Advice: What you need to know about roadside assist

Once restricted to the very premium brands, more and more manufacturers are offering roadside assistance packages alongside the conventional two-year warranty period. But whether the policy is supplied with your new bike, or you’re in the market to purchase a roadside assist policy for your existing bike, there are plenty of things you need to be aware of before signing up and heading for the horizon with half a tank of fuel and a couple of worn tyres.

According to our research, a year’s coverage for roadside assist can be purchased for as little as $45 – money well spent in anyone’s book. In fact, according to the organisation, it’s money very well spent for the approximately 1000 motorcyclists it provides assistance to each year. But like most products which include the word ‘policy,’ we’ve discovered that the more you’re willing to spend up front, the less you’ll have to find when you’re down and out.

Compare the pair
Take the 12-month policy we found for $236, for example. Both the $45 policy and the $236 policy will send help as quickly as they can, to more or less anywhere in Australia provided your location can be punched into a GPS. And whether you’ve got a flat battery, an empty fuel tank, or any other issue where it’s a relatively simple fix to resolve, then you’ll be back on your way without it costing you a brass razoo, happy as Larry.

But it’s when things get a little harder or a little more remote, that you could find yourself wishing you’d forked out a little more at the time of purchase. If your very helpful roadside assistant can’t get you back on the road, it’s important you’ve read the small print so you know what you might be up for. The $45 policy, for example, offers free towing for a round trip of up to 50km. So that means if the tow truck needs to drive 47km just to get to you, you get 3km free and the rest will be billed back to you and, if you’ve ever had to fork out for towing, you’ll know it can often be an expensive exercise (Ed: I did once for my stricken boat trailer, and I’m still crying…)

The $236 policy, however, offers 100km of free towing from after they’ve collected your bike and in a direction of your choice. Many brand-affiliated services will take your bike to (or towards) the nearest dealership, depending on the reason they couldn’t get you back on the road. According to the terms and conditions of the $45 policy, if your bike has a flat tyre, it can’t be repaired roadside and must be towed.

And while the $45 policy does offer you two free callouts each year for your money, if you have a flat battery and the helpful assistance can’t get you going with a jump start, then your second callout gets eaten up with the arrival of a tow truck and you’re on your own for the rest of the year until it resets. With the $236 policy, however, you get as much assistance as you require.

Stuff they don’t tell you
There are plenty of things to be aware of when you’re buying your policy. Not least when you find yourself stranded on the side of the road and you think it’s the perfect time to ring and purchase membership, hoping to be rescued shortly after. Almost every roadside assist policy will stipulate a waiting period before the assistance can be called upon. In the case of the $45 policy we researched, it’s 10 days. For the $236 policy, it’s 24 hours.

There are also age limits applied to vehicles in some cases. This means if your bike was manufactured before a particular year, then it’s not eligible to be covered under certain roadside assist policies. The aforementioned $45 policy, for example, won’t provide roadside assist coverage to any bike older than 15 years which means if your bike was manufactured before 2003, then you’ll need to look elsewhere. The $236 policy has no age restrictions.

For new bike buyers who receive roadside assist cover as part of their warranty package, be sure to work out if your home and your nearest dealership fall within the specified free-of-charge distance and, if not, negotiate a solution with your dealer into the purchase of your bike.

Summing up
Ultimately, most people will be covered in most situations by the very many less-expensive roadside assist policies available to Australian riders. But if the riding you do takes you to remote places, or it’s important that you and your pillion will be guaranteed either alternate transport or accommodation until your particular issue is resolved, then consider spending a little more when you’re buying a roadside assist cover. Because if you ever need it, it’d be worth every cent.