insurance for my 46 year old bike

A

arm

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Hey guys, i bought a 1978 Yamaha XS400 and its great, I want to get it on the road and start commuting with it but obviously, I need insurance.

Im working on getting my M1 at the moment and my M2 by mid-September. So far I've called TD insurance and Rider plus which was the lowest quote at $3289 ($275 a month) which is insanely high considering I paid 1k for the bike.

I turn 21 in November and wanted to ask if there's any companies that offer classic bike insurance similar to classic car insurance (I have a friend who pays $17/month for his rx-7 since its a classic) or any companies that you'd guys recommend id give a call?

Also should I bother insuring for this season or hold off till next season? any tips for the M2? should I get it then look at insurance or insurance first?
 
arm said:
I turn 21 in November and wanted to ask if there's any companies that offer classic bike insurance similar to classic car insurance (I have a friend who pays $17/month for his rx-7 since its a classic)
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How old is your friend? and which city does he live in?

arm said:
any companies that you'd guys recommend id give a call?
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NFP Insurance broker

arm said:
Also should I bother insuring for this season or hold off till next season?
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Hold off

arm said:
any tips for the M2?
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RTI course

arm said:
should I get it then look at insurance or insurance first?
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get it then look at insurance
 
Still wouldn't hurt to talk to NFP for a quote for the difference in price between now and when you hit certain milestones. Also, from my experience with them, they will require an appraisal for vintage insurance and there are restrictions like mileage and type of use, which may or may not matter to you.
 
arm said:
Hey guys, i bought a 1978 Yamaha XS400 and its great, I want to get it on the road and start commuting with it but obviously, I need insurance.

Im working on getting my M1 at the moment and my M2 by mid-September. So far I've called TD insurance and Rider plus which was the lowest quote at $3289 ($275 a month) which is insanely high considering I paid 1k for the bike.

I turn 21 in November and wanted to ask if there's any companies that offer classic bike insurance similar to classic car insurance (I have a friend who pays $17/month for his rx-7 since its a classic) or any companies that you'd guys recommend id give a call?

Also should I bother insuring for this season or hold off till next season? any tips for the M2? should I get it then look at insurance or insurance first?
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Wait till you get your M2, that should be cheaper.

Cheap classic insurance is not available for motorcycles in Canada as far as I know. When it's on a car (like your buddy's RX7) he can go for a drive, holiday road trips and to and from shows/meets. Daily driving to and from work or school, routine shopping/errands is prohibited. Underwriters usually require full insurance on another primary vehicle before writing a classic policy.

The advantage of getting your insurance sooner than later is the clock starts ticking on experience, the disadvantage is you'll be paying for several (5) months of coverage during the winter season. Ask yourself how much $275/mo means to you between now and April 2025.
 
Mad Mike said:
the disadvantage is you'll be paying for several (5) months of coverage during the winter season.
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Sort of but not really. September to April is about 20% of the yearly premium for more than 50% of the days in the year. $700 to ride between now and May seems decent to me.
 
arm said:
wanted to ask if there's any companies that offer classic bike insurance similar to classic car insurance
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Agreed value insurance... and the only way to get it is to have a "regular" policy too, it is only sold as as a second policy, and comes with a bunch of stipulations
Talk to an agent or broker
 
bitzz said:
Agreed value insurance... and the only way to get it is to have a "regular" policy too, it is only sold as as a second policy, and comes with a bunch of stipulations
Talk to an agent or broker
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Since he got bike for $1K, I wouldn't be trying for an agreed value policy nor collision insurance. Both will be more hassle and cost that will never pay off. Unless I am wrong and XS400 is worth a lot and he just got a great deal.
 
When I had the 1981 Yamaha XV920RH I investigated this thoroughly. Hagerty's won't insure vintage motorcycles in Canada for whatever reason.
The only way to get 'vintage' insurance was to have the bike appraised and then terms of usage were very specific.
OP, as a new rider with what is just an old clunker (not highly collectable) there's not much you can do.

And never count on a machine that is twice your age as a daily driver - just sayin'...
 
TK4 said:
When I had the 1981 Yamaha XV920RH I investigated this thoroughly. Hagerty's won't insure vintage motorcycles in Canada for whatever reason.
The only way to get 'vintage' insurance was to have the bike appraised and then terms of usage were very specific.
OP, as a new rider with what is just an old clunker (not highly collectable) there's not much you can do.
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Chasing vintage insurance for this is a folly imo. Are you unable to get normal insurance on older bikes now? Young rider on any bike, he should expect the pain and his buddies rx-7 price is completely immaterial. Hopefully once he gets M2, he will have more options (and maybe a bit cheaper).
 
The bulk of the premium is for mandatory Accident Benefits coverage, which pays for your medical care in conjunction with OHIP when you are injured. So the portion of this quote related to the risk of the specific vehicle is tiny in comparison to the portion of the quote related to risk of the demographics of the rider (being 20, presumably male, with no riding experience).

Premiums drop significantly after age 25 (at least they did when I was that age), and after accumulating a few years of continuous claim-free insurance history. So it gets better, but it might be worth punching some fake numbers into the online quote tool for your birthday and "years insured" to see if you can tolerate the cost of the first couple years before it starts to become more reasonable.
 
GreyGhost said:
Chasing vintage insurance for this is a folly imo. Are you unable to get normal insurance on older bikes now? Young rider on any bike, he should expect the pain and his buddies rx-7 price is completely immaterial. Hopefully once he gets M2, he will have more options (and maybe a bit cheaper).
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You can get 'normal' insurance but brokers get twitchy when the machine doesn't have a 17 digit VIN.
That's when they will often ask for an outside appraisal.
 
TK4 said:
You can get 'normal' insurance but brokers get twitchy when the machine doesn't have a 17 digit VIN.
That's when they will often ask for an outside appraisal.
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Fair enough. I was thinking this was new enough to have 17 digit vin but it narowly missed the cutoff.
 
Here are the conditions of my vintage insurance, which suit me perfectly for this bike when I had it insured. Best to contact them and confirm any changes:

VINTAGE MOTO – REQUIREMENTS & RESTRICTIONS

  • Motorcycle has to be at least 26 years old to qualify as “vintage class” but it is not a result of the age of the bike, it is a different kind of policy
  • Requires an appraisal, photos, mechanical safety, etc. (appraisals good up to 3 years)
  • 2000 km Annual limit
  • Restricted to officially sanctioned RALLIES, Motorcycle Events, Parades, Motorcycle Shows, meets
  • Tune & Test rides are fine
  • Rides to local coffee shops are fine
  • Can be restored and upgraded with newer safer parts but cannot be chopped or “custom”
  • Full M license required to insure as “vintage”
  • Rider has to be 30 or older
  • Prior motorcycle insurance required

Restricted to officially sanctioned RALLIES, Motorcycle Events, Parades, Motorcycle Shows, meets ”. That can mean a ride or event that has been organized, advertised (does not have to be CVMG event). Even speaking with the underwriting departments of those companies, they said that as long as the annual kms are not exceeded and the motorcycles are ridden here and there “within reason” they are ok with trips to the coffee shop or a ride around the neighborhood. They also confirmed that test and tune rides are fine.

What you CANNOT do is ride it to work, commute on it, take an arbitrary trip across the country or USA on a whim. The kind of stuff you can do on an UNRESTRICTED policy.
 
Nice looking bike. Reminds me of my 1977 XS750

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Not to dump too much on the OP. but this insurance question should be researched before the purchase. No surprise here that annual insurance costs far exceed the value of the bike. Assuming you could even get some type of classic bike insurance that would get you a pink slip and registration any actual claim would be voided due to its use as a commuter bike.
 
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