PSA for NorCal riders running AAA:

[PaulR]

PSA for NorCal riders running AAA:
Just confirmed directly with AAA NorCal — if you have a Premier membership, motorcycle roadside assistance is included. That means towing, fuel delivery, jump starts, etc., the same as your car.

Important fine print:

• Classic does not cover motorcycles.
• Plus coverage varies by region, so don’t assume you’re covered unless you check your specific plan.
• Premier in NorCal explicitly lists motorcycles, so that tier is good to go.
• Coverage follows you, not the bike — so you’re covered even on a borrowed ride.
Posting this because a lot of riders may not have considered AAA for broken bikes or road side assistance.
NorCal, AAA Premier already includes it.

Ride safe, and may you never stranded in the middle of nowhere…..

PaulR

 

[needles]

I had an absolutely horrible experience with AAA, and yes, I have Premier. A valve stem blew out near Ryde, Ca. 4 miles from town.

I keyed in my motorcycle from the app so I knew they knew I had a bike. Tow truck came out and didn’t have the necessary equipment for a motorcycle and would not tow me. Apparently they didn’t tell them I had a motorcycle.

Called back was in the back of the queue. Told me to wait for them to find a provide provider.

45 minutes later there’s still no ETA. They find a tow truck two hours away. An hour into that, the truck hasn’t moved. I called back saying if this isn’t getting resolved, a medical issue is going to show up (type one diabetes). All they could give me was call 911 if you need it.

I’m now five hours into waiting at the site. A local farmer brings me into Walnut Grove so I can get dinner – five hours with minimal water and food out in the sun and wind was not good for me.

I canceled the tow and called a buddy to come get me. I didn’t want to have to do that given the fact that I pay for AAA, but they failed in every conceivable way.

It was a real wake up call to bring enough food and water for an extended outage on the side of the road.

Caveat Emptor

 

[PaulR]

I had an absolutely horrible experience with AAA, and yes, I have Premier. A valve stem blew out near Ryde, Ca. 4 miles from town.

I keyed in my motorcycle from the app so I knew they knew I had a bike. Tow truck came out and didn’t have the necessary equipment for a motorcycle and would not tow me. Apparently they didn’t tell them I had a motorcycle.

Called back was in the back of the queue. Told me to wait for them to find a provide provider.

45 minutes later there’s still no ETA. They find a tow truck two hours away. An hour into that, the truck hasn’t moved. I called back saying if this isn’t getting resolved, a medical issue is going to show up (type one diabetes). All they could give me was call 911 if you need it.

I’m now five hours into waiting at the site. A local farmer brings me into Walnut Grove so I can get dinner – five hours with minimal water and food out in the sun and wind was not good for me.

I canceled the tow and called a buddy to come get me. I didn’t want to have to do that given the fact that I pay for AAA, but they failed in every conceivable way.

It was a real wake up call to bring enough food and water for an extended outage on the side of the road.

Caveat Emptor

OK
That doesn’t sound good at all.
Hopefully never have to use AAA
I appreciate the feedback on this.
Going forward I keep in mind to be prepared.
In general towing is expensive, so getting friends or anyone else to help is reasonable.
PaulR

 

[cal scott]

If it is any consolation, I've had a similar experience with AAA trying to get our SUV towed. We were on the outskirts of Stockton and had an oil pump hose fail which instantly resulted in the oil pressure light coming on. Had to contact AAA 3 times over the space of 5 hours before we were towed by which point it was 3am in the morning.

 

[Dmitriy]

Read your AAA contract if they can't get a truck out in a reasonable time you can call your own tow , get a receipt and submit it. They will reimburse at some rate which might be lower then your actual cost but still better then waiting..... so... up to you I guess.

 

[budman]

I think premiere has a tow range limit as well. 200 miles??

Still AAA is in my wallet.

 

[augustiron]

I have had both extremes of experience with AAA, from laughably useless to very convenient and helpful.
Seems it's a complete crap shoot.

 

[ScottRNelson]

I only ever used AAA one time for a car that had the fuel pump die in Oakland. Apparently I had a limited range, so my out of pocket cost to get it to Pleasanton was very similar to just calling a tow truck and NOT going through AAA. For the few times I've had to haul a dead motorcycle back from somewhere, friends and relatives have always been able to help me.

 

[PaulR]

I didn’t expect the both bad and good feedback(s) on this subject. All of it is helpful.
I am using the AAA office mostly for DMV registrations.
The towing part is something new.
My car broke down in Tomales and I called to have it towed to Petaluma and was quoted at almost $400. I decided to join AAA and wait a few days as required and had it towed under my membership which was less then the cost of towing it home to Petaluma.
The forum provides insight and information on this subject that is helpful for sure.
I appreciate the conversation
PaulR

 

[dravnx]

AAA contracts with tow companies and you are at the whim of the tow truck owner/operator. If you need a tow and the only operator is having dinner, you wait. If you need a tow and nobody within a reasonable distance can handle a motorcycle, you wait. If you tow doesn't feel like showing up, you wait. All the insurance/good sams/3A all work this way. They are a brokerage for the tow companies.