Breakdowns - who you gonna call?

[motorbyclist]

The AA will cover you for any vehicle that you are driving/riding.
AA+ will guarantee to get you home

BAHAHAHAHA

yeah right!

they left me and piratejafa stuck, mid winter, 6pm at night, on sh1, an hour drive from kaikoura and blenheim (bang in the middle), and basically said "too bad" - all we wanted was a tow into blenheim! we ended up door knocking to find a b&b a passing local told us about. cost a shitload too

not the first time i've heard of them bailing out either!

honda riders club has an excellent service, offer cheaper and better insurance through hondasure (golightly, underwritten by vero) and no you dont need to ride a honda

[EJK]

Another vote to AA+. They'll pick up at 12am too.

[cynna]

That will be AA Plus. Plain old AA membership just does roadside assist and if they can't get you moving you're on your own. With AA Plus they will trailer you home if they can't get you moving.

i am in AA+ but i thought the main difference was that they will bring you home if you are more then 150km away. within that distance i thought normal AA would still tow or trailer you back? if anyone is going to join they might want to look into that sincw it m ight be worth the extra $ to join aa+

[Ixion]

My understanding (I might be wrong, but I don't think so), is that AA have a network of agents (ie, tow truck guys) around the country. With 'plain' AA if they can't get you going, they'll tow you to the nearest depot. Which in town might be just round the corner, in the country the nearest town. Up to some maximum value for the tow ($80 ? something like that) After that, you're on your own .

AA+ will (they claim) tow you home, or to your destination. Wherever it may be . Might be a way to get a cheap holiday - fake a breakdown just down the road from home and ask them to take you to your "destination" in $FarAwayPlace

[Ixion]

I did the geek thing and went to their website.

Here's the guff.

If the vehicle ..has a mechanical problem that cannot be repaired on the spot, the AA will tow the vehicle to the nearest place of safety or repair .... There is no charge to the Member for this callout and/or towing charges unless requiring/requesting towage to a location beyond the nearest place of repair or safety. ...

But -

The AA will provide vehicle recovery for motorcycles on a best endeavours basis and may be subject to availability of suitable contractors. If the Member chooses not to accept the attending tow truck, any other arrangements will be at the Member's expense.

They also say they won't help if you don't have a current WoF and registration, which seems a bit off

AAPlus

• Towing
  If the vehicle the AA Plus Member is in breaks down, regardless of how far from home, and needs to be towed the AA will recover the vehicle to the Member's home address as listed on the AA Membership record or a repairer nominated by the Member anywhere in New Zealand, as long as the distance is no greater than would be incurred in recovering the vehicle to the Member's home. Any further towing, recovery, transportation (including ferry crossings) and collection costs will be at the expense of the Member.

And if the breakdown is more than 100 km from 'home' the AA will pay for a rental car and/or motel for three days (up to $800, or $1500 per year)

Importantly, the AAPlus terms do NOT have the motorcycle exclusion that plain AA has. Seems strange , but there y'go.

[Shewolf]

Great info and experiences from people - thanks.

A good subject area for the Wiki!

[metalslug]

Question:

During my trips from Auckland to New Plymouth, you will go through places where there is no cell phone reception at all ( especially around the gordges)...Now if the bike breakdown there....

Any good ideas?

[ynot slow]

Question:

During my trips from Auckland to New Plymouth, you will go through places where there is no cell phone reception at all ( especially around the gordges)...Now if the bike breakdown there....

Any good ideas?

Mountain climbing lol.

Had a mate who was in the tyre industry,he was the commercial manager,at times he and his workers would head off from NP to do a repair,couple of times the truck would've gone.One time he went through to Te Kuiti incase the directions were wrong,and no cell coverage,turned out the trucky decided to drive into cell coverage and let his boss know he could make NP,his boss couldn't get a message to my mate,end result 4 hour call out for nothing lol.

Similar to other areas with no cell coverage,but if you believe the network blurbs,we have coverage,so this shouldn't be a drama,tui anyone?Hopefully if in remote areas a house with landline is available.

[jetboy]

Hey guys, don't want to sound like a spammer but I have found an excellent roadside assistance provider who actually give a damn about motorcycles - i.e. if you need help then the right tools are dispatched so if you need a tow then the bastards won't lie it down, but use a flatbed with proper tie downs etc.

The company is called Journey On and you can visit their website at www.journeyon.co.nz for more information.
I'll tell you what, give me a PM before you buy anything and I'll give you a special code to put into the website which gives you a discount off the list price! Pretty sweet I reckon!

If you have any questions about the service then flick me a PM and I'll do my best to answer them for you. Personally I changed from AA to these guys simply because they will tow you to the nearest place of safety with out any additional costs, and they know how to deal with motorcycles.

[Ixion]

Same breaker. "Nearest place of safety". That's not actually all that attractive, on a bike.

If you break down on the Coro loop, the nearest place of safety might be Coroglen. But then you've got to organise getting your bike back from there.

AA+ will tow you *home*. I know which I'd prefer.

[jetboy]

Same breaker. "Nearest place of safety". That's not actually all that attractive, on a bike.

If you break down on the Coro loop, the nearest place of safety might be Coroglen. But then you've got to organise getting your bike back from there.

AA+ will tow you *home*. I know which I'd prefer.

Fair enough - but as far as I know you have to pay extra for the tow home with them.
The main point of this service, as far as I understand, is to get you out of the immediate shit if the bike breaks down so you can then suss out your plans from there - if you are cruising the South Island and you live in the North Island will AA really tow you home?

[Ixion]

So they say. (AA Plus only). How true that may be I dunno. I suspect it wouldn't be a tow, it'd be tow to nearest town and then they organise a car transporter (or bike transporter). And you make your own way home (but they will pay for a rental car for three days)

[BiK3RChiK]

I just ring the other half and he sorts me out...

[jetboy]

So they say. (AA Plus only). How true that may be I dunno. I suspect it wouldn't be a tow, it'd be tow to nearest town and then they organise a car transporter (or bike transporter). And you make your own way home (but they will pay for a rental car for three days)

I see I see. The Enhanced version of the policy I have access to will either set you up with a rental vehicle for 3 days, or 3 nights accomodation if you are more than 100km away from your house.

This one costs $89.95 per year (less if you get the code from me)...I wonder how much AA Plus costs as I was only on their standard one.

I just think it's nice to have an alternative to AA offering something different thats all.

[sinned]

The upgrade to AAplus is a must for motorcycle recovery. It worked well for me with a Sunday pickup on the Rimutakas to home in Jville. I was told there is a $1500 cap per year.
Modern motorcycles are like modern cars - if they stop going it is a workshop job to fix them. Roadside assistance is limited to unlocking a car or boost starting from a flat battery.
Your MC tool kit only need include an AAPlus card and mobile.