Maintenance costs

[stuartevans]

Hi im getting into biking. I plan to buy my first bike soon and i was wondering on how much the maintenance would be. Please can you post what bits that you need to replace regularly and how much they cost. Could you also include any one off bits that cost quite a bit but probably wont need to do again. Thanks

P.S I am looking at the Aprilia rs125, so any info on those would be nice

[mchaggis]

*Oil and oil filter at least twice annually, depending on mileage: £20-30.

Air filter: £0-10 annually depending on the bike, may need cleaning more often.

Tyres: life depends entirely on the bike and how you ride it. Estimate £40-80 fitted per tyre.

Brake pads: life as above, £10-30 per pair I'd guesstimate.

Chain + sprockets: life as above, but proper maintenance (loobman/ scottoilers do wonders) length life very well. Expect anything between 10 and 15k miles if properly looked after. Guesstimate at between £30-100 for the set. Ideally replace as a set.

Brake fluid: replace every 2 years in theory. In practise bleeding them will replenish the fluid more often. A litre will cost <£10.

Coolant: replaced annually, not especially expensive.

*Engine oil and filter, the most frequent consumable other than petrol are only applicable for four strokes. If you're looking at an RS125, you'll need to factor in decent 2t oil, which is expensive. You'll also need to look at top end rebuilds depending on age and how badly the machine has been thrashed before you get it.
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I must not be a troll...
Mmmm, Guinness
Discovering the delights of Hammerite and a 3/4" brush.

[cagiva gezzer]

125 strokers can, and generally are, be a money pit.

Tyres for one will be £200 a pair, with the rear lasting less than 5,000km and the front stretching to 10,000km.

Topends should be stripped every 8,000km and cost £100 for parts (but up to £250 if it needs work) and the same (ish) for labour.

Budget a bottom end rebuild for 16,000-20,000km at a cost of hundreds (4/5/6) if you're going to pay someone else to do it.

Chain and sprockets will be £75+ for that bike, as it takes a 520. Expect a C&S to last less than 10,000km

Brakes will be £20-30 each end with a estimated life of under 10,000km.

Two stroke oil is £10 per 600miles. Gear oil will be £5 (plus labour) every 3-4,000km. MPG will be 40-60mpg.

Being a small italian bike budget a fair amount of cash for random bits and bobs that give up. Things like speedo drives and switches can go and cost £40 a pop.

Add on top of that all the little bits like brake fluid changes and general checks.
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"because one stroke isnt enough and four strokes waste two"

[stuartevans]

Thanks for that. So i would be looking at about £800 per year to keep going. (if i stay on it for a year)
+ tax, mot, insurance @ ~ £800

sounds ok. £30 a week

[cagiva gezzer]

Depends how many KM's and how lucky you are with the engine.
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"because one stroke isnt enough and four strokes waste two"

[Jamie.]

ignore what everyone has just said, since you said your just getting into biking, im guessing you dont have your full bike licence, but if your just getting into it, you're looking for a cheap honda / yamaha 125cc, i paid £1,000 for my 2001 Yamaha DT125r which was in perfect condition, apart from the airbox which is cracked (repaired by tape)

[Kickstart]

Hi

Having had a few Aprilia 125s.

Tyre life is not that bad. Rear tyre will easily manage 10000km as long as you are not doing burn outs, and longer if you are careful. Set of tyres will be ~£150.

Chain and sprocket life will depend on how you treat them. Abused you will trash them in 2000km, look after them well and you will probably get 30000km from them. Last set I bought for an RS125 were £40 (fitted them myself).

Fuel consumption average is 55mpg. Best was 74.5mpg (trust me, it wasn't worth it), worst rather worse.

Oil consumption is no bad on an RS. Just that the oil you should use is rather expensive. £10 every 500km (bit less, but best to budget on that).

Air filter is sponge. Just needs cleaning and reoiling occasionally.

Gearbox oil should be changed every 6000km. Easy and cheap. Piston / rings / barrel should be checked at 6000km. May as well replace the rings while you are at it (£35 for rings, about £10 for gaskets, and a gentle afternoons work). Fork oil should be done at the same time.

Spark plug is £5~£15 (depending on whether you use a stupidly expensive iridium one) and will need replacing every few thousand km.

Brake pads do not last long in the RS. £15~£20 for a set of front pads. Easy to change. Brake fluid should be changed every few years.

They are not cheap to run properly, and have a habit of getting a lot more expensive if you try and cut corners (eg, don't change the rings and one snaps then you can add a good few hundred pounds to the bill for a new barrel, or at least £100 for repair of the barrel).

All the best

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

[stuartevans]

Thanks for the replys. So how much money do you spend on your bike in a year?

[Kickstart]

Hi

You really want me to admit that? My better half reads this forum .

It very much depends on the bike you choose, how many miles you do, how much work you do yourself, and careful you are sourcing parts (I have a bad habit of buying spares which turn up on Ebay which might be useful in future, saves a fortune over buying them at a high price when needed).

For an RS125, from new, over 2 years / 16000km, this would be what I would expect it to cost including labour.

Depreciation = £1500
Tyres = £180 (fitted to bike)
Chain = £70 (fitted)
One service with a set of rings = £200
One service with piston with rings = £300
5 Spark plugs = £30
Road tax = £30
Insurance = £1000 (for a 17 year old, assuming cheaper cover for the 2nd year)

So around £2900 plus petrol.

You can see why cheap commuter bikes (or even just 2nd hand bikes) work out far cheaper when depreciation is over half the running costs.

All the best

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

[stuartevans]

nice one. not to bothered about the depreciation though. i dont intend to sell it on. if i can stay on it for 2-3 years i will go for a bigger bike as i will have finished uni.

[Robby]

What people haven't really touched on are the other little costs that do just happen.

Like crashing it and deciding if you'll spend £50 on the bare necessities - mirror, indicator, a couple of nuts and bolts and maybe an exhaust patch or bandage, or spending £500 on new fairings.
If its going to be your first bike its fair to assume you will crash it at some point, likely more than once. Everyone does.

Things like fork seals and wheel bearings giving up, which also happens. If its a bike shop doing the work expect to spend ~£80 getting the fork seals done, probably similar amount for a set of wheel bearings fitted.

Also don't get too stuck on the idea of keeping it for two years. Everyone says that, and they all want to get their test done and move up to something bigger after 6 months to a year. It is cheaper to run many bigger bikes than it is to run an RS125.

Have a read over people that have been there, done that, and bought the T shirt. The general concensus is that its a better idea to go for a cheaper 125, on the basis that they depreciate very hard very fast, and there isn't a huge amount to go wrong. Say you went for an NSR125, older RS125, or DT125, even if the engine is shagged a second hand engine would only set you back in the region of £300 and is very easy to fit.