The REAL cost of owning a motorcycle…

[nobbie48]

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Greetings,

I bought my first motorcycle at the beginning of April 2011, and for any of you on the fence about what bike to buy, and how much to spend, take a closer look below of a blurb I’ve written below which summarizes my experiences with the REAL cost of owning a motorcycle. Now, before you jump to conclusions, this is by no means a rant, or complaint, just an experience and a story of my first season. I had some idea of the costs that would be involved, but, not all of them. And, if I knew I couldn’t afford to financially back my decision to take part in the joy of motorcycling, I would have stayed the hell away. My career and current level of income provided the funding, so, I got started! I’ve detailed the article with a convenient chronological list of what I bought and when (and why!)…

So, Step 1 – Write your M1 and buy/borrow some entry-level gear and take the motorcycle training course at a College or Institution of your choice to figure out if you are actually into motorcycling. Sure, you can borrow gear, but, being 6’3” and 260 pounds with larger than average noggin… who is going to have size 15 boots and gear to lend me?

M1,.................................................$17.50
Motorcycle Training Course,………………….$440.00
Shift 3-in-1 Mesh/Waterproof Jacket,…..$305.09
Joe Rocket Helmet,………………………………..$183.05
Icon Accelerant Riding Boots,………………..$144.63
TOTAL,…………………………………………………..$1,090.27

Step 2 – I found out I love motorcycling. So, naturally, I start shopping for a bike. If you want to discuss what bike to get for a starter bike, go see the 1000s of other threads on the internet!… I bought a 2009 GSX-R600 for reasons that I won’t even discuss here, so I can avoid these repetitive arguments. Well, let’s just say, I wanted the bike, I liked the bike, I could afford the bike, so, I bought the bike. End of discussion. What are the costs associated with this?

2009 Pearl White Suzuki GSX-R600,…………$7,600.00 (after some negotiation)
Taxes payable to the government,……………$988.00 (ouch!)
Full coverage Insurance for 1 year,………….$1,452.71 (26 years old, no convictions, SF)
Plates/Permit,…………………………………………….$20.00
License Plate Stickers,……………………………….$42.00
TOTAL,………………………………………………………$10,102.71



Step 3 – And, you start riding. Learning skills, learning your bike, learning how to react to a new crop of cagers found on every street of every town. Now you get in to maintenance fees, and topping it up with high test gas every so often…

64 Fill-ups and over 11,000kms traveled,…..$1,011.83
2 Oil Changes (Synthetic) w/ Filter,…………….$121.14
Spark Plugs,………………………………………………….$49.67
New Tires (Mounted/Balanced),……………………$379.28
Misc Tools to perform maintenance,…………….$26.48
Front and Rear stands,…………………………………$146.89
Battery Tender,…………………………………………….$56.49
Labour,………………………………………………………….$0 (I do all the work myself

)
TOTAL,………………………………………………………….$1,791.78

Step 4 – Optional for some, second nature and a necessity to many: The tuner bug. The bike was too quiet, exhaust is too restrictive, and, apparently, not powerful enough, blah blah blah, so, I start to modify the bike…

Akrapovic shorty stainless exhaust and headers,…….$1095.85
Power Commander 5,………………………………………………..$314.84
Labour,……………………………………………………………………….$0
TOTAL,……………………………………………………………………….$1410.69

Step 5 – Then, I start to aesthetically modify things… I just can’t help myself.

Shorty Pazzo Levers,……………….$225.00
Black Windscreen,…………………….$25.38
Rizoma Bar Ends,……………………..$70.36 (complete waste of money… another story..)
DDM 6000K HID Kit,…………………$54.98
TOTAL,…………………………………….$375.72

Step 6 – Then I develop a sweet-tooth for building a big plethora of new bike gear… I attend shop sales, cruise local shops and buy all sorts of stuff…

Speed and Strength Leather Jacket,…….$288.88
Teknic Chicane Leather Riding Pants,……$169.88
Shoei RF1100 and Chrome Visor,………….$479.78 (www.cyclegear.com)
Ogio Tail Bag,…………………………………………$85.47
Ogio No Drag Bag,………………………………….$100.00
Gauntlet Gloves,…………………………………….$56.36
TOTAL,…………………………………………………..$1180.37

Bringing the grand total to…$15,951.54

Interestingly, the total cost for the first season, is approximately twice the price of the motorcycle I bought… Take that into consideration!

Oh, and let’s not forget, Step 7 – Do my research and dreaming, and make a list of things to buy over the long and cold winter months J Sometimes I wish the spending would slow down, but, hey, it’s all worth it.

Factory Pro Velocity Stacks,………………..$225.00 (estimated)
Dynojet Autotune,………………………………..$220.00 (estimated)
Dyno Tuning,………………………………………..$500.00+
Frame Sliders,……………………………………..$116.99 (estimated)
BMC High Flow Air Filter,…………………….$75.95
Riding courses to advance my skills:….$1000+…
Race Bike and all the fixings..............Sky's the limit!

And if the opportunity came around, I’d do it all over again! No regrets. I absolutely love the sense of enjoyment I get out of riding. Undeniably, one of the best feelings in the world! Please feel free to share your comments, criticisms and opinions! Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Cheers,
Dave from Kitchener, Ontario
(Gixxer_Dave)

The numbers to me are cash flow rather than true cost of the first year. To get true cost you would subtract what you would get from the bike and gear if you sold them. It will be interesting to see the difference with year two if you continue to keep the same records.

 

[Jayell]

Okay, I'll bite, too! Returned to motorcycling after about twenty years away. I'm pretty good at keeping records. Here goes:

All figures include tax.

Motorcycle

2011 Triumph Thruxton (GP Bikes) includes optional factory fly screen and centre stand, all taxes, freight, PDI, admin, etc. $12,374.01
Bank draft $7.50
License plate and sticker $50.00
Insurance (9 months) $523.00
800KM service - N/C

Sub total $12,954.51

Gear

HJC RPS-10 helmet (GP Bikes) $325.39
Tinted visor (GP Bikes) $35.48
Roadgear Visor Sock (Roadgear.com) $10.49
Stickers for lid, gotta have 'em! (eBay) $20.00
Roadkrome Gun leather jacket (Motorsports Pickering) $250.00
Fly Milepost boots (Snow City) $79.09
KTC Cartman leather gauntlet gloves (Royal Distributing) $57.99
Tourmaster Defender 2 piece rain suit (GP Bikes) $91.47
Cortech Super 18 Liter tank bag (GP Bikes) $152.50

Yes! You can get all your gear for about a grand if you shop carefully. Granted, it's not top of the line stuff, but it's not crap either, and is entirely satisfactory.

Sub total $1022.41


Miscellaneous

Box of ear plugs, 200 pairs $20.00
Cable lock $9.02
Pocket tire pressure gauge $3.38
Triumph hat $32.53
Knock-off Leatherman multi tool (with bonus flash light!) $5.00
5 amp fuses $4.51
Cheapie under seat tool kit $16.89
Chain lube (3 different kinds!) $25.89
24mm combination wrench $19.20
Storage cover $46.94
GPS mount $5.04
Battery Tender Junior, Triumph oil filter (GP Bikes - The WagJag $50 coupon cost $25, the transaction got all screwed up, she even gave me change!) net cost $21.50

Sub total $209.90

Fuel

43 fill ups of regular dino juice over 7500KM $515.49



Grand Total - $14,702.31


Cost of countless coffees at numerous stops throughout small town Ontario and Thursday night sausages at Haugen's - PRICELESS!

Fun thread; glad I could be a part of it.

 

[nobbie48]

Has anyone made money from riding?
I'm not talking about a resale profit but making money from an opportunity that wouldn't be available if you were in a cage.

 

[dblEspresso]

Has anyone made money from riding?
I'm not talking about a resale profit but making money from an opportunity that wouldn't be available if you were in a cage.

The closest I've come would be taking my bike instead of the car on trips for work -- I save a little on gas and (sometimes) parking.

 

[gixxer_dave]

Has anyone made money from riding?
I'm not talking about a resale profit but making money from an opportunity that wouldn't be available if you were in a cage.

Interesting concept! Nope -- have yet to make money riding a bike... Except for the fact that I used my bike in the middle of the day to hit up a machine shop to pick up some parts for work... Got paid $.40 per km in addition to my salary... so yeh, I did get paid! Considering the cost of gas on my bike per km traveled is 9 cents...

 

[Flashmonkey]

Has anyone made money from riding?
I'm not talking about a resale profit but making money from an opportunity that wouldn't be available if you were in a cage.

My first year riding around on my ninja 250 I theoretically saved $60 one month when I rode the bike every day to work. This came from a combination of not buying a GO train pass and the gas savings from not driving my car as often.

Odds are good that I spent that $60 on some other bike related thing, though, so I'm not sure how the reality of that actually played out.

 

[killerkeith]

Has anyone made money from riding?
I'm not talking about a resale profit but making money from an opportunity that wouldn't be available if you were in a cage.

I'm saving money riding a bike March-November no question about it. Gas savings alone is worth it. The money I save just goes back into the bike anyway.

Since I got this Ninja 250 in August I've done about 7000+kms. I fill up every 310km (approx) at an average cost of $17. That results in 24 fill ups costing $411. I ran a Ninja 650 before this and did an additional 12,000 km this year filling up every 300 km at an average cost of $19 for $760. A grand total of $1171. If I ran my 4 cylinder Escape for 20,000km instead of the bike, filling up every 450km @ $70, it works out to $3,111.

$All most $2000 savings each year in gas alone.

 

[nobbie48]

The closest I've come would be taking my bike instead of the car on trips for work -- I save a little on gas and (sometimes) parking.

That's why I asked. I took mine to a short meeting in Trenton once and collected the mileage but could have taken the cage so I was really only saving money. Somehow I became disoriented in Trenton and ended up in Bancroft after the meeting then got totally lost.

I was wondering if someone was using their bike to round up cattle or deliver mail to hermits living in the bush.

 

[dblEspresso]

That's why I asked. I took mine to a short meeting in Trenton once and collected the mileage but could have taken the cage so I was really only saving money. Somehow I became disoriented in Trenton and ended up in Bancroft after the meeting then got totally lost.

I was wondering if someone was using their bike to round up cattle or deliver mail to hermits living in the bush.

After getting bored of doing figure-eights in the parking lot, I've started rounding up Canadian geese. Oddly no one has paid me for this service.

The only business that comes to mind would be a courier service for distances that are impractical with a bicycle. If you were allowed or simply willing to filter/lane split, you would have quite an advantage over cars in a congested city.

 

[rafiki911]

Made $75 at the 50/50 draw at the HD demo ride this Saturday....does that count???

 

[Rob MacLennan]

Make money? Nope, but I save $13.00 in parking and about $5.00 in gas every time that I ride to work, rather than using the car.

 

[wildturkey27]

great post bud...and great replies from others.

wonder what our spending will be this year :S

 

[GSXMAER]

If your talkin REAL cost ....many have left out the fact they HAVE crashed.......

many new riders (under 3 years riding) went down last year....thoes are the numbers that would be interesting.....

sure medical is covered, and bike repairs......but all the out of pocket expenses.....slap on another 1000 ^ 3000?

 

[nobbie48]

Make money? Nope, but I save $13.00 in parking and about $5.00 in gas every time that I ride to work, rather than using the car.

I suppose one could argue that if one enjoyed the ride but detested the cage the five hours (Or so) of commuting by bike reduced their work related time by 5 hours and their theoretical pay per hour would be higher.

 

[cbcanada]

I don't know if your in a relationship or married, but if you are say married, household things won't get done as quickly either and there is a cost associated with that, I've been there and there now.

If your in the suburbs, neighbors will be doing what suburbinites do on the week ends, fertilizing, painting mowing etc... You won't , and that leads to domestic discussions which can lead to other things, so if you get my drift, the cost can be as much as 50% of whatever.

So as Clemenza once said, " leave the house, and go for a ride"

HAHA! Now thats the truth brother !!!
3 Thumbs up to that!

 

[Rob MacLennan]

I suppose one could argue that if one enjoyed the ride but detested the cage the five hours (Or so) of commuting by bike reduced their work related time by 5 hours and their theoretical pay per hour would be higher.

In order to enjoy the ride, in the GTA, you'd have to be doing many, many illegal things. The average commute, for workers in Toronto, is 80 minutes for a round trip. My commute is more like 100 minutes (cut that by maybe 10 minutes if I ride, instead of driving).

 

[nobbie48]

In order to enjoy the ride, in the GTA, you'd have to be doing many, many illegal things. The average commute, for workers in Toronto, is 80 minutes for a round trip. My commute is more like 100 minutes (cut that by maybe 10 minutes if I ride, instead of driving).

If one doesn't speed, filter or lane split how does a bike reduce commute time? In your case by about 10%, a substantial percentage.

 

[Rob MacLennan]

If one doesn't speed, filter or lane split how does a bike reduce commute time? In your case by about 10%, a substantial percentage.

Still doesn't qualify as 'fun.' Just a matter of being able to take advantage of openings, in traffic, before they get closed by some competitive wanker who thinks he's in a race.

 

[mmmnaked]

If one doesn't speed, filter or lane split how does a bike reduce commute time? In your case by about 10%, a substantial percentage.

By being smaller and more nimble. Take advantage of all those gaps in traffic where a car couldn't fit.

 

[Necro]

One unexpected cost that I ran into was the amount of junk food consumed while on the road. That was followed by gym memberships for weight loss.

My own weight loss counts as an upgrade to the ride, right?

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