price of insurance, when renting a bike?

[Norway]

I have been living in San Diego since August, but don't have a motorcycle (yet).
I was in touch with an insurance company regarding a ZX 11 that I considered buying. The offer was slightly below 40 USD / month, for a 10 months period.
I haven't bought that bike, and today i called a motorcycle rental company in SD since i consider renting a motorcycle the coming weekend.
To rent a 250 costs 49 USD a day, and the insurance 35 USD a day. The price of insurance sounded very expensive to me.
Anyone that knows whether such prices are common, and what one need to expect?
Thanks.

[VaFish]

From what I have seen of rental places that sounds about right. You either pay the insurance or you have to put up a very hefty deposit.

One reason the insurance is probably so high on the 250's is that many people rent them to learn on. And drop them.

Check with your bike insurance company and see if they will cover a rental bike.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by VaFish

Check with your bike insurance company and see if they will cover a rental bike.

YES!!!!

[TnNinjaGirl]

@Norway I own a motorcycle rental business....

The price for insurance seems about right. The company you are renting from has to pay insurance and they pass that cost on to you.

I know what insurance company we're going through and since there are only a few chances are it's the same company.

Another thing to look into is if that insurance is liability only or full coverage. If it is liability only YOU are responsible for any damages.

Often your insurance will cover whatever motorcycle you ride, IF you have insurance and IF it is full coverage.

The hefty deposit could cover all of the cost of a wreck or it may not, either way you are going to pay for the damage caused to that vehicle.

IMO, spend the extra money to get full coverage insurance on THEIR dime. If you were to have your own insurance cover it you are still paying your deductible and your insurance rates could potentially increase.

If you are better with a larger out of pocket expense just go with their standard deposit, if you want to protect yourself from potential large expense get the best insurance that they will provide to you.

[Norway]

Originally Posted by csmith12

YES!!!!

csmith12 and VaFish: Thanks for the advice. I may check with the company where i got an offer regarding the ZX 11. That was less than 400 USD for 10 months, or around 1.33 $ a day. If I rent a bike for more than 11-12 days, it's probably cheaper than the offer of insurance for 35 $ a day at the particular rental company.
35 $ a day to insure a small 250 also seems expensive compared to these prices, where you could probably rent a huge HD and pay less in insurance;
https://californiamotorcycleadventur...tal-insurance/

[SLOWn60]

And; thanks @TnNinjaGirl for the explanation!
I'd give you a helpful post endorsement but I'm still on probation!

[TnNinjaGirl]

Originally Posted by Norway

csmith12 and VaFish: Thanks for the advice. I may check with the company where i got an offer regarding the ZX 11. That was less than 400 USD for 10 months, or around 1.33 $ a day. If I rent a bike for more than 11-12 days, it's probably cheaper than the offer of insurance for 35 $ a day at the particular rental company.
35 $ a day to insure a small 250 also seems expensive compared to these prices, where you could probably rent a huge HD and pay less in insurance;
https://californiamotorcycleadventur...tal-insurance/

Fully faired bikes are generally more expensive to repair in an accident or a tip over. If the fairings are damaged on a sport bike the company has to at the very least replace that panel. It could be more than one panel, mounting points or a myriad of other things that break when a bike goes down.

Cruisers crash better. Most of them have crash bars which puts the damage at 0 if it were to tip over. The large floorboards also help prevent it from going all the way over.

Could have something to do with the insurance prices you are seeing.

[Norway]

Originally Posted by TnNinjaGirl

@Norway I own a motorcycle rental business....

The price for insurance seems about right. The company you are renting from has to pay insurance and they pass that cost on to you.

I know what insurance company we're going through and since there are only a few chances are it's the same company.

Another thing to look into is if that insurance is liability only or full coverage. If it is liability only YOU are responsible for any damages.

Often your insurance will cover whatever motorcycle you ride, IF you have insurance and IF it is full coverage.

The hefty deposit could cover all of the cost of a wreck or it may not, either way you are going to pay for the damage caused to that vehicle.

IMO, spend the extra money to get full coverage insurance on THEIR dime. If you were to have your own insurance cover it you are still paying your deductible and your insurance rates could potentially increase.

If you are better with a larger out of pocket expense just go with their standard deposit, if you want to protect yourself from potential large expense get the best insurance that they will provide to you.

Thanks. I considered buying a ZX 11, and got an offer slightly below 400 $ for 10 months, which is about 40 $ a month, or 1.33 $ a day,being less than 4 % of the price from this particular rental company. I don't exactly remember all that was covered, but believe it was a fairly good insurance (from my point of view, not only for the insurance company).

Therefore, since 35 $ a day is more than 26 times what I would pay to insure a ZX 11 (and not a small 250) if i bought that one, the price at the motorcycle rental company is surprisingly high. Maybe rental bikes have much more accidents, for all I know, but still..


"The hefty deposit could cover all of the cost of a wreck or it may not, either way you are going to pay for the damage caused to that vehicle."

I know less about insurance in the US than in Norway, where I lived for most of my life, but if going for full insurance I would not expect to fully pay for any damage to the bike, but maybe some mandatory fraction of it.

"IMO, spend the extra money to get full coverage insurance on THEIR dime. If you were to have your own insurance cover it you are still paying your deductible and your insurance rates could potentially increase. "

Guess that's a very good point. Thanks for the advice.

I guess that bikes that are used at rental companies have a high risk of getting into accidents. They are probably often ridden by unexperienced riders,
which increases the chances of accidents. Maybe they are also ridden harder and more carelessly, since people might be more careful with their own belongings.
I guess motorcycle rental companies have limited possibilities to check the driving history of the renters. So, when I go there to rent a motorcycle it does not help much that I started riding bikes about 30 years ago, own several bikes
and usually drive about 5-8000 miles a year.
They don't know, and to some extent I must be prepaired to pay for that..
Still, 35 $ a day was more than what I expected.

Anyway, I'm starting to get desperate to get out on two wheels. Haven't ridden a motorcycle since the end of July, just before I went to California.
I have also considered buying a bike, but already have a house full of stuff, plus a car, that I need to get rid of by the end of June 2016. That's why I'm consider renting bikes..

[Panda]

I can see the insurance rates being high for a bike rental. 1.) You don't own a rental so you don't have a long term vested interest into protecting it. 2.) When you rent you join the pool of hundreds(thousands) of other people that rent bikes on a daily basis that may not have riding experience greater than getting the motorcycle endorsement on their license.

[SLOWn60]

@Norway; you're from Norway!...just think of all the money you're saving on beer here! (and everything else!)

There is a lifetime of incredible riding not too far from where you've settled. Buy a bike and enjoy! You owe it to yourself to take a few 4 & 5 day riding adventures through mid and northern Cali and up into Oregon, when you can. If you love motorcycling; these are must do adventures!

Just don't be offended if the locals wrinkle their nose when pickelled herring or lutafisk are mentioned!

Enjoy your new experiences!

[Norway]

Originally Posted by SLOWn60

@Norway; you're from Norway!...just think of all the money you're saving on beer here! (and everything else!)

There is a lifetime of incredible riding not too far from where you've settled. Buy a bike and enjoy! You owe it to yourself to take a few 4 & 5 day riding adventures through mid and northern Cali and up into Oregon, when you can. If you love motorcycling; these are must do adventures!

Just don't be offended if the locals wrinkle their nose when pickelled herring or lutafisk are mentioned!

Enjoy your new experiences!

Hi again, SLOWn60, and happy new year!

You were probably right about a number of things. The beer is much cheaper here, at least in the shops. Due to the low oil price these days, the dollar has
increased it's value by about 50 % compared to our currency, during the
last year, so some things are more expensive over here, like renting a house.
I have been thinking about what you wrote, but also had a longing for a motorcycle since i came to the US in August. Now I finally bought one..
I hope I will enjoy it on a number of trips. I must admit that it was not a Ninja 250R this time, but a 1984 Honda XL250R.
It's probably better suited for the smaller roads than the interstate, though.
Anyway, I guess that a lot of the interesting roads are the smaller ones..

You mentioned lutefisk and other "norwegian" food. Have you been exposed to some fishy fisheating norwegians? ;-)

[SLOWn60]

I'm half Norwegian, half Heinz 57! Grampa (and most the family) were commercial fishermen.
Most the relatives here in Vancouver are Scandinavian.
Christmas Eve family gatherings & feasts were legendary!

The XL250 is an excellent choice! Particularly if you want to do some gravel roads & trails! I roamed through much of Kenya on a Homda Baja 250 which is the XL.
One of my first bikes was an XL 250! That's mom on the back (a Jensen) way back in 1976 or 77
Enjoy your travels!

[Norway]

Originally Posted by SLOWn60

I'm half Norwegian, half Heinz 57! Grampa (and most the family) were commercial fishermen.
Most the relatives here in Vancouver are Scandinavian.
Christmas Eve family gatherings & feasts were legendary!

The XL250 is an excellent choice! Particularly if you want to do some gravel roads & trails! I roamed through much of Kenya on a Homda Baja 250 which is the XL.
One of my first bikes was an XL 250! That's mom on the back (a Jensen) way back in 1976 or 77
Enjoy your travels!

Haven't logged in for a looong time. Nice picture you posted! I might have mentioned it, but I bought an XL250R in January. Not many trips, but have ridden about 1200 miles since then.
Best wishes,

-Norway