[chilipepper]

I`m sad to hear of such misfortune, it`s great you came out of it in good shape. Take care of that foot and let it heal properly

[masrapido]

Itīs legal riding without insurance?

[BraadaJim]

Wow That just sucks.

Hard lesson to learn the hard way. Heal fast Joe.

[The CyberPoet]

Itīs legal riding without insurance?

Florida is one of the few places where it is legal to ride without insurance -- provided certain other requirements are met:
must own the motorcycle outright (no liens, loans, money owed);
must ride with helmet or $10k health insurance coverage;
must not ever had a DUI/DWI (drunk/drugs) nor Reckless driving charges on your license;
If you get into an accident involving property damages to anyone else's stuff, you must get insurance the next day.

It's a very old set of laws and technically a loophole in the system, but it is based on the idea that the total cost/benefit to the public is actually higher this way -- the cost of administering the insurance requirements for the motorcycles in the state would actually be higher than the combined cost of all damages they cause to third parties in an average year (because most motorcycle accidents involving another vehicle are not the motorcyclists' fault).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[WildKat]

I'd be scared to death to even think of heading out onto the highways without insurance.. the cost of repairing the bike alone is enough, let alone the cost of physical injury.

Chime in soon Joe and let us know how your healing up !

[Yellow2002Kat]

Itīs legal riding without insurance?

Florida is one of the few places where it is legal to ride without insurance -- provided certain other requirements are met:
must own the motorcycle outright (no liens, loans, money owed);

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

Hey CP, needing to have insurance if you don't own the bike outright is a requirement of whatever financing company you have, not a state requirement. They don't wanna be left holding the bag if you wreck. The state could care less. It's estimated, at least in South Florida, that >60% of motorcycle riders are uninsured. There are 5 guys I ride with regularly, and I'm the only one with insurance. I think they're crazy and they think I'm wasting my $$$. Guess we'll see who keeps their house the longest

Florida laws are crazy in general. My brother calls FL the "Lawless State" and in large part I think he's correct. Everyone carrying a firearm after taking the three hour course, every other contractor working without a license, undocumented workers lining up in front of Home Depot every morning waiting for work without anyone saying a word.

The sunshine state? Sometimes I'm not so sure

[Char]

Joe...

I'm really sorry to hear this. Take it easy and heal quickly. And whatever you do stay away from Lou's spongebath bath idea...He may have an alterior motive....

HEre's to a fast recovery hon. *hugs*

[WildKat]

Hey CP, any update on how Joe is doing these days ?

[The CyberPoet]

Hey CP, any update on how Joe is doing these days ?

Claims to be in good spirits... Last I talked to him, he had bought a new place in St. Pete close to work and was using pretty much all his spare time fixing it up (he plans on reselling in a couple years), plus seeing some latina girl (which was good for his ego & loins, given the rough divorce).

As you may recall from the the last thread, he had banged himself against a pick-up truck on his Kawasaki in a high-speed turn, and damaged the pick-up door pretty bad. As a result, he sold his bike to cover the damages to the pick-up (no insurance -- now he's preaching insurance ). Meanwhile, he's bike-less, and says he's vaguely looking for another Kat to keep himself from being too stupid and pushing it too hard -- if someone has a reasonably priced (under $3k) 98+ Kat within 200 miles of Tampa, he's interested in general...

I think I'll give him a call later tonight.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[katman05]

Good advice

[WildKat]

You think there's a chance he'll come to the rally if he can get his hands on a bike?

[The CyberPoet]

You think there's a chance he'll come to the rally if he can get his hands on a bike?

I think so -- he had a really good time last year. The real question is whether he'll get the bike in time, or if he'll push it off for financial (& inner-turmoil) reasons for another year or more. I have no doubt he'll have one some year in his future.

When he first told me about the place he was buying, he was planning on buying a Busa or ZX14 or something similar new out of the proceeds from his last house (and using the rest towards the down-payment on the new place). He changed his mind and decided he wanted to roll all the $$ into the new place (makes sense, financially, to me), figuring he'd keep the older Kawak that he had fixed up. Now that bike is gone too, and he's licking his wounds, so I'm not so sure when he'll have the extra $$ he wants to dedicate to another bike instead of home-improvement/furniture/etc., and when the mood will strike him strongly enough to motivate him into the next bike. A bike is semi-frivolous purchase for many people*, and I think it may fall into that realm for him at this time... -- especially if he can't find a steal-deal fixer-up that he can get into dirt cheap to start with.

* for many people it is, although I see my own possession of a bike as crucial to both my core identity, and to filfill my personal need to always have an avenue of temporary & of permanent escape from my "current" life (to be able to get on it and simply ride away forever, if need be -- my personal life-boat or escape hatch or what-have-you). I don't think many people see thier bikes quite in that way...

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[happykat]

Itīs legal riding without insurance?

Here in Washington state insurance is not mandatory on motorcycles. If financed, bank will require it but otherwise no.

[WildKat]

* for many people it is, although I see my own possession of a bike as crucial to both my core identity, and to filfill my personal need to always have an avenue of temporary & of permanent escape from my "current" life (to be able to get on it and simply ride away forever, if need be -- my personal life-boat or escape hatch or what-have-you). I don't think many people see thier bikes quite in that way...

Very well said Marc.. for what its worth I feel exactly the same way about my bike..and I'd be willing to bet that maybe more people than we might think feel this way too..certainly not everyone though..