AAA vs AMA, etc

[Garandman]

My wife and I currently have the AAA+ membership in the Southern New England chapter (based on our living in Boston). They don't have any sort of motorcycle coverage.

I have an office in NH so I suppose I could transfer my membership to the NNE AAA, which does have a motorcycle add-on - don't know the cost.

It appears to get roadside assistance from AMA, you have to join for three years years for $39/yr = $117.

Is this worth it? V-Stroms are absurdly reliable but you can have flat tires, crashes etc.

Do any of them provide coverage in Canada? I'm thinking about taking a longish trip next Summer and may head North.

[Rusty the Scoob]

My SV has had electrical problems a couple of times... mostly self-caused but one time the battery failed with no warning. I fired it up in the morning, stopped for gas, and it was dead. So it's well worth having towing coverage.

My understanding when AAA refused to tow me was that their lack of motorcycle coverage had to do with what state you are currently broken down in rather than what AAA chapter you belong to.

I joined the AMA for one year and paid an extra $35 for the roadside coverage... didn't see the option to join for three years and skip the extra fee. Still, it's worth the $72/year to me even though they only tow 25 miles. My bike was towed about 3 miles and it cost me about $112.

[Hoopher]

Fro the AMA website: "This valuable benefit is FREE when you sign up online for auto renewal or purchase a three-year membership."

Does anyone have experience of using their service, e.g. do they have more than one truck on their books for the whole of MA?

[Mustang]

I don't understand where you guys are seeing an extra fee to sign up for AMA Roadside... Unless they've changed entirely since I signed up in June, it was $35 per year, paid one year at a time, for AMA membership with roadside included. In fact, I signed up online, got my member number, and got a tow the same day (on my car) - so I think they're pretty awesome. Haven't had to use them for the bike yet, knock on wood...

If you've just got the basic AAA membership, AMA is a better deal IMO - they'll tow you more no-charge miles on a single tow than AAA will...

[BMFR6]

Check with your insurance company as well, I know we just started providing roadside assistance to bikes. Probably $5-10 a year.

[Puppet]

As already mentioned, it's $39 with auto renewal...OR...the three year membership. That's a full AMA membership with the roadside insurance. The coverage also extends to anyone and any vehicle in your household (including trailers). For AAA (I could be mistaken here) it's the RV add-on which extends to trailers and M/C's.

I also have through my insurance co for about $2 per year.

I say we should all be AMA members anyway, and the roadside assistance is a great perk. For me the insurance co is a backup because I can basically call anyone if I need to and get reimbursed.

[Femmekat]

I don't understand where you guys are seeing an extra fee to sign up for AMA Roadside... Unless they've changed entirely since I signed up in June, it was $35 per year, paid one year at a time, for AMA membership with roadside included. In fact, I signed up online, got my member number, and got a tow the same day (on my car) - so I think they're pretty awesome. Haven't had to use them for the bike yet, knock on wood...

If you've just got the basic AAA membership, AMA is a better deal IMO - they'll tow you more no-charge miles on a single tow than AAA will...

As already mentioned, it's $39 with auto renewal...OR...the three year membership. That's a full AMA membership with the roadside insurance. The coverage also extends to anyone and any vehicle in your household (including trailers). For AAA (I could be mistaken here) it's the RV add-on which extends to trailers and M/C's.

I also have through my insurance co for about $2 per year.

I say we should all be AMA members anyway, and the roadside assistance is a great perk. For me the insurance co is a backup because I can basically call anyone if I need to and get reimbursed.

Before I moved cross country I looked into AAA...and the tow range was 5 miles for a new member, with no motorcycle or trailer/RV coverage. For $39, my AMA covers 35 miles of towing for my bike, trailer, or any vehicles I drive. Last weekend my truck broke down, and AMA was easy to deal with, and the tow was at no cost to me. I highly recommend.

[kawazzr]

As BMFR6 said earlier...check with your insurance company. Not to sound like the commercial, but I switched to Progressive when they started offering in MA. I just checked my policy, and I have great roadside assistance, towing, and trip interruption coverage standard with my paid policy. I remember them telling me about that when I first signed up, but I glazed over it because I was happier with saving so much money on my policy.

End of commercial........

[TTD]

:. For $39, my AMA covers 35 miles of towing for my bike, trailer, or any vehicles I drive. Last weekend my truck broke down, and AMA was easy to deal with, and the tow was at no cost to me. I highly recommend.

covers everything... and you're helping the motorcycle cause!!!!

[Garandman]

As BMFR6 said earlier...check with your insurance company. Not to sound like the commercial, but I switched to Progressive when they started offering in MA. I just checked my policy, and I have great roadside assistance, towing, and trip interruption coverage standard with my paid policy. I remember them telling me about that when I first signed up, but I glazed over it because I was happier with saving so much money on my policy.

Good idea. I have USAA, will check.

Covers everything... and you're helping the motorcycle cause!!!!

My bikes are not loud enough to belong to AMA!

[whynot]

I dropped AAA long ago, expensive and not sure I want to support their entire agenda.

AMA -- whynot support motorcycling and get assistance on ALL your vehicles?

[TTD]

My bikes are not loud enough to belong to AMA!

Not sure what you're referencing here?

The AMA has long had a "Loud Bikes Risk Rights" campaign.

The AMA does a lot of good for motorcyclists and for $39/year (including the full towing service)... it's a no-brainer in my opinion.

[HanktheTank]

As BMFR6 said earlier...check with your insurance company. Not to sound like the commercial, but I switched to Progressive when they started offering in MA. I just checked my policy, and I have great roadside assistance, towing, and trip interruption coverage standard with my paid policy. I remember them telling me about that when I first signed up, but I glazed over it because I was happier with saving so much money on my policy.

End of commercial........

I did the same thing, I switched to progressive this year, saved some money and then noticed it came with roadside assistance. I haven't used it yet so I can't comment on how responsive they are. Also, their no charge towing is only 15 miles, so its better than AAA but not as good as AMA.