Multi bike owners, how's it done?

[BoristheBiter]

Good plan but I 'want' road bikes, can't say I need em but I sure do want them.

I have heard of one guy that three bikes that were the same colour and only had rego for one and just swapped the plates over.
Don't know how far true or just an urban myth.

[Maha]

So is that a private meeting or an interest group get together?

Terms and conditions are...
:You must enjoy a nice port
:Own/ride a beemer is optional
:Attittudes are left in your panniers/pack.
:Gold coin donation to be left at the scene.

[tigertim20]

What is the secret to multi bike owneship guys? I have one bike and two cars at the moment, a reasonable amount of spare time, when not renovating the house, and a reasonable wage.

The constant demand for insurance, wofs, servicing, tyres etc already does my head in. There are a few bikes I fancy at the moment, selling for reasonable money but the upkeep of a couple more bikes on top of what I have now is putting me off.

How do the peeps with a couple of sheds full manage, is there multibike insurance, are the bikes not regoed wofed etc. Rego alone is circa $1800 just to keep a few old shitters on the road legally.

I'm not talking a garage full of exotica here just an old bimmer and an old 'onda, how do I do it without winning the Lotto, must be do-able eh?

there are a few ways. I like to buy damaged/broken stuff and do work myself, I end up with a good bike at a fraction of the cost of buying a mint one outright - that helps, and it helps that I enjoy doing the work myself.

secondly, if it suits you, pick a winter bike and a summer bike, and rego accordingly, or have one bike all the time, and just register the other during the months of the year when you want to use it.

One other option is that you place one on continuous exemption, but rego it JUST for the weekends. doing this costs you about $10, which seems high for 2 days rego, but if its a bike you only use now and then, its cheap as, go into the post office on friday with the papers, takes 5 minutes and your bike is legal for the weekend for $10 - know a few people doing this, one of them being the guy at the local VINZ.

really though, the rego is the worst part, ring your insurance co and ask what they can do for you. then take that offer to other companies and set them against each other till you get a deal you are happy with.

Beyond that, the upkeep shouldnt cost you any more - you can only ride one at a time, so you are only burning one tank of gas, one set of tyres, using one set of brake pads etc etc at a time

[martybabe]

One other option is that you place one on continuous exemption, but rego it JUST for the weekends. doing this costs you about $10, which seems high for 2 days rego, but if its a bike you only use now and then, its cheap as, go into the post office on friday with the papers, takes 5 minutes and your bike is legal for the weekend for $10 - know a few people doing this, one of them being the guy at the local VINZ.

Blimey some good info there Tiger, I'm stunned at the option above. Thanks mate

[jellywrestler]

want to use it.

One other option is that you place one on continuous exemption, but rego it JUST for the weekends. doing this costs you about $10, which seems high for 2 days rego, but if its a bike you only use now and then, its cheap as, go into the post office on friday with the papers, takes 5 minutes and your bike is legal for the weekend for $10 - know a few people doing this, one of them being the guy at the local VINZ.

correct me if i'm wrong but if you do this you can't re register for three months or you have to pay the in between difference

[Mom]

must be do-able eh?

Drink more port

I know, it is a bit of a shocker what it costs, look into putting rego on hold for the one you only use from time to time, register it for short periods only. Failing that register one bike and put that plate on the other one when you ride it

MMMMMMMMMM Port...

[banditrider]

This dumb-ass will be investigating multi-bike insurance tomorrow...

The rego costs really annoy me (not really worth starting on this topic), I try and do most basic maintenance (oil & filter, air filter, brake pads etc) and farkle (gotta have farkles) installs myself.

2-3 sets of tyres per year (total, not per bike) can get expensive...

I'd love a sportsbike in the shed again (and I know of one that I want and it's available) but I just can't justify it (at the moment anyway). Having it only as a track bike would not be an option - I'd not get the use out of it.

I'd also like...

[Gremlin]

2-3 sets of tyres per year (total, not per bike) can get expensive...

Fark... I've bought more tyres than that for one bike in a year...

Oh, OP, also consider having one of them (or more if you want lots) being really cheap to run. The CB900 is good like that. Tyres last 20k or more, services (from shop) are $2-300 and it doesn't use much more than gas

[Tigadee]

when does a bike qualify as classic I wonder.

Pretty sure it's 21 years or older. My 1986 qualified for Classic insurance [but not my 1991! ]...

[Gremlin]

Pretty sure it's 20 years or older. My 1986 qualified for Classic insurance...

Depends if it's classic insurance or classic rego...

[cave weta]

My dirty bikes-


My tarmac bikes

how do you do it?- stay single, live in the countryside, rego one generic looking bike and put velcro dots on the number plate....

[Tigadee]

Depends if it's classic insurance or classic rego...

?? Ummmm, full coverage from Star Insurance? What's 'classic rego'?

When I was told by Kiwibike I had to pay a higher premium for my YX than for the FZX [even under a multi-bike policy], I was surprised and asked if it didn't qualify as a classic bike, I was told, "No, it didn't qualify".

[banditrider]

Fark... I've bought more tyres than that for one bike in a year...

Yeah, I don't ride nearly enough...

[Road kill]

I have owned more than one bike a few times but today I'm happy to stick with what I know.

Plus I don't want to help prove Einstein right by becoming one of these people who's bikes are smarter than they are.

The money is not the issue.

I change my own tyres thanks very much.

Hell I even know my correct spark plug gaps,how to change my own oil,tune and maintain the bike myself,and do a total rebuild if need be.

Modern bikers huh,,,,how much money do you need to be one of them ?,,,

[MarkW]

I have 4 road registerable motorcycles - I have a winter bike (DRZ 250) registered from April to November roughly. I have a summer bike (NT650) that is registered fror the rest of the year. The "spare" DRZ20 gets registered for very short periods (MR27) when needed - normally paid for by the friend that wants to use it. The "spare" NT650 is registered as and when required in the winter. So a 4 day 2,500km ride costs less than $20 in rego. Vehicles not being used are always placed on hold immediately. And yes, to be effective in reducing rego costs the hold must be a full 3 months.

Whichever bike I ride has comprehensive cover and the rest are covered for fire and theft using a single policy from Kiwibike Insurance. Contact Dave - he has multiple motorcycles himself!

A bit of planning and a notebook with a page for each bike showing WOF expiry date, rego status and dates makes life relatively simple.

I do all of my own maintenance but then I have averaged more than 20,000km per year in the 40 years that I have been riding. Motorcycling doesn't have to be expensive - it can be but doesn't have to be.

Learn to do as much yourself as you can safely - far more rewarding than forking out lots of dollars.