budget motorcycling

[mr bignal]

 

I started a thread on making lists, it was partly to help with a vintage japanese motorcycle club item - i have now wrapped that up pretty much and i'll send it in fairly soon with the cartoons i did.

 

i have another, in the pipeline, on  budget motorcycling, if you have the time/inclination i have pasted it in below, this is a draft, i'd be interested in any comments please plus of course your views on the subject, it's a bit tongue in cheek  No cartoons done yet.

 

 

 

 

 

budget motorcycling

As a self confessed tightwad you can't find cheaper and more fun transport than used Japanese motorcycles. There's no need to lay out big money for a bike if you aren't too fussy about it being the latest thing. The neighbours might not be too thrilled at the sight and sound but you get a lot for your money.

Buying second hand is a minefield of course, the best advice is to go for something as mint as possible. Given that older bikes are plentiful, even one in good condition can be reasonably priced. Tried and tested in the unloved sector of around 20 years old is the skinflint's way to go .

Going back much over 25 years, may require more caution because frames rot and seals become brittle. You have to keep on top of niggles but fettling is half the enjoyment. Often there is warning of an impending fault, a good independent motorcycle mechanic is a sensible backstop.

We live in a profligate age, products are designed to be relatively short lived and disposable, new models replace old and fashions change. This is a contrast with the 'make do and mend' husbandry of the post war years. Back then, motorbikes were for those who couldn't afford a car.

Influenced by post war parsimonious thinking it grieves me to spend out on motorbike. Admittedly buying tatty but sound doesn't work out any less expensive than buying the same in good condition over time but it does spread the cost, avoiding the higher outlay.

Traditional bikers of the frugal variety are a minority, stuck in a time warp of austerity, unwilling to pay high prices for today's offerings. However, if you can resist the tide and can be content with an adequate but less desirable motorbike then there are some bargains to be had.

A fundamental bangernomics principal that the heart shouldn't rule the head, purchasing research is needed to establish target models and their weaknesses, pertinent questions then follow to cover any such issues. You can't buy something you hate so the heart has a place in the choice.

There is 'value for money' pleasure in rescuing older designs that allow new owners to tinker without special tools or special skills. Carburetors and air cooled is simpler as compared with more recent innovations and mid range means you can avoid pricier tyres.

New or old you will have to fund consumables, ie: chains, tyres and plugs so we are talking about the motorbike itself. Japanese engines were made to last and the rest of the tackle is fairly robust given our climate. Older models can be reliable, they rarely go wrong unless mistreated.

There is a 'Trigger's Broom' factor in so far as everything is replaceable, swapping out parts for those bought on auction sites is the nigardly way of Mr Pinchpenny. YouTube videos are a lifesaver when it comes to 'how to' and motorbike forums are a source of advice and information.

There is something to be said for operating with a limited fund of money as it obliges you to appreciate what you have and even to cherish it. These bikes may not be impressive to others but there is a sense of getting one over on consumerism and carrying the flag for older values of thrift.

My miserly ways have been extended to accessories and riding gear, if you aren't too proud there is a host of unfashionable but perfectly usable garb, boots, gloves, textile trousers and tough jackets. I don't try to economise too much with helmets though.

Free car parking, no bridge tolls, frustrating traffic queues or access issues represent savings in both money and time. There's only two tyres to buy not four, rides are invigorating, you meet people have a laugh, these are things money can't buy.

So far, I haven't resorted to coasting down hills or slip streaming other vehicles (just joking) and I don't look that good in eBay stuff either. Nevertheless. there is pride in clocking up the miles having paid not an awful lot. The longer that you keep old bikes, the better it pays off.

I don't want to win the lottery, it would spoil everything – I see people on newish machines eye my bike, 'poverty is a terrible thing' they must think but I can't be bothered to be ashamed. I glow with the righteous zeal of the green movement. No 'keeping up with the Jones's' for me, I prefer prudence .

 

[jimmy]

Cut and Paste bores the shit out of me

[mr bignal]

yes i can see it's tedious to read especially as i haven't done the cartoons yet. i have a slot with vjmc magazine, three articles a year plus illustrating other peoples stories which is what i'm doing at the moment

but....buying sub £1K is what I do, sometimes it works out better than others 

[Malleus]

It reads well. I like it. Not got much constructive to say really.. though you only have to buy two tyres aren't they more expensive generally than car tyres? Haha

[mr bignal]

thanks, i do have one unsubstantiated finding..

 

say you spend £650 on a 20 yr old runner in good condition with an mot, it seems like a bargain...but

 

i find that you double that amount over, say, the next 18mths/2 yrs sorting it, all sorts of faults that occur*,

 

so..maybe i should have spent 2 x £650 ie: £1,3K in the first place for one in top order, I don't know, not sure 

 

 

for example i bought a bike off a guy who said he was an engineer, he sais that he had changed the final drive, rebuilt the starter and refurbished the rear brake - guess what the three things that required attention in the first few months.

 

[Cynic]

Maybe temper the prudence part. I ride old bikes because I like old bikes, I like carbs, I like the variation. I don't like electronics. When I was falling in love with bikes you could tell a bike by its sound often enough, certainly little more than a glance was needed to tell different manufacturers models. They all had a certain market appeal and you had Yamaha people as much as any other marque.

Modern bikes are far more fragile, hard to DIY (the latest engines from Ford, bikes are close, are glued together, something fails you scrap the lot), far more focused into their particular niche. You need to read the name on the tank to tell them apart and within their respective elements. Be it sports or custom etc they are near identical in performance.

You have also said that Japanese bike engines are bullet proof, not in my experience its too general. Some are, the gsx engines in Suzuki's, the Honda VFR's. There are plenty of bad ones too, Z250 anybody or maybe one of the cb's or vf's with their chocolate cams.

For me your talking about 10-15 years old, but realistically if you want economy to need to run economy, I could hardly bitch about fuel prices when we had a 4.6l v8. Same here, if your not buying with the heart, primarily your wallet your looking at the Mondeo's of the bike world. CB500's, GS's etc. My TDR250 as example costs more for me to use for work than my 2007 Mondeo. Once you add in tyre life, fuel consumption, the  cost of the kit you wear on it, etc the car wins comfortably.

I can see what your aiming at but its missing its mark a little.

[mr bignal]

food for thought there, i haven't sent it in yet so i can still make mods 

 

[obriens65]

I'm with Cynic on this.  My youngest bike was 17 years old when I bought it, my oldest bike was 32 tears old.

I didn't buy them because they were inexpensive I bought them because the made me grin when I saw them and grin even wider when I sat on them for the first time.

Older bikes have character where the newer ones are just clones with different badges on.

This is a picture of me the day I bought my current, 24 year old, XV750.  Do I look like I bought it because it's cheap?

[Bigwol]

My XJ600 was cheap to buy, I bought it for £600 as a misbehaving 'won't run in the wet' kind of project, from someone who had paid the same money for it a year or so before, and spent a lot on it including a new stainless Motad exhaust, new(er) secondhand forks, and various sundry parts and then tried (and failed) to get it through the MOT.  At this point the previous owner lost patience with his 'project', bought a running, MOT'd Honda VFR800 and offered me the two wheeled, MOT-less paperweight for what he originally bought it for.

I like a challenge, but if I'd known just how much of a 25 year old, sound but poorly maintained motorcycle actually needs replacing to bring it up to scratch, I might not have taken it on. 

Looking at the bike now it seems worthwhile, but when you're in the middle of doing battle with the mis-firing cantankerous oil shedding, fork leaking, clutch dragging pile of japanese 'reliable engineering'  -  there are days when you wonder why you started trying to mend it in the first place. 

And don't get me started on the complete non-availablity of useful stuff like carb to airbox rubbers, and other parts Yamaha thoughtfully list as discontinued parts.

I have certainly spent well over the original purchase price of the bike on parts alone, and that is with me providing the labour for the fun of it.   I was very lucky that the basic bike was sound, and un-bodged, everything I have serviced has involved, strip and clean, and replacing seals or consumable parts, rather than dealing with previous owner inflicted damage. 

But I didn't know that when I started - it is truly a bit of a lottery,

[mr bignal]

hopefully you will now keep it?

incidentally, did you replace the rear relay bushes as they go into the swing arm please?

this is a weakness and often fails because it is an area that is exposed to particularly adverse conditions - later, with the diversion they placed the spring more horizontal thus eliminating the complex arrangement on the pre div.

you can't win..

on buying bikes, have actually owned a couple from new, in both cases they had serious engine faults just out of warranty, i did look after them, all oil changes done and they weren't especially thrashed or anything untoward like that, it left me with a reluctance to buy new again, my friend, motorbike andy, has a street triple which he bought from new and despite constantly going back to the dealers the faults have never been satisfactorily resolved.

 

[Bigwol]

Mine may have been subjected to slightly less arduous conditions due to the constant stream of oil leaking from the oil cooler adapter seals, all over the underside of the sump, main stand, and suspension!

Seal now replaced, so I should probably look at the rear suspension this winter!

[KirriePete]

My £800 Divvy 900 has served me well over the last 2 and a bit years, racking up 12000 miles a year between MOTs on just routine maintenance.

Yes, I've put blue spots on the front, ripped out all the emissions pipework and replaced the end cans with a pair of Black Widows, but that's all the major changes. 70,000 miles and still running like clockwork.

On the budget gear side of things, I just resoled my knackered RST boots using tread off an old car tyre. Total cost, £4 for a tube of glue and a couple of hours stripping the tread with an old machete. Loads of material left, the (free from a mate) Sidis are next......

[Bigwol]

2 hours ago, mr bignal said:

on buying bikes, have actually owned a couple from new, in both cases they had serious engine faults just out of warranty, i did look after them, all oil changes done and they weren't especially thrashed or anything untoward like that, it left me with a reluctance to buy new again, my friend, motorbike andy, has a street triple which he bought from new and despite constantly going back to the dealers the faults have never been satisfactorily resolved.

 

True,

Dealer servicing was not always great.

In the early 1980s, my brand new Kawasaki Z750E went into West Brom Kawasaki for a service (they are no longer in existence - probably for the best!), and came out rather less serviceable than when it went in! 

The drive chain tension had been adjusted, but the mechanic forgot to tighten the rear axle nut. 

I can tell you that discovering a loose rear axle when accelerating enthusiastically past traffic on the dual carriageway is an extremely interesting experience, 

and not one I would want to repeat.

[mr bignal]

gulp - not good

[Cynic]

2 hours ago, Bigwol said:

True,

Dealer servicing was not always great.

In the early 1980s, my brand new Kawasaki Z750E went into West Brom Kawasaki for a service (they are no longer in existence - probably for the best!), and came out rather less serviceable than when it went in! 

The drive chain tension had been adjusted, but the mechanic forgot to tighten the rear axle nut. 

I can tell you that discovering a loose rear axle when accelerating enthusiastically past traffic on the dual carriageway is an extremely interesting experience, 

and not one I would want to repeat.

Not a bike dealer but we had brake trouble (brake squeal) with our car, took it back as it was weeks old. (didn't clean the wheels) gave the car a good wash.

We picked it up, 'yes sir we have fully stripped the brakes out and checked everything, found nothing so afraid you will need to pay for the inspection'. They said, holding a metaphorical hand out. 'hmmm, so how did you get the wheels off?' says I, wiping a line in the brake dust.

You could of heard a pin drop, we suddenly got a lot of love from Nissan, mats, servicing, letter of apology.

Spent the vouchers took the goodies and the car never saw a dealer again, just me, its soon to clock 150000miles and 16 years old.