Motorcyle Total Cost of Ownership

[Ben90]

Hello everyone,
So basically my 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse needs about $3000 dollars worth of repairs due to a clutch and other engine stuff and I am seriously considering ditching that car and buying a motorcycle as my daily driver.

I took the MSF about 6 months ago and have done quite a bit of research back then. Now that its basically the same price to buy a vehicle than repair my current I have been looking for used motorcycles. Originally I was looking at a Ninja 250r but decided a 600 would probably be better for me since I can do a horrible amount of highway driving. I wouldn't be comfortable redlining the Ninja for 4 hours strait.

I know I need to fork out about another $1000 for saftey equipment such as gloves and a helmet, but I was wondering how often a street bike breaks down or needs matinence. If you guys estimate its more expensive in the long run to run a bike than a car, I probably will just repair the Eclipse and suppress my feelings of wanting a bike.

 

[StageLeft]

With all that highway driving are you sure you can use a motorcycle as a DD? You cannot carry sh*t on one and they are not fun at all in the rain.

 

[crackerjacks]

the new 250 Ninjas will do 100mph so unless you take the autobahn to work you should be ok.


Motorcycles require a bit more maintenance. Back tire every 5K miles. Front every 10. Chain needs to be kept lubed every 500 miles or so plus you need to have the valves adjusted periodically. Chain adjustment and valves can be avoided by getting a bike with a shaft drive and hydraulic lifters. They can usually be spotted by having a honda emblem on the gas tank.

 

[james1701]

How much winter driving do you do? They are not very good when the roads are icy.

 

[MiataNC]

Cost of ownership = Bike + @$1k in gear + insurance + Tires/main + gas

People do Iron Butt Rally's on Ninja 250s. That is 1000 miles in 24 hours.

Here are a couple of quotes from 250r owners...

Most enjoyable bike I’ve ever owned and I’ve had a lot of bikes in the last 40 yrs. It will run all day at 80mph and for my 205 lbs. will do 103 top speed. Gets 60-65 mpg and full coverage insurance is $143/yr. Great beginner bike or bike to just be appreciated by experienced riders.

I just purchased an 09 Ninja 250r with the special paint three and 1/2 weeks ago. I’m 6’1" and weigh 215 lbs. The bike already has 1200 miles on it and I don’t regret buying it at all! I wasn’t expecting it to haul me around as quickly as it can, and I’ve taken two 200 mile + road trips with relative comfort. 0 - 80mph isn’t a challenge, so hwy merging and backroad cruising can be done with confidence. The handling is steller and there isn’t one thing I don’t like about this bike so far. Best $4200 w/ t&tl cycle choice I could have made.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Well, bikes require more frequent maintenance than cars do and you can expect tires to last maybe 5000 miles...especially on a sport bike (which is an extremely bad choice for a new rider such as yourself).

Where do you live anyway? Because on a bike a few degrees in temperature change can mean the difference between being comfortable and freezing your ass off. I'm in Southern California and can ride year round but I still have to bundle up during the winter months because 45-55 degrees ambient temperature on a motorcycle is fricken cold!!!

 

[JulesMaximus]

Read this for a great list of reasons why you should NOT buy a 600cc sport bike as your first bike.

http://www.beginnerbikers.org/showt...ls-Function-Sportbikes-are-Not-Beginner-Bikes

 

[WackyDan]

Opinions... Gotta love them. Apply a proper filter.

Bikes are quite different from manufacturer to manufacturer in regard to their maintenance schedules and costs.

Bikes are generally pretty bullet proof in regard to things breaking. In regard to maintenance, most are pretty cost affective, though I've found oil changes - even done at home are pricier than on a car.

Chain? There are plenty of shaft driven and belt driven bikes out there. Belts last a very long time and only require routine inspection from time to time.

Tires? Very subjective, but yes they do require more frequent changes and they are not cheap.

Again, comparing bikes is difficult. For example, I ride a Can Am Spyder... and expect to get 40k out of the front tires, and am probably looking at 11k out of the rear and that is after more than a few burnouts. But the maintenance costs on my ride are higher than that of any other bike because it is so freaking weird and unique.

The lowest cost bike I ever owned was my first... A 1982 Suzuki GS 450TL air cooled twin. Nothing complex about it, tires were pretty basic and I could fix anything on it myself most days.

If you are looking for the least hassle of any bike... I might suggest you look at an air cooled twin... Many modern/new air cooled twins out there that are comfy to ride and are most likely belt driven. Most if not all will be some sort of cruiser design and you can easily find factory or aftermarket hard luggage or soft bags which would make commuting with the bike easier if you need to carry a laptop, lunch, stop and buy something...etc. Don't discount the ability to carry stuff. I have hard top and side cases on mine and I can fit all my groceries in the bike with room to spare.

Again... just my opinion. Really comes down to what you had your mind on for style of bike.

 

[Occ]

I wouldn't get a bike as a new rider and immediately try and do motorcycle only. You should give yourself time to get better at riding, hopefully get any possible drops/wrecks out of your system, and learn how to do most of the maintenance (suspension, oil, chain). Not saying it's not possible to do it, just pointing out it's a bit risky to depend on a bike for your only method of transportation and try learning on it at the same time.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

No No No.


Get a beater civic/corolla/focus and save up for a cheap bike.

 

[simonizor]

Pretty much everything maintenance wise is cheaper on a bike, excluding oil changes. Filters are pretty cheap, but bike oil is a bit more expensive than car oil. If the engine is liquid cooled, you'll have to keep an eye on that. Even though the tires are more expensive, it's cheaper to put on two $150ish tires than it is to put on four $100 tires. They do usually only last about 5k miles, though. A chain is usually good for 15k miles and costs about $100 plus labor (doesn't take much time to change a chain). You might have to replace the fork seals on the front suspension eventually if you do a lot of riding on rough roads. Depending on where you have it done, they should cost about $150 (most of that is labor; it takes a long time to take all of the fairings off and take the forks apart) to replace them.

Repairs are cheaper also because there's a lot less labor required to take apart a motorcycle than a car.

That's pretty much it as far as regular maintenance goes on a motorcycle. They are cheaper to maintain than a car, but I would definitely not recommend having one as your only means of transportation. It really limits what you can do, especially if you're trying to find a job. You're not going to want to ride it when it's raining cats and dogs, if it's really really windy, or when it's winter.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Pretty much everything maintenance wise is cheaper on a bike, excluding oil changes. Filters are pretty cheap, but bike oil is a bit more expensive than car oil. If the engine is liquid cooled, you'll have to keep an eye on that. Even though the tires are more expensive, it's cheaper to put on two $150ish tires than it is to put on four $100 tires. They do usually only last about 5k miles, though. A chain is usually good for 15k miles and costs about $100 plus labor (doesn't take much time to change a chain). You might have to replace the fork seals on the front suspension eventually if you do a lot of riding on rough roads. Depending on where you have it done, they should cost about $150 (most of that is labor; it takes a long time to take all of the fairings off and take the forks apart) to replace them.

Repairs are cheaper also because there's a lot less labor required to take apart a motorcycle than a car.

That's pretty much it as far as regular maintenance goes on a motorcycle. They are cheaper to maintain than a car, but I would definitely not recommend having one as your only means of transportation. It really limits what you can do, especially if you're trying to find a job. You're not going to want to ride it when it's raining cats and dogs, if it's really really windy, or when it's winter.

You're out of your mind. Maintenance is definitely not cheaper on a bike. A car requires a major service every 30k miles or thereabout. A bike requires it every 15k miles or half that. Cars can go 30-40k on a set of tires easily (unless you're talking about high performance cars which will go half that) a high performance motorcycle you'd be lucky to get 5k miles out of a set of performance rubber and you could easily wear out a set of performance rubber in a few hundred miles doing a track day.

And oil changes are more than just that. A good shop will go through the bike and check the tightness of key bolts, adjust the clutch and check the brakes, lube the chain and adjust the tightness. This really needs to be done every 3k miles...moreso for chain adjustments (the manufacturer of my bike recommends checking the slack and adjusting the chain every 600 miles).

I'm not even going to get into insurance costs...or the comfort issues.

Mile for mile the car remains the most cost efficient commuter and definitely the safer choice.

Nobody rides a motorcycle to save money.

 

[BoberFett]

Some of what you say is true, but a bike is far easier to do basic maintenance yourself. Buy a $100 lift and you can do most maintenance on your own.

 

[jlee]

Some of what you say is true, but a bike is far easier to do basic maintenance yourself. Buy a $100 lift and you can do most maintenance on your own.

I can do most maintenance on my car with a $100 jack as well. /shrug

 

[Saga]

All these people saying tires every 5k or so are making me cry a little on the inside. I run race rubber year round and am lucky to get 2200 out of one of my rears. 1800 is more common. =P

To top it off a new one runs $350-$425!

 

[BoberFett]

I can do most maintenance on my car with a $100 jack as well. /shrug

Good for you?

Cars are considerably more complex and on modern cars everything is crammed into a tiny engine compartment and it's hard to get at many things. On a bike everything is exposed.

 

[jlee]

Good for you?

Cars are considerably more complex and on modern cars everything is crammed into a tiny engine compartment and it's hard to get at many things. On a bike everything is exposed.

You said "basic service", not "rebuild engine." On a typical supersport, changing plugs and oil can be a PITA. On a typical inline 4 car, it's easy.

What exactly were you referring to when you said "basic maintenance"?

 

[Occ]

This thread is starting to get a little eye roll inducing. I'm so sure if you were trying to save money by moving from a car to a motorcycle you'd rush out and buy a top of the line supersport with racing slicks. Well, maybe you would, but then you'd probably also be one of those people posting on leasetrader.com and getting laughed at in the other thread.

Basic, required maintenance on a bike is going to include:
Oil + Filter Change
Chain
Brakes
Suspension
Tires
Spark plugs

All of which is pretty easy to do once you've done it once or twice and have all the tools and supplies you need. Get a naked bike for the easiest maintenance. The priciest bit is going to be the tires, but you for a DD you'd be going for longevity over performance (that you'd probably never need or be capable of using anyway) so that will help.

And I would think it intuitively obvious that motorcycles are easier to work on than cars, if for no other reason than you need 1/2 of the room, if that. I have an apartment garage at the moment and there is no way I would bother working on my car in there, but you can work on 2 decent sized bikes at the same time easily.

 

[Zargon]

You're out of your mind. Maintenance is definitely not cheaper on a bike. A car requires a major service every 30k miles or thereabout. A bike requires it every 15k miles or half that. Cars can go 30-40k on a set of tires easily (unless you're talking about high performance cars which will go half that) a high performance motorcycle you'd be lucky to get 5k miles out of a set of performance rubber and you could easily wear out a set of performance rubber in a few hundred miles doing a track day.

And oil changes are more than just that. A good shop will go through the bike and check the tightness of key bolts, adjust the clutch and check the brakes, lube the chain and adjust the tightness. This really needs to be done every 3k miles...moreso for chain adjustments (the manufacturer of my bike recommends checking the slack and adjusting the chain every 600 miles).

I'm not even going to get into insurance costs...or the comfort issues.

Mile for mile the car remains the most cost efficient commuter and definitely the safer choice.

Nobody rides a motorcycle to save money.

oil change are not more than just that, the dealer/shop is doing that to gouge you for shop time. if you dont notice key bolts are too lose before a fairing or rear shock falls off you have no place riding a bike anyways.

some bikes need valve checks often, others don't. my r6 is 24k miles, all my other yams were like that, 24-30K mile intervals(my sv was 16K miles, but way less valves). you can get more than 5k out of tires if you sport touring tires, a buddy of mine ran 15k on pilot road 2's. if you get a bike to commute you are a fool to run pilot powers or other high performance street tires, they suck below 50F, are mediocre in rain, and square off in IL in 3k miles tops.

but I still agree, a cheap car is cheaper than a cheap bike. insurance on my wifes 2008 saturn is 3 times more than my 2006 R6 for the same coverage levels.

if you take care of the bike you wont have to do much but check the chain, change the oil, buy tires, and change the coolant every other year or every valve check, a chain in about the same interval(ive had stock chains last over 20K miles)


oil changes are def easier on my jeep or saturn than my supersport, but my naked rat bike is obviously the easiest.

a naked sv is super easy to work or, same with older UJM's in general. oil isnt all the expensive either, especially if you use white or blue rotella.

 

[simonizor]

You're out of your mind. Maintenance is definitely not cheaper on a bike. A car requires a major service every 30k miles or thereabout. A bike requires it every 15k miles or half that. Cars can go 30-40k on a set of tires easily (unless you're talking about high performance cars which will go half that) a high performance motorcycle you'd be lucky to get 5k miles out of a set of performance rubber and you could easily wear out a set of performance rubber in a few hundred miles doing a track day.

And oil changes are more than just that. A good shop will go through the bike and check the tightness of key bolts, adjust the clutch and check the brakes, lube the chain and adjust the tightness. This really needs to be done every 3k miles...moreso for chain adjustments (the manufacturer of my bike recommends checking the slack and adjusting the chain every 600 miles).

I'm not even going to get into insurance costs...or the comfort issues.

Mile for mile the car remains the most cost efficient commuter and definitely the safer choice.

Nobody rides a motorcycle to save money.

I think you're out of your mind. Sure, it might require more frequent maintenance, but what do you have to maintain when you do that? ALMOST NOTHING!! Change the oil, check the coolant, check the chain, etc. There are many more things that need to be maintained on a car than a bike. If you think that a car is less expensive to maintain, then you've never owned a car that's needed work done to it. Cars have many parts that are very very expensive to have replaced simply because of the amount of time that it takes to work on them. Bikes are very simple to disassemble and reassemble, therefore the labor times and costs are much lower than any repairs on a car.

Nobody rides a motorcycle to save money? You seem to have your head so far up your ass that your stomach has begun to digest it. Have you never heard of a motorcycle being more fuel efficient than a car?

 

[Greenman]

I think you're out of your mind. Sure, it might require more frequent maintenance, but what do you have to maintain when you do that? ALMOST NOTHING!! Change the oil, check the coolant, check the chain, etc. There are many more things that need to be maintained on a car than a bike. If you think that a car is less expensive to maintain, then you've never owned a car that's needed work done to it. Cars have many parts that are very very expensive to have replaced simply because of the amount of time that it takes to work on them. Bikes are very simple to disassemble and reassemble, therefore the labor times and costs are much lower than any repairs on a car.

Nobody rides a motorcycle to save money? You seem to have your head so far up your ass that your stomach has begun to digest it. Have you never heard of a motorcycle being more fuel efficient than a car?

Most bikes are more fuel efficient than most cars, and it pretty much stops there. My 8 year old pickup is cheaper to maintain than my bike, by a long shot. Just getting new tires blows the deal, $500 every 7k.

 

[Occ]

Uh huh. And what bike and tires are these?

 

[JulesMaximus]

Uh huh. And what bike and tires are these?

I get about 4-5k miles out of a set of tires on my bike. Michelin Pilot Powers, I have over 12k miles on the bike and I'm on my 3rd set of tires. At $350+ a pop installed that's not cheap. In comparison, I have 90,000 miles on my car and it is on its 3rd set of tires. If I rode the bike 90k miles I'd have spent over $6000 in tires alone. Also, the bike is coming up on its first valve check at 14,000 miles and that is NOT an easy job. It will cost me a few hundred to have that service performed.

Here's a write up by someone who owned my bike on doing the valve adjustment yourself it's pretty entertaining and has plenty of pictures documenting the procedure: http://www.bluepoof.com/motorcycles/howto/svs_valves/

background.
Don't do this. Take this to a mecahnic. Yes, I think you're smart; yes, I think you're capable. It's just that this is a huge time suck and a monstrous pain in the ass. Halfway through and I was telling all of my friends and loved ones that if I ever, EVER, mentioned wanting to adjust my own valves on this bike again, to gently take me out into the backyard and shoot me.

What, you're still here? OK, well, read on then, but don't say I didn't warn you.

And the OP asked about TOTAL cost of ownership...which includes the cost of the bike, the cost of gear, insurance, and maintenance, not to mention the physical toll commuting by motorcycle daily takes on you and the risk you take by choosing to rely on a vehicle like this as your only means of transportation.

Do I commute by bike? Yes, I do this a couple days a week...and I enjoy it. But I have a car I can use when I don't feel like riding thankfully because it takes a toll on me mentally and physically. Riding requires 100 percent of your concentration, you are exposed to the elements, the heat and cold, rocks, bugs, not to mention cars and the road rushing beneath you. Don't get me wrong, it is great fun but it is completely different than driving and I don't think people fully comprehend all this until they actually do it.

I ride and I KNOW there is no way I could ever use a motorcycle as my only means of transportation.

So, I really don't think it's as simple as "Change the oil, check the coolant, check the chain, etc."

 

[madeuce]

I wouldn't recommend a bike as a only means of transportation. Especially if you are just starting out. Driving on the interstate in the rain isn't the most fun thing in the world.

If you decide to go for it I would think hard about it before getting a super sport. Sitting position isn't so great for commuting. But like you said, redlining a 250 all day isn't going to be the smartest thing in the world either.

You do need to pay more attention and spend a little more time on the preventive maintenance on a bike. It's not hard though and it's much easier than dealing with a car.

I can't work on my truck in my garage because of a shortage in room, but if I wanted I could bring the bike into the kitchen and do just about anything that could need done to it there.

If you take it to the dealer to get all of your maintenance done you will probably pay more to keep a bike going. Anything you need to do to your bike will more than likely have a youtube of step by step instructions you can follow though.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I just calculated the basic maintenance and fuel costs of both my car and bike over 90,000 miles (which I have on my Maxima presently) and it's pretty close. I used the city mileage of both vehicles (19mpg for the Maxima and 45mpg for my SV650). If the car got better mileage it would beat the bike easily...Maximas aren't known for their stellar fuel economy. Oh, and most sport bikes get around 35mpg or worse if you start messing with aftermarket pipes and mapping.

I also figured the cost of having all services done at the dealership for both vehicles. The 3000 mile service on the bike is $125. In all fairness I should probably add in the 30/60/90k service cost on the Maxima so that would add $1800 to the bill for the car. This would push the car $420 higher than the motorcycle.

So, $0.21/mile for the car vs $0.208/mile for the motorcycle...not a whole hell of a lot cheaper to operate a bike than the car now is it? Even if I did all the oil changes on the bike myself it would only bring the bike down to $0.178/mile.

I didn't factor in brakes because I'm not sure how long my brakes will go on the bike. I replaced the front calipers about a year ago and put new pads on then...it was $90 for a set of front pads for the bike which is a good bit more expensive than a set of front brake pads for my car and I'd bet money the car needs brake overhauls less frequently than the bike. Brake rotors for a bike are ridiculously expensive.