ICBC insurance for big bore scooters/motorcycle
 

As you know, ICBC has this insurance bracket for motorcycles and scooters.

Motorcycles
The other 4 rate classes for motorcycles are:
311 (111-400 cc)
312 (401-750 cc)
313 (751-1150 cc)
314 (over 1150 cc)

Then I came across this forum.
Boring out a bike, new size is a higher insurance bracket, would you tell ICBC?

So my question is, would big bore kit increase your insurance rate?

Here are things that I gathered by reading BC Sportbikes:
-Turbocharging will NOT increase your insurance rate
-Big Bore(or long stroke) kit will NOT increase your insurance rate.
For example, say you have a GSX-R750 and bore it up to 790cc, so you go tell ICBC you got a GSX-R790, which does NOT exist in their system, so ICBC will just register your bike as a GSX-R750.

two issues. logistics and ethical.

for ethical reasons, i would probably tell them i'm up to so and so cc. it just makes sense that i would be responsible for higher insurance costs due to a bike having more power (theoretically more power)

for logistical reasons...the second last post on that forum link shows that icbc doesn't even have alternate cc for registering the bike. the bike's model/displacement/insurance bracket is on the frame designation. so who knows really if icbc can even change the cc.

If you are ever in the situation where icbc would measure your displacement you would be dead anyways

You're forgetting the bigger issue. <50cc you only need a regular car license. But 51cc and up you need a motorcycle license. So if you have a gy6 swapped Honda ruckus (most commonly 150cc) and you get pulled over you can get some heavy tickets

Maybe I was not clear enough, but that was not my question and I don't have an intention of getting a big bore kit.. and yea, i would tell them too if I had one. But would the insurance go up for something that doesn't exist in their book?

yeah that's exactly what I said.. :okay:

2005 Yamaha 49cc bored out to 70cc :okay:

I've never bothered to look at bike insurance/reg papers, but IIRC the car ones have a spot for the model, and a spot for the displacement.

Whether bike forms are the same or not I'd still tell ICBC so your insurance remains valid, otherwise there's not much point having insurance now is there? The last thing I'd want to be doing when dealing with ICBC is adding in the risk of them deciding your insurance wasn't valid.

Regardless of bore, VIN does not change. You can go to icbc and tell them displacement all you like but you register your VIN not your displacement.

Condisering most big bore kits will not bring you to a different insurance class it's rather pointless. The only people that me be effected by this are liter bike guys but even then you don't usually go 150cc larger on a big bore kit.

Icbc will not decline insurance if your Vin matches. It's really that simple.

Only way to do this is do a U-build and get a new VIN for the frame registering it at the new displacement.

Having built many big bore bikes over the year and dealt with this, ICBC does not care about discription, or displacement or color. They care about VIN and that's it.

How would they ever know even if you were in an accident? They aren't going to be able to tell if you bore your engine, they would never check that.

Timpo, asking questions that don't need answers since 2002.

good example. this would be technically illegal for anyone without a motorcycle to ride. also they are speed limited. can't remember what, but a 50cc scooter is also not allowed to surpass a certain speed. so even if you hella modified a 50cc scooter and it someone was able to break these other speed limits then you would also need a bike license

The only way ICBC could tell its a BBK is if they take apart the cylinder block. I doubt they would ever go that far, or even know to even do that, to find you at fault for no insurance.

Many of us in the scooter community have 70cc BWS's. Its a great way to boot around and yes as they do go faster, you go from stock 60kph to 80kph. But the biggest difference is the fact that acceleration and the ability to get yourself out of emergencies are better. Just has more umph.. Cops never give us any problems and half the time everyone laughs at scooters...

Plus side is its still cheaper than today's current bus fare prices..

Looking at the spirit of the law vs. letter of the law, I would say that the point of it is so that higher risk/more powerful bikes have higher premiums. But frankly 51 vs 49cc or even 70 vs 50cc doesn't really make a scooter more dangerous IMO. Heck a case can definitely be made that it gets you uphill at a safer speed where traffic doesn't feel a need to pass you in the oncoming lane, etc. So even ethically I don't really see an issue with it.

disclaimer: I own a 70cc BWS

I agree. I'm just stating the letter of the law

I wasn't sure how much a few cc affects bikes (never had one yet) but based on what you say, I guess ethically it's not an issue. I'd just feel like icbc wouldn't give a damn about the spirit of the law if it benefits them in case of a coverage issue because #icbc

Now i'm interested about looking this up for cars. There's a very common/straightforward 3.5L swap for my 2.0L car...

^ I'm assuming you mean the 2GR? I'd do it without much hesitation after driving my inlaws Rav4. Considering how good it feels in the Rav I can only imagine what it'd be like in something a bit lighter and with much smaller wheels.

for sale 2006 KYMCO SUPER9 Air Cooled with 70cc kit PogChamp 90km/h top speed

90km/h with 70cc is impressive considering the 150cc Sym Wolf can go 60mph-65mph. (96km/h-104km/h)
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/2012/0...ic-150-review/
http://www.iheartscooters.com/images...150-338-01.jpg

I'd say the chances of ICBC opening up motors and checking bore/stroke are slim to none.

Since it has gears and a clutch, you'd need a motorcycle license regardless of CC

I don't think the rate classes really make sense anyway, all the large cruisers are in a higher rate class than the litre sport bikes are but in terms of power and the way they are generally ridden they should be lower. I am not sure how much the type of bike impacts insurance or if it does, all i know is that it was a fair bit more to insure my 1985 Vmax 1200 than it was to insure my 2006 FZ6.

a gsxr750 is actually 749cc

GSX-R750 is 750cc, not 749cc
https://www.suzuki.ca/?q=en/node/660

a Ducati Panigale 1299 is actually 1285cc
Ducati Superbike 1299 Panigale - Tech Spec