Cars blog online

Guide to getting the cheapest Scooter insurance

As some of my regular readers know I have a larger number of different motorcycles and scooters. So every year I have the problem of finding cheap and quality insurance.

To help my loyal readers and maybe some new ones, I have decided to put together a 4 step process on how to get the cheapest scooter/motorcycle insurance.

Step 1 – What cover do you need?
Step 2: Get your Quote
Step 3: Play with the quote
Step 4 – Renewal!

Now you might think that this guide will be only helpful to those looking to renew their insurance but you would be wrong! In nearly every insurance policy that I have had, you are able to cancel the insurance without incurring a penalty.

So even if you have just bought your insurance just follow these steps to check you have the cheapest insurance.

Step 1 – What cover do you need?

Age!- Are you under 21? then this will mean that you should only go for third party insurance as the excess will be massive. I knew of one young man who had an excess of £500 on a scooter worth £600!

Mileage: Don’t overestimate.. and remember its just for that bike/scooter not total mileage including driving. Generally my mileage is around 5000 miles for all my bikes.

Security: If you want cheap insurance then make sure you look at getting your bike/scooter off the road. Most insurance also require a gold standard lock so make sure you get one.

No claims bonus: On average a no claims bonus of one year can reduce cost by around 40% so make sure you keep your no claims if you can.

One of the main problems that i came across in the UK was the lack of scooter insurers, so you need to do a little research to find out what insurers work with scooters.

Step 2: Get your Quote

Get a quote via the main scooter insurance company. I like to use Ebike but you are free to use any that you find during your research.

Step 3: Play with the quote

Excess – Try different excess’s to find the right combination that works for you. Many insurance policy’s differ greatly depending on the amount of excess is chosen.

Haggle – Give the guys a ring and explain that you have found it for cheaper but would prefer to go with them. This can work… but i always feel a little cheeky.

Car insurance / House Insurance - If you already have insurance with the company you choose then try and get the price down even more.

Consider Pay as you go - Ebike actually allow you to get pay as you go insurance. This can work well if like me you don’t use all your bikes every day of the year. You can find out more at the Ebike website

Step 4 – Renewal!

Remember!! That most insurers will automatically renew your insurance.. so make sure that you have checked for cheaper insurance before this happens.

I got stung by this once, but never again!

No Tags

I used to own a Kymco Bet & Win 250. When the Xciting 250/500 were coming out everyone was so eXcited about getting one. I was down at the dealership and while I didn’t get a chance to ride one, I did get to look it over a lot Since the differences between the 250 and the 500 are basically the number of discs for the front brakes and the engine size, what I saw is applicable for the 500.

Storage for a scooter owner, is a major consideration…otherwise, we’d be buying a motorcycle, wouldn’t we? I walked up to the Xciting and thought Id see an improvement over my much smaller B&W. I didn’t. The Xciting underseat storage isn’t much bigger than the B&W, which is why almost all Xciting owners invest in a top box. The 07/08 Burgman 400 has the largest underseat storage of any maxi-scooter sold in the USA. You can fit two full-face helmets under there with room to spare. Or another way to look at it is what I do each day with mine.

I can fit a Nolan N102 full-face helmet TourMaster jacket and pants with those bulky pads, jacket liner, gloves and even have enough room left over for a pair of shoes if wanted…under the seat I had planned to buy a top box, but I can’t find anything to put in it. I looked at the Majesty also, and while it has almost as much storage, the area is split into two parts. An advantage to the Majesty is that the pillion storage area can be accessed without opening the seat. That would be handy for when you are touring and have a lot of things tied down on top of the seat. Otherwise though, it isn’t as practical or as large. Under the seat, the Burgman also has two small side pocket enclosures that are large enough to put your tie-downs, tool kit, etc inside and out of the way of the main storage area.

In the front fairing, I was again disappointed in the Kymco Xciting. My Bet&Win only had a hook in front to hang something from. With the huge front fairing of the Xciting, I expected a large storage bin. There wasn’t much. What was there was about as much as only one of the two small bins in the Burgman’s front fairing, just big enough to hold sunglasses and a couple other small items. The difference in the Burgman is that there are two of those smaller bins…and also a large full-width lockable storage area under them. The left side has the battery, so it only goes in part way. But the right side goes in over a foot and is large enough that I can put a gallon sized Ziploc bag in there stuffed with snack food, socks, toiletries and a Bible for homeless people I find on the freeway off-ramps. The point is that it is huge in comparison and totally lacking on the Xciting.

The Xciting seat is supposedly lower than the B&W seat, but it was so wide, I couldn’t touch the ground as easily as on the B&W. As Paul mentioned on the Kymco forum, the Kymco seats are hard and the Burgman seat far better. And I think you’ll find the Burgman 400 ergonomics fit a wider range of rider sizes than the Kymco or Majesty. (Blackbeard can give you more details on his experience of looking at all three.) I can attest to this much. After riding for an hour to work in the mornings, I look forward to getting back on the Burgman 400. The seat is very comfortable for me. While the Xciting has more horsepower, it also has more weight. I think if you read the comments made on both the Kymco forum and the BurgmanUSA forum, you’ll find people disappointed with the top end of the Kymco (@90 mph) and people who have run their 07 Burgman 400s over 100 mph, both indicated and GPS.

I don’t think you’ll find a more economical 400-500cc bike out there than the Burgman 400. The Kymco Xciting 500 gets around 50 mpg, which some people think is good. Many of us owners of the new Burgman 400s average around 65 mpg. So not only does the Burgman keep up with the larger displacement Xciting, it beats it for efficiency.

When I finished looking at the Xciting, I was disappointed. I had expected great things from Kymco. The Bet&Win and People scooters had seemed well thought out, and Kymco had a clean slate to design from with the Xciting. But I think they did a poor job of it by not making good use of the opportunity. It was like the people designing the Xciting hadn’t really looked at the competition and tried to improve on what they saw. The filled the square” in adding features, but didn’t make the most of what they had. I hadn’t expected it, but I got back on my little B&W 250 and thought I was getting on the better bike…even though it was a much older design and about $1000 less in cost than the Xciting 250 I had looked at. If you look at Burgman 400 reviews, take note of the model year being reviewed. Suzuki redesigned an already good bike in 2007 and changed just about everything on it. About the only thing left unchanged was the general shape and name. Prior to 2007, I’d say the Yamaha Majesty set the standard. After the redesign, I believe Suzuki raised the bar and has set a higher standard.

No Tags

When I bought my Burgman 650, I bought it because I liked it. Not because I wanted to have people say how nice it is or to be part of some motorcycling group, but because it felt good when I sat on it.

Now I find I can’t get out of a gas station in less than half an hour because people come over to admire it. The first question is always “How fast does it go?” (ans: The speedlimits with me on it.) Itry to find empty gas stations so I can get in and out quickly, but it never seems to work.
Yesterday I was stopped first in line at a red light and a guy crossing the street walked over to admire it. He totally ignored the “other” bike that was stopped next to me in the other lane. I was afraid he would be stranded in the middle of a busy intersection when the light changed.

Another thing I don’t like is how effortlessly it cruises on the interstate. I try to keep my speed at 70 mph as that is the most efficient speed for long distance riding. But if I don’t watch it closely, I find myself going 90 indicated. I’m totally against speeding, so this is a major deficiency.

Since riding on the interstate is so smooth, I figured I’d go out on a very windy day and get some challenge. Even with a 26 mph steady direct crosswind, the scooter wasn’t moved. Sure, I had to lean a little into the wind, but it was very comfortable. After 150 miles of this, I gave up trying to find a challenge in the wind.

The comfort is another big issue. Other riders seem to hobble after only 100 miles or so. 100 miles seems like a quickie. After 300 miles with only one quick stop for gas, I feel as fresh as when I got on.

Where is the satisfaction in that?

Twisties are no challenge at all. The scooter handles flawlessly at the speed limits. And with the engine braking, setting the speed entering the curves is simple. You would think it would be more fun riding twisties downhill, but with the engine braking, even the steepest twisties are effortless and don’t require any braking.

Slow speed handling is too easy. A 20 foot U turn isn’t a challenge at all. Figure 8’s in 4 parking spaces are also very simple. But then, people figure it’s just a scooter and it should be easy.

Oh, and the acceleration…what’s so good about that. Merging onto the interstate, I can pick a hole and accelerate into it with ease. No excitement wondering if I’m going to get run over. And no having to worry about what gear I’m in while looking for traffic. (Yawns.)

Why is it that no other bike or car ever keeps up with me when I leave a stop light? I don’t use more than about 3/4 throttle. (I don’t participate in races if someone seems to want one.)

The worst part is, I figured I’d be buying a few more bikes as I “moved up.” Now there is nothing to move up to. Everything bigger would be a compromise of some sort. Why did I buy the perfect ride as my second scooter? (The first is a Yamaha Majesty.) Now the only way to get a new one is to wear it out. But the dealor says that is impossible.

Some people complain the windscreen isn’t big enough, but this is a problem that just disappears with time. With a full face helmet I don’t notice the little bit of wind.

On another board, I see people having fun working on their bikes fixing little problems that come along. They get to ask all sorts of advice about how to fix their carburator, etc. None of that with the Burgman 650. Nothing has broken yet in almost 9,000 miles.

The only problem I’ve had is a persistant whine: “Honey, are you going riding again?”

Perfection is so boring…I have to wear a dark visor so people don’t see me grinning all the time.

As to needing new riding buddies, I don’t know of anyone who has experienced more than a good nature joke or two. Most riders don’t care what you ride so long as you ride. That’s true of every riding group I know of. I heard today that even the Gold Wing Riders Asc. Has a Burgman or two as members. The Southern Cruisers Riding Club, which has a reputation as a cruiser club, has gone out of their way to invite me and my 650 on many of their rides and their ground rules again say they don’t care what you ride so long as you ride.

No Tags