Doing MX or enduro as a sport and this sport going to be a whole new ball game for me, what work and maintenance needs to be done after every ride and approx monthly how much to repair general things. What is the most costly part to change. But I presume the expenditure is all worth the fun. Would these workshop manuels for example a CR250 actually guide me enough to manage some maintenance on that bike.
Is owning a bike that expensive
- Thread starter saturk
- Start date
The factory service manual has a chart that shows suggested basic maintenance intervals. It's a good starting point to work from, and the service manual will have the procedures on how to perform the various maintenance tasks.
Below is the maintenance schedule for the Honda CRF450.
Below is the maintenance schedule for the Honda CRF450.
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rmc_olderthandirt
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- Apr 18, 2006
- 1,533
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I was commenting a while back to some friends that the dirt bikes were the cheapest hobby my family has ever had.
Way cheaper than the ski boat.
I definitely spent more on my snowboarding gear than I did on my first bike, and the cost of lift tickets is just insane.
As with most activities, the bike is the cheap part. Depending on how serious you get and how fashionable you want to be all the support gear can get expensive, but at least it can dribble in a little at a time.
How aggressively you ride will also be a factor. I generally push myself to my limits, so I tend to cross that edge fairly often and pay the price. Of course I basically suck, so my "edge" isn't that far away and the crashes not that spectacular. But they do take their toll on levers, handlebars, clutch/throttle cables, plastics, etc.
As far as general maintenance:
I go through a set of tires a year.
Lots of oil changes.
If you get a MX bike with high performance engine then top end rebuilds need to be done on a regular basis. The manual recommends replacing the rings and/or piston after 15 hours of use. If you do the work yourself you are looking at the cost of a piston and gasket set, around $150 US. (note that if you wait until it fails the cost will be much higher).
The cost of going riding is generally dominated by the cost of getting you and the bike to the riding area. I can ride the local track, which means I pay very little in gas/mileage but then I am paying $25 to the track to ride. I can drive for an hour to a spot that is either free or only $5 to ride but then I will have spent $50 in gas.
The regular maintenance on the bike is fairly predictable. I probably spend another $500 a year keeping the bike in top shape (new pipe/silencer, new sprockets, air filters, chain, chain guides, ridiculous little pieces that somehow come up missing, etc.)
Then there are the major crashes. Handle bars often suffer, but they are not expensive, less than $100. If you really bend a wheel bad then replacing it can hurt. Destroying the front forks or cracking the frame and the bike may not be worth fixing.
Perhaps the most expensive thing would be if the bottom end (crankcase) or transmission needed to be repaired. This doesn't happen very often and if you buy a newer bike you can probably avoid this expense.
If you are thinking about racing, however, then there will be a totally different set of issues. I don't care what it is you are racing there will always be something available that will enable you to go faster and those who can spend the most will have an edge. Spending the money won't necessarily make you faster, but not spending it can provide a handicap. The universal question in racing: "Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?"
You can have a lot of fun riding your bike, just as it is, at the local track races. With any luck the guys who are really competitive move on to bigger races and leave your local track alone. But the guy who spends $1000 to have his suspension adjusted to match his weight, style and skill will have an advantage over you. The guy who has a selection of sprockets so he can re-gear his bike to adjust to the track layout may also outrun you. The guy who replaces his tires when they are only 20% worn will get better traction than you will with tires 50% worn. And the list goes on.
Good luck.
Rod
Way cheaper than the ski boat.
I definitely spent more on my snowboarding gear than I did on my first bike, and the cost of lift tickets is just insane.
As with most activities, the bike is the cheap part. Depending on how serious you get and how fashionable you want to be all the support gear can get expensive, but at least it can dribble in a little at a time.
How aggressively you ride will also be a factor. I generally push myself to my limits, so I tend to cross that edge fairly often and pay the price. Of course I basically suck, so my "edge" isn't that far away and the crashes not that spectacular. But they do take their toll on levers, handlebars, clutch/throttle cables, plastics, etc.
As far as general maintenance:
I go through a set of tires a year.
Lots of oil changes.
If you get a MX bike with high performance engine then top end rebuilds need to be done on a regular basis. The manual recommends replacing the rings and/or piston after 15 hours of use. If you do the work yourself you are looking at the cost of a piston and gasket set, around $150 US. (note that if you wait until it fails the cost will be much higher).
The cost of going riding is generally dominated by the cost of getting you and the bike to the riding area. I can ride the local track, which means I pay very little in gas/mileage but then I am paying $25 to the track to ride. I can drive for an hour to a spot that is either free or only $5 to ride but then I will have spent $50 in gas.
The regular maintenance on the bike is fairly predictable. I probably spend another $500 a year keeping the bike in top shape (new pipe/silencer, new sprockets, air filters, chain, chain guides, ridiculous little pieces that somehow come up missing, etc.)
Then there are the major crashes. Handle bars often suffer, but they are not expensive, less than $100. If you really bend a wheel bad then replacing it can hurt. Destroying the front forks or cracking the frame and the bike may not be worth fixing.
Perhaps the most expensive thing would be if the bottom end (crankcase) or transmission needed to be repaired. This doesn't happen very often and if you buy a newer bike you can probably avoid this expense.
If you are thinking about racing, however, then there will be a totally different set of issues. I don't care what it is you are racing there will always be something available that will enable you to go faster and those who can spend the most will have an edge. Spending the money won't necessarily make you faster, but not spending it can provide a handicap. The universal question in racing: "Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?"
You can have a lot of fun riding your bike, just as it is, at the local track races. With any luck the guys who are really competitive move on to bigger races and leave your local track alone. But the guy who spends $1000 to have his suspension adjusted to match his weight, style and skill will have an advantage over you. The guy who has a selection of sprockets so he can re-gear his bike to adjust to the track layout may also outrun you. The guy who replaces his tires when they are only 20% worn will get better traction than you will with tires 50% worn. And the list goes on.
Good luck.
Rod
