Team Garmin: Getting ready to roll in Rotterdam
Hard to believe, but we’re 10 days away from the biggest event on Team Garmin’s professional cycling calendar. The best in the sport will gather in Rotterdam before cruising through Belgium as a preface to a month of touring France with an eye on the podium in Paris. In anticipation of an exciting month, the team is sponsoring a contest in which lucky winners will have a shot at great prizes such as a Team Garmin Felt, argyle Edge 500 or other amazing products for accurately predicting the team’s Tour roster. Visit Team Garmin’s Facebook page for details. While you’re there, be sure to check out the recent string of impressive results. For the third year in a row, the argyle armada came out on top at the Delta Tour of Zeeland as Tyler Farrar repeated as champion in his tuneup for the Tour. And just this week, Aussie phenom Jack Bobridge won the Ruddervoorde race in Belgium!
While they’re racing, Team Garmin turns to Edge 500 for real-time data and post-ride analysis. But what specifically do they focus on when using the Edge in training and competition? Garmin blogger Jake (@JakesJournal on Twitter) hooked up with Bicycling Magazine recently and sat down with Tom Danielson for a pro’s perspective on this popular GPS device that’s popping up on handlebars around the peloton.
Getting Specialized Motorcycle Insurance
Although motorcycle insurance is similar to regular vehicle insurance in many ways, it is still considered specialized insurance. Depending on how you use your motorcycle, it may be prudent to opt for an insurance company that specialises in motorcycle and pleasure craft insurance, rather than simply adding your motorbike to your existing short-term insurance policy. One example of the difference between motorcycle and vehicle insurance cover is that motorcycle policies will often include cover for accessories, such as helmets, leathers and bike accessories. With normal vehicle insurance, accessories such as a GPS device and a sound system need to be specified in the policy before it is covered.
Additionally, premium discounts will usually be offered for a number of risk reducing factors. These include belonging to a bike club, only using your bike on weekends and taking advanced bike riding courses. All these additional benefits should be researched before purchasing motorcycle insurance.
Another interesting difference between normal vehicle insurance and specialized motorcycle and pleasure craft insurance is that normal policies will often only cover factory standard bikes and not modified or custom made motorcycles. If you, like me, enjoy watching shows like “American Chopper” and, unlike me, have the funds to buy a bike like that, you will most certainly need to research insurance companies who specialise in custom made bike insurance.
Motorcycle and pleasure craft insurance companies will, obviously, also insure your quad bikes, jet skis, off-road 4×4 vehicles, boats and many other pleasure vehicles. Cover for these items may not be available on your traditional short-term policy. It is therefore wise to look at a specialized company if you own more than just one bike or pleasure craft. Since many insurers will discount your premium if you insure multiple vehicles on one policy, it will be worth looking at a single policy for all your vehicles.
What you use your bike for will determine what policy you buy. Specialized insurers will have policies to cover dirt biking, off-road biking, racing and more. Similarly to conventional vehicle insurance, you would have an option of varying levels of cover from comprehensive all risk cover to fire and theft only.
To ensure you do not pay too much for your motorcycle insurance, getting multiple insurance quotes is the first place to start. You should call your broker or insurance company to find out if they do offer motorcycle and pleasure craft insurance. If they do, that would often be your best bet as discounts are given on insuring multiple vehicles on the same policy. If your insurer does not cover motorcycles, it may be wise to move your entire policy to a different company that does insure motorcycles to get the same discounts. Either way it is advisable to reassess your insurance needs once a year, to ensure you always have sufficient cover in the event of a loss.
Once you have assessed your insurance needs, it could save you time to use online quote comparison services to ensure you get the most “bang for your buck”.
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Getting, Insurance, Motorcycle, Specialized