$$$ sucking bikes!

[phoenixgtr]

How do you guys and gals do it?

I love motorcycling. When I'm on my bike I feel like I'm home, but lately I've had to ask is it really worth it? My partner and I have a bike each and we're not on low incomes, but those bikes are taking just about every cent we have. It makes it hard when we're trying to save for our big OE in probably 18 months time.

Lately it's cost us about $800 to get Liv's bike running (huge issues with carbs) and now my bike has failed it's warrant and needs a new front tyre ($270) after it's been in the shop for 7 weeks after a wee incident. And then theres the insurance and regos and warrants for 2 bikes.

Sorry about the rant. Just needed to get it out of my system.

Now, I'm not about to give riding. I love it way too much. I'm just not going to be able to afford it much longer if it keeps this up!!

[Str8 Jacket]

Hey Tristan, sorry to hear mate! Bike are expensive!
Maybe its just a thing of putting things into persepective..... You wanna go overseas and you both wanna ride. Why dont you think about selling both bikes and buying a decent 250 that you can sell at maybe even a profit. I know it'll suck but it wont be forever. That way you can both ride, it'll cost half as much and you can save. Just a thought?..

[LilSel]

My bike doesnt cost me as much as my car does for maintenance etc...
Rego is more etc... but part n parcel...

[scumdog]

In the last 10 years plus my running expenses have been tyres and a battery..

Sometimes you seem to run into non-stop spending just to keep them on the road and sometimes it's plain cruising, you seem to have hit the first lot, hopefully you'll come out of it into the second fairly soon.

And $270 for a front tyre? is it made of gold?

[phoenixgtr]

And $270 for a front tyre? is it made of gold?

I wonder...

I might have to see if I can talk them down a bit on that. Afterall, I just gave them alot of business

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

And $270 for a front tyre? is it made of gold?

My front costs... $300 and $350 for the rear.

[jimbo600]

Well I gave up a kidney to a Chinaman.

[avgas]

Get a GB400, will cost you max $2000/year
And that will include an ice-cream at every servo.
Bikes aren't expensive - choice is.

[Paul in NZ]

Sports bikes are demanding on parts, service and equipment - it costs a lot of $$ to go that fast. Sorry - it always has... You can save a lot by learning to do some stuff yourself but tools aint cheap either..

Honestly, you can get a lot of thrills out of 'lesser' bikes - you may wanna check it out before you go broke...

[jrandom]

Yeah. Sprotbikes eat tyres at > $500/pair, use more gas than a 2L station wagon, and have finickity high-performance lightweight engines and drivetrains that just love to wear out.

Not to mention their well-known propensity for getting tired and having expensive little lie-downs in the middle of corners when going fast.

They're toys, and cost shitloads of money to own. If you don't like that, buy a GB400, like the man said. Or an SG350 or something. Or sew tassles onto your race-rep one-piece leathers and spend the money on an old Harley.

[The Lone Rider]

I am a strong believer in getting bikes from a reputable dealer that is known for their workmanship and tuning. Both of my bikes I bought from a dealer, and they were tight. No problems at all and the only money spent on them has been WOF and registration, and any custom and aftermarket parts I've put on. Oh, and my bigger bike needs a new rear tire now but I might attribute that to the stationary burn outs on the drive that I do to piss of Geek when she's over here

The 2nd bike I bought I shopped around as there were several available at dealers. One was in excellent visual condition, and newer, and lower K's. But.. the thing had trouble starting, all the parts were loose and wonky.. it just didn't feel right! At another store, they had one that was older, more K's.. but it had been looked after and they gave it a good tidy up and tuning before even putting on the floor. I went with the later.. and thats the bike that maintenence-wise has cost me about $300 in the last year.

[peasea]

The HD's we have are both reliable machines. Not too fast but fast enough to get tickets and give me a reason to rant and rave about the fines on KB.

Seriously; they've both been great (touch wood) and while you can spend a truckload on HD bling you don't have to.

[Angusdog]

Yeah, I wonder if they're a rich man's / woman's folly. There's not much volume in bike parts, practically every bike has a different tyre to the next one, disc pads are model specific and thanks to common engine / gearbox oil, the motors don't last.

Having said that, the most fun bike I had was a 1981 TT250. Tip: Every now and then, borrow your mate's XR100 for a week. It makes your bike feel like a ZX14 when you get back on it.

[Taz]

Really helps when you can do all your own tuning and maintenance. My XT600 is mechanically simple and real easy to work on and I haven't had the BMW long enough yet to spend anything on it.

[98tls]

My old pusser costs me heaps but it also gives me more enjoyment than anything else so its money well spent i say.Depends were your priorities lie i guess,mine are all fucked up but hey im happy.