$$$ sucking bikes!

[doc]

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!!

You can not apply logic and motorcycles in the same sentance. Hitcher would be able to explain it.

[merv]

i ride my wee gn around town and save the tl for the distances, tl is expensive with the set of tyres costing more than the gn did, but its my fun bike, if i run low on money i simply dont get to have a fun ride that weekend, and can still ride my gn till i have got the money

Now you've definitely got it sussed.

[terbang]

Mine are toys and my dear wife reminds me of the cost on a fairly regular basis. When I had a Busa I spent a small fortune on tyres. Sold it after 21000 Kays and it was on its 5th, though fairly new, set of tyres. The Navigator I have now isn't so tough on tyres but is still a bit hungry on gas and seems to be stretching the hell out of the drive chain.

[scracha]

Unless you own a ChaosCommuterCycle, a bike is basically an expensive toy,

Eh? As long as you don't buy a cock stretching "toy" then an "all rounder" like a badnit 600, Divvy 900 or fazer 600 aren't expensive to run. Hell, even 4 or 5 year old sportsbikes aren't that bad on the pocket (unless you'ure an insurance risk like someone who's ridden < 2 years) when they're not ridden like they've been stolen. I spent years commutting on 400 - 750cc sportsbikes and provided you warm them up gently and stick to legal(ish) speeds their running costs are way cheaper than say a 1.8 litre car. Thrash the hell out of them and say bye bye to petrol, tyres, chains, clutches, etc.

My theory is that the laughable motorcycle service intervals are designed to cover the manufacturers areses when average biker "jo" canes the heck out of his CBR/YZF/GSXR/ZXR/Whatever all the time. Ride them semi sensibley and you get away with just giving them a basic service every year.

every day, everything needs to be replaced on a regular basis. I'm currently wearing around $2K worth of gear, and it needs replacing every 3 or 4 years.

Fair enough but as long as you don't need Arai/Shoe/Sidi/Dianese/etc bling you can get perfectly adequite gear for around $1K. I don't think $250 a year is a lot for gear.

apart from my jacket, which I've had about 6 years or more, and it's tired and looks it.

Hey, another Scotsman. I've had my Frank Thomas Aqua jacket umm...cripes...9 years.

[scrivy]

W.T.F.? $2000?? My race leathers are 16 years old, and still going hard!! Helmet is 9 years old. Only my gloves need replacing. $2000 WTF??

[scrivy]

When I had a Busa I spent a small fortune on tyres. Sold it after 21000 Kays and it was on its 5th, though fairly new, set of tyres.

My old GSX1135 (bored to 1229) I owned way way back went through 14 rear tyres in 11 months!! Must be a freaking record!!
At the age of 18, it crippled my finances severly!!

[fireliv]

Eh? As long as you don't buy a cock stretching "toy" then an "all rounder" like a bandit 600, Divvy 900 or fazer 600 aren't expensive to run. .

Yes but obviously a bandit 250 is!

[sidecar bob]

My old GSX1135 (bored to 1229) I owned way way back went through 14 rear tyres in 11 months!! Must be a freaking record!!
At the age of 18, it crippled my finances severly!!

I seem to recall i may have contributed to that total, not sure if i told you it could do 200 metre black lines sideways around town.

[HungusMaximist]

Tell you what bro, you'll save heaps by learning to do the maintenance yourself.

Of course it's always a time consuming thing in learning but if you can, get a mate who has a similar bike or who is happy to help. The case is usually, people only perform the maintenance they know and avoid the challenging stuff because it just seems too hard.

Yea you'll be taking a risk but you don't wanna be that chump who is wondering whether doing a oil change yourself is gonna fuck up your bike so you take it to a garage pay them hundred bucks to save you the trouble.

Tell me you what, KB is fucken gold, the other day I was crying like a sissy that I need a mechanic to tune my bike because it's chugging all my petrol like there's no tomorrow.

Then I got a PM from a random dude saying he has the same bike as me and he's happy to do the carb balancing, tune ups and any other shit for me. My first initial thoughts were, 'this is too good to be true, is he on drugs, or just does he have too much spare time?'. Well it turns out, he's just happy to help, passionate about bikes and it just happens he has the same bike as time so he knows he won't fuck things up.

I watched and learned, pretty much everything can be done yourself. You just gotta know what to do.
What most people think is a huge job, it's actually pretty simple, like to get my carbs balanced it took around 12 mins, taking off and putting the fairings tand other shit took a good half an hour.

We're like best bike buddies now... haha..

[Coyote]

Yeah, I've learnt that lesson. The first day I had my bike down here a stupid woman in a 4WD backed into. Apparently a great big bright green bike isn't very visible

Nor is a purple RG150 when it's 3 meters behind the 4WD

[Indiana_Jones]

Like some people have said.

Sell your current rides and get some cheaper/smaller ones for the time being

-Indy

[vifferman]

Doood, been AWOL lately?

Yeah, been in the West Island.

W.T.F.? $2000??

Helmet: $399 + $86 for tinted visor. [A few months old, previous one was about 3-4 years old]
Jacket: Replacement cost ~$800 [about 6 or 7 years old]
Boots: $450 [actually cost me nothing - used money gifted when I left my last job]
Pants: $520 [a couple of years old]
Gloves: Winter - $245, Summer - $170.[I actually have about 5 pairs of gloves, but only wear these two]

[scrivy]

I seem to recall i may have contributed to that total, not sure if i told you it could do 200 metre black lines sideways around town.

She was a friggin weapon eh Bob?!!! So much fun!! Also ate chains like they were french fries!!

Yes I did know that you helped with the rubber degradation.......

[sidecar bob]

She was a friggin weapon eh Bob?!!! So much fun!! Also ate chains like they were french fries!!

Yes I did know that you helped with the rubber degradation.......

Yeah, the Katana wasnt much better.
Lucky we were getting paid about $176 a week or we wudda been rooted eh?
Cant believe these guys are complaining about the cost, nothin shags out quicker than a 630 chain with a hot GSX1100 yanking on it.

[peasea]

Yeah, the Katana wasnt much better.
Lucky we were getting paid about $176 a week or we wudda been rooted eh?
Cant believe these guys are complaining about the cost, nothin shags out quicker than a 630 chain with a hot GSX1100 yanking on it.

Erm, there was this girl in Wellington.........
She had a four speed box they reckon. I wouldn't know though.........