Total Motorcycle Community Forums

HandsomeRyan wrote: people in reviews seem to really like it but one of them stated the serivce every 6000 miles (i assume he meant to have the valves adjusted) costs between $300-600 is that true?

Depends on where you get the valves adjusted. If you go to a dealership, they will probably charge you that much. Consider that it's like buying an Aston Martin or a Mercedes - When the vehicle needs service, premium branding means paying premium prices.

HOWEVER, as I stated before, the valves on a 2v monster are super-easy to check. There is hardly any body work, and air-cooling means it's that much easier to deal with. You CAN do it yourself if you get a factory manual, a decent set of tools and you know how to read and follow instructions.

as much as i have fallen in love with the bike, im thinking it may not be time yet. I still want one, but i think im going to wait and get the 800 or even one of the bigger ones as a second/third bike

one of the others i liek but doubt i can afford to insure was the yamaha FZ6 (i know i know, too much for a beginner)

didnt care much for the suzuki 650 naked, not to say that its not a great bike, it just doesnt do it for me.

i get more confused every day. part of me wants a beater bike to start with in case i drop it, but i will have a much ahrder time getting financing on a 2000 bike, and i dont want to wait till fall to buy a bike just to wait till next spring to ride it. i may go back to dealer #1 now that i know more about bikes and see what they have used in stock. Grrrrr... i wish i was independantly wealthy.

i like the feel/positioing of standard bikes, the look of sport and naked bikes, and the price of dirt bikes. lol and i dont really want a gs500 because i dont want to ride the same thing as everyone else.

well, i have at least a week to think about it, then i guess if i dont buy one imediatly, its not the end off the world.

Same thing as everyone else?

I haven't seen one person riding a GS500F where I live... and a BUNCH of people ride them at my college. As much as we recommend the GS and Ninja 500, it doesn't mean people end up buying them.

I do see a bunch of ninja 250's and 500's here... but not one GS500. (Other than that, most of the kids around here have 600cc sport bikes, and the older kids have cruisers).

I will step in again and say you probably should get a beater for your first bike. It will still be fun, it should be cheap, and it will be good experience. I got my KZ650 for $700 in perfect running condition. If you look around hard enough, you should be able to find something.

you are right. i just need SOMETHING. my problem is, i have been looking at bikes/bike stuff for like a month now and i stil have to wait another week for the class and i dont have a bike lined up yet so im freaking out because i just want to ride. if its a 50cc minibike or a haybusa or anyhting in between i just have an urge to ride. and once i get a bike, no matter what it is, i think i'll chill out a little bit.

Trust me on this, you will have fun on absolutely any bike you get. Maybe not for a year, but you will have fun on it for as long as it takes you to learn to push that bike's limits.

Ryan, why dont you go to the bank and get a line of credit, they will prolly give you one fairly easily, and the interest rate usually isnt bad, you can get yourself a beater bike, use it for a season, pay off your lLOC and then sell the bike and get a new one.

TechBMW wrote:[Consider that it's like buying an Aston Martin or a Mercedes - When the vehicle needs service, premium branding means paying premium prices.

So they charge what they do because they can.

My father always told me: "If you can't afford to fix a Porsche, you can't afford to buy one".

That is why it is important to do the wrenching yourself! My buddy's dad has a pair of old Porsche 927's and does the wrenching himself, fun cars! They aren't bad to maintain either since he does all his own work.

It is the same thing with a ducati. If you do the work yourself, then it is no more expensive than any other bike of the same price. I hear the valve modification is a really good idea.

Ugh, there are too many bikes I want to try! I wish more places had test drives available.

Warranty?

IIRC ducatis have a 2 year warranty. where porsches bite you in the wallet is parts costs and labor if you dont work on it yourself.

Basic maintainance on a porshce is pretty cheap if you do it yourself, and they tend to be pretty reliable if maintained and driven regularly. Only real nightmare on most porsches is the engine, porshce engines are VERY complex and crammed into a tiny space. On the upside most porsche chassis and suspension setups tend to be pretty simple.

Exotic cars are like motorcycles, they tend to be more reliable if driven regularly.