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Road side assistance, BMW or AMA?

Aaa rv

I have never had towing because I can fix most anything on the side of the road; but when I married Barbie, she had AAA. We added the RV coverage and the 100 mile option. We also have the added personal injury insurance which was cheap and pays directly to you, like AFLAC. We have used it once. It was something I could have handled on the side of the road, but she was with me and I don't like non-mechanics watching and commenting while I work.

Like Paul said, my problems always seem to happen when there is no shop around [weekends], or like the HES going bad on my way to the MOA this year...no cell service in the Kentucky mountains.

Yes, I had a spare HES; but 2 hours in the rain and heat on the side of I-64 with no help is not fun.
 
I didn't read all through these but can vouch for AMA. I get it with my membership ($39) if I allow them to auto-renew on my cc. I haven't used them for the moto but sure have in the car and they were great. The same type of folks who do AAA show up to tow. I am a believer.
 
I did much research on this recently. After all was said and done, I stayed with my AAA RV Plus package. 100 miles unless you upgrade to premier (200).
Feature for feature I couldn't find anything better or cheaper.

Towing is $3/mile currently.

The uhaul truck rental is actually cheaper.
 
I go with Good Sam. They will tow RV's, all of your vehicles, motorcycles, etc. for you, spouse, children, etc. No mieage limit. Costs me about $130/yr, but first year is less. Look here: http://www.goodsamroadside.com/rv/platinum-ra/index.cfm

I currently have AMA for other reasons but can also suggest Good Sam, they have a good plan for all vehicles, and they tow them to where they can be fixed, not necessarily the closest garage.
 
I did much research on this recently. After all was said and done, I stayed with my AAA RV Plus package. 100 miles unless you upgrade to premier (200).
Feature for feature I couldn't find anything better or cheaper.

Towing is $3/mile currently.

The uhaul truck rental is actually cheaper.

Likewise. Just upgraded to premier. They'll take the bike, or any of my cars, up to 200 miles to any place I designate, together with the other benefits as well. Since I already had AAA and enjoy it, an easy choice for me to make the upgrade to include bikes, and to bump it to the 200 mile premier plan.
John
 
my eperience

I purchased my R1200RT in April this year at Street Cycles in Falmouth Maine. In August while returning to southern Maine from Acadia National Park in the middle of no where I got a flat. I called BMW Roadside Assistance and they had a tow truck pick me and my bike up in less then one hour and flat-bedded me back to Street Cycles which was over 120 miles away. Street Cycles happens to be the only Motorrad dealer in the state of Maine.

As a side note a local stopped to offer me assistance while I was waiting for the tow truck. He ended up dropping me off at a restaurant 200 yards down the road. When the waitress came to my table she informed me that he called her to say that my dinner was on him. Awesome!!! A bad experience turned into a good one. ;)
 
I purchased my R1200RT in April this year at Street Cycles in Falmouth Maine. In August while returning to southern Maine from Acadia National Park in the middle of no where I got a flat. I called BMW Roadside Assistance and they had a tow truck pick me and my bike up in less then one hour and flat-bedded me back to Street Cycles which was over 120 miles away. Street Cycles happens to be the only Motorrad dealer in the state of Maine.

As a side note a local stopped to offer me assistance while I was waiting for the tow truck. He ended up dropping me off at a restaurant 200 yards down the road. When the waitress came to my table she informed me that he called her to say that my dinner was on him. Awesome!!! A bad experience turned into a good one. ;)

ayuh. Mainiacs are good peeps.
 
I had a good experience with BMW RA also (back in 08). However, as I recall, I had no option to renew once the initial period expired. I think they changed providers. Can someone refresh my memory? Who is the provider, can you join after the fact, what are the features and benefits?
 
I purchased my R1200RT in April this year at Street Cycles in Falmouth Maine. In August while returning to southern Maine from Acadia National Park in the middle of no where I got a flat. I called BMW Roadside Assistance and they had a tow truck pick me and my bike up in less then one hour and flat-bedded me back to Street Cycles which was over 120 miles away. Street Cycles happens to be the only Motorrad dealer in the state of Maine.

As a side note a local stopped to offer me assistance while I was waiting for the tow truck. He ended up dropping me off at a restaurant 200 yards down the road. When the waitress came to my table she informed me that he called her to say that my dinner was on him. Awesome!!! A bad experience turned into a good one. ;)

You should consider getting a tire plug kit and a compressor and learning how to use it. Relying on a tow service for flats isn't a real good idea.
 
You should consider getting a tire plug kit and a compressor and learning how to use it. Relying on a tow service for flats isn't a real good idea.

Advice well taken. I rode bikes for 12 years in my younger days without a single flat. 3 months with my new bike and it happened. I'm surprised that I haven't heard anything about run-flats for motorcycles. They'd probably be too harsh anyway.
 
I'm surprised that I haven't heard anything about run-flats for motorcycles. They'd probably be too harsh anyway.

I've often wondered the same thing--why hasn't someone developed a run-flat tire for motorcycles? Doesn't seem that a harsh ride should be a problem ... my two-wheeler already hits every bump and transmits it quite well to my butt.
 
I've often wondered the same thing--why hasn't someone developed a run-flat tire for motorcycles? Doesn't seem that a harsh ride should be a problem ... my two-wheeler already hits every bump and transmits it quite well to my butt.

The run flat tires are very heavy, a good 3/4" side wall thickness. Not sure what that would do to bike response?

My wife bought a car early this last summer that had run flat tires, and thus the car cam without a spare tire, and no place to store one. With less than 3K on the car, we left home for the bay area for appointments at about 6 am. Traveling on a seldom traveled road, seeing only one other vehicle in the first hour of travel. At about 7 am, came around a turn, sun shinning in the windshield, hit a "road hazard", more than likely a rock that came down from a road cut. Anyway, made a "U" shaped cut in the sidewall, about 6" X 4" that remained attached at the tread. The bottom of the "U" cut was less than an inch from the rim. Needless to say, without sidewall integrity, the tire was no longer a "run flat".

So, 7 am, no other traffic on the road, no cell service for another 35 - 40 miles! Fortunately I had brought my "HT" amateur radio with me, and was able to reach one of the repeaters in the area. So, got a response to my emergency call and had someone that would relay my information to AAA.

Three months later, my wife traded that car in on a similar one with good old standard tires. So....be careful what you ask for!!!!
 
run flats

I have a BMW car with run-flats. The BMW forums are filled with messages on that topic. People who live in areas where the roads are bad (i.e. around NYC) generally hate them because they transmit every road flaw straight to the the steering wheel. If you are "fortunate" enough to get a flat on the road and be able to get to a dealer you'll most likely be told that it will have to be replaced. On the plus side at least they can get you off a potentially dangerous highway.
 
Voni, I have two questions/comments: (1) Have you personally used the Rhinotire product? Your personal results and satisfaction? and (2) I didn't get the tire references in the BMW police bike video, simply couldn't hear it well enough. What am I supposed to glean from that video? Thx.

No, I haven't. I went looking because I knew the RTP's had runflat tires. The idea is to get you safely to a place to replace the tire.

Just wanted to let people know they are available. I've never used them.

Voni
sMiling
 
Run flats on a RTP are questionable. Most RTp's aren't going to be more than 10-15 miles from the station anyway. Even if they are they won't be out in the boonies over a hundred miles from help.
If they go flat in a pursuit, they aren't going to be able to continue the pursuit.
 
We have had the Allstate Road Side Assitance for several years and have used it twice. The first time was in 08 and we called them and they took us to the dealer we wanted although there was one a lot closer. I think the tow bill was over 400 dollars and they paid if fine. The last time was when we were on the way to the rally in Pennsylvania and we were only 30 miles from a dealer and they had someone there within a half hour and we never did see a copy of the bill. I think the price is now $110 a year. The unlimited mileage part is what is important.
 
I was looking for someone with unlimited towing. The best I could find was 200 miles. The Allstate motor club web site says the rv road help package at $99.95 has "unlimited amount of towing to the nearest service facility". Has anyone had an experience with Allstate where they limited you?
Will they really take me to the nearest BMW dealer which can be hundreds of miles?
 
I was looking for someone with unlimited towing. The best I could find was 200 miles. The Allstate motor club web site says the rv road help package at $99.95 has "unlimited amount of towing to the nearest service facility". Has anyone had an experience with Allstate where they limited you?
Will they really take me to the nearest BMW dealer which can be hundreds of miles?

si see nothing thre that says "nearest BMW Motocycle sevice facility". I would expect to get hauled to the nearest automotive type garage. nearest m/c grage would be just extra-nice above that. if anyone in that garage could sprechen ze deutsch, well, that would just be amazing.
their fine print is not how you translate it, but how they translate it.
 
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