Weird stuff - my insurance quote for Ninja 250 vs KTM 950 Adventure

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason why some of these bikes are rated the way they are. Either way, those are good prices on both bikes. Who's your carrier? Do you have the cage insured with them too?

It has a lot to do with how many claims they get for a given bike... It seems like "adventure riders" (dual purpose bike owner) don't get excited about one more scratch on their bike. When they drop them, they don't bother to fill in a claim... The extra bump/scratch just add character to the bike!

On the other end of the scale, the "road" bike owner like their bike to look their best all the time. When they drop them and beat the heck of all that fiberglass, they'll fill in a claim to the insurance guy...

By the way, good choice on the 990 Adventure! In a few years, when I outgrow my KLR and have some extra $$$ laying around :upeyes: I would love to get a 640 ADVENTURE...

Safe riding!

Progressive is my insurer but it's only for motos. My car is insured by Encompass.

The KTM 640 Adventure is a lesser known vehicle that is often overlooked, which is a shame. But it comes in Extra Tall only and short people like me who can barely manage a 950/990 can't manage the 640 ADV's seat height. This mutha has a compressed seat height of 35-inches. It's fairly light in weight (mid-300 dry), but loaded up with almost 8-gallons of fuel, it could be a bit top heavy. My sister-in-law just got hers last week. She's tall as hell and she already dropped it at a stop sign. :supergrin:

The answer (dumb answer, but an answer) is the word "ninja". The insurance companies know squat about bikes, so tehy base their rates on stupid things like the bike's name. Things that ca hurt you are any letter "Rs" in the name (i.e. CBR, GSX-R, etc.) and fancy names like "Ninja", "Hayabusa", and "Hurricane".

I was paying less for full coverage on my brand new 2000 TL-1000S (about $25 a month) at age 20 than I was paying for liability only on my 95 Mercury Cougar (about $120 a month) on the same policy.

I bet if it had been a TL-1000R it would had been over 5 times as much.

Originally posted by epsylum
The answer (dumb answer, but an answer) is the word "ninja". The insurance companies know squat about bikes, so tehy base their rates on stupid things like the bike's name. Things that ca hurt you are any letter "Rs" in the name (i.e. CBR, GSX-R, etc.) and fancy names like "Ninja", "Hayabusa", and "Hurricane".

I was paying less for full coverage on my brand new 2000 TL-1000S (about $25 a month) at age 20 than I was paying for liability only on my 95 Mercury Cougar (about $120 a month) on the same policy.

I bet if it had been a TL-1000R it would had been over 5 times as much.

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Epsylum is exactly right but it doesn't do any good to not tell them it's a Ninja either because I tried it. Certain letters in the VIN number put the bike on the nasty list.

Check with State Farm. They go by engine size mainly. MI insurance is pricey because of mandatory No Fault Catastrophic Claims statutory fee per policy. But I still come out ahead. The fee for my policy is $148.xx. Basically $74 of the premium is actual insurance coverage, the rest is state fees.

My '81 GS450 is $222 a year. The riding season is only 6 months up here, so it is $111 per riding season. I end up only paying $18.50 a month for insurance; liability, collision w/ $200 deduct, and roadside assistance with up to 5 gallons of gas (tank is 2.9) and towing up to 25 miles w/ $10 deductable. And I just turned 25 today (5-18). The collision includes animals, so I don't need comp for that.

If I hit something (animal, wall, another vehicle, pedestrian etc) it is collision. If my bike tips over, a tree falls on it, hail damage it is comprehensive. My agent said it best: "I've hit a deer on my motorcycle before. Comprehensive my ass, it is a ********** collision!!"

I'm happy with Progressive. They're the cheapest for me.

It's because a lot of beginners ride and wreck 250 ninjas. Lot's of claims. The bike may be cheap, but injuries are what truly cost the ins companies.

I had a CB700SC for a long time. I insured it through Progressive for many years. I called to pay off my premium one year that the person I spoke with asked me what kind of bike it was. I called it a "general purpose bike". She asked if it had a fairing. I told her no. She says, "Ok. If it did, your premium would be a lot higher."

If they detect any sort of sport in your bike at all, they see dollar signs. Fairings (even on a 250) equal sport to them.

I pay 12.74/mo through state farm for my 250 ninja. I heard to use the true engine size (248cc) and it puts it in a lower class. Maybe sonething to think about.

Well to add to the insurance comapny reasoning stupididity, when my brother was talking to an insurance agent about his GSX-R 1100 they asked if it was a 750, he said "no, it's an 1100", then they told him that the 1100 is cheaper to insure becasue it is bigger therefore slower :freak: Myabe he needs to let them know it is now a 1340, so it is even slower. :supergrin:

Originally posted by 357glocker
I pay 12.74/mo through state farm for my 250 ninja. I heard to use the true engine size (248cc) and it puts it in a lower class. Maybe sonething to think about.

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They asked me the engine size. I said published or actual. They said actual. Cool, 448cc.

FNFALMAN, that's cool. Just a suggestion. I am happy with my premiums from SF. Geico and Progressive want over $1000 per year for insurance. Yikes!

I would assume it would be because a ninja 250 is a very common first starter bike. Of course that would include, a lot of accidents with new riders on the ninja making lots of claims.

Matt