Towing options

After the realization that the Midwurst has multiple closures of dealers to whom you may have your bike towed, it has become necessary to consider the distances that are covered in your towing offerings before an additional $ per mile charge is assessed.

I have made several call to a few organizations and whittled down the ones that would accept Beemers in their organization, and cover motorcycles if it is a mainstream club with national affiliations etc.

Here are the findings as of 1.6.2006:

BMWMOA Platinum Membership ($22 extra tows for 50 miles)

HOG - Need to buy yourself a HOG...go figure

GWRRA - Need to own a Gold Wing or Valkyrie in the household to gain the membership, but will cover other brands if registered to the owner/member)

AAA - $75.00 As you need to have AAA Plus membership to cover motorcycles/RVs - will tow for 100 miles, and an extra $8.00 buys an additional 10 miles.

Good Sam Emergency roadside Assistance - $79.95 buys an impressive coverage. Any vehicle registered to the member family household can be towed for as many miles that are needed to get the vehicle to a repair facility for that vehicle...be it motorcycle, car, RV etc. An additional $25 buys a membership to Good Sam that provides the discounts to all kind of camping and related products and services etc.

Hope this helps others, it was an interesting search. Hope you never need it.

Andy

At those rates, buy this:http://www2.northerntool.com/product-1/465468.htm add a sheet of plywood and in 3 years you'll be ahead of the game. Even better if you go in with an amigo or two...

Steve

I guess I'm starting to understand the question the more I read it, so here are a few of my conclusions:

The money saved on membership fees per year to get a little extra mileage out of your local (or away from home) towing service might be better spent buying someone/friend with a trailer (Anonymous Book) a case of beer and dinner. (Even if that guy is an associate member and contributing nice guy to the ADVrider group, who happens to be listed in the Anonymous Book ((because he is/was a MOA member once) Also if you only needed towing service once in say ten-years you could just pay the bill and be done, its not like its and Ambulance ride that cost thousands of $$$.

Next, maybe it would be beneficial to find local Air/Oil head and big-bore twins mechanics' that can do required maintenance for those less inclined or without specialty tools. (Just because the dealer's close their door does not mean the talent moves away, they just might work on weekends to make a few extra dollars out of their garage. They are still certified BMW mechanics, even if now they work on other brands)

Also, I hear that more and more service dealers are providing pick up and delivery up to a certain degree of miles for them to perform maintenance. Albeit with costs incurred, but maybe less than towing the same distance.

Finally, some of us will just be persuaded to buy 'other' brands that are supported locally. It will be BMWs loss but Honda, Yamaha and Harley Davidson will always be around the corner somewhere.

Hopefully the folks at BMW Motorrad have members that read this stuff and realize the error of their ways and concentrate on the people who keep them in business.

My bike saw its last 'Dealer' service at 36K, what I can't or don't want to do will be done in the private sector and a whole lot cheaper.

I guess if your bike breaks down on the side of the road the last option would be to hitch a ride with someone and hope your bike isnÔÇÖt there when you return, then the insurance company can pick up the tab. Heheheha

hehehehe...well the insurance settlements may save the tow as long as they pick up the airfare home or the deposit on the new 12oo Adventure...hehehehe.

Last year I got to use the tow service and it was very good indeed, although I was lucky to be only 35/36 miles away from the nearest dealer (closed on Mondays of course...and that was my travel day...lol.) I was happy with the service, although as I begin to spend more time out west the distances are much greater than here in the Midwurst or NE, and so I was just thinking that there must be a better deal for the extra mileage. Just imagine the tow cost of being towed the 135 miles from Rock Springs to Cheyenne when only the first 50 is paid.

RustyJC had suggested to look at the Good Sam club and I was very impressed with the professionalism yet friendliness of phone manner and definitely the scope of the program they offer. After reading another book recently, it had mentioned in the text that clubs like HOG etc serve off-brand bikes for tow although as I found that is not strictly true.

For me this has nothing to do with the BMWMOA membership, I will still be renewing, it was just the difference of the base membership or Platinum and using the difference toward another tow service. This may definitely be a wise decision on the Haul Rd if tow costs are incurred later this year.