to my rescue on her Vespa and gave me a lift home, spending several hours and going miles out of her way (the rest is history, involving the purchase of a Monster!) Since then I've been with Green Flag, and as yet (touch wood, cross fingers etc) not had reason to call them out.
GF will be the same. Post RTA, however or whatever, is not a 'breakdown' so unless linked to your insurance pay up time :smile:
