[itsmb]

Originally Posted by aditya9567

I'm personally more of a car person, so unsure about the bike market. But, how matured is the second hand bike market? Seems to me like if anyone were able to find a good pre-owned vehicle, that will give the best of both worlds.

This was the first thing that came to my mind when I was going through the first post. High end cars or bikes depreciate maximum in initial years of ownership. By buying a second hand High end bike you ensure that the first owner has taken the hit of depreciation and you get the bike for a fairly reasonable price. A 2-3 year old bike will hardly develop any mechanical problem, once the bike has completed 6 years of life you can sell it off. So for those 3-4 years of ownership you, get a bike in good condition, can modify it as per your needs, are emotionally attached with the bike, last but not the least economics are taken care of.

[anshumandun]

Originally Posted by aargee

is it economical to own a high end motorcycle or simply rent one for that occasional long touring

If you are into occasional long touring and do NOT love motorcycles, it does make sense to rent a high end motorcycle then owning one. But no motorcycle enthusiast does 2 long rides in a year. If you like riding, you would want to ride at every given opportunity.

I took the plunge last year by purchasing a used Z800. Saved some dough by going the used market route. And believe me, if you are in a big city like Mumbai or Bangalore, there is no dearth of good motorcycles in the used market. In the last year of ownership, I've gone on short rides almost every month. I've done 10k kms in one year. I've developed a connect with my machine. I've learnt to maintain it at a relatively reasonable cost. I've made many riding friends. I've been happy every time I get in the garage to see the bike parked there. I've done some unplanned rides to release stress and escape the earthly tensions . I've spent hours cleaning it and making sure it's always clean and shiny.

I've also spent 25k on tyres in the past year and around 20k on general maintenance but I would still own the bike than rent one because I know it is always fit and in good health and there for me when I need it. It's purely heart over head!

[aargee]

Originally Posted by VW2010

But not expensive at all. Its a myth that high end motorcycle are expensive to maintain. A ninja 1000 and Ninja 300 you will end up spending almost the same over a 5 year ownership unless things go completely south

Really? Here's what I think...

Cost of tires of Ninja 300 - Approx 5K for rear & 2.5K for front; and tires on 300 easily lasts for 15K without stunts
Ninja 1000 - Approx 12K for rear & 8K for front; and tires here don't last for more than 12K with a decent riding
Cost of general service of Ninja 300 & 1000...needless to say which one is higher; same goes with regular consumables spares as well. Take into account the quantity of oil as well here.

My understanding is, NO WAY, Ninja 300 & 1000 are going to have almost same over a year & in 5 year its going to go completely South. Correct me if my understanding is wrong here. Tks

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by aargee

Really? Here's what I think...


My understanding is, NO WAY, Ninja 300 & 1000 are going to have almost same over a year & in 5 year its going to go completely South. Correct me if my understanding is wrong here. Tks

Wrong. Please look up actual first service bills with oil change for both bikes. I can confirm that the ninja 300 came with a 4.6k bill, and the ninja 1000 came with a 5k bill. Both bills within the last 2 months.

Tyres, chain kit etc are consumables. That is different from service maintenance bills.

Ninja 1k Bill attached.

[giri1.8]

For me ideal option would be to get used one, with very low mileage on it, might be hard to find on cheaper ones, but superbikes are in plenty in the used market.

But this surely needs lot of time research and bargain, but in the end one gets to enjoy the same experience at a much lower cost.

Haven't had the fortune to get a superbike yet, but my Duke 200 was an used one with very low mileage, paid less than what an NS200 retails for and couldn't have been happier! For not-so-reliable exotics, used may not be the best idea.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Wrong. Please look up actual first service bills with oil change for both bikes

My friend...please re-read Mr VW2010 post again. It says...

Originally Posted by VW2010

A ninja 1000 and Ninja 300 you will end up spending almost the same over a 5 year ownership unless things go completely south

Ownership is what I'm talking about & not just first service; I think tyres, chain kit etc are consumables in ownership.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by aargee

My friend...please re-read Mr VW2010 post again. It says...



Ownership is what I'm talking about & not just first service; I think tyres, chain kit etc are consumables in ownership.

Chain kits are almost the same prices internationally... Nothing more than 15k for the entire set for either bike. Tyres are 10-12k more per set. Once a year if you do 10k a year. Really, you are going to bring that up as a significant investment? Its a known factor for every premium motorcycle ownership, and these prices will crash the instant the rubber embargo is lifted.

Anyone who is willing to put down 12 lakhs on a premium bike that gets used only on the weekends is definitely not going to kill himself over which is the cheapest tyre replacement. Instead, i have seen people go for the most expensive ones to ensure they extract every pound of excitement of riding a big toy like this over a weekend. Consumables increase only with usage, not a single big bike india sees the kind of usage your cbr 250 has seen, and nor will any ninja 1000, save maybe someone like dhiraj. A versys 650 will see touring usage, and hence associated costs are higher. That said, with the right pre emptive diy, much money saved.

The biggest impediment to big bike ownership in india is the availability of skilled technicians to work on the motorcycle and ensure its A grade to hit the road after a service. Nothing else.

[bik1906]

Im going to throw something into the mix here based on my 10 day tour of assam and meghalaya last year on my duke..firstly it cost 27k to ship my bike out through VRL..then the cost of service and picking up spares such as cables,oil, brake fluid, headlamp bulbs, patches and the biggest cost of the lot was changing to off road ceat vertigo tyres.
Trust me when it comes to a long trip you will assume that everything that can go wrong will...
So overall I estimated a good 50 to 60 grand of stuff just on the bike..now a rental would have cost me 20k and even if I had to forfeit some of my deposit for whatever reason would have been max 25k. To boot my bike arrived a day late so we did lose some money on one of our room bookings as well.
So if its ladakh or bhutan or the north east I have sworn I wont go through the trouble of taking my own bike if I ever go on another long tour..I know this isnt really an apples to apples comparison in terms of the topic at hand but just something to think about.

[JayKis]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Chain kits are almost the same prices internationally... Nothing more than 15k for the entire set for either bike. Tyres are 10-12k more per set. Once a year if you do 10k a year. Really, you are going to bring that up as a significant investment? Its a known factor for every premium motorcycle ownership, and these prices will crash the instant the rubber embargo is lifted.

Anyone who is willing to put down 12 lakhs on a premium bike that gets used only on the weekends is definitely not going to kill himself over which is the cheapest tyre replacement. Instead, i have seen people go for the most expensive ones to ensure they extract every pound of excitement of riding a big toy like this over a weekend. Consumables increase only with usage, not a single big bike india sees the kind of usage your cbr 250 has seen, and nor will any ninja 1000, save maybe someone like dhiraj. A versys 650 will see touring usage, and hence associated costs are higher. That said, with the right pre emptive diy, much money saved.

The biggest impediment to big bike ownership in india is the availability of skilled technicians to work on the motorcycle and ensure its A grade to hit the road after a service. Nothing else.

10-12K per set? That 190 sized rear tire is going to cost more than that.
http://www.tyremarket.com/search/Two...yres/190-50-17

The tires on that Ninja 1000 are more likely to change at 5K-6K intervals than 10K. (For that matter , used to change it at 6K on a Ninja 250! )

You are probably right on the consumables. The oil/oil filter/airfilter/labor charges are going to be mostly the same

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by JayKis

10-12K per set? That 190 sized rear tire is going to cost more than that.

Sorry, i meant 10-12k more than the corresponding set for a ninja 300. Which would bring it to the 22-25k per set mark.

[apachelongbow]

To be quite frank buying a bike or a car is quite senseless in the economic sense. With increasing cab penetration is cheaper and more stressfree to cab it to places within the city rather than drive. For out of city drives there is always zoom car or driven. Saving that car or bike cost and putting it to work will give a far better quality of life than outright purchase.
However we love our rides and we buy due emotional reasons and not financial ones. Economics wise eating out too is a waste of money.
I look at bike rentals as a way to garner long milage test drives before finalising on one bike

[JayKis]

Originally Posted by aargee

Can't get out the thought of my head for last few days wondering - is it economical to own a high end motorcycle or simply rent one for that occasional long touring. Did some simple math & was not really sure if it could make so big impact!!

To be honest, the current best policy is to own nothing
No house, no car, no motorcycle.

[roy_libran]

We all seem to be at different points in the journey towards accepting that there may not be much of a point to outrightly owning an automobile. Moreover, if and when governments have their way or get their act together, they will make owning an automobile, incredibly difficult and expensive. All this would ultimately mean that automobile ownership (not consumption) will no longer remain a NEED.

However, we are humans, and humans will continue to have "WANTS". Moreover, this bunch of humans (here on this forum) mostly don't care much about Point A and point B, rather we tend to live in between A and B.
Keeping that in mind, what type of transportation, would make the time between A and B, most enjoyable and fulfilling? I think, for now, that answer is a Motorcycle - a good motorcycle.
And keeping all the economics aside, I think this is where Motorcycle ownership is heading towards.

P.S. I don't own a High End motorcycle yet, and may not, for some more time to come. But, you know, there's a certain buzz at the back of my head, and it's getting louder. What can it be?

[naturaldisaster]

This is just my own opinion. A high end bike is just bought as a luxury and never ever out of necessity. Owning such a bike is more than just paying the cost of the sum of its parts and riding it occasionally. The exhilaration connected to the knowledge that she standing downstairs in wait and you can take her out anytime is intangible and is not being factored into the various calculations by FMs in this thread.

Hence this decision is purely a case of 'to each his own'. If you are passionate enough, get one to enjoy riding AND owning it. If you want to peek into this world and try out the bikes, by all means, rent!

[NiInJa]

Well, the simplest answer would be to ask your girl-friend(s) ?
Would she like to be a pillion on a 'bhaade ki motorcycle' or a proper owned one ?

For those looking bikes only for touring purposes once in two years, renting is a good option. But the problem in India is that getting a good rental bike/car is purely based on your stars. Add to that most of these high end bikes are serviced by not so knowledgeable chaps rendering them issues-prone.
Again, if someone does touring a lot (a tour every six months), then owning one makes sense.

Having said that, owning a big bike has its own charms. The opposite gender is attracted, people take a note of you and you can ride that beauty whenever you want and if you are a grease-monkey, you have a toy to fiddle with. When I work from home and have a tiring day just sitting in front of the computer, I simply take my R15 (It doesnt qualify as a high end bike but still its a fun bike) and ride it on empty streets at night ! Dont think I can get that pleasure on rent.