[Guest]

I am planning on purchasing a motorcycle pretty soon. I checked insurance prices and bike prices. Basically, I would be paying 400 a month just for the bike and insurance. How much on average do you guys spend on your bikes and how much should I expect to be paying on top of that 400 I am already going to have to spend? What would be the average amount you spend on gas a week too?

Thanks

Derrick

 

[rubberhead]

Bikes are holes in the road where you throw all your money. Everything is expensive. It's all worth it though.

 

[heisenberg9]

Rubberhead is oh so correct. Is your bike new? If your bike is new or used will factor into the maintenance costs.

Assuming you have a new bike and there are no problems under warranty and you are riding either a 600cc or a litre bike expect to pay $475 for a new set of tires each year unless you end up riding just to the coffee shop every weekend. And $275 to $750 for oil changes and maintenance depending on the kind of bike you buy and how much you ride. I am factoring a major tune up in the high end of the maintenance pricing.

If you drop the bike (sorry, has to be mentioned) in a parking lot or at a traffic light and it is a sportbike expect to pay $500 to $1500 in repairs and replacement parts.

 

[Stewy]

Many factors come into play here. Age/style of bike, riding style, etc. Motorcycling is definately an expensive hobby, but as already said above, its well worth it. This year, my bike cost me about $275 in maintenance...but as the kms are piled on, more major maintenance will be required.

 

[Spike]

My advice, for what it's worth.

Buy a used bike. There are so many good used bikes out there that people are selling because they are getting out of riding, they just had a kid, just bought a house, etc. etc. etc. You save GST right off the bat, which is a huge discount. Almost enough to make it worth financing the bike.

Target something with a value around $5-6K. It's not so large that you couldn't eat the loss if something goes drastically wrong. And it's not so small that you'll be stuck on a 250 Marauder for the next 5 years. Get basic insurance for it only, and be vigilant about locking it up at night. Plan to ride safe, and don't buy comprehensive coverage. It rarely, if ever, pays back to have ICBC repair your bike if you drop it. Plan on fixing it yourself. The money you save not paying comprehensive for 5 years will easily buy you a complete set of plastics and a brake lever or two for most sportbikes.

If you believe that theft is a serious risk for the bike you're buying, get "specified perils" coverage (which is fire/theft, but not fire/theft/vandalism) to save some money. Be a little less vigilant in locking it up, if someone tries to steal it, gives up when they hit the disc lock, and drops it in your driveway instead, ICBC will call this "vandalism", or they'll claim that you dropped it yourself. You want them to successfully steal it, so ICBC can pay you out for it. Make sure the declared value is reasonable, and adjust it every year to reflect the bike's market value at the time it's most likely to be stolen (middle of summer). Unless you add something new to it every year, that means your declared value will drop every time you insure the bike.

 

[heisenberg9]

Good advice Spike!

 

[elevation]

I bought my first bike which was a 1990 Honda CB1 400cc. It cost me $3000 and $400/year to insure. I was able to have almost as much fun as the riders with 600cc bikes. The maintenace cost me about $200-$300 for a year. Overall I got into the hobby/sport/activity pretty cheap and I still had alot of fun.

Now I have a 600cc bikes and it costs me $6000 and $1600/year to insure :eek The maintenance is more too.

Motorcycles are money pits but as long as you do it right (buy used, buy small at first, be nice to your bike) the motorcycle will not empty your wallet.

BTW - Collision insurance is a waste of money on a bike that is worth less than $6000K

 

[Guest]

I bought a brand new 2005 Honda CBR 600RR and i'm financing it. To this day, although I love my baby oh so much, I wish I would of went used. I pay about 220.00 a month for my bike and 105 a month for insurance. Roughly comes to almost 400 when you factor in taxes and what not. However, I've put on 8,000 k and have gone through 3 oil changes (i'm anal...) and regular maintenance. I spend about 50 dollers a week or so on gas (daily commuter) and the occasional rip here and there. For what it's worth though, i'd never go back to four wheels and the price is worth every twist of the throttle and every last bit of motorcycle experience.

 

[KillahK]

may as well burn your money,... although you have more fun this way!! haha

 

[Tengu]

$400/month ?
That sounds pretty pricey. . . actually just reread it sounds like it includes financing?

Maybe consider an older bike you can pay cash for $2-3k and pay cheaper insurance($100/month)

 

[Vili]

First, if its your first bike, buy something you dont mind damaging, like used 3-5 year old bike, or a rebuild (yes they are safe). You will save a shitload of money, and if you drop it it wont hurt you as much (perhaps consider already dropped/scraped up/streetfightered/naked bike).

Getting the proper riding gear, and perhaps some bike upgrades like framesliders, as well as maybe lessons, will alone put you out between 1000-3000 to start off with.

Then depending what bike you get and how much you ride it, you are looking at 100-300 every 3 months, plus new tires 12-18 months (unless you really rape your bike).

 

[juic3]

hmmm.. lets see..
cost of decent noobie gear = $550
cost of old putt putt bike from uncle = free
cost of insurance = $200 a year
maintenance = $400 (had to replace exhaust and petcock plus the other tedious things)

total = lots of cash well spent

 

[TeeTee]

Learning to do a lot of your own basic maintenance work helps a lot with keeping costs down. Of course this assumes you have a place where you can do it. Apartment or condo owners usually just have to suck it up and pay the shops.

 

[TheRumpShaker]

course = $700 - BC Safety Council
bike = 3200 - '99 GS500
insurance = 300 (basic + theft/fire) x 4 mos
gear = ~1000 (helmet/jacket/boots/gloves/pants - i went overboard w/helmet
repairs = 400 (carbs cleaned, tune-up etc - bike was sitting for a while)

I think that about covers it for my first season. Phew.

 

[Spike]

I guess I could have put some numbers in too:

First year (note that this was about 8 years ago):
$2000 - 1984 Honda Nighthawk 750
$250 - HJC CL-12 helmet
$350 - Joe Rocket Reaction Jacket (only ever saw them in one store, and they've stopped making it since)
$200 - Boots - Alpinstar (I think) all black leather, goretex lined, etc.
$660 - One year's insurance (12 months). Forget whether that was comprehensive included or not, but I think it was.

Current bike:
$5800 - 1996 Honda VFR 750F
$1381 - One year's insurance, everything included (I was feeling vulnerable when I bought the bike, so I got everything for a few years... But i'm not going to get collision/comprehensive when I renew, just specified perils)

 

[michael]

If you believe that theft is a serious risk for the bike you're buying, get "specified perils" coverage (which is fire/theft, but not fire/theft/vandalism) to save some money.

As an insurance guy, I've gotta disagree with this, although ultimately, what coverage you decide to buy is based on your own bankroll, and tolerance to risk.
"Specified Perils," covers you for fire and theft, but not vandalism. And not for animal impact, or flying and falling objects. Frankly, riders who are running around some good roads are more likely to smack into a deer, horse, cow, elk, moose, dog or cat...and specified perils doesn't cover for that. It's cheaper than comprehensive, but again, you get what you pay for.

Be a little less vigilant in locking it up, if someone tries to steal it, gives up when they hit the disc lock, and drops it in your driveway instead, ICBC will call this "vandalism", or they'll claim that you dropped it yourself. You want them to successfully steal it, so ICBC can pay you out for it.

The insurance company's have a name for this, negative selection.
Probably not something you want to expound on a public forum. By all means, take precautions to prevent theft, but make it easier for thieves and use the excuse the insurer (be it private or icbc) is likely to screw you over in a claim situation?
hmmm.

 

[CrashTested]

I spend about 50 dollers a week or so on gas (daily commuter) and the occasional rip here and there.

What, do you commute at WOT :eek Our Protégé barley cost $50/week and that commute is 80km round-trip.

 

[Spike]

By all means, take precautions to prevent theft, but make it easier for thieves and use the excuse the insurer (be it private or icbc) is likely to screw you over in a claim situation?

Well, I know it happens. A former co-worker's neighbour witnessed someone trying to jack the former co-worker's bike from his garage. Thief tried rolling the bike away, got to the disc lock, and dropped the bike. Then ran.

ICBC said it was vandalism, not theft, despite having a witness to the attempted theft. The owner went to the effort to try and protect his ride with a disc lock, only to have ICBC say "too bad, so sad" when someone tried to steal it. If he saved the $50 he spent on the disc lock, the bike would have gone bye-bye and ICBC would have been out the cost of replacement.

All that being said, i'm still planning to keep both chains and a disc lock on my bike when I drop to Specified Perils. Oh, and the alarm. But if I chose to stop using the chains and disc lock, keep in mind that there's nothing in the insurance policy that says I have to lock the bike up *at all*, so it's not like i'm "making it easier for thieves". More like i'd be "not making it harder" for them. Which isn't a reason to deny coverage.