I know...touring bike forum...I was on my touring bike when it happened though (2002 Electra Glide Classic)

I was on my way to work the other night at 11:20 pm on CR 222 between Bell and Gainesville Florida when my bike shut down. (Been having fuel related issues.) I called AAA at 11:34 pm. Now, I have AAA Plus Motorcycle. A tow truck arrived at 8:15 am. I was stranded beside the road for over 8 hours. Called AAA multiple times and just got the run around. "We're trying to find someone in the area who can tow motorcycles" was the main response. A tow truck did show up at 2:30 am but the first words outta the driver's mouth..."You'll hafta sign a damage waiver. I've never towed a motorcycle before and have never been trained how to load one" Not gonna happen. Triple AAA had me pay for a service they cannot provide. I missed an entire shift of work and they want to send me a $20 gas card to say sorry....take this and shut up! All through the night, AAA was NOT calling to check on my well being. If I didn't call them, they would've never called. After getting the bike home, tried to reach a manager, not a call center supervisor. Not gonna happen. You cannot speak directly to a manager if you are a paying customer. And call center supervisors have no authority to authorize anything but will lie with no problem. (I researched some of the crap I was told through Better Business Bureau and consumer reports...just flat out lies!) Just stay away. I hope this rant stays on this forum. I'm sure I'm not the only one with a story like this. Why offer a service you can't provide and then just leave someone stranded with no concern for they're safety? Especially when they paid for your service!!!!!

 

You do realize that Triple A doesn't actually own any tow trucks, right?

All they can do is contract with the local towing services in your area.
This is not any different than those that have had issues with HOG membership/towing.

It all comes down to the area you are stranded in. Some places are more capable than others when it comes to dealing with motorcycles.

I had a flat once in a remote area of South Central Missouri on a Sunday morning.
Yeah, good luck getting anybody that can handle a motorcycle at that time.
At least the lady I talked with at HOG kept calling me back letting me know she was still trying.
Really not much they can do if there are no services available.
I ended up calling a dealer about 70 miles away myself, and they came and picked me up.
I now carry a tire repair kit with me.

 

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I have AAA RV plus that covers motorcycles. I could see this being a problem in many areas of the country. After reading this I'm going to study up on how to properly sling lift a touring bike through the frame. That way I can assist or point out what the under trained tow truck driver is doing wrong when I need a tow. I've found in today's world that you have to have some knowledge of any service someone else does for you to make sure it's done right. Just because you pay premium price for something doesn't mean you get premium service. That's why I do all my own mechanical work on our rides. You could be putting your life in the hands of an under trained or half *** mechanic.

 

Agree w/the fact you were left "hanging in the wind" for awhile arranging this tow through AAA (8-hrs is rough), but kinda think you have partial blame for running out on bike w/known fuel problems...JMO. Also, why not "phone a friend" of try other means of getting aid (load #'s in your cell, have list in saddlebag, etc.). Just a thought...

 

If my bike was not running right, I wouldn't rely on it for dependable transportation to work. I have friends with trailers. I am also friendly with local tow services and leo. I get why you're disgruntled with the service provided to you by triple A, however you should have done your due diligence before buying that service to determine if it was worth it. I see on here, just one forum, a lot of complaints about triple A, and hog. I wouldn't spend a dime on either.

 

AAA left me stranded in Ashland WI when the stator went on my old 02 ultra, they claimed they could not find someone that could tow motorcycles. Well after just 2 phone calls i found a local company to tow me no problem, I called AAA back to give them the name of the company and they said sorry that company is not on our "approved list". Long story short I paid out of pocket $600 for a tow to Duluth Harley and submitted the bill ( with written account of the troubles) to CAA when i got home and was reimbursed in full. Good I got paid back but a P.I.A none the less.

 

I work in law enforcement and whenever I come upon a broke down motorist and they tell me they have AAA, I tell them they have a long wait. For some reason it never takes less that 2 hours (and usually considerably more) to get a tow through AAA. I believe the local tow companies that contract with AAA put any AAA tow way down on the list.

A few years ago in the evening a car pulled in my rural driveway and sat there. I went out to check on them and they had a flat tire. The people told me they had AAA and had called them way earlier for a flat. When the guy arrived, hours later, he didn't have correct equipment to change the tire and ended up crossthreading 2 of the lug nuts back on. And the tire he put on was flat too, but he didn't care and just left. They got about a mile down the road when the tire rolled off the rim and they ended up in my drive. I have tools and some know how so I fixed the original tire's flat with a plug kit and mounted it, even though the 2 crossthreaded lugs snapped off. The 3 studs left held the wheel and I told them to drive slow home, which was about 10 miles away.

NEVER would I recommend AAA for anything.

 

Been in Law Enforcement since 1979 and that is my experience as well. You want AAA, you better get comfortable.

 

They own all their own trucks here, I've been with AAA for thirty years and never had a problem or a long wait.

 

same here, so the good stories need to be told also. Twice towed with AAA both times they came with covered trailers. Once with HOG they sent a slide back with winch strap, which was OK for loading but iffy unloading.