Muppet Bike Questions
Discussion
Hey guys
Just a few queries..
You can buy a R1, Ducati 996 for less than £10k.... in other words pennies compared to a similarly performance orientated car.
How much are these bikes to run? New tires (cost and frequency of change)? etc etc
Also, what about insurance costs?
Just curious. Much appreciated.
>>> Edited by rico on Sunday 16th November 21:21
Just a few queries..
You can buy a R1, Ducati 996 for less than £10k.... in other words pennies compared to a similarly performance orientated car.
How much are these bikes to run? New tires (cost and frequency of change)? etc etc
Also, what about insurance costs?
Just curious. Much appreciated.
>>> Edited by rico on Sunday 16th November 21:21
I'm fairly new to biking so I can't give you the best reply but so far in my knowlegde they are far cheaper than cars
Tyres are about the same price but obviously you only need half as many. Tax is almost a quarter of what the car costs and £7 petrol will get me as far as £20 in the car (including riding it 'properly'
)
Insurance is the prick right now, at £1k. It's almost as much as my car insurance even though its only for 4000 miles a year and 3rd party! Although I hear that once you get a years no claims it halves.
The only other area of expense is gear. You can drive your car in your pants if you like, but you need good stuff when on the bike. I've spent almost £2k on a race-suit, helmet, boots, etc.
Hope this helps. Was this question just for some info or are you thinking of taking the plunge?
Tyres are about the same price but obviously you only need half as many. Tax is almost a quarter of what the car costs and £7 petrol will get me as far as £20 in the car (including riding it 'properly'
) Insurance is the prick right now, at £1k. It's almost as much as my car insurance even though its only for 4000 miles a year and 3rd party! Although I hear that once you get a years no claims it halves.
The only other area of expense is gear. You can drive your car in your pants if you like, but you need good stuff when on the bike. I've spent almost £2k on a race-suit, helmet, boots, etc.
Hope this helps. Was this question just for some info or are you thinking of taking the plunge?
dick dastardly said:
Hope this helps. Was this question just for some info or are you thinking of taking the plunge?
If won't be in the near future as i'm currently at uni, but bikes have always tempted me. I wouldn't ride like a nutter just would be so much cheaper and still get that great sound... well you all know the reasons you ride.
My mum would probably disown me though... bless her.
I've done a lot of mountain biking, including dirt jumping and competitive downhill riding where we got up to around 30mph with trees etc couple of inches away offroad... so i quite enjoy that sort of world.
mmmm ducatis mmmmmm
Hi Rico,
I've got a Ducati 916, not the latest model, but no different in running costs.
Brief rundown of my expenditure:
Road - Tax £65
Insurance - (old git! - but with 9 points!) £400
Service - at Ducati dealer varies, depending on what's required, between about £250 - £500
Less if at Non-Dealer (required every 6k miles or 12 months)
Tyres - £100 Front, £140 Rear - Front lasts about 5k miles, rear about 3k miles
Fuel consumption - pretty good at about 40mpg
Repairs other than servicing/tyres - very little, had new chain this year @ approx £90 otherwise very reliable.
The above also applies to R1 (& other Jap bikes) except the servicing is cheaper and the mpg is worse (4 cyl).
Of course if you've not already got it then the kit (leathers, helmet, gloves, boots etc) has to be bought - allow at least a grand.
But remember with top sports bike you've got 160mph+ rocket which can out-accelerate ANY road car up to about 100mph (0-60 times approx 3 sec, 0-100 approx 5 sec) and a much greater fun factor and, for the money there ain't no comparison.
Go on, you know it makes sense......
Edited to say: You ain't going to get a Ferrari for any where near similar money.
>> Edited by cazzo on Sunday 16th November 23:02
I've got a Ducati 916, not the latest model, but no different in running costs.
Brief rundown of my expenditure:
Road - Tax £65
Insurance - (old git! - but with 9 points!) £400
Service - at Ducati dealer varies, depending on what's required, between about £250 - £500
Less if at Non-Dealer (required every 6k miles or 12 months) Tyres - £100 Front, £140 Rear - Front lasts about 5k miles, rear about 3k miles
Fuel consumption - pretty good at about 40mpg
Repairs other than servicing/tyres - very little, had new chain this year @ approx £90 otherwise very reliable.
The above also applies to R1 (& other Jap bikes) except the servicing is cheaper and the mpg is worse (4 cyl).
Of course if you've not already got it then the kit (leathers, helmet, gloves, boots etc) has to be bought - allow at least a grand.
But remember with top sports bike you've got 160mph+ rocket which can out-accelerate ANY road car up to about 100mph (0-60 times approx 3 sec, 0-100 approx 5 sec) and a much greater fun factor and, for the money there ain't no comparison.
Go on, you know it makes sense......
Edited to say: You ain't going to get a Ferrari for any where near similar money.
>> Edited by cazzo on Sunday 16th November 23:02
My 748 was £4000, cost £1000 for TPFT insurance without any no claims bonus. Tyres are around £200-£250 a pair, had cambelts done for about £170 I think. Petrol cost about £15 a week, after a good few blasts. Just a look in the garage puts a smile on your face.
You know it makes sense
You know it makes sense
Re insurance - it's worth remembering that slow bikes aren't intrinsically boring in the way that slow cars are. You just go down the yellow roads... and save a lot on insurance.
Re gear - it's easy to get seriously ripped off, see current thread about £400 helmets being no more crash-resistant than £30 ones. Be guided by official safety testing rather than brand names.
Re gear - it's easy to get seriously ripped off, see current thread about £400 helmets being no more crash-resistant than £30 ones. Be guided by official safety testing rather than brand names.
If you cut the capacity ie go 600cc or less you get a lot cheaper insurance (if you go for somat a bit older & unfashonable- ie like my bandit 600 comuter steed, the insurance is £140 pa) oh and at sub 100mph speeds thers is bugger all in it on the twisties- well if you get somat like an RVF400 & have a decent level of riding skill (thats me out of the eqasion then 
) you can even be quicker.
Tyres can last a bit longer, (they don't for me tho) but that really depends on your riding style & tyre choice 3k rear 6k front is about right ive found for reasonably sticky tyres 5k rear in winter & if I have a hard tyre.
So a more budget option
VFR400 £1000- £3000= very nice RVF)
Insurance £200
Kit £500'ish' (Shoei lid £150, Hien Gerrick leathers £300, Akito boots £40, Gloves £30
) you can even be quicker. Tyres can last a bit longer, (they don't for me tho) but that really depends on your riding style & tyre choice 3k rear 6k front is about right ive found for reasonably sticky tyres 5k rear in winter & if I have a hard tyre.
So a more budget option
VFR400 £1000- £3000= very nice RVF)
Insurance £200
Kit £500'ish' (Shoei lid £150, Hien Gerrick leathers £300, Akito boots £40, Gloves £30
I was suprised about the insurance on mine. I had a GPZ500 since my test: £850 fully comp. After a years riding and passing my 30th birthday, I traded up to a Speed Triple 900cc. Admittedly it is only worth £500 more but has double the power and is only £550 fully comp. Almost doubling the capacity and power and it still halved my insurance. Compared to a faired bike, a ninja 600 would cost £1500. Might be worth looking at a naked bike till you get a few years no claims.
dick dastardly said:
I'm fairly new to biking so I can't give you the best reply but so far in my knowlegde they are far cheaper than cars
Tyres are about the same price but obviously you only need half as many. Tax is almost a quarter of what the car costs and £7 petrol will get me as far as £20 in the car (including riding it 'properly'
Insurance is the prick right now, at £1k. It's almost as much as my car insurance even though its only for 4000 miles a year and 3rd party! Although I hear that once you get a years no claims it halves.
The only other area of expense is gear. You can drive your car in your pants if you like, but you need good stuff when on the bike. I've spent almost £2k on a race-suit, helmet, boots, etc.
Hope this helps. Was this question just for some info or are you thinking of taking the plunge?
Disagree STRONGLY on the prices. Tyres cost about the same, yes, but you tend to need them about four tiimes as often. You also need chains on a bike, and clutches go about as often.
I have no idea what sort of bike you must be riding (or car you are owning) to get three times the mileage on the bike, but if you have a sports bike, and know how to use it, you'll be down around 35mpg.
About the same as you'll get in a nippy car.
Modern sports bikes are not cheap transport. They are cheap performance, if you look at a similarly performing car, but in day to day use they add up to a lot of money.
Hi Another Take!!
I've got a fully faired Bandit 600, its almost as quick as the 600 sports bikes, but most of the time you don't ride flat out so its at similar pace but way way quicker than any car.
Fuel- I get about 160 miles for £11, in my diesel car I get 400 miles for £40, so much better fuel economy
Kit - Shoei lid was £200, got A/stars boots for £25 from BMF show, gloves £50, 1 piece leather for £100 (from BMF!), plus two piece material set for cold use - £250
Insurance - £420 TPFT with No expeirence and 2 fault acccidents (24years old)
Servicing - just had its 1st six month service with me - £230
Tyres - £200 lasts 4k miles
Overall although the startup costs are much greater than cars (more expensive test/lessons, kit etc.) It does work out cheaper than a sports car.
Remember that bikes are very different to cars, a car you can use all the time, I don't fanyc taking a high powered bike out when the weather is snowy & icy.
Tim.
I've got a fully faired Bandit 600, its almost as quick as the 600 sports bikes, but most of the time you don't ride flat out so its at similar pace but way way quicker than any car.
Fuel- I get about 160 miles for £11, in my diesel car I get 400 miles for £40, so much better fuel economy
Kit - Shoei lid was £200, got A/stars boots for £25 from BMF show, gloves £50, 1 piece leather for £100 (from BMF!), plus two piece material set for cold use - £250
Insurance - £420 TPFT with No expeirence and 2 fault acccidents (24years old)
Servicing - just had its 1st six month service with me - £230
Tyres - £200 lasts 4k miles
Overall although the startup costs are much greater than cars (more expensive test/lessons, kit etc.) It does work out cheaper than a sports car.
Remember that bikes are very different to cars, a car you can use all the time, I don't fanyc taking a high powered bike out when the weather is snowy & icy.
Tim.
Tim2100 said:
I've got a fully faired Bandit 600, its almost as quick as the 600 sports bikes, but most of the time you don't ride flat out so its at similar pace
Tim as a fellow bandit owner I do agree they are great fun on a budget, but mate they are miles away performance wise from a 600 sports bike.
With around 40bhp more & up to 40kg less weight, coupled to way better handling & very decent brakes- they really are several leauges ahead.
I do agree that if you absolutely ride the tits off the bandit you should be able to keep in touch with even a dedicated nutter riding hard on a sports 600 on you if the speeds are relitivly low- ie sub 100 ish & its a bit twisty, and if they are a novice or a polish it & ride 10 miles on a sunny sunday type or simply they are afraid of the red line!
you will leave 'em way behind, (mind you the same is true about sports 400s & supermotards in the same situations) however get mr nutter on the 600 out on to some open roads & the bandit is (I hate to admit) just way way outclassed. Iguana
Yep your right the performance is a long way away than a sports 600 in terms of bikes, but the difference when your brand new to biking is not that great.
When we go out in a group I tend to be one of the quicker riders as I ride me bike pretty hard, however the sports 600 riders tend to be more reserved, but when the do decied to go I have to ride the tits of my bike to keep em in view.
The Bandit is a great do everything type of bike, it can cope with country lane hacks, it can do A & B roads, it can commute, its easy to ride, but it is not the best in any of these.
Tim.
Yep your right the performance is a long way away than a sports 600 in terms of bikes, but the difference when your brand new to biking is not that great.
When we go out in a group I tend to be one of the quicker riders as I ride me bike pretty hard, however the sports 600 riders tend to be more reserved, but when the do decied to go I have to ride the tits of my bike to keep em in view.
The Bandit is a great do everything type of bike, it can cope with country lane hacks, it can do A & B roads, it can commute, its easy to ride, but it is not the best in any of these.
Tim.
I do about 500-1000 "private" miles per week, so I did some thorough sums on this subject. The bottom line is that over three years my two-year old 600cc sportsbike costs the same as my 5 year old 5-door warm hatch. My sums were based on real costs, not estimates.
Taking into account insurance, deprecation, servicing, fuel, servicing, consumables like tyres, oil and sprockets/chains the running costs were 16.5p per mile for the car and 16.9p per mile for the commute car. For comparison, an MX-5 is working out at 17.8p per mile.
In terms of journey time to work and "fun factor" though the bike is a far better bet.
PS. Yes, it was a bit anal to work it all out.
>> Edited by sbyatt on Tuesday 25th November 14:18
Taking into account insurance, deprecation, servicing, fuel, servicing, consumables like tyres, oil and sprockets/chains the running costs were 16.5p per mile for the car and 16.9p per mile for the commute car. For comparison, an MX-5 is working out at 17.8p per mile.
In terms of journey time to work and "fun factor" though the bike is a far better bet.
PS. Yes, it was a bit anal to work it all out.
>> Edited by sbyatt on Tuesday 25th November 14:18
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