How much do you spend on maintenance?

[Derivative]

Still weighing up my options for what bike to get, I think I'm going to decide after my DAS whether to get an SV650 or something a bit more 'tame' like a CB500. Think it'll be a case of seeing how I feel on the training bike.

Anyway, what I'm wondering is, how much do you guys reckon you spend yearly on maintenance? Necessary stuff that is, tyres, brakes, chains etc.

Trying to piece my budget together properly so I know how much to set aside. At a guess I'll be doing about 5k miles a year with a fair bit of motorway.

Is £500 a decent estimate? More, less? Is there going to be that much difference between bikes as long as we're talking 500/600cc?

[Redoko]

I've spent around £600so far.

£360 Tyres
£160 Sprocket + Chain Set
£50 Lube

And I'm thinking of getting my seals replaced. So possibly another £200 this year...

Tyres and Sprocket + Chain were fitted by a garage so probably no where near what you'd spend if you did everything yourself.
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"Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."
Sudika Sportsman SK50QT > Gilera DNA50 > Honda CBR125 RW7 > Kawasaki Zephyr750 > Suzuki GSXR600 > Honda Hornet CB600F '51

[chris-red]

Depends, I think I have spent nothing on maintenance of my Triumph in the last year because I haven't ridden it. I'd say £600+ on the TDM, Tires, Brake pads etc. but I have done 10,000 miles in that time.
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Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
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WANTED:- Fujinon (Fuji) M42 (Screw on) lenses, let me know if you have anything.

[P.addy]

[_Troy_]

Different bikes will incur different costs.

My old GS500 had very thin tyres and small brakes, meaning they were cheap to replace. My ninja has mahooosive tyres, huge brakes and other consumables that make the GS look like a 125.

However, if you're sensible about it, you should be able to do most of the maintenance yourself and save a fair bit of money. It's really not that hard to do basic things yourself - oil/filter changes, brake servicing etc.
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Current bike: ZX6R J1
Previous bikes: CLR 125 | GS500 | ZX6R G2 | SV650

[mysterious_rider]

Tyres piss me off. Only recently put new ones on there and already they probably only have 600 miles left in them.

Fookin expensive aswell. I want some budget ones that grip well and last.

[Joncrete Cungle]

So far this year

Back tyre £110
Sprocket £20
Chain £45
Oil £30
Filters £10

I will need to change the front pads, coolant & brake fluid in the next 6 months, so say another £50 ish max.

[N cee thirty]

gah gonna be broke soon

new front tyre - £95

new rear -£125

oil and filter - £20

new front pads - £40

very soon i'll be replacing the hoses so thats another £60 with fluids
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'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

Jewlio Iglesias wrote: I actually did vote BNP once

[yen_powell]

Since 20th April last year on my Varadero, work done myself so no dealer, tyre fitter or mechanic costs.

Four tyres, that's two front, two back (two Distanzias and two Tourances) That's £327

Two new spark plugs £36

Oil and filters £54 (8 litres of oil and two filters)

Set of rear brake pads £20

Rear downpipe gasket £2

Air filter £20

Chain and sprockets £115


Total £574

Mileage done was 16,100 miles, the tyres and chain are still newish, the rear pads are halfway through, that's poxy linked brakes for you though.
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Blackmail is a nasty word........but not as nasty as phlegm!
XT1200Z and a DR350 in bits

[Derivative]

Useful advice guys, cheers.

[oddjob1]

on ntv650..done about 12k since last mot which due next month

£12 for 5 sets of brake pads
£60 for front n back tyres..part worn
£18 for oil + filter
£35 for 2nd hand pair of forks with good seals

[Alpha-9]

Jesus, tyres take the piss.
Didn't realise they were so pricey. Must be the bigger bikes
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Fzr-600 1999

[robbieguy2003]

So far, on basic running stuff - no tarty bits, just for the RR, 1250 isn't quite upto mileage yet.

Oil Filter - £10

Air Filter Clean Kit - £15 - Didn't need to do it though, made no difference, shouldn't have bothered

Oil - £30

Chain And Sprocket Kit - £120

Tyres - £240 - front & back

Total - £415, i've done the work myself other than the tyres, so cost is simply parts.

I'd guess Oil Change + Chain & Sprockets might add ~£70-£120 in labour depending on the garage.

I think £500 for 5,000 miles on a 600 non supersport is a good budget, short of something exceptional coming up, I think that'd be fine.
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Current Bikes: Honda CBR 600RR - '07, Suzuki GSX1250 FA ST '11
Old Bikes: Suzuki Intruder 125 LC - '2001, Honda CBR 600F - '92, Honda CBR 600RR - '03

[AL-]

10k miles on my FZS600 which I have had for just a year. In total have spent less than £400 on it which includes Service, MOT, Tax, New front and rear tyres, Filter, Oil etc

[Eddie Hitler]

Around £150, tyres, oil + filter, front fork seals, tools, small things like fuses.

Do all my own work so save alot there.

[mysterious_rider]

Okay lets see. I do just over 1k miles a month...


gs500. Owned for four months.

2x oil changes + filter. £30
sprocket and chain £52
Clutch plates (all) £90
New tyres (budget) £100
New grips (heated) £72


This is in the space of 4 months ownership, 5k miles ive done...



Also got a zzr600 and owned her a month, havent ridden it yet though. Need to restrict it first. Maintenance will be fun with both bikes.

Tyres are the biggest killer. Seems like I go through them pretty quckly. My old car I'd get part worns for £15 a tyre fitted. I'll be lucky If i can find a half decent rear tyre for £60 with the bike.... And that will only last me 4k miles if that!

[DEMONDUCATI]

How much do I spend on maintenance?...

Haha, too much! Most of it goes on cleaning stuff - gotta have a clean bike!
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\m/ Demon Ducati \m/

[AL-]

[Pie-Roe]

It depends really.

I wouldn't say a cb500 compared to an sv650 will have that much more in costs. Depends on you. I had a friend who ran bt002s (I think) on his cb500 race bike, changed the oil religiously and bought the best pads he could. He also owned an sv650 before and bought cheap touring tyres, std brake pads and only changed the oil and filter every 5k.

On my rf600 I spent £30 on an oil and filter in 8k miles.
On my cb1100sf I spent £50 on oils and filter, £320 on tyres, £25 on brake fluid.

One of my gt550s I bought chinese tyres that were £87 for the pair. span up in the wet in second gear with maybe 45hp. But they did the job.

It depends also on what condition consumables are when you get them. If they are getting towards the limit of course you will spend more.
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Previous: GSF600, FZR600 x2, ZXR750, XT600 Tenere, CB125, CZ125, ETZ 250, ER5, CCM R30, DRZ400, RF600x4, RF900x2, GS500, VTR1000F, 640 SMC, CB250 NIGHTHAWK, GT550x3, GPX750 TE610, CB500, X11x2, SV650, ZING 125, TL1000R,CB250 Superdream, CBR1100XX

[Timmeh]

[Shaane]

In the last 4k I've spent in the region of -

2 Sets of Brand New Supercorsa £210each
Chain and Sprockets £150
Front Pads £90
Rear Pads £40
Oil and Filter £15-20ish

Pads were massivley expensive because I thought I'd see what differance it made having 'Brembo' stamped on them
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EMRA Roadstock #92 - Paperwork Permitted.
Previous: 1992 DT125R
Current: ~ 2005 ZX6R C1H

[goto10]

Tyre wear depends on your commute. My commute is largely sat on the A13 or filtering through slow moving traffic - I get monster mileage out of my tyres (front has done 12k already and barely looks worn)
I guess if you get to work on some fun B roads it might pound them a bit harder.
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'12 NC700S & '12 CB600F Hornet [Stolen by some dickless twat] Suzuki GT500 shed

[_Troy_]

[Nick_Giles]

A lot will depend on the condition of the bike you buy. (if its a 2nd hand one)

i.e. what is getting ready for needing renewal at the time of purchase. If anything.!

I have learned the hard way. Snap / impulse bought an ER5 at a bargain basement price. I only have to walk past it and something needs replacing.

I am 'in too deep' with it now to palm it off, and by the time I have finished getting it road worthy I could have probably bought a much, much better bike for the same money. ............ And this will still be what it is. A 2001 ER5.

Oh.! ...... And I still have the small matter of passing my M2 next week.

So in conclusion :- Buy your bike wisely (unlike moi') to minimise the maintenance costs.


Nick.
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Peter Cook: "I have learned from my mistakes, and I am sure I can repeat them exactly".

[Rob W]

So far I've done 3000 miles on the Bandit, and replaced the chain and sprockets, front and rear pads, coils and plugs, oil and filter, fork seals and headstock bearings, new oil cooler, and I've replaced the front and rear tyres.

Do I win?
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TS50 > Senda 125 > ZXR400 > CB-1 > GSX-R1000 > Bandit 600 > ZXR750 H1 > GSX-R750 SRAD > '98 RR-W Fireblade > T595 Daytona > Hornet 900 > '04 Fireblade > GSX-S1000F (x2) > '23 XSR900