[PeteInMD]

Just FYI, if you are considering purchasing the IMRG membership after the free first year, because they offer roadside assistance, you should know that I attempted to utilize their service today, to transport my bike for a flat tire. Luckily I was able to get the motorcycle home while the rear tire still held air.

The first company they dispatched arrived with a flat-bed trailer, no wheel chock. The driver had only dirty, greasy ratchet straps to strap across my seat, and compressed it down to a point where the seat was deforming. It left it's imprint across the seat which I later was able to remove. He had to compress it down that the fork seals were about to blow. When I asked, he said that they very rarely transport a motorcycle. I refused the service, backed my bike from the flat-bed and called Roadside Assistance. I told them of my experience, and requested they send out a provider that was both equipped and familiar with transporting motorcycles..

After assuring me that they understood and would pre-verify that the tow provider would be properly equipped, the second tow provider they dispatched arrived with a flat bed. He did have a portable wheel chock. He did NOT have a way of securing the chock in place. His plan was to strap down the motorcycle by the handlebars. When I asked how he would secure the chock, his answer was "Don't worry about it". I said, "you're not going to tell me?" he said "that's right". His service was refused and I am making other arrangements.

This IS NOT intended to kick off a running debate regarding acceptable methods of towing a bike, and whether or not it's OK to tow by compressing the handlebars. I know it's commonly done that way, and I've done that in the past myself.

It is my opinion that roadside service, specifically for premium motorcycles, that they have arranged for tow providers that are

1. at least experienced in transporting motorcycles
2. have, and send, a tow vehicle properly equipped to safely and securely transport my motorcycle.

it is an 800 lb, $30K+ motorcycle. However that's not even the point! it shouldn't matter how heavy or expensive the bike is. If you are charging money for a service, for Pete's sake, provide the right service.

At this point, I have zero confidence in, nor do I intend to renew the IMRG membership for a follow-on year.

 

[rickkcir]

I've transported Indians numerous times, without the chock secured. But, you have to have the right straps and connect tie down points to make it work correctly.

I feel your pain. But, I'm guessing my AAA, my bike insurance with towing , my IIRA membership with towing .. AND .... my lifetime IMRG membership .. all send the "same tow truck?"

 

[Kitulu]

I have transported my Shadow on a trailer a couple of times without a chock. It can be done, if done right. When I crashed, the towing company showed up with a flatbed, wheel chock, and straps. The chock went on the road and was used to pull the bike up onto the trailer. He then strapped the bike down using hard points, nothing across the seat.

I agree with the OP on this one...if IMRG is going to send out a tow truck, they should make sure that the company and driver know what they are doing when it comes to towing a motorcycle.

 

[rickkcir]

Unrelated.. but .... 'related' ...

I had a problem with my slingshot last month. I'm sitting by the side of the road , dead in the water. I'm only 15 minutes from home, but .... I'm screwed. I could call a buddy, have him bring a rope.. but.. I'm looking at the front end of this thinking .... how the **** do you secure this thing? So.. I called AAA for towing. Now, the point of my 'related' ...

I was ADAMANT they understood what they were coming for..... gave them an in depth description of what they would be dealing with ( because that gal on the other end of the phone, sitting in a cubicle, had no idea what a slingshot was) . When they sent the guy out, he and I spoke via Cell Phones... I made sure he was going to be capable of doing this. Hell, I didn't even know what that really meant. Fast forward to .. he finally pulls up .. . and lowers this huge flat bed down off the truck ... but he's going to connect to the hood hinges.... ummmm.. NO. we worked together to find a good mount point ( shock towers ) .. he had a 'soft' rope of sorts that we used to bring out to a V, where he connected the chain. .... then... slooooooooooooowly got it on.. with me steering it from inside.

Point being... if someone was coming for my Chief(tain), I'd be asking if their chock would clear the front fender, etc... which .. would bring about another series of questions no doubt...

Bottom line... your post should make all, to include myself , inquisitive with the towing company 'before' .. they show up ?

 

[Marcus]

I agree. Any insurer is going to call the local tow guys. They will all have limited experience with bikes. I suggest you help them secure it as well as they can and then take photos of the bike mounted so you have a record of what they did in case it does fall. One time a sport bike passed my van. He was doing about 100 mph. He turned around to express his anger that I had changed lanes after looking and signaling. Then he proceeds to hit the next car ahead of me in the rear. He was dressed for competition racing and so he was ok. I stayed to talk to the police and I watched as they loaded his bike onto a flat bed. They dropped the bike 3 times before they got it to stay upright. Then the truck (was left in gear) began to roll out on to a busy interstate Hwy on its own. They chased it (I think Benny Hill was with them.) and got it back off to the side of the road. The bike owner did not witness any of this. He had left. I later found out he had borrowed the bike. So despite my sage advice above, anything can happen.

 

[Americal23]

Your not causing a piss ing contest by posting lousy, inept service. And you do have to protect your own interest.

Fortunately, when mine was towed, the guy had the right equipment and is a biker. That was a real plus. The one thing he did was strap across the seat. I stopped him, and asked if he had some rags as softeners. He did and was good to go. They definitely need to have a roller dolly for bikes

 

[Americal23]

Just FYI, if you are considering purchasing the IMRG membership after the free first year, because they offer roadside assistance, you should know that I attempted to utilize their service today, to transport my bike for a flat tire. Luckily I was able to get the motorcycle home while the rear tire still held air.

The first company they dispatched arrived with a flat-bed trailer, no wheel chock. The driver had only dirty, greasy ratchet straps to strap across my seat, and compressed it down to a point where the seat was deforming. It left it's imprint across the seat which I later was able to remove. He had to compress it down that the fork seals were about to blow. When I asked, he said that they very rarely transport a motorcycle. I refused the service, backed my bike from the flat-bed and called Roadside Assistance. I told them of my experience, and requested they send out a provider that was both equipped and familiar with transporting motorcycles..

After assuring me that they understood and would pre-verify that the tow provider would be properly equipped, the second tow provider they dispatched arrived with a flat bed. He did have a portable wheel chock. He did NOT have a way of securing the chock in place. His plan was to strap down the motorcycle by the handlebars. When I asked how he would secure the chock, his answer was "Don't worry about it". I said, "you're not going to tell me?" he said "that's right". His service was refused and I am making other arrangements.

This IS NOT intended to kick off a running debate regarding acceptable methods of towing a bike, and whether or not it's OK to tow by compressing the handlebars. I know it's commonly done that way, and I've done that in the past myself.

It is my opinion that roadside service, specifically for premium motorcycles, that they have arranged for tow providers that are

1. at least experienced in transporting motorcycles
2. have, and send, a tow vehicle properly equipped to safely and securely transport my motorcycle.

it is an 800 lb, $30K+ motorcycle. However that's not even the point! it shouldn't matter how heavy or expensive the bike is. If you are charging money for a service, for Pete's sake, provide the right service.

At this point, I have zero confidence in, nor do I intend to renew the IMRG membership for a follow-on year.

I agree with your post all the way to the end except not renewing. I'm not sure I agree because IMRG job is to get you a tow. When they talk to these companies, tell them it's a bike, they accept or decline the job. I'm not sure IMRG can vett these guys

 

[Jarrod Blaesing]

Just FYI, if you are considering purchasing the IMRG membership after the free first year, because they offer roadside assistance, you should know that I attempted to utilize their service today, to transport my bike for a flat tire. Luckily I was able to get the motorcycle home while the rear tire still held air.

The first company they dispatched arrived with a flat-bed trailer, no wheel chock. The driver had only dirty, greasy ratchet straps to strap across my seat, and compressed it down to a point where the seat was deforming. It left it's imprint across the seat which I later was able to remove. He had to compress it down that the fork seals were about to blow. When I asked, he said that they very rarely transport a motorcycle. I refused the service, backed my bike from the flat-bed and called Roadside Assistance. I told them of my experience, and requested they send out a provider that was both equipped and familiar with transporting motorcycles..

After assuring me that they understood and would pre-verify that the tow provider would be properly equipped, the second tow provider they dispatched arrived with a flat bed. He did have a portable wheel chock. He did NOT have a way of securing the chock in place. His plan was to strap down the motorcycle by the handlebars. When I asked how he would secure the chock, his answer was "Don't worry about it". I said, "you're not going to tell me?" he said "that's right". His service was refused and I am making other arrangements.

This IS NOT intended to kick off a running debate regarding acceptable methods of towing a bike, and whether or not it's OK to tow by compressing the handlebars. I know it's commonly done that way, and I've done that in the past myself.

It is my opinion that roadside service, specifically for premium motorcycles, that they have arranged for tow providers that are

1. at least experienced in transporting motorcycles
2. have, and send, a tow vehicle properly equipped to safely and securely transport my motorcycle.

it is an 800 lb, $30K+ motorcycle. However that's not even the point! it shouldn't matter how heavy or expensive the bike is. If you are charging money for a service, for Pete's sake, provide the right service.

At this point, I have zero confidence in, nor do I intend to renew the IMRG membership for a follow-on year.

I had the same issues when I broke down in the desert a few years ago(Roadmaster)..
I was stranded for 7 hours in the middle of nowhere in the baking sun, turned down one truck that was not equipped, and the other didn't even try.. told me they couldn't help me then left.
a good Samaritan came by with a trailer and helped me get it to where I was staying (25 miles) and I was able to get the IMRG towing to flip the towing bill for the 200 mile tow to the closest dealer in Vancouver WA. at that time, they told me they were going to revamp their towing to only include companies equipped to tow our bikes.
Looks like that fell through the cracks... shocker.

 

[Flyboy]

You Guy,s are scaring me, what a nightmare

 

[rickkcir]

You Guy,s are scaring me, what a nightmare

Hell ... .a LOT of people don't strap their own bikes down well... we can't assume/trust , some greasy knuckled bastard who pulls wrecks off the road, to show up ready to show our bikes the love they deserve ?)

 

[Marcus]

Wow, the more I read and think about this I don't want anybody touching my Springfield. If it breaks down I will just have to go buy a new one. I want the burgundy/grey paint job anyway.

 

[One-Eyed Jack]

[QUOTE="
It is my opinion that roadside service, specifically for premium motorcycles, that they have arranged for tow providers that are

1. at least experienced in transporting motorcycles
2. have, and send, a tow vehicle properly equipped to safely and securely transport my motorcycle.

it is an 800 lb, $30K+ motorcycle. However that's not even the point! it shouldn't matter how heavy or expensive the bike is. If you are charging money for a service, for Pete's sake, provide the right service.[/QUOTE]

Actually this is a post I'm thankful for. I'm use to the dealer handling my bikes and had not even considered that the various services employed by AAA, IMRG, AMA, etc might actually send out total incompetents to ferry my bike to a dealer for repairs / service. Might be nice to know the proper points to secure the various Indian models (from Scout 60 all the way to Road Master). Maybe a uTube video. I don't think anyone plans for their machine to end up at the side of the road…but it happens. Good post.

 

[Klyde1]

I had a very similar experience with IMRG Roadside Assist. I explained to the operator, very explicitly, that it was a nearly 1000 lb bike, and they needed to have at least 2 people to get it on a truck. The first truck couldn't move the bike, and left. The second one, after I explained to IMRG Roadside Assist that it needs to be a company familiar with towing big bikes, messed with my shifter, and couldn't get it out of gear (I had left it in neutral). He left without towing, as well. I gave up on IMRG Roadside Assist, called the dealer where I bought the bike (143 miles away), and they came and picked it up. They even worked out with PII to cover the cost of delivering it back to me.
I have the same Zero confidence with IMRG Roadside Assist.

 

[Loki]

I've run into this before. IIRA, AAA, IRG, and IMRG all post towing calls to the same collective center then local tow companies answer the call. I've had nightmare towing services on bikes as well as autos. This is why any damage suffered by the tow company is their liability and not IIRA, AAA, IRG, or the IMRG. I've hit that problem in the past as well.

 

[18Bravo]

I agree. Any insurer is going to call the local tow guys. They will all have limited experience with bikes.

Rarely do the words "all" or "never' work in the real world. I had to use a service last year to get my Scout back to the dealership because of an unsafe tire issue. Dude showed in a covered trailer with all the necessary tie down equipment. I don't remember the name of the company but they are a dedicated bike hauling company in or near Ft. Worth.

 

[WideOpen]

I'll be taking my Roadmaster on a ferry soon where it has to be strapped down. On my HDs I used the handlebars or forks. What IS the proper point on a big Indian to tie down from?

 

[PeteInMD]

I agree with your post all the way to the end except not renewing. I'm not sure I agree because IMRG job is to get you a tow. When they talk to these companies, tell them it's a bike, they accept or decline the job. I'm not sure IMRG can vett these guys

As I mentioned right in the beginning - if you're considering renewing because of the roadside program, you may want to rethink it.

 

[PeteInMD]

I'll be taking my Roadmaster on a ferry soon where it has to be strapped down. On my HDs I used the handlebars or forks. What IS the proper point on a big Indian to tie down from?

I will be purchasing/installing these connecting rings from Kuryakyn, but up until now I have been putting tie down loops around the lower fork where it connects to the fender. I ratchet strap from those loops to the D ring on the trailer. The disadvantage of the rings is that they attach to the triple tree, which means compressing the front fork. The advantage of the rings is that they will be slightly higher up than the lower fork/fender point, offering better stability. The key is to not compress the fork to the point where any additional bump will blow the seals - this is what the first tow driver was doing, He was cranking those fork tubes down to the point where there was barely any additional travel remaining.

 

[Goatlocker95]

IMO, your problems were caused by the towing companies, NOT IMRG. IMRG hardly has the resources to check with all the local towing companies individually. I think you did the right thing by refusing service. But you could've gone one step further by calling around to some towing companies yourself. Then you could've told the IMRG representative who you found.

 

[PeteInMD]

IMO, your problems were caused by the towing companies, NOT IMRG. IMRG hardly has the resources to check with all the local towing companies individually. I think you did the right thing by refusing service. But you could've gone one step further by calling around to some towing companies yourself. Then you could've told the IMRG representative who you found.

That's fine, we can agree to disagree on the point of where the base problem lies.