The cost of running a bike

[rumbataz]

I'm interested in how much a motorcycle costs to run. It's more about the costs of maintaining and riding the bike rather than things like insurance that i'm interested in.

For example, what is the typical fuel economy of the different classes of motorbikes? What about servicing and servicing intervals. I understand that this depends on many factors but just a typical set of running costs over a 12-month period would be useful.

[J.M.]

I get a student-research feeling about you...

...and I'm pretty much all of your questions can be answered through research.

It varies between every bike too and how well you take care of it. How hard you ride, how economically you ride, where you ride, etc.

Edit: you don't even state how many miles; the biggest factor arguably.
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2004 R1 & 2018 XSR900

[neil.]

Go on then, I'll bite.

I ride a CBF125.

Fuel economy is 120mpg. Check my Fuelly link in my signature below for the proof.

Servicing costs are quite low - I would very roughly estimate budgeting an average of about £30 between each service interval, taking into account consumables such as engine oil, air filters, spark plugs, tyres, chain/sprockets, brake pads, tool purchases and other bits I need etc. Of course all those things aren't replaced every service so I've averaged the cost out. I do my own servicing so there is no labour cost involved. I'd expect to pay £100-£150 per service at a dealership, maybe more if lots of work needs doing. My bike's service interval is every 2'500 miles but different things need doing at 5'000 and 7'500 miles respectively.

I ride 300 miles a week commuting with a little bit on top for other stuff, errands etc. That means a service every 8 weeks/2 months-ish and I do everything in the schedule.
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CBT February 2008 | A2 June 2008 | Yamaha YBR125 (written off) | Honda CBF125 (current)

[.Chris.]

You need to be a bit more specific about what sort of bike you're after. Bikes can be anything from extremely cheap to quite expensive to run.

Fuel consumption can be anything between 120mpg on some 125s, and less than 30mpg on some large V-twins (or bigger 2 strokes).

Tyres can range from £25 for a skinny Chinese crossply to almost £200 for a big fat sports tyre. Tyre life can range from a couple of thousand on the rear of a hard-ridden Hayabusa to 10k+ for hard compound tyres on a 125.

Servicing tends to be required more frequently than on modern cars - many bikes fall within the 2k-6k bracket. Many people save money by doing things like oil changes at home. A major service at a dealer can run to several hundred pounds, particularly if it includes a valve clearance check/adjustment.

It'd really be better to figure out what sort of bike would suit your intended usage, then speak to other owners.
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Chris
1985 Kawasaki Z550F

[rumbataz]

Apologies, guys. I'm looking to get a 125 bike after I complete my CBT. I am completely new to bikes and just needed to figure out the budget I need per annum to run such a bike.

[rumbataz]

[J.M.]

[andy_uk]

If you're looking for fuel economy then I would advise against a 2stroke...I'm getting around 48mpg with mine...
A well maintained 4stroke will be a lot better.
Like J.M. wrote, servicing it yourself isn't rocket science and it's certainly a job most people can do themselves.
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Aprilia Classic 125, GS500E, ER5-A1, ER5-C4, ER6 & an XJ6 project frame...

[Rogerborg]

Regular servicing on a 125 means changing the oil and occasionally changing or cleaning the oil and air filters and spark plug(s) at about £5 per filter and plug. A 125 will take about a litre of oil @£5 or less, and you'll be changing it every 1000-2500 miles.

Figure on 8000 miles between tyre, chain and sprocket changes, and £60 per tyre or for a set of chain + sprockets.

All of that will vary with bike and usage.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Teflon-Mike]

125's will generally be cheaper to run than a small car; up to a 500 commuter twin, you will tend to start loosing ecconomy for performance & comfort; by the time you start looking at four cylinder bikes, running costs will start rivalling hot-hatch-backs and larger cars; get up to litre bikes and you are into a very expensive legue; BUT, all very circumstantial dependant.

But; starting places:-

I want to Ride a Motorbike - Where Do I start?

Most newbie FAQ's are tackled in there:-

All the things you might ask

This is a good starter for question of costs:-

OK, so how much is it all going to cost me?

But, think inside, outside and all the way around the box; bike is only one small part of the costs; costs associated with running it maintaining it, insuring it, again only small part, and estimates go completely to pot when you fumble putting it on the side stand and loose a pint of petrol out the carburettor over flow, or you tear your jacket on an inconvenient nail in a door and have to replace it or whatever.

There's cost of getting a licence, cost of 'kit', cost of learning by way of repairing mistakes made by damage; cost of security, and much much more.

Read, consider, absorb, lots and lots of stuff to think about..... 100mpg? just one figure, and how you ride how you use it, as said, even on a bike that might offer it, can go 30mpg either way in real world.
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[symonh2000]

The cheapest bike I had to run was my first RXS100

I paid £300 for it in 1995

Fuel economy was about 80-90mpg,
It did about 700 miles per 1 litre of the cheapest 2 stroke oil I could find.

Gearbox oil (about 600ml) changed every 4000 miles.

Chain, sprockets, tyres and brakes didn't need changing in my ownership and were still good when the bike was sold.

I also sold the bike for £50 more than I paid for it despite adding a few thousand to the mileage and owning it 2 years.
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Four strokes is two strokes too many.

[.Chris.]

[rumbataz]

[Ayrton]

[Nick 50]

[.Chris.]

[Teflon-Mike]

[Ayrton]

[Kickstart]

Hi

Mpg varies. My RS125 averaged 55mpg over a few years when I bothered to keep a close eye on it, managing 74.5mpg on one when ridden VERY gently. However at about 8000km I change the rings, with oil changes twice as often. Brake pads lasted a bit less than rings. Fairly good on 2 stroke oil but still a hefty expense when it is £10 a litre or so

My first bike was a Honda H100S which did 90mpg when thrashed. Cheap to service, tyres, chains, etc.

Going towards bigger bikes, 1200 Bandit does 45mpg average, Bimota YB10 about 35mpg, FZR600 a bit over 45mpg (same for the Diversion I had and the FZ750), ZZR600 about 58mpg in general use (and about 65mpg when sitting at 70 on the motorway), about 60mpg from a GPZ500S.

Tyre life depends a lot on how you ride. Ride smoothly and they will last FAR longer. Chop around with the throttle, carry a pillion, run them under / over inflated, etc and they will likely last quite a bit less.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[symonh2000]

[J.M.]

[Ayrton]

[symonh2000]

Does the bike ride ok from what you can tell?

No looseness at the back, pulling to one side etc?
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Four strokes is two strokes too many.