Some insurance companies offer a discount if you use a monitoring device on your car that shows them your driving habits.  Now they are beginning to look into a 'black box' if you will to monitor motorcycles.  Some say its a great safety feature that will help riders improve their riding skills, others feel it will be a way to hurt motorcyclists, either by hiking up insurance rates or working against them should a motorcycle accident occur.
 
While the idea is still in its infancy, once fully developed and available to the general public, a motorcycle black box will be wanted by some but not necessarily all.

Would you use one? 

For the full article on Motorcycle Monitoring Devices head to the Motorcycle lawyer Russ Brown Blog.

I think as long as it is optional to have the data reviewed by your insurance company it is a great idea. I put one in my car and was able to drop my rates by almost 10% because I tend to drive like an old man. Event though I do ride very safe also - kind of the same old man style riding around town, I do tend to ride a little fast on open roads when the conditions permit. I wouldn't want to run one on the bike showing my insurance co that I spend some long periods going 15 to 20 over the speed limit :-)

I wonder if the insurance companies can monitor your driving habits and possibly lower our rates,can they raise them if they think you are a higher risk or refuse you a policy all together, not sure i want to go down that road.

Since there are enough groups trying to limit or restrict motorcycles I for one wouldn't want one on my bike. As we have all experienced there are case were good driving habits are not followed for our own safety. In a black box recorder it would look like poor driving habits. There is already enough flack we get just for riding we don't need some pencil neck geek manipulating the data to show were suicidal riders when in fact were just trying to stay alive to ride another day.

Hunter, I know when it came to adding one to my car it reduced my rates. My wife added one and they told her her driving did not warrant a reduction and just left her at the standard rates based accident and ticket history as they have always done in the past.

Lucky, I've been thinking of having State Farm send me one,especially since I don't have to drive that 35 mile commute every am-pm just haven't talked to someone that has tried it, Thanks but I'm still skeptical how these companies will use that info later down the line,its my nature I don't trust anyone. :{

I believe these things are a gimmick to get you to switch over another insurance company. Besides anyone know what kind of data these black boxes collect? The only thing I can figure is acceleration and de-acceleration. Unless it has a built in GPS it is not going to know how the speed you should not be doing. I see no purpose other than being a gimmick. Maybe I should read Russ's blog.

If you haven't read Russ Brown article on motorcycle monitoring devices, you should. Mr. Brown to answer your question "would I use one"; hell NO. No insurance company or the government needs to know where I GO, how long I stay what I do, as long as I am not breaking any laws.

I wonder if a months worth of careful riding would be wiped out by some 80+ mph riding across the desert. I'm out on the monitoring and all the other gimmicks their coming up with to "save" me money.

I would absolutely refuse an insurance company or big government "black box". Why? It's simple. I hate big government and their intrusions into my private life all in the name of safety.

YOU GOT THAT RIGHT

if they want to monitor my riding habits ,they can get in their car and follow me,if they can keep up, good luck..

On this very note Black boxes in bikes i receive this from the AMA.

On June 18, U.S. Reps. Mike Capuano (D-Mass.) and Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) introduced H.R. 2414, the Black Box Privacy Protection Act.
The bill will protect motorcyclists’ rights by requiring manufacturers to prominently disclose to consumers if an event data recorder (commonly known as a black box) is installed on their motorcycle, the data collection capabilities of such a device, and how such data may be used.

I know that coin can be short at time but organization like this are fighting for our rights. Every rider should join some group like this to protect our rights on the road as well as off road. If your not a member of such a group a least write your local representative to support this bill.

wouldn't take a governing authority long these days to re vamp truck monitoring systems to include motorcycles. You know those things that you pass under on the Highways. They take a picture..and when you pass another at some point in space down the road they take another..then send you a fine in the mail if you have done something they feel is wrong..But you will find some riders will welcome these additions.Usually they have something to do within the governing bodies..

JUST SAY NO to government monitoring & by extension any corporate hegemonies that intends to intrude on our lives to take advantage of their ability to twist laws into tools serving their own ends.I do not like bowing down to anyone,its not n my blood to roll over & give up my privacy,if I want to kick ass down the interstate at 100+ thats my choice.If I am caught I will pay the penalty.

This new computer age has brought some advances and at the same time it has destroyed our valued sense of privacy & defrayed the constitional protections guaranteed under our constition.
Take for instance the statement above " manufacturers to prominently disclose to consumers if an event data recorder (commonly known as a black box) is installed on their motorcycle, the data collection capabilities of such a device, and how such data may be used.

They in a sense are saying its already ok for such monitoring,and that such data is disclosed to the consumer really w/out their consent of the monitoring,since all the products/trucks/cars etc eventually will have such devices there wont be any choice in the matter,you want a truck,scoot,etc..its gonna have the black box collector.Eventually they will block acces to the ignition system of the vehicle if said box is disabled. In a sense all people who carry cell phones can be monitored 24/7 so it may be a moot point to worry abt black box data,yet in my eyes its certainly a intrusive & unnecessary device to 99.9% of the public.
You can thank the cadre of lobbyists from insurance companies for such intrusions into our private lives.The congressional representatives know which side their bread is buttered on,and always are brought to heel by big corporate money, we all know this.Its a sad reminder for me at least of how far we still have to go as a country and as humans before we are truly free as citizens from the "corporate tyranny" thats practiced worldwide,by the handfull of entities that control 98 percent of the worlds entire wealth.

its big brother.... I'll pay my standard rate.... if they want knowledge of my habits they'll have to dedicate a drone or two to my area.... anybody that thinks this is a good idea has had way too much of the corporate kool-aid....