MWTK - The costs

[Mikeymikemike]

After taking up riding, ive been thinking. Theres a hefty price you have to pay for this enjoyment.

Bike 7k
Bling 200
gear 1200k
helmet 400
insurace (motor, health) 500
service costs 500 +
Rego 400?

so after two years of riding, it has cost me around 10k, minus the bike, thats 3k

not that bad compared to my car. But still, my wallet hurts.

So how much has it cost you? how much do you fork out per year for this passion? And finally, any tips on ways to keep going on the cheap

[Aphex]

2 bikes, new gear etc in 12 months? I aint goin there.

[Desmo]

Been topics on this before, and no, I don't even want to think about it.

[Machast]

I wear about $2400 worth of protective gear, whenever I go for a ride. I'm too scared to add up how much I spend on servicing, bling, insurance, rego & other bits n bobs.

[joneen13]

i hate to think... but after owning two bikes that refuse to work properly most of the time, they've cost me a fair bit

[Semi]

ive wasted a couple of grand on my bike. Dont care though, ill keep riding. Id only spend it on piss anyway

[TORQ]

i hate to think... but after owning two bikes that refuse to work properly most of the time, they've cost me a fair bit [/b]

1 word. KAWASAKI.

[Billywhizz]

After taking up riding, ive been thinking. Theres a hefty price you have to pay for this enjoyment.[/b]

2 x wives... dont even fuggin ask

[Barfridge]

It's strange, innit? Nobody bats an eyelid at a cashed up tradie spending $50k or more on a V8 taxi with a bodykit, that will be worth half that if you're lucky in 3 years.

But spend $20k on a bike and gear then people reckon you're being extravagant.

I don't count what I spend on bikes, they are my passion, so the money is well spent. But my favourite theory is comparing my hobby to golf, which is a monumental waste of time and money. You can spend thousands a year to wear ugly pants and chase a ball around a park. I chose to spend more wisely.

[Falcore]

after sitting on one at the bike show (buell) i can see why people like em. think my license would be gone in the first week though lol

my bike on the other hand has costed 1000's in bling alone

[Desmo]

so after two years of riding, it has cost me around 10k, minus the bike, thats 3k[/b]

So it costs you $10k a year to keep a Hyosung on the road.

[taint]

at the moment probably too much, If i earned more then not enough

[Aphex]

Depends what you class as shit i guess. Although sometimes you have to take a step back to move forwards.

[Captain Starfish]

Bike 15k
Spare fairing 800
Lid 300
Gear 600
Boots & Gloves 300
Reggo 300
Insurance 600
PC3 360 (is it here yet?)
Assorted PSB Merch 150
Servicing (ie oil, plugs, filters) 300
2nd gear 1000
Sprocket, chain 300
Compressor 70
Fuel - work on 40 a week, so 2000
Tyres - 3 months a set, so 2000
Stands and tools $200
Cruise control $70
PSB/Busa inflicted traffic fines 50 (touch wood)
ATC camera (only for the bike) $200

Now of course there are some one-offs in there, but other one-offs appear every year.
I've put 15,000km on the bike in the 9 months I've had it - so call it (at the same rate, knowing it'll go up in summer) 20,000 per year at the above expenditure.

If you just add up all the one-offs and not try and say "that's gonna last x years" and amortise because we all know that the spending habit will just find other things to buy...
$24,000 per year
$1.23 per kilometre.

If, for the sake of argument, we look at expenses only (rather than capex) and assume a 3 year life on everything else, we get a total of
$11800 per year
$0.59 per kilometre.

This is insanely much more than the whale cost, btw. But I don't care. It's my baby, riding it makes me happy and I reckon it's worth

every

single

cent.

[Juffy]

But spend $20k on a bike and gear then people reckon you're being extravagant. [/b]

Depends - if it's your sole transport then yeah, $20k is about what most people (CUBs with V8s excepted) would spend on their daily driver. But if riding is a hobby, or you run a bike just for the thrill of riding when you can, it's a bloody expensive one.

This is actually the main reason why I don't ride - it's more money than I can justify for a toy, and that's what it'd be. My lifestyle and my sports (kayaking and orienteering) are both incompatible with having a bike as my only vehicle. As it is, kayaking costs me $1.5-2k a year in boats, gear and fuel; and I consider that to be a pretty expensive hobby.