Warning !!! Don't do what I did !!!!

[XV1100SE]

When I get my insurance renewal there is always a letter advising to let them know of any additions to the bike that increase it's value. I always ignore the letter thinking that if I ask them to increase my coverage my rates will go up.

 

Nancy went to bed early last night and so having nothing else to do... I did a little calculation and surprised myself....maybe that should be shocked myself. When you buy some little piece of safety chrome, you just consider the cost of the item at the moment of purchase... not the grand total.

 

So... my warning....if you are wondering where all your money goes, or decide you want to figure out how much you have invested in your ride... DON'T do it !

 

For me... I have a lot of additions but nothing like some people do. For those people... if you ignore my warning and decide to list and calculate what you've spent... make sure you have oxygen handy or someone that can perform CPR.

 

My totals look like this :

2009 RSV - $14,000 (plus 13% tax - I didn't include tax otherwise Nancy would have found me on the floor in the morning) - bought used, 3 months old in 2010 with 2,500km

Accessories attached to the bike $5,500

Leathers, jackets, gloves, lifts, lift adapter, trailer....$3,000

"GRAND" total....$22,500

 

PLUS... gas, oil changes, camping gear (used only when riding long distance), cleaning supplies..................and of course PLUS insurance currently at $1,200/year.

 

Had I bought the bike new in 2010 the amount would be $5,000 more.

 

Might not sound like much to some... but surprising when you start adding things up.

[KarlS]

When I had my Wing I had replacement value insurance on it. Every time I bought an accessory for it I would take the receipt to my insurance agent and they would put a copy in my file so it would be replaced in case of an accident or theft. Insurance never went up.

[XV1100SE]

I'll give the insurance company a call... and will post what they say. Remember... I'm in Canada so it might be different here than in the States.

[pmelah]

man that's alot i never thought about doing that and will take your WARNING to heart not something i want to think about specially not now with no job or money and waiting to have my interview with Toyota on Monday

 

bye the way leaving Sunday to head up to Tupelo for the interview cant wait

[Eck]

I learned this lesson the hard way. I waited until it was to late for me.

When I totaled my RSV, I only had $500.00 of accessory coverage.

During settlement with my insurance agent, I told him I wanted to remove my accessories. He tells me I can not for they go with the bike. I argue my point and tell him I have $500 insurance coverage for accessories and I picked up my smashed Garman 550 and handed it to him and then said, keep the change. This thing cost me a little over $50.00 Then I said, and now, every other accessory on that bike belongs to me.....

He paused but then said I was correct. I removed every accessory I could that was not damaged or maybe slightly damaged and then sold those accessories on the site here.

Don't let the insurance company keep all your accessories. If you have $500.00 extra coverage, hand them something that adds up to that amount and then tell them you want to remove all the other accessories for YOUR resale. They want to keep those accessories so that they can auction your bike off for more dollars..

Here is my before and after pics:

This took about 5 seconds at 70mph

 

[Evan]

In my family Don, my wife Anne is the accountant, but I try hard to keep all the numbers away from her. In any event, this generally is another advantage of a first gen, provided you can avoid dealer type labour costs, as I think many of us do. On the flip side of the insurance issue, my annual cost is only $450 (which would likely not recover full replacement cost), but my annual savings over the insurance cost for a shiny red 2nd gen like yours would likely cover a few parts or accessories.

[bongobobny]

Yes Don, it is easy to rack up the bucks on accessories, very easy to do! A hundred here, a couple hundred there, even $20 $30 here, $10 $20 there adds up big time!!!

[SilvrT]

And in my case, there are those things I buy that I THINK I want to add ... and don't but never take them back to the store ... they just accumulate in my collection of "things" which is now getting to the point that I'm a borderline hoarder LMAO!!

 

Like a couple days ago I bought a set of driving lamps to put on the new Vic ... I'd already installed one pair down low ... figured I'd put these other ones up near the signal lights... then I decided it was going to be too much trouble adapting them so... into the collection of things they went (along with a pair of PIAA lights that I took off the Wing when one of them burnt out) LOL!

 

If I were to add up the purchase value of those "things" I could probably retire!

[Condor]

I run a spread sheet of what it would have cost if the OEM bling were bought new, plus additions. Of course a lot of it came with the '99 when I bought it, and most of the add ons were bought used and in some cases rebuilt or refurbed. But if I had spent the bucks out of my pocket, the total hits $6667.00, and that doesn't include the cost of the bike. But being a cheap SOB it doesn't come anywhere near that. Geico automatically has a 2 grand rider for add ons.

Scary..

[thecount]

Don,

So now you know why I take cardiac medication. Then again, some days, it's better to live in denial, than reality. Cost of living the good life.

Safety chrome is a costly proposition, but the "bling" factor done tastefully is rewarding to having a great ride.

[Yammer Dan]

I don't dare let the Warden know how much I got in these things!! She is already talking Yard Sale!! But I'm not concerned, a few rounds over their head as they get out of their car from the garage should keep customers down....

[Dragonslayer]

I learned this lesson the hard way. I waited until it was to late for me.

When I totaled my RSV, I only had $500.00 of accessory coverage.

 

During settlement with my insurance agent, I told him I wanted to remove my accessories. He tells me I can not for they go with the bike. I argue my point and tell him I have $500 insurance coverage for accessories and I picked up my smashed Garman 550 and handed it to him and then said, keep the change. This thing cost me a little over $50.00 Then I said, and now, every other accessory on that bike belongs to me.....

 

He paused but then said I was correct. I removed every accessory I could that was not damaged or maybe slightly damaged and then sold those accessories on the site here.

 

Don't let the insurance company keep all your accessories. If you have $500.00 extra coverage, hand them something that adds up to that amount and then tell them you want to remove all the other accessories for YOUR resale. They want to keep those accessories so that they can auction your bike off for more dollars..

 

Here is my before and after pics:

This took about 5 seconds at 70mph

 

 

 

Yea and we still have an APB out for that blue mustang.

[XV1100SE]

I posed the question to my insurance co (Riders Plus). There is automatically a waiver for $2,500 for "accessories/additions" which would still need to be substantiated by the owner of the bike (receipts/invoices). If you were to remove items from the bike after a collision that may be deducted from the $2,500 blanket/additional coverage. This is an Ontario industry standard amount.

 

Also... they depreciate the value of the bike and accessories based on purchase dates. My '09 is insured for $14k but the depreciated value is $13,300, plus the $2,500 bringing a total of $15,800.

 

In order to update the value of accessories to their actual amount, I'd have to provide invoices/receipts for everything which they would then evaluate. And yes, if it is more than $2,500 then my policy cost would go up to cover the increase in value.

 

Think insurance and banks are much like the casinos..... the odds/payouts are in their favour.

 

Edit - there is an option for increasing the coverage to the value of the bike to replacement cost, "limiting" depreciation..... but you pay more.

[Flyinfool]

I make an effort to never add up the costs on any of my hobbies. I have a number of expensive hobbies. I do keep all of the receipts in a locked fire proof box just in case I should ever need them for insurance or warranty reasons.

I do carry extra insurance to cover some of the expensive toys.

[StarFan]

Insurance in Iceland is alnmost as costly as in Canada. I pay around 750 US$ with full coverage whatever happens (except complete neglegance or drunk driving). They simply asked me how much the bike is worth after I showed it to them and I told them and added 2K on top of that for accessories. Whenever I do some updates I just call my insurance agent "Iris" and tell her about the cost and send her some pictures and she raises the value. Very effortless but note that she also rides a motorcycle and I have carbtuned her bike

 

Nevertheless this would go for most of the insurance companys in Iceland.

I lo,,,,like Iris