The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Can You Afford to Buy a Motorcycle?

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For many riders, no matter how passionate they are about riding, at times they ask themselves, “Can I buy a motorcycle right now?” After a quick look around they decide prices are too high and give up, but, there’s a good chance they’re looking in the wrong place or at the wrong bikes. There’s always a motorcycle available at your price.

Endless news stories complain about the many products now unaffordable, the most frequent topic is housing, but it’s applied everywhere. Affordable housing, affordable cars, and in our case, affordable motorcycles, but, the problem isn’t the house, car or motorcycle, it’s choosing first and asking price later. If “affordable” is supposed to mean any potential motorcycle buyer should be able to buy any motorcycle they want, those buyers may well be disappointed, but who redefined affordable in this way? An affordable motorcycle is simply one you’re able to pay for.

Recently, I asked “are good enough motorcycles good enough?” and most of you felt you didn’t need the fastest, quickest, lightest, high tech long range, “do everything” machine available. A capable and more basic bike can serve well and many of you already have them. Which motorcycle would be easier to pay for, the fastest, quickest, high tech , … etc. or the capable and more basic bike? Hmm, …

A few days ago you saw the Web Surfer Special, a street tracker built by Richard Pollock, built from eBay parts, garage sale finds, leftovers and take-offs. Instead of $25,000, the cost was under $8,000, and Richard mentioned in the comments, he could probably do a similar build for a lot less. Maybe you could, too.

Today’s Internet resources are amazing, the parts and pieces can be found everywhere. Basic bikes can be upgraded if you have one, or built from scratch if you don’t. A dealer showroom is not the only place where bikes are bought and sold.

A funny thing happened over the years, many folks began demanding and buying the best of everything, right now, so they got it, on the long term uneasy payment plan. As long as nothing slows down it works, but these days, running on that financial edge has put a lot of fully financed, almost new, high end motorcycles out on the used market. Those are owners willing to deal, you can help them and get a bargain at the same time. Everybody wins.

The spectrum of affordable motorcycles changes constantly, that low mileage Desmosedici is still beyond most buyers, but many brand new 1 or 2 year old bikes still on dealer floors are priced right and the used market is awash in bargains, bikes not only good enough but more than good enough.

If you take your time and look around, you might be surprised at what is affordable right now, maybe not the perfect motorcycle of your dreams, but something a lot closer to it than before. Stay flexible and look at all of your options, don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty fixing up a project bike. Ask around, ask your friends and neighbors, your bike is out there, it just takes a little time to find it.

If you’re wondering where to start your search, try here:
motorcycles for sale
motorcycle parts for sale.

Comments

  1. I bought my 2003 Buell XB9R for $3500 used about 5 years ago. It had been tipped a couple of times and needed several small items replaced to be rideable (clutch lever, etc). To be rideable, I probably put a couple hundred into it but went further and fixed it up into a mild custom. That was my choice. I see a huge variety of bikes in the $2500 to $5000 range. Something for everyone. If you’re willing to buy used, there isn’t a bike you can’t really afford…..however, don’t forget to take maintenance and insurance into consideration when buying a bike.

  2. Scanning the local Craigslist ads (even up here in sparsely-populated Vermont), I see at least one used SV650 every few days for under $3500. These bikes are an outstanding choice for anyone needing a fun, reliable, inexpensive motorcycle, and with a little work they can be turned into anything from track bikes to long-distance tourers to gravel-road-ripping dual sports.

  4. kikker 5150 200cc. It may not be the biggest or highest quality, but for $1500-$2000 brand new, it looks great, runs great, is easy to work on, and can be customized to no end. The optional ape hangers are ugly though….

  5. Of course, the purchase price is just the beginning — insurance and maintenance is where the money goes. Right now I could afford to buy a bike, but it would be a bit of a stretch to actually keep it. And right now, it’s not a stretch I’m willing to make.

  6. Could I afford to buy a new motorcycle? Yes, without a doubt. However, I don’t NEED to buy a new motorcycle. My 2002 BMW only has 30K miles and still runs like new. I look at potential replacements and ask myself if the new features, more power, lighter weight. etc is worth the money. So far, the answer has been no.

    Instead my wife and I have started doing guided motorcycle tours. Last fall we did a 12 day tour in the Balkans. Next spring will be a 18 day tour in Italy. These experiences have been worth far more to us than having a new motorcycle every few years.

  8. SJ—“You need to be 50+ to afford a new big bore Harley.” I’m 27 and in March upgraded from an XL883C to a “Big Bore” 2009 Dyna Superglide Custom. Granted yes it did cost more, but I’m by no means rolling in the money. Don’t get me wrong the right bike for you is the one you can afford, but go out and look for those deals. Harley MSRP trade in plus some careful negotiating and a little down payment equalled a 2009 Big Bore plus $1k in accessories for 10 grand flat out the door. Not bad for a brand new HD! It works and I’m pushing 7,000 miles in less than six months. It don’t matter what you ride or how much it cost as long as you get out and ride it!

  9. SJ, A Dyna Super Glide is $11999,its the low cost big twin!! A 883 Sportster is $6999, a 1200 Sporty is $9999. Yes, You can spend alot more, but you dont have too!!

  10. verbal, yes, continuing costs should always be factored in to the equation. If someone is barely able to buy a top of the line bike, they’ll find even normal maintenance a wallet buster. The more you can do yourself, the more choices you have.

    JSH, the question of affordability presupposes an individual really wants to buy or upgrade. If the bike you have does the job for you, opting for guided motorcycle tours of the Balkans and Italy is an excellent choice and most likely a great experience.

  11. I’ve mentioned my liking for small bikes here before, and this is a problem as far as used bikes are concerned. Because the big manufacturers stopped their previous practice of selling lots of good small bikes (like those they still develop and sell in Asia) the price of used small bikes tends to be ridiculously high.

  12. here is one for the spottbike guys….dealer in my town has 2008 CBR1000RR’s….$7,900…down from $11,499. That’s quite the deal on a fine piece of machinery….

  13. Really hard to justify a new bike for me because:
    1. I have 9 bikes already, the newest by far is my ’90 GB500
    2. I’m already in debt paying my wife’s student loan and I just had to replace my roof ($10,000)
    3. I just got over a bout of 50% pay reduction
    4. can you say single income in the SF Bay Area?
    5. the mortgage for my “starter” house could buy a kikker 5150 200cc and some accessories every month
    6. health insurance = $800/month!
    7. I’ve yet to wear out the bikes I already have
    8. I need to sell (or throw away) some of my other bikes to make room for more.
    9. It’s hard to find anything that is more economical than my existing main bike

    Otherwise I usually try to convince everyone else that buying a motorcycle pays for itself. Go from 20mpg to 40mpg and free bridge toll (@ $4/day) plus insurance is 1/10 the price of a car. I can’t make those justifications for myself any more but I figure I’m way ahead since I’ve sold every vehicle I’ve owned for more than I’ve paid for it.

    -todd

  14. Yes sirry! So I did this past August. Bought an 09′ Ulysses for $9900. Love that thing, but, South Dakota weather puts a damper on year round riding. Heated grips are the greatest thing ever, I’ve come to find out though!

  15. There is money out there to buy a new bike. You are correct but new can mean also just new to me and could be used. I don’t need a bike but I have a friend that is looking for next year and has about 3500 to spend. He wants a Sportster and I’ll find him a late ’90 or early 2000’s with low mileage for that price. It is a buyers market. As for new, why do so many people seem to need the biggest of everything today. You see it too, I’am sure, Harley baggers, Gold Wings, BMW’s etc for people that are going nowhere. I prefer to ride my bikes that don’t have a lot of extras but Iam the only one you see with Jackets/ Chaps etc. strapped to the handlebars on long days when I’ll need them at some point. It used to be this way years ago but people have forgotten how to get by with the bike they have. Less is more fun is some cases. Less payments, less weight = POWER, handles better, lower insurance, can have 2 instead of 1 etc. I remember a David Edwards/Cycle World article a few years ago about if you really want a motorcycle ,buy it, and just do a repair or 2 on the car instead of getting a new one. It’s all about priorities.

  16. I think the point here is that you can buy a low-mileage, almost new bike for a fraction of the cost of a brand-new bike.
    I’m not in the market right now because I just have too many bikes, but there are some killer deals on craigslist and even ebay – if you’re willing to wait for the right deal.
    There’s an old saying that goes: You can’t have something good, cheap and fast – you have to give up one. I prefer to lurk around ebay and craigslist until I find what I’m looking for cheap. Deals are best right now, in the winter months, when bike are worth less.

  17. Alot of Dealers have Amazing deals on brand new-non current inventory. The key is to go in or call regularly as the rebates they get change pretty constantly. I know Vey’s changes their site almost every day to try and keep their customers up to date with the latest and greatest deals.

    The right bike for the right price is out there, you just need to know what you want and how much you want to spend and actively wait for the right combo of bike and price to come about. Being flexible also helps a ton. If you are willing to be flexible with which bike you want, you can often get a MUCH better deal. Dealers will often be willing to work with you a bit more if they can sell you a bike that they have a few of in stock, or one that they need to sell quickly.

    build up a relationship with your local dealer and start working a deal. There is no harm in going in and looking to see what is on sale.

  18. Back in 2004 I got a Yamaha ’89/’92 FZR400/600 for $300, I put $900 into it and rode it for ~20,000 miles and sold it the following year for $1200.

    Then I bought a 2003 SV650 for $3000 (it had 7000miles) I’ve only upgraded brake lines and suspension, but I have since put over 110,000 miles on it in the past 3.5 years.

    My latest addition is a 1971 Yamaha R5 (only 15,000mi on it… brand new 😛 ), I got it in non-running condition for “free” because the last owner only wanted to see it work again, no matter who owned it.

    You can always find something “affordable”, you just have to learn how to look.

  19. Wow, all your cheap choices seem expensive to me. I bought a 1978 Honda CX500 for $700. Decent power and easy to ride, and big enough to fit someone over 6 foot. It needed carbs cleaned and a new stator, but I do all the work myself. The amount of repair manuals and internet forums makes maintenance easy to learn. Insurance was cheap, even though I’m a college student (20 year old male), at $190/year. Parts are all over the internet and relatively cheap (see a theme here?). There really cant be any reason not to own a bike based on cost. Old Japanese standards (Cb750 anyone?) are so plentiful and cheap, I’m wondering how any one could accuse motorcycling of being expensive.

  20. Nice score nollid51 on the CX500. I really want one of those myself, and they are super cheap.

    The valid point is made about specificity vs. cost. I really want a vintage Vespa right now (though a vintage Lambretta would do as well). Prices are generally going up on those, and locally there aren’t many to be found. That said, the CX500 is a bike I could buy for $500-1000 around here, in running and complete condition. A similar condition shifter Vespa of any vintage in my area would be 4-5 times the minimum price of a CX.

  21. Loved this editorial btw. I’m an advocate for all of this thinking. Yes, there are plenty of guys that can afford the near $30K new CVO line from Harley, and I don’t hate em for it either. Why make money if you can’t spend it?

    Well I make money, I spend it, but dollars being finite and my allotment of dollars being few. I, like so many others, have other priorities. I love my bike, it’s used, got it for a great price of $3,100 with new tires and only 6,000 miles. But I also like making my house payment, eating solid foods that don’t start with “ra” and end with “men”.

    So much attention drawn to the biggest, fastest and baddest. So little towards what most people will afford. Live within your means, live outside your dreams.

  22. I just barely missed a laid down 2002 CBR F4i for $1000 on my local craigslist. Everything straight and ran fine, the fairings were junk, but I don’t need fairings. I was second in line to get it, missed out big time…

  24. My oh my.

    We in Europe can only dream of the prices mentioned.

    seond hand buy is more the rule than an exception here.

  25. Seems like we rode and toured on metric 750-1100s all through the 70s and 80s and got where we were going. 1200 was the largest bike you could buy (except for a few 6 cylinder bikes) for years.

    Pesonally, used Yamaha/Stars are crazy cheap these days. I see 1st gen Roadstars (99-03) for less than 4k all the time. Most are garage queens.

  26. A friend just picked up a left over 2007 Ninja(?) 500 for $4K. Four thousand for a brand new bike! There are plenty of affordable good rides in the market place if what you want to do is ride. A lot of folks want the status points of aspirational models.

  27. Hey, Marco, I disagree. I just bought a BMW K100RT, 20 years old, 80k miles for £900 ($1400) and it had a one year mot ticket, was taxed and pulls like a train. One guy owned it from new and looked after it.
    They’re out there, you’ve just got to find them…

  28. America is awash in inexpensive motorcycles these days, although I doubt many Kneeslider readers realize it.

    Anyway, let’s say a fellow wants to buy a dual sport to carry on the back of his RV and ride in campgrounds, etc.

    I don’t doubt that there are Kneeslider readers who would debate whether the GS1200 or 990 Adventure was the best choice!

    Others would no doubt champion the KLR or DR 650s.

    Most, though, would probably not have any trouble recomending a DR200SE or TW200. Those bikes are $4200 MSRP, and at that level of expenditure the fellow could well decide that he couldn’t afford a motorcycle.

    But a “good enough” dual sport could well be a brand new $1000 Shineray or Hibird 200. At that price, how could he afford not to buy a motorcycle?

  29. I have some expierence with the Chinese Imports, Not Good. Id buy a used Yami or Honda for $1000 before Id get involved with a New Chinese bike for the same cost!! The quality is horrible and parts are very slow to come in.

  30. I am not ritch and own 8 bikes in running condition. The secret to owning them is A:Drag them out of a little old ladies barn. B: Buy a bike that needs major work for nothing. C: Don’t ever have a loan for a bike you cant buy another while paying for one D: Craigslist

  31. My daily rider is a 1972 Honda CB175 that I bought two months ago for $350. Carb rebuild, new plugs and tires were about $80 with me doing the work. Insurance through Progressive is $110 a year. You can find great deals if you just take your time and look.

  32. Cheap used bikes are available for anyone interested. Some need work and some are quite sound and ready to run. It only took a few days of word of mouth that I was looking for old motorcycles and I had people stopping by with titles in hand. They were trying to sell basket case Harley’s and Honda’s to year or two old bikes that fit the general description of what they heard I was buying. It was only after buying the first two that I realized what a buyers market it is. If you want to find a bike that fits your comfort level for cost, or repair a minimum of networking and you will be buried in choices

  33. Kneeslider: You assume I don’t want to purchase a new or new to me motorcycle. I do want to purchase a different motorcycle. In fact, I could easily list a dozen motorcycles that I would like to own. However, with discretionary dollars limited, my wife and I choose motorcycle vacations in interesting destinations over commuting around town on new motorcycles.

    Yes, there are many good deals to be had on left-over new models, used motorcycles, or crafting your perfect creation from parts on EBay. However, none of this is new. It is only the current economic climate that has made Americans temporarily face the reality that credit eventually has to be repaid.

  34. About motorcycle prices….
    883 Sportster in US : 6,999 $
    883 Sportster in EU : 7,995 €… that’s 11,665 $ !!!! Nearly 200% for the SAME bike

  35. Stay away from Chinese imports? That includes items on the showroom floor of your local Honda, Vespa/Piaggio and yes, even BMW dealer!

    Times change.

  36. Can you afford to buy a motorcycle? It depends on what we’re talking about. Not everyone can afford a NEW motorcycle, but many, many people can afford a perfectly usable used motorcycle. Let me give you my own personal examples…

    My 1970 Honda CB100 (yes, it’s little, but it’s a ton of fun) which I purchased from the original owner 12 years ago, had I think 4000 miles on it, was all original, and I picked it up for the lofty price of…$300. It was perfectly fine to ride as-is, but some of the rubber parts needed replacement. That was cheap and easy. It continues to be a low-maintenance bike for me.

    My main ride is my 2002 Buell Blast. I purchased this in January 2008 from the second owner. It had a mere 1500 miles on it, and I bought it for $1650. It was in almost-new condition. I’ve put probably at least as much money back into it again with mods, but they weren’t really necessary as the bike was perfectly rideable as-is. It’s also been very reliable aside from a failed ignition module that went on me in May (which I’ve since replaced with a SE module). I have taken it on long trips, short trips, and I use it for commuting to and from work. It’s a decent, basic, no-frills, “good enough” motorcycle, and I enjoy riding it quite a bit.

  38. I have two budget (relative) bikes in my garage; a 1971 CB450 – $225, 2001 Ducati Monster S4 – $6500

    The CB was a runner that I could have left alone but I’m in a full resto/rebuild that should produce a show ready custom under $8000. I don’t care how long it takes just that it’s right. The point was to start with a solid base and learn to work on a complete bike to include fabrication then enjoy it.

    The Duc is my daily rider. I bought it on eBay from a collector with only 246 actual miles! Needless to say it’s mint and new. Who says exotics can’t be bought well.

  39. I have a 2005 Sportster. Rather than buy another bike, I spend the money on modifications of the one I have. As a good example, a better seat and a fairing make the Sportster (at least the rubber mount ones) a reasonable distance bike.

  40. How about a Seca II? They’re everywhere and are hardly ridden. I got mine with 7k miles on it for $1000 and I’ve put 11k mies on it in the past year. It’s still holding strong, but if I put some effort into it, I could buy a new one every year. A bike designed in the early 90’s to be the cheapest thing around isn’t gonna increase in value as it it sits under a tarp in some guy’s back yard.

  41. I lived in Indonesia, and because our low GDP, the only motorcycle most of us can buy is a moped, 110-125cc, japanese made. I surely luv to have a big motorcycle, but nobody would buy me one, so….i rest my case..:)