Thread: motorbike Q

I have to agree as someone who rides every day, I have noticed since getting off Jap bikes (Yamaha) and going to the BMW the running/maintenance costs have come down, parts are easier to get always in stock whereas usually had to wait for freight for yamaha.

Originally Posted by Heggs

I have to agree as someone who rides every day

I ride every couple of months. Seriously.

It's been far too hot to ride this year.

This is a joke, right? Jap bike parts prices are over the moon. The saving grace is the number of after-market suppliers, particularly in the USA who undercut the factories by huge amounts. Example- rings for a Honda 350-Four from a Honda dealer $93 per cylinder, from USA rings pistons, piston pins, 440cc big bore barrel A$430 landed. Honda bnikes and cars are about the most expensive parts in the world, not to mention the factories ruthless obsolescence policy.

Come on you are talking a 40 year old bike !!!!
Of course a specialist would be cheaper. It would be the same with an R90.
I know Mercedes stock all old parts also and they raise prices 10% per year to cover the inventory cost. Probably same with Honda.

I found Honda parts to be very competitive and was amazed as some of the low prices eg the beautiful casting that holds the Hornet RH footpeg was $70.

A colleague was restoring a Honda 600 car a few years ago , and asked a Honda dealer for a loan of his ring compression tool. The dealership did not have one as they had NEVER had to rebore a Honda bike.

These days Bike rebores are for restorers or accidents like no water, then you probably chuck as cheaper from a wrecker
Regard sPhilip A

Originally Posted by vnx205

Even though the BMW is a better bike and worth the extra money, do you really want to spend that much extra when the DL650 does a pretty good job?

Depends how often you're using it and what you're using it for.

If you're the type of rider who takes the bike out for a ride on the weekend and then spends 2hrs cleaning it before putting it away again, the Jap bikes do represent good value.

However, if you want something that's a real workhorse and 'bombproof', the BMs are about the only ones which can stand up to the punishment. (My GS is used 2-4hrs a day, most days and only gets cleaned when it goes in for a service...) The only others that come close are the Fazer or the Pan.

My 2c.

M

Having been The FIRST Sales and Marketing Manager of BMW Australia, I concur wholeheartedly with the recommendation of a BMW.

However I thought he wanted a cheap bike.

I was at a reunion of all BMW Australia managers on the weekend and we were marvelling that the R65 is maybe one of the only volume motorcycles worth more today than when new. I sold them for $3995 in 1981 and you get more for a good one now. We also sold more bikes in 1981 than they have sold any year since!

I call cheap a couple of grand , and I think just about everything is wildly overpriced.

My son has a theory. Wife says "bike has to go". Husband says "OK I will advertise it" and advertises at a price he knows noone will ever pay.

Hence the $8000 Yamaha 1997 800 twin in the paper. Dream on.

Regards Philip A

Originally Posted by PhilipA

the R65 is maybe one of the only volume motorcycles worth more today than when new. I sold them for $3995 in 1981 and you get more for a good one now. We also sold more bikes in 1981 than they have sold any year since!

Harleys seem to at least sell for their new price when 10-15 years old. Don't know any other bike that does that. Know several H-D types that have experienced this. One bitched that his 93 Harley and 93 Hi-lux cost about the same new, and the Harley sold for its 1993 new price in 2007 and the Hi-lux for $2500.

I agree with you as to asking prices for used bikes. Particularly mass produced oriental stuff of no class and virtually no collector interest. You see the ads in Just Bikes for a few months and then no more. I have asked a few guys if they sold the bike as they had stopped advertising. The answer is almost always that they had no response or only from someone who was prepared to pay half what they wanted, "and I am not going to give it away". Collector cars are the same. They advertise for a while, get no or little response and give up. If you are not prepared to meet the market, then you either dump it or keep it. Check trade-in values wityh bike dealers and get a shock. Most nowadays are reluctant to take trade-ins except at very low prices.

The Girlie loves her R65 (left).

My K100RS will be for sale... Replaced by a VFR750 for no reason other than a gem became available at a price too good to be refused.

Spares prices on older BMWs are NOT overly expensive so long as you don't buy from BMW. There are at least 2 other outlets in Australia that do mail order at great prices, plus Motobins in the UK.

Originally Posted by camel_landy

Depends how often you're using it and what you're using it for.
That's right. It depends on how you want to use it and also how much you want to pay or can afford to pay.

If you're the type of rider who takes the bike out for a ride on the weekend and then spends 2hrs cleaning it before putting it away again, the Jap bikes do represent good value.

I guess that is partly why I was surprised to see my two mates turn up on the DL650s. They are definitely bike riders rather than bike cleaners. They had also assumed that they would buy BMWs as they had done previously. It does happen sometimes that if you are prepared to look at other possibilities, you discover that something you had previously dismissed turns out to be a pretty good option.

It's not that these blokes thought there was anything wrong with the BMW. They knew from experience how good they are. They just couldn't convince themselves to pass up what they saw as a bike that was more than adequate at a price they couldn't resist In fact they found the DLs to be better than they expected on the trip.

However, if you want something that's a real workhorse and 'bombproof', the BMs are about the only ones which can stand up to the punishment. (My GS is used 2-4hrs a day, most days and only gets cleaned when it goes in for a service...) The only others that come close are the Fazer or the Pan.

My 2c.

I'm not knocking the BMW and neither were my mates. Even though they could afford a BMW and had owned them before, they just thought the DL was better value for money.

I'm not trying to talk anyone into anything in particular. I just thought it was worth mentioning that someone whose experience makes their opinion worth listening to found that sometimes there is another way of doing things.