New and looking for some answers

[Brandon2382]

Hi, first off all i'd like to say i love motorcycles even though i have only got to ride once in my life.

Anyway i was thinking of buying a bike soon but i cant find a straight answer anywere on the internet about the cost of owning and operating a bike with insurance maintenance gas etc. . . I know alot of thos things will count on where i live, what kind of bike i have and so on. . .anyway im just wondering if anyone could tell me how much they pay to own thier motorcycle. I was looking into getting a sports bike maby like a kawasaki ninja zx6r or something similar to that, i live in canada (london ontario to be more specific) i am only 18 years old right now so im sure that will have an affect on insurance. So any answers would be appreciated even if you dont live around canada, could anyone give me an average cost on how much it costs to own your bike.

Thanks in advance for replies.

[Big B]

first, welcome to the site
second, go to the new bikers forum and read all of the stickies.

[kellanv]

First of all, welcome to the forum!

As a warning this thread will probably get moved to the beginners board but I'll take a stab at a few things here...

First of all, take some sort of motorcycling safety course. They are HIGHLY reccomended here. I took one recently and loved it. I gained skills as well as met a few riding buddies.

Go to the beginners forum and look at the stickies at the top of the page, especially the one concerning 600cc sportbikes...It is GENERALLY agreed upon that while yes, with careful and responsible riding, a new rider can manage fine on a 600cc sportbike as his first HOWEVER I strongly use the term "manage" because with the extra power, more "peaking" throttle response etc, you'll be spending a ton of time just trying to keep it in check, rather than ride and build your more important skills.

I would strongly suggest looking for something a little less powerful and remember that this isnt your last bike, its only your first. Dont worry about looking cool, that shouldnt be a primary concern anyway. Motorcycling is a lot of fun, regardless of what you are on.

I, myself am riding an enduro trail bike around as my first and believe me, its low cc but it has PLENTY of power to get you in trouble, not to mention it is very light and handles incredibly well. I've made great improvements riding that bike around in a relatively small time...something that I dont think would happen as quickly on an R-type sportbike.

That being said, in around 6 months I'll probably be moving up to a Honda 599(a 600cc naked sport basically) And I think that'll work very well.

As far as "affording" a bike...

I would not reccomend getting a bike(esp not a new bike) if you think it will consume the majority of your income. If you have a car, good. At 18 I just wouldnt reccomend getting in a situation where you are working and putting all your money towards a bike, instead of having fun with friends etc. Its just not worth it.

Costs really do vary based on the things you mentioned. A 600cc sportbike for an 18 year old will be VERY expensive to insure if you want decent coverage. You are a demographic that experiences a lot of wrecks so insurance companies are wary. You can expect anywhere between 800-2400 USD a year for insurance(not sure what the rates are there) If you can do your own maintenance thats good, but the required checkups on a new bike can run a couple hundred bucks.

And VERY Importantly...GET GOOD SAFETY GEAR. This alone can run you 500-1000 bucks(USD again) easily and its very important. You arent much good riding if you are all banged up. Get gear first, then move up to the bike.

Remember, its not a matter of IF you crash...its a matter of WHEN....

My reccomendation, start small. Find a used 250 or something similar to run on for a season. Get your skills up(it IS a skill that requires practice) then you can sell that bike for about what you paid and then you can move up.

[GrandGT]

i mostly agree with whats said above except id add:

get a used bike - save a ton of money and wont cut huge amounts off the value if oyu drop it.

i truely doubt your insurance will be 800-2400 if you have a good driving record. I'm 19 with a spotless record and I'm paying $115usd.

the main thing you need to think about when it comes to cost is that stuff adds up fast.

here was my situation (just bought my bike this summer):
$275 MSF course
$1850 bike (1993 600 sportbike)
$400 gear (helmet, jacket, gloves, boots)
$100 licensing (permit, license, registration, tax)
$0 maintenance (know a mechanic, but otherwise is expensive)
$? gas (relatively cheap, but high octane is expensive)

while its possible to skimp in a few places, that adds to close to 3000USD, and i got my bike for cheap. i wouldnt discourage you from getting a bike, just think about how it will affect you financially. I was only able to afford my bike (i work in the summer as im in college) because I switched from part time to full time at a much better job from last year.

[Brandon2382]

Ok thanks guy's and thanks grandGT that helped alot thats all i really needed was a ballpark price on how much it costs to own a bike. If others could post like grandGT did it would help alot.

[kellanv]

I seriously doubt you have full coverage for 115/year...

[Phat_J]

I bought my bike four months ago and here is what I have spent on it.

8000 motorcycle
1000 tax, title, registration
180 MSF course
350 helmet
120 jacket
1000 in aftermarket parts
~100 maintenance (oil change)
550 /yr insurance

[kabob983]

You forgot insurance, assuming you have insurance

I got everything done on the cheap side as well.

Retail I Paid
Helmet: $400 $100
Jacket: $400 $51
Boots : $240 $109
Gloves: $80 $40
Pants: ? ?


Total : $1120 $300

Got a 2000 Kawasaki EX500R for $1800 and spent about $200 tuning it up, so we'll say $2000 for the bike.

Insuring it cost me a whopping $120/yr

So all in all for everything it cost me about $3240 US.

Definately take the MSF BRC course, it can save your life. And many insurance companies offer discounts for taking it (but not mine...).

Next, wait a while for that ZX-6R. The bike is awesome I will agree, but wait until you have the skills to handle the bike. Even my EX500, which has a little less than 1/2 the horsepower than the ZX-6R is a beast to handle at times. Everything about the ZX-6R is bred for speed, so much so that if you do not know what you're doing it can be extremely hazardous. Stick with something small. We usually suggest the Kawasaki EX250/EX500 and the Suzuki GS500 as a good starting sportbike.

Also, insuring that bike as an 18 year old is...rough. I'm 23 with a perfect driving record and getting good coverage on a new GSX-R600 would cost me about $3000/yr. Insurance companies know why people buy these bikes (in general) and therefore charge a much larger premium to insure them. When I hit 25 that amount would probably be...less than 1/4 that amount.

Also, as stated above by more than one person, look for a used bike. Not as much grief if you take it down (hey, that's why we call it a "beginner's bike, it's there to take some punishment!)

Good luck!

[GrandGT]

I seriously doubt you have full coverage for 115/year...

actually its 115 a year and i forget to have them put the 10% discount on. and im pretty sure even with full coverage it was like 182 or 215 a year, one of those.

and i didnt say i have full coverage, i have basic 20/40.
i also live in new england where riding is seasonal so you pay less
my bike is considered to be worth 1433 to the state
my record is squeaky clean (gotten a few warnings)
my dad used to work for HP, so for some reason they gave me that discount (probably like 2-5%)

i have no idea why anyone would get anything more than the basic for a few reasons:
- if its not my fault my insurance doesnt matter (unless theyre uninsured in which cased ur effed anyway.)
- id never do even 20/40 damage to another car unless i plowed into the side of a ferrari
- damage to your own health is covered by health insurance
- its silly to get protection for the bike because if i damage the bike enough that it gets totaled, i probably wont be riding for a long time anyway

those are just my thoughts right now, so if anyone has good reason for full coverage (whatever that includes) im open to suggestions

[Brandon2382]

i think thats some good advice i was deffinatley planning on buying a used bike anyway but maby buying a bike that is not as powerful would be a good idea. That was pretty much the thing i was worried about is how much my insurance would be and i dont really know how insurance in canada compares to how much you guys are paying. I guess im just going to have to do a little bit more reasearch.