AA breakdown cover

Oh and you can actually get accident recovery added to your policy.

Originally Posted by norvidick

The AA will recover your bike after an accident but you have to pay for it check out clause 13 of thier agreement as that is what hapened to a member of the Suzuki owners club I think he had to pay £80.00 to take it six miles to his home.

Clause 13 of the AA's Terms and Conditions does indeed clarify this
matter. Thanks!

Originally Posted by BigApe

I won't go with the RAC, quite simply because they contract out a lot of their work to local garages.

I didn't know this. I always thought the RAC are big enough to avoid
having to contract work out.

[Sir Trev]

It depends on where you are and the time of day as to how many genuine patrols are available. About 75% of the time I've had a "real" RAC patrol come to rescue me and most of the rest have been bike specialists who know what they are doing.

All regular patrols have bike kit, unlike 15 years ago when there was olny two patrols covering all of London when my 250 ate it's reg/rec. I've also had a subbie actuually mend a snapped clutch cable as a get-you-home, and another take my electrically dead 250 (same one) from Norwich back home to Berkshire.

Personal cover too and 95% of the time I've had prompt responses. I've stuck with them for 19 years now.

I am with RAC and I went with the home start or whatever the name is. I noticed I had a flat tyre(took a few hours to deflate) at home on a Sunday afternoon and since I feel that I did not go for the cheapest option I called the RAC to come and offer a solution. They said that they could not repair punctures on my bike but somebody could drive over and give me a lift to a garage. I thought - OK and they said they would be over in a few hours. Got a call later telling me that unfortunately their people were busy and they could not come but if I wanted to they could show up the next day at some point. Not having an air pump I asked them if somebody could come from 7am on Monday morning to either take it to garage that could fix it or pump up the tyre so that I could ride it to the nearest garage if that would be easier for them to do. The person at the end of the line said that somebody would be over at 7am in the morning to pump up my tire. I got a call the next day at 8.30 am telling me that they were sorry but all their mechanics were busy but if I waited around someone would come along during the day. I told them not to bother and took the public transport to work that day. I came home in the evening with the air pump, pumped up the tyre the next morning and rode-off to the nearest garage.
I have to say that I am very disappointed with the service RAC had provided(what service) and I will not be wasting my money with them again next year.

FWIW I'm with Green Flag (or May Day through the Caravan Club) and would recommend them as No 1.

1. Personal cover for me and the misses covers either of us in any car we are travelling and this also includes my bike.
2. My daughters car is the name vehicle and is covered for any driver so she is in effect covered for free which is a bonus as she is a poor student and it gives us piece of mind when shes out. All this for £90 (Does not include home start coz if it don't start I take another vehicle). I believe the Green Flag service is better than the AA and RAC because they use contractors rather than their own staff and the contractors are always eager to please as they want to retain the contract as their living and business depend on it.

The problem witth the AA is that they relay you from area to area so you spend time waitng in motorway services for the next vehicle to collect you. Recovery from Scotland involved 5 changes. Green Flag will take you all the way with one vehicle.

Thanks to everyone who shared with me their thoughts and
experiences. I will now have to digest the info.

I have never been a member of any breakdown cover scheme and I never
felt the need to join one. I always managed to deal with all the
minor car problems myself. But since I bought my bike 2 years ago I
am becoming progressively more and more paranoid.

Yep RAC...fine for the car...completely useless for the bike!!

Sent a patrolman with a car-trailer when they knew I was on the bike
I wouldn't mind so much, if this hadn't happened on all 3 occasions I've had to call them out!!!

Let me just add... the AA also contract work out!

I've been covered with the AA for the last hmmm 22 years on and off. Last year when the bottom end went on the bike not my sv, (6pm) I called the AA out and explained I'd need relay as the bike wasn't going anywhere. At 10pm stuck in the middle of nowhere over in East London/Essex a small AA van pulled up, I explained the problem so he said "sorry love, you'll have to wait for the relay truck" After more than 10 phone calls to the AA, at 2am a poxy recovery truck arrived...it wasn't an AA truck, it was a dirty flea ridden one they had contracted the work to. I was so annoyed by time I got dropped home covered in bites from his cab I swore I'd not renew my membership. They knew I was a female, on my own in an unlit run down part of East London, yet they left me sitting waiting for their assistance.

But ... after looking around they seemed to be the best of a bad bunch lol.

Having read all the replies to my original post as well as private
messages I bought AA breakdown cover Option 200 (full recovery)
jointly with Mrs Professor. Many thanks to everyone who replied!