imported post
Hmmmm... depends on what you mean by "value" and "benefits". If you're thinking discounts, towing, money back, etc. the value to you may be minimal.
Politically, the American Motorcycle Association has been instrumental in repealing bike bans, working to bringjustice tocage drivers that run us down and more, includinggetting insurance to actually cover motorcyclists while riding. For example,until the AMA lobbied for a change, the federal rules on medical insurance under the portability act that Clinton signed said that you couldn't be denied medical insurance while riding, hang gliding, rock climbing and so on, but the insurance company could deny _benifits_. Under the old rules, my medical insurance wouldn't pay out if I was in a bike accident, even if it wasn't my fault, but I could drive drunk and put my car upside a tree and the insurance would pay in full! The AMA works for your motorcycle rights on the federal level. Whether you are a member or not, you benefit.
I am also a member of state motorcycle rights organizations (SMRO's) in Missouri and Arkansas, a board member of the Mid South M.I.L.E. (Motorcyclists Improving Legislative Effectiveness) - a symposium of politically-minded motorcyclists in in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas. We regularly visit our state capital to talk with our state representatives, and 2 years ago MILE members took a trip to Washington DC to talk with the "Hired Help" on the national level. the benefit to me is that theseorganizations give weight to my voice with the people that make the secular rules we must live by. Yeah, I'm pretty political, especially when it comes to my rights as a motorcyclist.
Oh, for readers in Europe, the AMA is somewhat akin to FEMA, and the SMRO's are like the individual country's Motorcycle Action Group. Theo Beeldens, Head of MAG Belgium Presents at the Mid- South MILE, letting us know what goes on in Europe. I'm not sure what the rights organizations are in the rest of the world, but now I'll have to find out!