Massachusetts Riders...

[siberthugd]

As I'm sure most Mass. riders are aware, the Government does not appreciate riders on land that is not theirs. Why? Because they just want somethng else to b*tch about. Thats just the way Massachusetts is, like it or not. A couple of friends of mine and myself are looking to start a "members only" ATV Club (quads, bike, off road gokarts, etc). We will set up a website, and have regular club meetings, as well as "ride days", events, and tech sessions. Here is our plan. As a member there will be an annual fee. The fee will pay for us to get full LIABILITY INSURANCE which we hope to use to persuade land owners to let us use their property for riding (provided that liability is their concern). Before all this happens, we will be contacting multiple owners of the already popular riding spots in the area to see if this is something they would consider. We are also making this post because we wanna see how many people (in Ma. and surrounding areas) would be interested in joining a club that would enable them to ride in legally designated areas. As a member you will recieve copies of the "Proof of Insurance" and copies of the "Permission Slips" given by the landowner. Please post any and all replies of INTEREST ONLY! Thank you. Contact info: siberthugd@aol.com

[Turbo B]

Come on guys, Siberthugd is right. We need to get our riding areas back! We also need to show respect and courtesy to those who "tolerate" our use of their land for our riding. Everyone should consider the benefits of belonging to a riding organization especially now in these times of riding repression! A fully insured group of riders would help to show our opponents that we are indeed a respectful and professional group, not just a bunch of morons getting chased by the police and landowners. That last scenario only hurts us. Hurts us bad. It is imperative that we take an initiative to reverse the publics' already negative view of our sport. So speak up and lets hear what you think. If you live in an area besides Massachusetts now is your chance to be heard on this important matter.

[Knight440]

Bump
:D

It's a good idea, but I dont think half of the enviro-nazis are worried about insurance, but that we may pollute their precious air and kill some of thier important plants.:rolleyes:

If you can get landowners to say that we can use the land once we have insurance, it's a great idea, but I wouldn't want to spend an annual fee and not get any riding areas out of it because the landowners dont want thier land getting wrecked..

[siberthugd]

No, what I was saying was that we are gonna look for landowners who will let us LONG BEFORE we take anyones money for fees. This membership money is 100% for riding purposes only. There will be NO profit made by the founding members, unless you got a ton of money and wanna send it my way :D . We just want to make sure others would be interested for their own benefit, or if the few of us should just do it for ourselves. Hope I cleared this up.

Yea, that makes sense. That would work then. Plus you guys could organize trail rides, trips to the tracks, and such. I think it would be fun to get a bunch of guys together and rent out Jolly's for the day.. :devil

[EX 80]

ya ya ya rent out jolly for the day, I'd have some cash ready to go for that

[kentuckycat]

I lived in MA my whole life up till a year or so ago. What you're planning is a great idea. I'm from Leominster, in Central MA, and there has never been any truly legal riding spots. It was always such a chore to find a place to ride. Good luck in what you're doing. I really hope you succeed.

[Torn66]

Yo im in- Im in boston- Moved here a year ago and i still drive all the way out to PA to ride on the weekends b/c this state is so anal.

I'm bringing my bikes up here in a month and was going to race NEATV-MX- b/c racing seemed to be the only way to get a good ride in around here.

Count me in- Torn@teamsawzall.com- let me know when you guys go riding

[Turbo B]

This thread has been posted in the "Open Forum," as well so I will post this there also. I spoke with my insurance agent yesterday and asked him about the aggregate liability insurance that we would be seeking to insure a riding club. He had never had this request:rolleyes: and seemed suprised when I asked. He did tell me that in order to do this, the insurance companies would examine the driving records of the members before they would underwrite them on the policy. I asked why and he said that the insurance companies assess their risk based on how an individual acts responsibly while on legal roads with laws, therefore a person who has numerous surcharges would be considered a liability to insure while they are on their ATV. I know this sounds like BS but hey, the insurance companies pretty much set their own laws and regs in this state as anyone who lives in MA knows. So basically this is a major roadblock. A: We would need to find an insurance company that would be willing to work with us. B: We would need to be willing to accept how they rate us as a risk based on our driving records. Although I have a clean driving record and it wouldn't bother me, I have a problem with the insurance companies assessing risk to us on quads when my homeowner's policy won't even recognize that I have one in my garage! Anyway, sorry for the rant. I will still try to gain access to some riding areas despite the grim outlook. I am getting to old to be an outlaw and ride like a renegade like I did when I was a kid.
-Brian

[Torn66]

Brian-
Totally agree- what you are trying to do is awesome- Let me know if i can help- Im new around here- (like in the last 10 minutes)- But after a year I finally have realized I will be living here for a while- so its time to start riding up here.

As for the driving record, Im squeeky clean stage 9-er. But thats on pavement;)

How's Uxbridge?- heard it gets jammed on weekends- I want to try that out

[Knight440]

How's Uxbridge?- heard it gets jammed on weekends- I want to try that out


It's very busy on weekends your much better going on a week day :rolleyes:

[DeDo]

this sounds great...

a few things about the insurance...

it will be tough to come up with a budget number or even something fair based on a variety of people with different levels of insurance needs... guys with really bad driving records who rent an apartment and have no kids are in a completely different situation then someone with a good record who owns a home. that is, the homeowner requires more laibility protection so he does not lose his house, etc. of course there are a million combinations of the above scenario.

here is my thought - each "member" must have their own ATV insurance - i already have it - its about $200 a year. its necessary for me because i own a house, etc. it also protects me in the event i do something stupid (like run into someone/something) they are covered.

beyond that, the "club" can get general liability insurance - a $1,000,000 policy is probably less then $1000 a year. This would protect the landowner.

finally (sorry), pary of the pitch should be that in addition to enjoying someones private land the "club" will take responsibility to clean/clear trails, insure no trash is left behind, etc.

sorry for so much info - i hope you guys can get it going and i would like to be a part of it. i have at least 2 other guys who would join up...

the insurance thing is not cheap, but for many, it is necessary.

good luck - please let me know how things are progressing...

dedo

[Turbo B]

Dedo, thanks for replying to the thread. I don't know whether or not you can obtain individual insurance for ATV's in MA like you did in RI. I am wondering if this also covers loss as a result of theft? I will have to see if I can find out if we can be individually covered for our quads next week when I talk with my ins. agent. Someone has led me to believe that you can insure a quad in MA, but I am not sure how much or how creditable that is.

Torn66, Knight400EX. You guys mentioned riding in Uxbridge? I was curious about this place and if it may be suitable for us to all meet at sometime soon:D ?

One final thought, we need to keep this thread alive so keep the posts coming;). There are a lot of good ideas out there and we need to hear 'em!

[siberthugd]

To Turbo and anyone else in Ma:

You CANNOT insure a quad, dirtbike, snowmobile, or go-kart in Ma. I am 100% sure. My parents asked our insurance agent when I got my first quad back in the early 90's. You COULD do it then, but it wasn't worth it. Prices were too high (for a used quad, anyway). Everytime I got a new Quad (previously owned, but new to me) I checked and it wasn't worth it. The cost of insurance was too high considering my replacement costs. I went 2 years without a quad until this past June. I finally bought Brand New! It was now worth the coverage. I called my agent from the dealership and as it turns out, Massachusetts does not allow coverage on ATV's of any kind (mentioned above) as of last year. I called many different insurance companies and it was confirmed everytime. So, sorry to say, it CANNOT be done. Homeowners insurance won't even cover it being stolen from the living room of your house, so thats a No-Go too. Hope this saves some people their time and aggravation. An other ideas?

[Knight440]

Torn66, Knight400EX. You guys mentioned riding in Uxbridge? I was curious about this place and if it may be suitable for us to all meet at sometime soon ?

Soon as it warms up a bit and right now it's snowcross season there ck out the video on there site :cool:

http://www.uxbridgemsp.com/

[Torn66]

Ditto to knight- once spring rolls around Im definetly in for meeting up- From what I hear that place needs more quads around. Keep in touch gentleman!

[nosinjcted]

I would be interested in joining a club like that. It would be nice to be able to ride somewhere legally and not have to worry about being chased.

I would also like to say that I had insurance on my 400ex last year. I think it was only like $100 or $200 for the year, but then I lost my job and when it came time to renew the policy I didn't have the extra cash. My agent for my car policy gave me the name of the place. So, I'm pretty sure that it is possible to have individual insurance on quads in Mass.

[DeDo]

i insured my quad through program managers (www.weinsurefun.com). i live in rhode island and thought for sure that they offer coverage in mass, too. i called after reading through the thread and a couple of you guys were right. this company is like progressive - they offer insurance and represent a bunch of other companies - they have no one who insure atvs in mass...

whats plan b?

dedo

[mikeman828]

Hey guys,

I'm from MA also... Spencer area and I spoke to the local snomobile club about riding on their trails during the winter.
Basically they said that couldn't do it because land owners don't like the damage ATV's do to the land. (Snowmobiles don't usually disrupt the soil like ATV's.

Anyway, my suggestion is this, e-mail the Spencer Snowbirds snowmobile club to get more help trying to pursue what you're doing.... That is basically how they have been operating for years.
Maybe they can give you some tips...Nice guy I spoke to last year. He was understanding because he used to ride ATV's.

Here's their link:

http://www.spencersnowbirds.com/

Good Luck.....

:devil

[Turbo B]

Mikeman 828,

Good suggestion. I will contact the snowmobile club that you suggested and get more info. When I do, I will post it here on the web site. I've been busy and haven't been able to post anything on the boards at all lately. I understand that Siberthugd is having a riding get together the weekend following the next. Hopefully I will be able to make it and hook up with some of you MA and RI guys.

-Brian

[RideRed400EX]

I kinda lost track of this post when things got wordy but I'm interested in joining if the insurance item works out. I've been riding in MA since I was six and despite the popularity of ATV's in recent years the number of good riding spots has dwindled. It's come to a point where we keep our riding spots a secret because they get over run then shut down.

Keep us posted...

[300exHILLER]

I'm in ALL the way & can bring about 4-7 people in with me maybe more!!! Uxbridge is a good idea, that's where I practice.

Please keep me posted

Coviello_joel@emc.com
unxpectd00@aol.com