A few questions from a returning noob

[eaglecatcher]

Well, I haven't been on here in a while, tried to ignore wanting a bike because my parents wont let me have one, but since I still want one very badly, I'm just gonna ask soem more questions in case I do get one in the near future (near means possibly a year or so).

Anyway, how much would you expect to spend per year on maintenance? If I get a bike, it would be my main transportation (only really). I'm debating between a bike and a 300ZX, whcih is my favorite car on earth. Z's are very costy for mainteance, and things break because they're older cars, and they cost about 10 grand for a nice one that would be fairly reliable. What I'm wondering, is that say I spend 5000 on a bike (after going through a starter bike), how much more would I end up spending on maintenance? I would save money on gas, and insurance would be about the same for a motorcycle or a Z with full coverage on either one. So, how bad is the maintenance on a bike compared with cars, like would I spend about the same, more, or less by the time I bought a bike, gear, maintenance, insurance, etc, as I would on an older sports car like a 300ZX, considering I'd save about 5grand off the starting point.

Also, I've heard some people recommending R6's as ok for first bikes. Seems like thats borderline. What do you guys think? My friend just bought a ZZR1100 for her first bike, but it was too big for her, so she sold it and may get something smaller.

And last but not least, oh crap, I forgot what I was going to say. OH well, sorry for the long and confusing post, but I'm looking at colleges, and then I'll be looking at transportation once I decide where I'm going. If its a town with lots of public transportation, I may go with a bike. If its a rural town, I may go with a car. Who knows.

[-regr3t-]

well, Im not gonna be the most useful response, but ill try to at least serve some purpose.

As far as maintenance, some depends on how you run the bike and if you can do simple tasks on your own. Dealerships do charge pretty high labor rates... its about 80 an hour here.

The R6, while very cool, is not a good beginner bike. It is a supersport that is well beyond a beginners capabilities, and can be dangerous. If it HAS to be something that big and modern, maybe an sv650 or ninja 650 would be better choices, but they are still very grey as far as starters.

[Veda]

Two questions -

1 - where do you live?

2 - do you plan to do much maintenance yourself or are you planning on taking the bike to the mechanic for maintenance?

[Derail]

Another thing to think about as the bike will be your only transportation for school and work is weather...Riding in the rain isn't so bad, but sitting in class soaking wet kinda does(happened to me yesterday.) I live in Florida so I'm prepared for lots more rain too, and by prepared I mean prepared to suck it up and just go to class wet. As for insurance I pay less than half for full coverage on my bike then what I paid for min coverage on my car, 94 firebird formula. But the bike is quickly starting to add up, manual, frame sliders, oil changes, new helmet(and planning on a newer one since i bought a 130$ cheapo one that isn't very well vented, needs new brakes, new tires in about 1k miles, and I'm using hand me down gloves, and I have my eye on a new jacket once all that is taken care of. The money I save on gas makes me smile every time though. 9$ to fill up as opposed to 45+, gas was 3.30something when I had my car about a year ago. As for the R6, I don't recommend it but thats what I started on as a street bike. I had been on dirt bikes since I was 7 and taken my parents bikes out for practice up and down the street, both 800+cc Harleys. I practiced on it for a few days before I bought it, the private seller was a really nice guy. I love my bike but I could have started smaller and been just as happy. Luckily I have parents that ride who helped me put my first few hundred miles on my bike. Hope that helped a little.

[eaglecatcher]

I'm gonna go somewhere in either canada, the northwest, the northeast, or just the north (like michigan), and somewhere about as far south as tennesee.

After thikning about the weather, it probably wouldn't be too ince riding a bike through the snow, but the other half is, that I'm selling this car (mustang) nd either going to buy a bike or a 300ZX, and those cars are terrible in the snow.

ideally I could have both, but thats not gonna happen.

I'd also do all my own maintenance. The only thing I don't do on my cars, is big stuff, I've changed fluids, filters, belts, hoses, just about anything maintenance wise I can do.

[Duffy]

If your going to be somewhere "north" and this vehicle is going to be your main source of transportation, I'd get a car. If you have your heart set on a bike though and you are a beginner rider, your best bet is to get a Ninja 250(sounds like you like sportier looking bikes). The Ninja 250 is less expensive to buy and it sounds like your a capable sort and could do most of the maintenance yourself wich would save you a bundle. And with the left over money you could buy an inexpensive used POS car outright (so you don't need to have full coverage, you could pay full for the bike too and get the minimal coverage on that as well) And the car could get you through the bad weather and the extra space would help when you are doing grocery shopping or laundry.

That's what I did, traded in my over-priced, gas guzzling SUV and got a small economical inexpensive car and had money left over for the bike. You may not get the car of your dreams now...but if you have your heart set on it, you'll probably own one eventually somewhere down the road.

[flw]

You'll be riding more of the year safety, if you pick a tame dual purpose bike. You can ride both dry, wet and some snowy roads (but slower) on these bike due to the tires. Not great on the Interstate in traffic but otherwise they can be a more true utility bike than any other type.

My neighbor does ride most of the year. He rides from around beginning of April to mid-December. Has also has a "runner car" for true bad weather or temps and the few months it just not worth it. He also drives about 25 miles to work and another 25 back home. This is in Northern Ill.

If your willing to do your own engine oil/filter changes and chain lube, you will save money on all typical maintenance. I include check and top off any coolant and brake oil along with tire pressure check (weekly) and overall inspection for damage on the engine/tires/trans/undercarriage from rocks etc...

On the work car, just get it insured the month before you think you might need it in case the winter or bad weather comes early. If you can do the cars oil and store it properly yourself, you can save more money again.