Your Bike Isn't Stock Anymore. Does Your Policy Know?

What counts as custom

• Exhaust systems, intakes, fuel management and tuning.
• Chrome and billet parts, custom wheels, handlebars and controls.
• Seats, saddlebags, luggage, fairings and windscreens.
• Lighting, audio and communication systems.
• Custom paint, airbrushing and graphics.
• Suspension and brake upgrades.

Why undeclared parts are a problem

If the bike is stolen or totaled, a standard settlement values it as the model it is, not as the build you created. Added equipment may be capped at a modest amount unless it was declared and, where the insurer offers it, covered under custom parts and equipment coverage with a limit that matches what you spent. The wording and limits vary by insurance company, so ask for them in writing.

Exhaust: the legal side

Three Vehicle Code sections apply to most street-ridden bikes:

• Section 27150: every registered vehicle with an engine needs an adequate muffler in constant operation, and no cutout, bypass or similar device.
• Section 27151: no one may modify an exhaust to make it louder than the law allows for that type of vehicle, or ride with an exhaust so modified.
• Section 27156: no one may disconnect, modify or alter a required pollution control device, or install a part that changes its design or performance, unless the Air Resources Board has exempted it.

That exemption is a CARB Executive Order, issued after an engineering evaluation and tied to specific vehicles. Its number can be verified by Smog Check stations, BAR referee stations or CARB, and CARB runs a lookup tool. Section 27156 also lets aftermarket parts with valid Executive Orders be sold and installed when a motorcycle is sold to its first buyer. Before you buy an exhaust or tuner, check that it carries an Executive Order for your exact bike.

Custom paint and one-off work

Paint is easy to overlook and expensive to reproduce. A custom finish may need the original painter, or an artist of the same skill, to match after a repair. Keep the painter's invoice and good photographs, and consider asking about agreed or stated value if the paint is a large share of what the bike is worth.

Buying a bike someone else customized

When you buy a modified motorcycle, you inherit its parts and its paperwork problems. Ask the seller for receipts and any Executive Order numbers, and check the exhaust before you pay: a system that fails the noise or emissions rules is yours to fix once the bike is in your name. Price the parts you'd keep, list them on your policy from day one, and photograph the bike as you bought it.

What to keep

1. An itemized list of every change, with part numbers.
2. Receipts and invoices, including labor.
3. Photographs from several angles after each change.
4. Executive Order numbers for exhaust and emissions-related parts.

Store copies somewhere other than the bike and your phone alone.

What varies by insurance company

How much custom equipment is included, whether it must be scheduled, whether agreed value is available, and how an insurer views parts that aren't street legal all differ. Disclosing a modification can change the price or nothing at all, but it reliably makes the coverage match the bike.

If the car or truck that sits next to the bike needs coverage, we can quote it.