so i figured financing a bike would be the same as a car and if you do not have your vehicle paid off u must have full coverage insurance, but i had a buddy tell me he got a loan for his bike but he only has liability, he said that since its considered a recreational vehicle full coverage isnt required....so is he just dumb or have any of you guys heard of this..?

 

you can get away with having a loan on a bike and only having liability. one of the easiest ways is to get a personal loan from the bank and use the money that way, instead of taking out a bike specific loan (because then they hold the pink slip and require full coverage) now granted you might have a higher aprbut it all depends on the bank and your situation.

also ive heard that some dont require full coverage unless its over a certain amount (10k i believe)

 

I've heard everything from....your bike needs to be 900CC before you have to have insurance, like washington for example, you don't have to have insurance at all, and it results in these kids getting the latest greatest RR and smashing it, now they have a 9K bike thats done for, and payments.......anyway, back on track.......I think it would largely depend on what your bank requires. Most states have the mandatory liability if it's registered for street use.

 

The insurance requirement comes from the finance company. It doesn't matter the bike size or cost, it's the specific loan you take out.

From Honda you can get like $229/mo. and only need liability. If you get the $89 or $129 you'll be paying full coverage.

But think about it. That full coverage isn't there to cover damages to another vehicle in the case of an accident... it's there for YOUR VEHICLE.

If you don't have the jack to pay cash for a new bike, your best bet is to get full coverage. I've got two buddy's who ride around on pieced bikes because of this exact scenario. One's a 2005 ZX9 and the other an 06 600RR.

Both owe over $4000 on what are now essentially stunt bikes.

 

IMHO, if you have the jack to get a bike, you should have the jack to pay for full coverage insurance. Make sure the money you pay out isn't going to be gone in a split second. Plus, full coverage also helps with uninsured motorists. If you have an accident and have liability only you won't get crap if another person hits you and is at fault if they don't have insurance.

All I can say is shop around. Geicko and Progressive advertise cycle coverage here pretty heavy and both were by far more expensive than State Farm. These were my quoted rates -Geiko $2,500 y/r -Progressive $350 then upped to $685 y/r -State Farm $175 y/r all for full coverage with same limits.

 

kids right, has nothing to do with what kind of bike and what size or cost it is, its all in who is loaning you the money. your buddy is half right, it is considered a recreational vehicle which makes the loan harder to get, but that has no bearing on the insurance. most financial institutions will require you have full coverage to cover their assets if you wreck it and cant pay for it. the only ways around this would be if you took out a personal loan like havoc suggested, or if you get financed through Honda or Suzuki in which they essentially give you a $10K credit card and charge the bike on it, which is the way their financing normally works. anyone who loans you money for that bike will want their investment protected.