Bike insurance help please

[CarpCatcher86]

I am looking at Getting a bike again after not riding for a while. so far I have had the Honda CBR600RR and the CBR1000RR in mind. both bikes are 2007 ish and round about the £3000 mark
after checking go compare (to start with) for insurance quotes, the cheapest quote I got for the 600 was £556.62, for the 1000 the cheapest quote was £1267.50.
why such a huge leap in price? the CBR1000RR is 2.5 inches longer, 31 pounds heavier, is 0.2 seconds faster 0-60 and 0-100 and has a 15mph ish higher top speed than the 600. is that really worth double and a bit extra insurance? I tried adding a few advanced qualifications and being part of a group such as the Honda owners club, just to see if that would make any difference to the price and would actually make advanced riding courses worth it. the price stayed the same on both bikes right down to the last penny.
the only difference I noticed was after one slight modification. I selected 2006 as the year of manufacture and 998cc as the engine size, then in a drop down menu I selected honda cbr 1000 rr fireblade, 2003-2006, 998cc, manual, petrol, sports. the quote was £1267.50. next time I selected 2006 as the year of manufacture and 998cc as the engine size. in the drop down menu I selected honda fireblade, 2006 onward, 998cc, manual, petrol, super sports. the quote dropped to £983.17.

I was advised to go for a slightly older and cheaper bike to keep insurance down, or at least save a little. but I was shocked to find that a 2003-2006 1000cc bike would cost £1267.50 to insure, and a similar value 1000cc bike from 2006 onward would cost £983.17 to insure. so a newer bike for the same price as a slightly older one is cheaper to insure? anyone have any idea why?
surprisingly the same didn't apply to the 600, I selected a slightly younger bike for the same price and the insurance quote stayed the same. the only thing that made the 600 quote go up was when I selected what I didn't know to be one of the limited edition models. of course better or more no claims bonus will also bring insurance down, but it's only been a few months since I passed my full bike test, so I know that will count against me despite being a sort of sensible 32 year old instead of a suicidal 17 year old.
I am so confused right now, but I don't want to call these companies and waste time on the phone as I haven't even made my mind up on the bike or bought one yet. I have found this before with comparison websites, they were designed so people could look for home car bike and pet insurance, and get quotes from all major insurance companies just by entering their details once. in most cases so people like me can check roughly how much insurance will be for a chosen bike or car before they actually buy the bike or car. but all that happens (it hasn't yet this time, fingers crossed) is you get the quotes from the top companies or the cheapest quotes and then those companies call you none stop about your recent enquiry. in reality that's all it was to start with. I just want to check how much insurance will cost me for my chosen vehicle, when I want to start my insurance with your company then you will be the second to know.
the company I passed my test with three months ago were based at an industrial unit a 10 minute walk from my house, they have since moved to somewhere near sheffield so I can't just pop in for a chat.
Has anyone got any advice on how I can get cheaper insurance, or should I say, insure a bike without being hung out to dry as it were? also can anyone explain the fluctuation in the price of insurance I have previously explained?

 

[richc]

Where are you storing the bike, that can make a massive difference as there is a nationwide problem at the moment with bikes being stolen.

I'm with Carole Nash as they include European riding cover and recovery - £ 115 on my old VFR750.

 

[CarpCatcher86]

I will be keeping the bike in a locked garage which is next to the house.
it isn't connected to the house which means if someone breaks in to the house they won't have access to the garage via an internal door.
lucky for me the previous owner of the house had motorbikes too, so there are two oxford anchors in the garage. one bolted to the solid concrete floor and the other bolted to a solid concrete block wall. they are also quite close together so I could use two separate chains to secure a bike to each anchor point, or I could use one big chain to go through both and round various parts of the bike. so far only the house is alarmed, but it wouldn't be too difficult to run a cable in to the garage and add a few extra sensors.
I also thought about keeping it at a storage unit just down the road from the house. the difference there being that all storage units (either internal rooms or external containers of various sizes) are all heavily secured, alarmed, covered by 24 hour constant record cctv and 24 hour paroling security guards which walk round the site every hour. I never quite know whether it's better or worse to keep a bike at your home address or not as far as insurance is concerned. if someone driving a car bike or van decided to follow you home to find out where your bike was kept, you might notice or you might not. but if you kept it somewhere that was constantly covered by cameras and security guards, they would tell you that every time you took your bike there, the same car bike or van was following you and report such activity to the police. depending on their age there might not be many times that you and all of your neighbors are all out at the same time, but I guess that doesn't really matter. if on the other hand your bike was covered by security cameras and guards while you were at work or while the bike wasn't being used, with their job being to keep your things safe, I'm sure that would lower insurance costs, but then you have the cost of the secure unit on top so you might not be saving anything.

 

[floatfisher44]

Like cars, does it depend on what insurance group they have been put in. Insurance companies might
tell you the facts and maybe help in what is cheapest for your choice.!!

 

[Nicky Dodds]

I'm with peter James, formerly of footman James. My 1983 1100 katana costs me about £130 and that's fully comp, European cover, legal cover, roadside assistance. £12 extra to add the 550 to the policy. Kept in an unattached garage.

 

[Ken the Pacman]

Ring a broker and explain what you want.things like limited mileage or accepting higher excess figures can help but your problem is the lack of any no claims bonus to reduce the initially very high premium.

 

[Maesknoll]

Jesus, that’s expensive, I pay £87 for my Bonny and was paying less than £200 for the last Harley I sold.

 

[CarpCatcher86]

I used to work with a 42 year old guy who had a 1300 hyabusa, and he made the most of every pony that bike had to offer. with one crash (on a different bike) in 20 years he paid about £150 a year fully comp. my first insurance quote at 19 for an aprilia rs125 was £550.
all things considered I think I am going to go with the CBR600RR. it's nearly £500 less then the 1000 on insurance even for someone my age. as I have already said it's only 0.2 seconds slower 0-60 and 0-100 than the 1000RR and only has a 15mph or so lower top speed. having also had the chance to ride both bikes thanks to friends, there really is very little difference between the two. the 600 feels like it has a lot of power for such a small bike and the 1000 seems like it should have a lot more. the slight extra weight and the bigger smoother engine made the whole bike feel a lot smoother to ride, and it did feel a bit more planted and settled in the bends. but I'm no expert, that is simply my opinion.

 

[richc]

Treat yourself to a day out with Ron Haslam Racing school, they use the Honda 600's and the blades.

Have you tried a R6 ? I was very impressed. Not sure how long I'd keep my licence though !

 

[Scalper]

I used Carole Nash the last time for my NS400R and ZX6R classic fully comp policy for £230 in the end, with a whole lot of benefits!!!

It's always worth actually calling the company to haggle - most times you will get a reduction because they want ur custom!!!

 

[mytopkitisbroken]

I use Bennett's
Garaged Hornet 900
£145 A year fully comp

 

[CarpCatcher86]

I sometimes think these companies make up figures just for the hell of it, just to see who will pay it. are you better using a price comparison website or going direct to one insurance company? Bennett's wouldn't provide me a quote, maybe because of my lack of no claims.
I remember trying to get a quote from Carole Nash years ago with my first 125. everywhere else was about £700 ish fully comp, Carole Nash wanted £1800 for the same cover.
as for trying out various bikes, I have tried a few bikes owned by friends and I went to an open day somewhere in Spain a while ago where you got to try pretty much any bike you wanted for the cost of your entry fee. the R6 and R1 felt like they were lacking in power, meaning not a lot of grunt for a lot of noise. and they were both too small for me. the R6 was shorter than my Aprilia RS125. the GSXR 600 750 and 1000 felt nice to ride and had a good bit of power on tap, but even the relatively new bikes I got to ride felt like they were going to come apart when you got past 10,000rpm. the ZX6 and ZX10 were also nice bikes to ride but were so heavy compared to the others. the 675 and 955 Daytona's were also nice bikes but were a bit on the expensive side. the Aprilia RSV1000 felt a little strange and also felt huge and very heavy. I didn't fancy the Ducati.
apart from a big of extra width length and a touch more power it was hard to tell the Honda's apart. but I do remember that going in and coming out of corners they had everything else beat. when you were picking the bike up and getting back on the power at the corner apex you could feel the rear wheel sliding on every other bike I tried, but the CBR600 and 1000 stuck like glue to the road. if they had all been sliding then it might have been down to the way I was riding. so for that reason the Honda's stood out above the rest. they also beat everything else on acceleration too. not the be all and end all I know but still.

 

[Arry]

Given you only passed your test a few months ago its no surprise the insurance is high... both bikes are capable of 150mph plus and you have to accept that your first years insurance is going to pull your pants down... are the bikes fitted with alarms? as this can lower the price by about 5% any extra security measures you take may incur a reduction in premiums, but I wouldn't hold your breath... if its your first bike I'd look at something less powerful for a year to get a years worth of no claims under your belt then get a bigger/ more powerful bike later

 

[CarpCatcher86]

I did look at a CBR400. I rode one a while ago and loved it. but for a good one you are looking at £2500 ish. but the insurance costs come right down from £149 to £163 with anything from £50 to £500 excess. all things considered I think I might have found my first real bike.

 

[Andy14]

Must be an area thing as I only pay £230 fully comp for my FJR1300a and Ducati 600ss inc uk/euro breakdown.

 

[CarpCatcher86]

It's either an area thing or it's due to my lack of no claims bonus.
I was talking to a guy earlier today who said his son had passed his full bike test about 6 months ago and had the same problem with higher than normal insurance for the first year. but then before actually insuring his bike he did an advanced riding course which gave him quite a big discount on his insurance, it saved him a lot more than the cost of the course. but when I checked online and it asked for any advanced riding qualifications, I tried putting one or two in just to see if it made any difference to the quote and made doing one of these courses worthwhile. the insurance quotes I got stayed exactly the same for each bike I tried which I thought was a bit odd.

 

[Andy14]

Yeh the quotes you had are high but if no ncb on bikes then get a cheap run around for a year or two to build some up. I always find it funny they will not allow ncb built up on your car but will hammer you on other policies as well if you have a claim ,even a claim in a works van. Its all one sided and unfair but its their rules and seem to get away with alot , why? because they can.... <gits>

When you get your bike enjoy , apart from fishing my other passion is bikes , classic bike racing and more bikes , then a bit more fishing ect ect

 

[stikflote]

it cost me £318 for my triumph 765, and £00 for my kawasaki vulcan 650 both witrh an agreed 1000 mile
only both bikes are chained up with Pragmassi 13mill chains and ground anchors Sold secure gold ,
plus the Kwak is also chained to my Harley ,which im no longer going to ride it ,its just so heavy