Cost to own a motorcycle

[sinned]

I always thought running a bike was costly but didn't know how much until I added it up. That little jaunt on a Sunday costs a lot more than the flat white or lunch.

My running amounts to a bit over 10,000kms per year and I will probably keep this bike for 5 years. Excluding the cost of money invested the bike is costing me around $6000 a year. Here are my calculations of cost per 1000kms on a 10,000km year:
Front tyre (12K) $18.57
Rear tyre (8k) $41.25
Services (6k) $85.00
WOF $4.00
Insurance $78.00
Fuel $109.00
Registration $57.80
Loss on sale est $160.00
TOTAL $553.62 per 1000kms.
Plus other little expenses; helmet, gloves, gear, chains, broken stuff etc.

It is cheaper to drive the car.

Do the sums - it may drive you back to 4 wheels :shutup:

[Quasi]

Sorry Sinned - its not about the dollars for me and never will be. My beautiful Ducati gives me grins, pleasure, heart stopping moments, has found me new friends, reconnected me with old ones, kept me sane, kept me alive, given me memories of people, places, of LIVING. Those things can never be about dollars, never be accounted for with pluses and minuses on a ledger.

Forget about the dollars - just enjoy the sheer power and beauty of each and every ride.

[BoristheBiter]

Sorry Sinned - its not about the dollars for me and never will be. My beautiful Ducati gives me grins, pleasure, heart stopping moments, has found me new friends, reconnected me with old ones, kept me sane, kept me alive, given me memories of people, places, of LIVING. Those things can never be about dollars, never be accounted for with pluses and minuses on a ledger.

Forget about the dollars - just enjoy the sheer power and beauty of each and every ride.

What else is there left to say?

[Maha]

I once had concerns about the cost involved in owning and running a bike (cheaper transportaion my arse) but no longer. I simply love the bike I own and what it costs me to enjoy it to the fullest, I am more than willing to pay.

[Cloggy]

And you are calculating on getting a lot of mileage out of the tyres. Mine last half that long and my bike costs more per kilometre in tyre rubber than it does in fuel.
In short, the 675cc bike cost much more to run per kilometre than the 3.8 litre family car. But I knew that from the start and hence will not complain about it as it is not the primary mode of transport.
Now the little Scorpio is a different story, cheap as chips in fuel, tyres, insurance and maintenance. $14 in gas for two weeks of getting to work. Me likes a lot.:yes:

[munster]

Totally agree with Quasi.

Now sinned, please delete that post before my wife sees it . . . . .

[Grumpy]

Do the sums - it may drive you back to 4 wheels
:nono::spanking:

[kave]

It really depends on the bike. Big, powerful and highly tuned sportsbikes go through gas, tires and various other consumables at a massive rate of knots, but then the running cost of a MV Agusta F4CC would still be less than the running cost of a Ferrari. The cost of running a Honda CB400 would be cheaper than a Toyota Corolla and a Honda Dio would be far cheaper to run than your standard sub $1000 uni student car. Comparing apples with apples, two wheeled transport is far cheaper to buy and run than the four wheeled equivalents.

[dogsnbikes]

It is cheaper to drive the car.

Do the sums - it may drive you back to 4 wheels :shutup:

2 x bikes = 4 wheels ...sums done:yes:

[SMOKEU]

My bike has saved me a shitload of money since I ride heaps instead of driving the cage.

[Squiggles]

It is cheaper to drive the car.

Of course, apples to apples so perhaps compare it to a campervan? :lol:
And where do you get ya wof's at $240 every 6 months????

The sums on a GN250 iirc.

Front tyre (20K @ ~300/set) $15
Services (Oil + Filter every 6k, valves every 12k) $20.00
WOF $6.40
Insurance ($3.40 a month for 3rd) $4.08
Fuel $72.00
Registration $40.56
Loss on sale est $0
TOTAL $158.04 per 1000kms.

[Ghost_Bullet]

When I owned a little 200cc comute, I would say it was hell cheaper than running a car for work purposes, and was great for the soul... the value of a happy soul is priceless.

Now riding the mighty Griso, mainly for just ridings sake rather than having to, great fun, and yes much more money gets sucked keeping things on the road... but again... very very happy soul... priceless.... high operating costs are then negligible.

Love to ride, and ride to love it.

[sinned]

Of course, apples to apples so perhaps compare it to a campervan? :lol:
And where do you get ya wof's at $240 every 6 months????
.
I made a bit of an error there - annual wof for a new bike

[ducatilover]

Quite interesting, I spent a small amount of time doing the sums.
I ended up with Dihatsu Mira as small bike equivalent (On paper, not buying one)
But, regardless, I'm poor as hell so I've decided to sell the cage to get a 250-400ish toy. Mind you, the cage at 16mpg is a wee bit hungry. :shutup:

[Corse1]

2 x bikes = 4 wheels ...sums done:yes:

:yes::yes::yes:
Seriously though if I added the cost like sinned has I may feel a little depressed and thats not the reason why we buy bikes.
Exactly the opposite. If Ididnt spend the money on bikes it would probably go on all the pills and Doctors to keep me sane from a high pressure job. Its a great release for me and the sense of freedom and enjoyment I get out of it is well worth it.

I'd hate to be on me death bed wishing I had indulged in motorcycling. You only live once as they say:rockon:

I also tell the wife that having a company car allows me to spend money on bikes:blink:

[bogan]

If you are gonna do the sums like that, why not separate em into fixed cost, plus cost per km.

For me its
Per Annum:
517 (iirc) rego
60 wofs
180 insurance
100 oil and filter changes

Per 1000km
50 tyres
120 bung fuel
add another 50 for misc things like chains sprockets plugs etc

also for me is a modding budget, expected to top the grand mark this year :D

What I'm saying is everybodies running costs are different, when you say cars are cheaper, I assume you are comparing a busa (guestimated from you avatar) to a corrolla or summat similar? As somebody else mentioned, compared to a GN the results may vary :yes:

[BikeCollector]

The grocery cart/family people mover (mazda mpv) costs $110 to fill the tank weekly.. the car costs twice as much to insure, rego is about the same.. wof is the same.. when I replace tyres, there are four of them at $250+ each. Last service cost me $800.00 brakes etc...

The bike costs $17 to fill.. and I just had new tyres fitted at $350 for the pair. General maintenance is easily done at home...I still think my bike is cheaper to run.

regardless..

Quasi hit the nail on the head ... it's not about the money.

[Subike]

If was about the money spent , then I would not ride.
For me it is a hobby that I can enjoy.
I am sure that there are hobbies out there that make the cost of owning and riding a bike look like peanuts.
Like a pleasure boat, used maybee 6 times a year and costing a small mortage.
but again a hobby

[MaxB]

Agreed bikes might cost more to run than you might think but I'm with the apples compared with apples crowd.

The Bus is restricted to 300kph (~187 mph) from memory and costs about 20k. Try gettng anywhere near that perfromance on tap from a car for the same money. Bloody bargain.

I think where bikes lose out is in the lower end of the market. Trade me is full of ads for tidy Maxima and Camrys for 2-3k that have a lot of life left in them. You dont get much bike for 2k these days.

[Gremlin]

I shouldn't really calculate, as it would horrify most due to the huge cost, and only one bike... Might do it for the humor in it, if i can still laugh.

[ukusa]

:scratch: Hmmmm, another angle

$1000 p.a insurance
$517 p.a rego
$30 p.a WOF

= $1547.00 or $29.75 per week and I havn't even ridden the thing out of the garage yet.

[Crazy Steve]

I always thought running a bike was costly but didn't know how much until I added it up. That little jaunt on a Sunday costs a lot more than the flat white or lunch.

My running amounts to a bit over 10,000kms per year and I will probably keep this bike for 5 years. Excluding the cost of money invested the bike is costing me around $6000 a year. Here are my calculations of cost per 1000kms on a 10,000km year:
Front tyre (12K) $18.57
Rear tyre (8k) $41.25
Services (6k) $85.00
WOF $4.00
Insurance $78.00
Fuel $109.00
Registration $57.80
Loss on sale est $160.00
TOTAL $553.62 per 1000kms.
Plus other little expenses; helmet, gloves, gear, chains, broken stuff etc.

It is cheaper to drive the car.

Do the sums - it may drive you back to 4 wheels :shutup:

I agree its far to expensive ! ! I would much perfer to cruise all year round in 4wheels....Seat belts/Air bags/Air con/Cd player/Windscreen the list goes on and on.....

I think you bang on the money for costs if you were to pay RRP for everything and send the bike to the dealers for servicing...

Crazy Steve.

[sleemanj]

Front tyre (12K) $18.57
Rear tyre (8k) $41.25
WOF $4.00


Ok I'll give you that.



Services (6k) $85.00


Break out your tool kit, I'm sure you can do better than that.



Insurance $78.00


Go third party, "self insure" for damage/theft of your own machine, then invest in some good anti theft device(s) and rider training, will pay off, unlike insurers.



Fuel $109.00


I figure that's in the region of 60 liters per 1000, 16 K's a liter... ease off the twist grip a bit, or buy a less thirsty bike.



Registration $57.80


Assuming that
1. you ride all year
2. you are a law abiding citizen



Loss on sale est $160.00


Don't buy new! Used bikes hold their value quite well if maintained.

[imdying]

Break out your tool kit, I'm sure you can do better than that.Don't have time.

Go third party, "self insure" for damage/theft of your own machine, then invest in some good anti theft device(s) and rider training, will pay off, unlike insurers.Bikes costs too much for that to be viable.

I figure that's in the region of 60 liters per 1000, 16 K's a liter... ease off the twist grip a bit, or buy a less thirsty bike.Bike is there to do what I want, not make me do what it wants, so that's not an option.

Don't buy new! Used bikes hold their value quite well if maintained.Don't want other peoples unknown crap, would rather buy new.

[onearmedbandit]

There simply, to me, is no cost involved in motorcycling. Fuel, rego, wof, tyres, heck even tickets are all a small price to pay for the exhilaration bikes give me. Now if I'm interested in what transportation costs me, then I'd save that for the car. And even then I still don't give a damn.

Life is too short to worry about the unavoidable costs.

[Str8 Jacket]

Well, my $850 FXR will now cost me $405+ to register per year, FFS!!!! My bike used to cost me just under $1200 per year allowing for maintenance (tyres,chains etc), petrol rego & warrants. I shudder to think how much its going to cost me now, especially with the GST increase.
I don't have a car licence and don't intend to get one either. Public Transport will probably still be over twice the cost compared to the FXR so I guess I have the best deal I can possibly get!

Thank's Don Key.

[Muppet]

Just ride around without insurance, rego or wof and do petrol drive offs. I mean, half of Aranui does, if yer can't beat 'em join 'em!:Punk:

[Gremlin]

Ok, so a bit of time spent calculating... and bear in mind this still doesn't put me off... :stupid:

24k travelled in the last year approx (3-4 days left in year). Total expenditure was $17,922.02
Tyres: $1885.35 (3 sets)
Service: $4783.33 (yeah... a few visits)
Insurance: $1742.64 (1 bike, 1 year)
WOF: $32
Rego: $321 (est)
Fuel: $2752.71 (111 fills I think)
Parts: $661.37 (extras like pannier racks - excluding service parts)
Accessories: $5743.62 (includes gear, ie, Rukka was just under $3k)

Per 1000km travelled, again, dividing over 24k
Tyres: $78.56 (swapped in sets)
Service: $199.31
Insurance: $72.61
WOF: $1.33
Rego: $13.38
Fuel: $114.70
Parts: $27.56
Accessories: $239.32 (been a few k in the last few months, which is skewing)

Per 1000km cost: $746.75

Wonder where all my money went :blink:

[BoristheBiter]

Cost of new tyres $620
Cost of leathers $1500
Cost of helmet $920
cost of a tank of gas $25

Fun had on bike PRICELESS.

[slofox]

"I bought my bike to save petrol"...

ahah ahah ahah

yeah right

...fool...

EDIT: Actually, I bought it so I could go fanging around the countryside pissing psople off and scaring little children and livestock in my dotage...:devil2:

[wysper]

Sorry Sinned - its not about the dollars for me and never will be. My beautiful Ducati gives me grins, pleasure, heart stopping moments, has found me new friends, reconnected me with old ones, kept me sane, kept me alive, given me memories of people, places, of LIVING. Those things can never be about dollars, never be accounted for with pluses and minuses on a ledger.

Forget about the dollars - just enjoy the sheer power and beauty of each and every ride.

For me the thread ended here :yes:
My bike is my commuter too, now my daughter is riding pillion with me (this is just awesome - scary as hell - but awesome), plus I just like riding.

I ride because I like to ride. Not because it is cheaper, faster, slower, stauncher (is that a word?), cooler - whatever.

[ducatilover]

"I bought my bike to save petrol"...

ahah ahah ahah

yeah right

...fool...

EDIT: Actually, I bought it so I could go fanging around the countryside pissing psople off and scaring little children and livestock in my dotage...:devil2:

Good coont :drinkup: :woohoo:

[Bald Eagle]

Sorry Sinned - its not about the dollars for me and never will be. My beautiful Ducati gives me grins, pleasure, heart stopping moments, has found me new friends, reconnected me with old ones, kept me sane, kept me alive, given me memories of people, places, of LIVING. Those things can never be about dollars, never be accounted for with pluses and minuses on a ledger.

Forget about the dollars - just enjoy the sheer power and beauty of each and every ride.

+:woohoo::niceone: thats what its all about .

[Bald Eagle]

Do the sums - it may drive you back to 4 wheels :shutup:


Never :shutup:

[neels]

I'm not going to add up how much my bike costs to own, I don't care. I own it because I like riding a motorbike. If the day comes that I can't afford to own it anymore then I'll sell one of the children and that should cover me for a few years rego and insurance.

If the numbers on here are anything to go by, for the amount of fun I have it's a bargain at about $30 a week, certainly more fun than the $50 a week I pay the council for the privilege of living in my house.

[Banditbandit]

It is cheaper to drive the car.



Yes it is .. I convinced the wife to let me buy anothe rcommuter bike because it was cheaper ...

No it's not ... esoecially if you add $10 in rubber each day. (100ks to and from work X 30 trips = 3,000. I ripped out a $300 rear tyre in 3,000ks ...)

But fuck is it a lot more fun .. and makes for a better day rather than stuck in fuck'n cages all the time ...

[Mort]

Given that I have already bought, insured and WOF'd and rego'd my bike.... for commuting in to Auckland it was cheaper on fuel, free to park and faster than using a car. Commuting isn't its primary purpose (ie I bought it to ride for fun) but it did help pay for itself by keeping essential travel costs down.

[ffirman]

I agree that on the face of it the bike won't save money over using the car for the traveling.

Now I use my bike everyday to commute to and from work. Approx 30km each day, so not very far, and the time difference between the car and bike is minimal, as I leave for work around 6:45am. I don't like being stuck in traffic, and most of the time can't be fagged pushing my way though.

Now with the first 6000km done on my Ninja 650r, it has averaged around 19km/l of fuel, so that is doing better than the car that was around 10. But the biggest saving for me, was that I was able to hand back my carpark at work, and that got me back approx $40 per week, and that makes up quite a bit of difference to the costs.

Just a thought for ye all.

Fran

[Vinz0r]

When I was driving the cage to and from work I was paying $10 a day to park in the city (this was cheap all day parking in a parking complex), so that's $50 p/w I am saving by taking the bike instead due to the free motorcycle parking around the place. The same can be applied to parking meters :D

[Gremlin]

My KTM (costs above) is not really used for work or commuting, just fun km (lots of them).

The hornet would be a very different prospect, which is used for commuting etc. Servicing is cheap, $50 per 1000km, tyres are probably half the cost of the KTM, if not a bit less than half.

Just interesting to see how much fun costs :yes: Will it make me change? Never!

[dilligaf_nz]

If I didnt spend the money on bikes it would probably go on all the pills and Doctors to keep me sane from a high pressure job. Its a great release for me and the sense of freedom and enjoyment I get out of it is well worth it.


Perfectly said :yes:

[skippa1]

Sorry Sinned - its not about the dollars for me and never will be. My beautiful Ducati gives me grins, pleasure, heart stopping moments, has found me new friends, reconnected me with old ones, kept me sane, kept me alive, given me memories of people, places, of LIVING. Those things can never be about dollars, never be accounted for with pluses and minuses on a ledger.

Forget about the dollars - just enjoy the sheer power and beauty of each and every ride.

What he says :drinknsin

[Conquiztador]

I always thought running a bike was costly but didn't know how much until I added it up. That little jaunt on a Sunday costs a lot more than the flat white or lunch.

My running amounts to a bit over 10,000kms per year and I will probably keep this bike for 5 years. Excluding the cost of money invested the bike is costing me around $6000 a year. Here are my calculations of cost per 1000kms on a 10,000km year:
Front tyre (12K) $18.57
Rear tyre (8k) $41.25
Services (6k) $85.00
WOF $4.00
Insurance $78.00
Fuel $109.00
Registration $57.80
Loss on sale est $160.00
TOTAL $553.62 per 1000kms.
Plus other little expenses; helmet, gloves, gear, chains, broken stuff etc.

It is cheaper to drive the car.

Do the sums - it may drive you back to 4 wheels :shutup:

U full of shit

Here mine for 50,000k's/year (and I ride, not use her as some ornament in the garage)

Front tyre $400 (two or about)
Rear tyres $700 (3)
Insurance: $0 (fuck em)
Services: $0 (know how to use a spanner)
Chain: $0 (shaft)
Oil: $ 300 (decent stuff every 10,000k's)
Filters: $ 45 (every second oil change)
WOF: $80 (twice a year)
Rego: $500 (bastards!!!)
Depreciation: Fuck me dead! If she is depreciating you bought a dud!
Fuel: 4.5l/100k makes $2,250.

Add to that a JD & Dry every 500k or so making it 100 of them at $7 ea = $700.

She costs me $ 4,975/year. Divide with the 50,000k's and per 1,000k's she costs me $99.50

That's what happens when you dont complete school.

[ducatilover]

U full of shit

Here mine for 50,000k's/year (and I ride, not use her as some ornament in the garage)

Front tyre $400 (two or about)
Rear tyres $700 (3)
Insurance: $0 (fuck em)
Services: $0 (know how to use a spanner)
Chain: $0 (shaft)
Oil: $ 300 (decent stuff every 10,000k's)
Filters: $ 45 (every second oil change)
WOF: $80 (twice a year)
Rego: $500 (bastards!!!)
Depreciation: Fuck me dead! If she is depreciating you bought a dud!
Fuel: 4.5l/100k makes $2,250.

Add to that a JD & Dry every 500k or so making it 100 of them at $7 ea = $700.

She costs me $ 4,975/year. Divide with the 50,000k's and per 1,000k's she costs me $99.50

That's what happens when you dont complete school.

So, if I do good maffs I get JDs & Ginger ale? :love:

[MaxB]

For mine it is the time a bike saves that makes it worthwhile. There can be an hour difference in my commute across Auckland. Cost doesn't come into it.

[Conquiztador]

So, if I do good maffs I get JDs & Ginger ale? :love:

Gold star to you!

[ducatilover]

Gold star to you!

:drinkup::drinkup::drinkup::woohoo::woohoo:

[sinned]

U full of shit

Here mine for 50,000k's/year (and I ride, not use her as some ornament in the garage)

Front tyre $400 (two or about)
Rear tyres $700 (3)
Insurance: $0 (fuck em)
Services: $0 (know how to use a spanner)
Chain: $0 (shaft)
Oil: $ 300 (decent stuff every 10,000k's)
Filters: $ 45 (every second oil change)
WOF: $80 (twice a year)
Rego: $500 (bastards!!!)
Depreciation: Fuck me dead! If she is depreciating you bought a dud!
Fuel: 4.5l/100k makes $2,250.

Add to that a JD & Dry every 500k or so making it 100 of them at $7 ea = $700.

She costs me $ 4,975/year. Divide with the 50,000k's and per 1,000k's she costs me $99.50

That's what happens when you dont complete school.

I must have gone to a different school to you - did go in HB though. You need to check your maths 4.5l/100ks for 50,000kms is 2250litres not dollars which is $3912 on standard gas. I am guessing your bike is running 91 Octane.

No insurance at all?? Fuck me you must be a lucky bastard that doesn't need to worry about being sued if you fuck up and cause horrendous damage to someones property. The only people who can take that risk are those with no notable income, no assets, no need to ever borrow money, get a job, start or run a business. Being made bankrupt or having to pay for damage caused for the rest of ones natural is not something I would risk. That is why I pay insurance.

How the hell do you find the time to ride 50,000kms per year?

Actually I estimated the loss on sale of the bike over the period I thought I would own it. Not depreciation which is an accounting approach but something more real - how much will I get for this bike after x years and y kms. I have never heard of a bike, that you can run up 50,000kms per year and, that retains its sale price.

Having said all that I still own a bike, will keep it, pay what it costs (including insurance) and enjoy it. My post was to point out that bikes cost a bit more to run than most think. The passion shown for riding in many posts is encouraging.

[ducatilover]

.



How the hell do you find the time to ride 50,000kms per year?



Use a bike as daily transport. I tend to push 200km per day on a bike. :shutup:
That's why I shall move closer to Palmy.....

[imdying]

I have never heard of a bike, that you can run up 50,000kms per year and, that retains its sale price.They're called shit heaps that nobody wants in the first place.

[Bonez]

I tend to push 200km per day on a bike. :shutup:
You really really should start riding it instead.................

(Quote edited for effect)

[Bonez]

They're called shit heaps that nobody wants in the first place.The choice of champions.
My last one cost $300. Shit heap that is. Underated is probably a more accurate description and just soo many to choose from. I'm sure I'll be able to sell it for more than that if need be.

[ducatilover]

You really really should start riding it instead.................

(Quote edited for effect)

But, it's cheaper :facepalm:

[schrodingers cat]

One of my toys is a single seater race car. It's bloody quick (faster the a GT3 Porsche lap time) and I use it for club racing when I can be bothered. It costs $15/k to run which is a pretty good cost/speed ratio for a circuit car.

The bike? Cheap as chips maties. 50c a k is a cheap smile.
At the speed limit, which we all observe..., thats $50 an hour. You could easily spend more than that at the pub.

The other way to do your sums is to realise that it is only the first k that is f***ing expensive - the rest are free. The more you do, the more free ones you get.

[ducatilover]

The bike? Cheap as ships maties. 50c a k is a cheap smile.
At the speed limit, which we all observe..., thats $50 an hour. You could easily spend more than that at the pub.



Brilliant comparison! I'll think of it like that now

[Brian d marge]

As some may know I am a screaming Alcoholic , its my hobby and I like it

but to retain the youthful good looks that I have, I have invested in a cheap Chinese push-bike

use it for pretty much most of my town journeys , and even out of town , ( we have an excellent rail system )

cost .... well now ,,,zero.. not a lot ,,,, tyres; free , fuel: beer ( paid for under entertainment expenses )

the first week was hell, but now its hardly noticeable , and the money I have saved

More to spend on me bike !

Stephen

[BoristheBiter]

If you choose to ride bikes to save money then you will be truly disapointed.
If you choose to ride bikes to have have fun and worry about the cost you will be truly disapointed.
If you choose to ride bikes for the feeling of pure freedom and exhilaration, the twist of the wrist is the only thing holding you back.

if you want cheap by a pushbike, otherwise stop crying about how much it costs and go out and ride it.

[HungusMaximist]

Simple : ride a moped or make more money