Convince me that it's stupid to buy and insure a bike at this point in the season

[statsman]

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You never know what the weather gods have in store for you.
Christmas eve 2016 it was 70 degrees. I did the Forks that day as did every other motorcycle in the GTA it seemed.
The right time to buy a bike is controlled by two things IMO.
Do you have the cash and how long can you keep the fact you have the cash from your wife?
When she finds out about it she will insist you spend it on something sensible.

 

[Matt Rain]

When i was starting I had two options...

1. Wait till spring and not pay insurance till i actually started riding (while waiting for the baby to be born, and risking never getting the bike due to new baby/wife/family)

or....

2. Get the bike before the baby is born and pay out insurance over the winter months when i wasnt even riding...

You know my odds of getting the bike after the baby were significantly smaller than getting the bike before...

guess which one i went with?


(I also rode as much into the winter as possible)

Did the same thing in the fall of '13, for the exact same reason. I'd been meaning to get a bike since the age of 16 and I finally saw the window of opportunity about to close for good 18 years later. Extreme procrastination.

No such thing as a stupid time to get a bike.

 

[PLau]

Insurance companies calculate your annual premium like this,

Jan $0
Feb $0
Mar $0
April $100
May $200
June $300
Jul $500
Aug $500
Sept $300
Oct $200
Nov $100
Dec $0

In this example, the annual premium is $2200 and the majority of the premium is charged over 8 months of the season.

It's not exactly like this but, it's a rough example.

So they know the vast majority of riders will likely store/park their machine during the winter months.

If you cancel during the winter, you won't be refunded anything and you won't save anything.

So it's a little confusing. Especially when going on a payment plan of sorts to make it affordable.

You want to keep coverages on so, that warm day you want to take it for a ride. Or it gets stolen. Or it's damaged or what ever.

When you purchase insurance, the term is generally a year. And the premium is typically calculated over the months that you would ride.

They just make the monthly payments equally spread over a period of time. And they don't break down the premium calculation over a monthly basis.

Not necessarily true. A refund or balance owing outcome depends entirely on when the policy was started. If you start a policy in October and cancel it in March you'll get almost all your premiums back, for example. If you start a policy in May and cancel it in December however, well, you'll get a big bill in the mail.

Here's the pro-rate chart Statefarm sent to me a while back on how it's calculated.

 

[DejaVu]

There are still probably three months of good riding this year. Why wait until spring? This is the time of the season when prices start to drop, particularly on used bikes. Try not to pay the full MSRP on a new 2017

 

[zheka130]

Insured my bike last year beginning of October, right after finishing the MSF.

What is the difference, you pay October - October for example, does not matter when you start paying, the whole year is then insured.

 

[LePhillou]

You're in the wrong place to be convinced for that.

I suggest going to your mother in law, or a mother's online group.

I've got a friend who's been saying "i'm getting one next season, next season" for the past 2 seasons. In the meantime he does have some time to ride, and he's not insured so no history being built.

As a lot have mentioned...winters are milder, all you need is better/warmer gear to do it up! Get your riding in while you can, i was looking to a very active season this year, but i tore my achilles tendon a few months back, so i was out for 3 months approximately... you never know what might happen.

 

[kiwi]

You never know what the weather gods have in store for you.
Christmas eve 2016 it was 70 degrees. I did the Forks that day as did every other motorcycle in the GTA it seemed.
The right time to buy a bike is controlled by two things IMO.
Do you have the cash and how long can you keep the fact you have the cash from your wife?
When she finds out about it she will insist you spend it on something sensible.

I remember that christmas eve. I rode my bike to work that day
btw
70 degrees F= 20c

 

[JTR]

The first one I ever went to in 1994 was in April IIRC on my Seca 900.

It was cold and generally miserable out. I was young and stupid, didn't have proper cold weather gear (or much proper gear at all, for that matter, to be honest) and still remember riding about 20 or 25 minutes at a time before being forced to stop and warm up somewhere.

I got there, it was sorta quiet (PD13 back then was a smaller affair vs what it is now,), and I turned around and headed home after stuffing some food down my gullet. I repeated the ride out more or less, freezing my *** off the whole way.

Now I'm less stupid. I might still ride in conditions some would consider insane (Hell, look at the "who's still riding" threads from the last 2 winters), but I have gear that keeps me comfy now at least.

I'll likely have thermals under my jeans, hoodie under jacket and a scarf lol. Already some of the 5am rides to work this month have had me wishing I wore something to keep the wind off my neck.

I've got a friend who's been saying "i'm getting one next season, next season" for the past 2 seasons. In the meantime he does have some time to ride, and he's not insured so no history being built.

That was me until this past april when I suddenly decided to stop saying "next year"

 

[PrivatePilot]

There are still probably three months of good riding this year.

Starting to wonder about that this year given how the temps have already begun changing. Rode up to Peterborough and back after work tonight and it was quite brisk on the way home after dark. And it's still technically August - it felt far more like early October.

 

[Hyperion]

Starting to wonder about that this year given how the temps have already begun changing. Rode up to Peterborough and back after work tonight and it was quite brisk on the way home after dark. And it's still technically August - it felt far more like early October.

Took the summer gloves into work at 6 am this morning... Regretted that, also regret not wearing my heated vest.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[sburns]

I am a new rider and just bought my bike and got insured this past August.
Seems like you have the itch go for it!

Winters have become more milder, last year being pretty non existent. You could be riding until November.

 

[knowledge]

I'm pretty sure you can find an 09+ around the $5500 mark.


Edit - After a few minutes on Kijiji, here's a few...

Dammit Mina, this complicates things. hahaha Does this one look too good to be true?
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-sport-bikes...6r/1292491919?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

You're in the wrong place to be convinced for that...i was looking to a very active season this year, but i tore my achilles tendon a few months back, so i was out for 3 months approximately... you never know what might happen.

Damn, sorry to hear that - I developed tendonitis on my last big hike and and I feel for you. Btw, Thank you for sending me convict conditioning years back. It got me into calisthenics and it's been a big part of my regimen/I'm glad to have gotten a head start on it. I hope you heal up as quickly as your body allows! I used to be too stubborn to go to physio but definitely give that a try if you aren't already going!

Starting to wonder about that this year given how the temps have already begun changing. Rode up to Peterborough and back after work tonight and it was quite brisk on the way home after dark. And it's still technically August - it felt far more like early October.

That's my biggest concern. It's been really chilly lately for the end of August. Suck it up, layer up, etc. but I swear it was milder last year. I'm okay with the cold but pretty much draw the line when there's risk of black ice (~3 degrees, depending on who you ask).

----
Anyway, thanks for the push, guys. I'm set to check out a really promising one on Sunday and if all goes well, I'll have it plated and rolling by Monday. I'm hoping this is the one because I have so little time to check it out and sort of just need my fix...haha

 

[Joe Bass]

Hate to rain on your parade @knowledge, but long weekend....plates by Tuesday. ?

sent from my Purple LGG4 on the GTAM app

 

[MacDoc]

Starting to wonder about that this year given how the temps have already begun changing. Rode up to Peterborough and back after work tonight and it was quite brisk on the way home after dark. And it's still technically August - it felt far more like early October.

That's just weather variations. With a mild El Nino we should get a pretty warm fall tho might be on the wet side.

Shorter days tho will make for nippy mornings especially in rural areas and any with elevation....layer up.

 

[PrivatePilot]

I'm okay with the cold but pretty much draw the line when there's risk of black ice (~3 degrees, depending on who you ask).

Don't ride in conditions where black ice may form. It requires a pretty specific set of meteorological conditions for that to be an issue though - light drizzle during cold temps, or standing water coupled with a flash freeze.

Cold alone isn't a risk for black ice. Frost, yes, but that's even less common except in conditions that most riders won't be out in anyways.

 

[nearace]

There is never a good reason to wait,trust me I know

 

[NYT]

IF you find the bike you want and at a good price, then it's an easy decision to pull the trigger.

If you plan on insuring the bike for 12+ months, it really doesn't matter when you get insurance. We've had mild winters the last couple years... just looking at your bike in the garage will get painful.

When you buy a bike, insure it and ride it. Don't complicate it. Ride for 2 months now, get the feel of the bike and be ready for spring!

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