I always thought that owning a motorcycle wasn't very expensive. Sure the insurance can be, but I really don't know about maintaining the bike.

I know it varies by manufacturer and model, but overall, are they expensive to maintain?

 

i wouldnt think so, but i know nothing about bikes...

 

not really but if you hard and alot then yes they can be..

 

Do bikes tend to get more expensive to maintain as they age or are they pretty consistent throughout their life-span of ownership?

 

the reason I asked this question is because my best friend says he has a few co-workers that have bikes that complain they are very expensive to maintain. I didn't believe him because I didn't think they'd be more expensive than owning a car.

But even still, they can't be that expensive to maintain.

 

Expensive to maintain? Maybe, if you wipeout on this bad boy, have fun reassembling it.



http://www.bike.org.uk/cma/norfolk/lego_bike.jpg

 

^^^^

Like my siggy says, all roads lead to legos

that's awesome

 

I'm not a motorcycle expert but I think Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki etc. bikes wouldn't be that expensive to maintain. Ducati's, MV Augusta's and other Italian bikes probably would be the expensive ones to maintain.

 

depends on the bike...ducatis will be more $$$ to maintain than say a honda.

it does depend on what you use the bike for too. most of the maintenance like changing the oil, re-torquing all the bolts, cleaning/lubing the chain, can all be done by yourself. if you ride a lot or do a good amount of tracks, you'll be wearing out your tires quicker than the norm.

 

Let's say you get one for commuting purposes and average 50-60 miles a day on your commute. I wouldn't mind learning how to do some of the stuff, but overall, would it be hard to maintain?

 

that's what my commute was like...cleaned/lubed the chain every 1K miles. changed the oil every 2K. if you enjoy working on and tinkering with the bike, it's no pain at all. it certainly wasn't expensive to maintain. however, it will begin to cost more as the miles accumulate.

you'll want to invest in a good set of stands (the rear especially) if you want to do your own maintenance.

 

Sounds like If I ever got a bike I'd basically be doing this service every month and a half, and changing the oil every 3 months.

that doesn't sound too bad.

 

cleaning the chain and lubing takes all of 15 minutes. an oil change should be about the same.

just don't let the engine run in gear while doing chain maintenance.

 

what about re-torquing the bolts? do you basically just check them from time to time and torque them when needed?

what bolts are you referring to for this as well?

 

download or get the service manual for your bike, it will (should) have illustrations pointing to each bolt, as well as the amount of torque that should be applied for each one. if you have a sport bike, there really won't be too many. your service manual will also tell you after how many miles you should be checking and re-torquing.

what bike are you thinking about getting?

 

I'm not getting one at the moment. I wish I was

My best friend and I have had debates about owning bikes, insurance costs, maintenance costs, etc. Overall he claims they aren't worth it, they are too expensive and hard to maintain, but I've met people that haven't said that at all so it just puzzled me. He claimed they are expensive by what his co-workers told him, and I didn't really think they are that expensive to own. If anything the insurance would be more expensive (depending on how much you ride the bike).

But this information does help me because I do want to get one sometime in the future. And it helps me to know what to expect in terms of maintenance and how hard it may be.

If I ever do get a bike, I'd want an R6


Thanks for your info, if I do ever get one, i'll let you know, i'd need a riding buddy for the weekend

 

First 10 thousand miles are ok. But after that there will be a time where it gets expensive then it will get cheap again.

Depending on what tires you get they will last around 10 to 12 thousand miles if you ride easy. New ones go for around $400 to $500

You will need a new chain and sprockets around the 10 to 12 thousand mark. That’s about $250. When you do get a new chain go with a 520 chain kit.

Fork seal can start to go around the 10 to the 12 thousand mark depending on riding and the type of roads you ride on.

Depending on the bike spark plugs will need changing at 10 to 12 thousand miles. Sparks plugs could cost you all the way up to a $100 for a set of four. You usually have to drop the radiator to get to them.

You will need a valve adjustment at 16 thousand miles. The rear shock might go out around that time too.

If you can find some one that knows how to work on bikes then you will save a shit load in labor costs.

 

When I had my TLR, the most expensive thing (and it wasnt even maintenance related) was getting a new rear tire that had a nail in. You cant just patch the tire. And since it was a 190, it was about $160 installed if I remember.

Other then that, oil changes, chain lube and spray polish was all I needed for about 10K until I sold it.

 

they are only expensive when you crash them...

 

They are relatively cheap to maintain...if you were to use it for commuting...I would find a more standard sitting one...less aggressive....and as mentioned above the only truly major thing is valve adjustment at 16k...get a older BMW...they are bulletproof... why cant they do that with their cars.

 

Depends what kind of bike you get, my Honda Magna had nearly 50k on it with no major issues (besides being stolen). I had to replace the regulator/rectifier (under 200) on it and the seats need to be recovered annually if you park it outside in the sun everyday. Replaced the tires once. My Shadow Sabre has only had regular oil changes in the two years I've had it..but then I only have 1500 miles on it If you get a crotch rocket I'm sure that high rpm means more issues but I can't speak to that. Retorqueing bolts? Are we talking about harleys here?

 

Is there a reason why they don't give mileage ratings on bikes? I looked at a couple of the yamaha's and one of the honda bikes and none of them gave a mileage rating on gas.



In particular, I'd like to know what the mileage rating is on the R6

sorry for the questions about bikes. But I'm really curious about them.

 

well my R6 gives about somewhere around 35 in city... the other day I went 145 miles with light on and then filled the bike up with 4.3 gallons. I usually shift between 8-9k rpm...

 

now my SV gave better mpg than R6... it would give around 40-45

 

what would you predict your mileage would be solely with highway driving?

And isn't shifting at 8-9K kinda high? if so then shifting at lower rpm would give better mileage?

 

its no fun though...and it only costs 15-16 bucks to fill up w/ 93 octane...and you will get 140 miles out of the tank easy.

The bikes don't make 'power' until 7k. Although in 1st gear you are already doing close to 60-65 shifting @ 15k...

Do not buy a bike to commute if you drive in a lot of traffic...just not a good idea imo, I see wrecks almost daily due to traffic here in orlando, although 1,000's do daily. I came up on one today where I think a public bus hit the bike, I only saw the bus off to the side of the road and the bike being loaded into the back of a truck in pieces, the rider already taken away in the ambulance. When I start riding (agian) here it will only be for fun or not during prime hours of traffic...to many idiots out there talking on cell phones and putting on makeup. I'm actually thinking of making my bike a track only bike.

Sure you can shift @ 5-6k but you will not be in anykind of power band. Solely h/w I bet you could see 30-35 mpg on a 600....I'd get 30-36 mpg on my 05 Zx6-R doing 80-120mph for 130 mile loop we do going out to B.F.E. where we only see a maximum of 2 cars per hour, and its usually just guys working on their farms and stuff.

All highway i Bet you could see up to 40+ mpg keeping the RPM's under 5k for the majority of the time, only getting on it to pass...

 

get a v-twin, plenty of power/torque in the low RPM band.

 

Is it expensive to lower a motorcycle? Can it be done to any bike...or only specific types?

 

not too hard, or too expensive, depends on the bike and the hardest part is makingsure that when you lower the front fork tubes that they are exactly the same height

 

Thanks for the info, one more question...what would be the price range...springs? and installment...just wanna get an idea.

 

For your information, lowering or raising a bike from the fork tubes effect the steering charteristics of the bike. If your short like me and want want to lower the seat height the only way I can think of is to remove some of the seat padding (or wear platform shoes ).

 

call a shop and ask them...I've have never wanted to lower my ZX6-R but I think the only thing you need is different linkage, they sell a bunch of it at this shop called H.A.I. here in orlando if you want to call them 407-447-1176 tell them justin @ performance told you to call and the'll hook you up and get you the prices you need.

like rced said you can take out padding from your seat but it depends on your seat, like the hondas don't have very much so i think it would kill you ass. The only thing I would 'shave/reshape' the seat for is to get my balls off the tank and put my body a little back/forward.

 

or shoot them an e-mail here : orders@haibikeshop.com

 

Thanks for all the great info

 

I just like the look of a lowered bike.