breakdown recovery does it work for bikes ?

Unlike many years ago the RAC do not have vehicles that are helpful to motorcyclists.When I broke down in West Kent with electronic ignition failure they arrived within 40 minutes only to tell me they would have to call out a garage with a flat bed truck to transport me home.Whilst waiting I asked the RAC man what he carried in his van that would help motor cyclists he opened the van that was packed and he showed me 1 item--a bottle of foam to repair punctures! Since then I have used the breakdown service provided by Carole Nash. The man who runs it is an experienced motorcyclist with a van that can transport motorcycles with CCTV that means you can watch your bike as you travel home.

Carole Nash insurance uses dedicated motorcycle recovery firms so once the recovery vehicle arrives your bike gets fixed or loaded. Peter James (and others) use the AA. A patrol van will turn up and decide he can't do anything and then call out a flatbed to take your bike home.

If you have a medical condition or are stopped somewhere dangerous, the AA are reasonably quick to appear. If you are young, fit and healthy, you can be in for a long wait.

On any longish trip, I carry a tank bag with spare tube, CO2 bottles, leatherman, adjustable spanner, space blankets, first aid kit, hat, food water and assorted odds and ends. 

Over the top? I delve into deepest Scotland on minor roads well out of mobile phone signal and whilst I have never had to delve into the tank bag yet, I would be most upset if I had a breakdown in these circumstances without it. Another useful item is the extra petrol strapped to the back seat. Bike pictured in a restaurant car park (Velo owners agm) in Stirling last weekend.

CN not only got increasingly more expensive, their attitude was not customer friendly.  We now have a trailer and a box of quick fix tools and spares.   A few instructions and a reminder when I'm off on a long one.  She gets to drive my car with a tow hook.  Three rescues to date for a tube  rip, battery/wiring on Commando and a completely mysterious non starting Velo, but that's Velo's for you.       

As echoed above.....CN prices increased year on year but the service bombed once ownership ot the company changed hands.  RAC not much better. Useful information to the recovery operator such as .....the engine has exploded or a wheel gone AWOL still results in the arrival, many hours later, of a vehicle not equipped for recovering a M/C.  You then tend to get informed that due to a 'priority' recovery policy (lone women, families, accidents) your wait time has just increased three-fold and booking into a nearby B&B/hotel might be a good move.

There are now a number of dedicated Motorcycle lift, shift or recover companies situated in most regions who can offer a better one-off deal compared to a yearly breakdown and recovery subscription. Worth keeping a few of these numbers to hand.

It's an interesting thread...

If the club offered an economical breakdown service to it's members - in partnership with a 'bike centric'  recovery group - would members be prepared to consider it? The plan would be to incorporate the option into a new Mobile App as an option at some stage.

What do you think?

Peter

... my breakdown service - Britannia provided by a Nationside Flexplus account - 3 or 4 times for bikes. On each occasion, a suitable vehicle has arrived although a couple of times it's been over the hour they promise.

I also used them when my Land Rover Discovery lost its transmission oil when I was towing a trailer loaded with a bike I was taking for sale. The recovery driver loaded the Disco on the flatbed and hitched up the trailer, took me home to drop off the bike & trailer then took the Disco to my usual garage, dropped it off and brought me home again. Pretty good service in my book.

I would't be interested in a club scheme as I not only have the NW offering but the free Peter James cover as well though I haven't tried that. Remember the old emergency assistance list, which I was on for years?

I have only had to use a recovery service for a bike once (GSX750) via the AA which was an unsatisfactory experience. The problem is that recovery services are (understandably) designed for cars and car drivers, and bikes are usually just an add-on to the car-centric service. The AA did not, and I understand still will not, prioritise bikes even in the middle of winter. I found out later that after standing around in the countryside for hours, the AA patrol was late getting to me because they had been diverted to sort out a broken windscreen wiper blade because it was a greater priority! 

I would be interested in a club arrangement.

As others have commented, it is best to carry a few basic tools. My current recovery is on a fleet policy and based on recent year's experience I only really need it for my classic VW, although I feel better for having a recovery arrangement in place for the bikes, if it should come to it.

The VMCC has just started a club scheme - with Peter James and AA recovery.

Incidentally, I left C Nash and went to Peter James and saved £350 on my premium.

I use Green Flag breakdown with personal cover which means whatever vehicle I am riding/driving gets recovered. When the old Norton let me down they arrived after about one hour with a lowloader truck. He took quite a few pictures of the bike before and after it was strapped down on the flatbed which he did very professionaly. Then a nice warm ride home in the cab. :)

I used Peter James recovery a couple of years ago for a front puncture, and it was not the AA, just a local recovery vehicle for cars which easily accommodated bike. 

In 2019 I twice had to call the RAC to recover my Yamaha SZR 660. Each time they accepted my report that the fault would not be fixable at the roadside and sent a recovery truck in the first instance. Also each time (both weekdays, one around lunchtime, the other around teatime) they turned out within one to two hours. Both were relatively local to home, which is in London SE3.

On the way home from the Solstice Rally my Commando expired near Saffron Walden on the M11 at around 8 pm. Initially they quoted an hour, but when nothing had appeared after 90 minutes the estimate changed to "indefinite".

Shortly after this a Highways England patrol stopped to find out what was going on, and were clearly not impressed by the RAC's performance: calls were made via their control.

By midnight Highways England were gently but firmly insisting that I use their contractor (cost: £150) to be recovered to the next service area, which happened at around 1 am.

The RAC eventually provided a truck at 3.30 am and I finally arrived home at 5 am.

The Highways England contractor said that his firm and other now refused to deal with the RAC because of the grief they were getting from members disgruntled by long delays.

I was riding along the M6 on a modern machine and the rectifier failed, fortunately the failure was timed perfectly as I was moments before J34 and managed to manoeuvre down the slip road. I rang the RAC and after 45 minutes I eventually got through, they said they'd send a vehicle within 45 minutes, this was 15.30pm. At 20.30pm I am still there and had a proper rant at them to no avail, I pushed the bike into a hotel car park and my Wife came for me. When I got home I rang the RAC again and told them that after 5 hours I'd asked my Wife to collect me and asked them to arrange collection but I was no longer there. An hour and a half later the RAC rang and said they'd sent a Taxi to the breakdown spot but I wasn't waiting there, err what??????? I had a call at midnight from a private breakdown company to tell me he was on the way to collect the bike, at 1.45am it was in my garage. I didn't renew my membership having been a member for seventeen years. I insure with Peter James and I have called on their rescue for services since for a classic bike, the AA turned up and sorted me in no time, what a difference!!!. DON'T have the RAC if you're a Biker they'll abandon you, I wouldn't have them if they were free.

Having taken the car in for repair, I decided to take the Enfield up to Edinburgh for a dental appointment. 1/2 way there, it ground to a halt, just outside a village garage and a bus stop (do choose your spot), all electrics gone. At which point I got a call that the car was ready for collection. There was just time to catch the next bus up to town and collect the car before the place shut. So the bike was left in the village garage (awfully helpful people, though I think the staff had changed since my Dad had his first puncture on his bike there in 1929 aged 15) and I got on the bus and collected the car, having postponed the dental appointment until the next morning. I helps to have a motorcycling dentist. So home in the nice dry warm car - did I mention the rain? The next morning (today in fact) it was up to Edinburgh with car and trailer through the biggest floods I have seen here, get teeth checked and collect the dead Enfield on the way back. 

Now to unload the Enfield and dump it in the naughty corner.

The moral - Ride the Norton even if it's raining!!!   

My Navigator battery died back in the summer.

I got scooped up by a Contactor for Carole Nash (used What 3 Words for location!!) in a purpose-built bike trailer with a camera, so we could watch all was ship-shape.

The driver was en route somewhere else, but even changed his itinerary for me.

Brilliant - worth the money!