+1 on AAA.
I'll get a ride or tow no matter who I'm with or what I'm in or on!

 

So does AAA cover any vehicle you are in if it breaks down? RV, motorcycle, car?

 

AAA here as well. I've used it once and was totally happy with it. I broke down on the parkway. Here in NJ, towing companies must be licensed to tow on the parkway or turnpike. AAA's companies are not licensed in NJ. So they had a licensed tow company come get me and take me to their yard. Then I called AAA again and they sent a tilt bed truck with the proper gear for bikes. AAA paid for the whole thing and the driver backed right up the driveway and just about put the tilt bed in my garage. lol

A buddy of mine took my advice and signed up with AAA. One month later we were on a 3 day road trip when he had a blowout at 6:30 in the morning. AAA was there in under an hour, with a tilt bed and the proper equipment for loading a bike. He took the bike to a Kawasaki shop because it was the closest shop. When we got there the shop wasn't open yet because it was only 8:00. He had another call so he had to drop the bike. About an hour later he was back to make sure that we could get the tire replaced. We never asked him to come back, the guy just wanted to check on us. Yup, he got another nice tip.

side story: The Kawasaki shop didn't have the correct size tire but they called their sister shop (about 20 miles away) and they had one. But their delivery truck was broken down. So, off the 3 of us went to pick up the tire. One of the guys put it over his head like a hula hoop and rode back to the shop. All in all it took about 4 1/2 hours from the time we called AAA till we were on the road again.

 

If you get the RV+ coverage, yes. It's additional to the car coverage.
When you call for towing you have to make sure to tell them it's a bike
so that they send out the proper truck and equipment.

 

I'm having trouble deciding on a roadside assistance program. I've read that the Progressive insurance add-on isn't very good, HOG obviously has problems, and AMA seems to have quite a few limitations.

That leaves AAA, which no longer offers motorcycle coverage on the RV Plus plan. Motorcycles are now a $35 add-on to an existing plan. It looks like this a new thing with a lot of kinks to work out. For instance, actual services are only dispatched in Tennessee, Georgia, Flordia, and Puerto Rico. If you need service in any of the 47 other states, you have to pay out of pocket and apply for reimbursement. It seems like they made a simple service very complicated, but this is what I'm leaning toward even though it is a lot more expensive than the other options. Any thoughts?

 

I had a flat tire a few years ago.I called HOG roadside assistance.They told me that no one is available in that area.I was on a major Route near the jersey shore on a summer weekend. I immediately canceled my membership.

 

I'm a AAA member and I've been satisfied with their service. I have their "Plus RV" membership type. The AAA Plus RV provides up to 100 driving miles of towing for motor homes, pickup trucks with campers, travel trailers (including fifth wheel), motorcycles, camping trailers, snowmobile trailers, and boat trailers.

I wanted the "Plus RV" since I occasionally tow either a cargo trailer or pop-up camper via my motorcycle.

Keep in mind the following: The AAA membership types differ by regions and not all benefit types are available in all regions.

For example, I'm in the NJ region. The "Plus RV" membership is closed to new members as of July 15, 2015. The NJ region now offers a "Plus Motorcycle", which will not cover trailers.
Current "Plus RV" members are grand fathered in as long as they keep their membership active. If I was to cancel my "Plus RV" membership, and I wanted to reapply for AAA coverage, I could not get "Plus RV" and I would have to get "Plus motorcycle".

Over the years I've had to use AAA for issues I've had with both my car and motorcycle and they've always been fairly prompt (under 60 minutes, many times faster) when called. When I had to call them due to a breakdown of my motorcycle, they always came with a flatbed and the appropriate tie-downs.

One year on my way back from Sturgis I broke down on I-90 just past Murdo, SD. Since I'm a lifetime HOG member I thought I would give them a call to test them out since I knew I was entitled one roadside assistance call. I forgot I was limited to a maximum coverage expense of $100. Well, the tow to Petersen Motors Harley-Davidson in Pierre, SD was quite a bit more than $100. Expensive lessen learned and I will never use the HOG towing again.

Just this past October I broke down on I-75 near Chattanooga, Tennessee. My clutch stopped working. Turned out my jam nut for the screw adjuster vibrated off.
Anyways I was especially curious on this particular breakdown since this was the first time I broke down on the motorcycle while I was towing my pop-up camper. I was able to get the motorcycle over to the breakdown lane and proceeded to call AAA for service. Literally within three minutes one of those department of transportation roadside assistance trucks happen to see me and pulled over. There was nothing they could do to help me out (they have jumper cables, help with tire changes, etc), but the lady made sure I was getting some sort of assistance, and provided me with the name, address and number of the nearest HD dealer.
Anyways, AAA operator shows up. I load my bike on the flatbed. He ties it down, and asks me to verify everything is strapped properly and looks OK. He then changes the hitch-ball on the back of the flatbed to a 1-7/8" ball so we can also pull my pop-up camper. He's able to adjust the height of the hitch-ball so my tongue on my camper is level and he takes me to the HD dealer. Dealer (Thunder Creek HD) is about ready to close their service shop. They do me a solid and said they'll take a look at the bike and if it's something simple, they'll fix it this evening. It's something simple and they fix it. I'm than off to BamaFest in Alabama and get there about 12:00 am.

I've been happy with the AAA service I've received. When I happen to stay in a hotel/motel, I typically get a AAA discount. I also occasionally stop by their local office to pick up some of their maps and books. Some people might consider the cost of AAA expensive. I pay $123 per year for the AAA Plus RV. It's like insurance, you really don't want to pay for it, but you are glad you have it if needed (especially if you drive around in older vehicles).

 

I guess my question is, who made the decision to not tow bikes in the rain? It sounds like this is a decision of the contracted tow company and not HOG. I am not here to defend HOG but just asking where the fault actually lies. I would seem to me that HOG ought to have more than one contracted tow company but perhaps in that particular area they only have the one choice and for whatever reason that one has a rule against towing bikes in the rain.

 

It may just be here but, I just got a please come back letter that said they would tow a car or motorcycle with their standard coverage.

 

I think I get what you're saying.
The other side would of course be they should perhaps have more than 1 provider in every area. Especially if the one single provider they have in the area has such big limitations.

Sadly this is not the only time we have heard of poor service from HOG. For the cost of their service it should be better. I feel the cost is higher because you are a member of a "club" and get patches and other "fun" stuff.


Personally I have roadside from my insurance company. Inexpensive and will tow for the 100 miles. My insurance is Safeco. I believe the price is about 12 bucks. I have used it once to tow the wife's WG to the indy to get a clutch cable replaced. It was fine, but I didn't care for the tow truck driver. He stated he was scared to tow Harleys...was fine towing any other bike. LOL