How Long Can I Keep My Motorcycle Going
I ride a 1986 Honda XL600R motorcycle for commuting. It gets 60 miles per gallon and has plenty of power for commuting, but it is getting a bit old. Around two months ago the left fork seal blew out and leaked oil all over the front brake caliper. The cost was $40 for a fork seal kit and a weekend of my time.
Since the front brake caliper got coated with oil. I had to replace the brake pads at a cost of $50 plus another afternoon of my time.
Last Friday as I was heading home from a local bowling alley (which was a free fun night paid for by our moral committee at work), I noticed smoke coming from the cylinder head. Oil was misting out of the rocker cover gasket onto the exhaust pipe. Another $25 for a new gasket and another day of my time to replace the gasket.
I have also noticed that the o-ring chain is worn out and is rapidly stretching. Like the rest of the bike, it is 22 years old. Cost will be another $140 for the chain and $75 for sprockets.
Motor vehicles eventually get too old to maintain for a reasonable cost. The dealership has to special order any parts that are specific to this model. They do not keep any parts for a 22 year old machine in stock.
My wife has said she would be happy if I bought a new or “new-used” motorcycle. I am a bit torn. I like my old 600, but a new motorcycle would be fun. On the other hand, she inadvertently used the phase that is anathema to me, “You deserve it.”
I know she said it out of love and with the best of intentions, but I also know that I do not deserve anything. We can set a goal and work to save for a motorcycle, or we can use some of our emergency funds to replace a completely unusable vehicle that had an emergency, but I cannot take our savings and buy something for thousands of dollars with the justification that “I deserve it.”
So now I am determined to keep the old 600 going a while longer.
Stumble it!
squawkfox » Festival of Frugality: Bare Necessities Edition:
[...] at Save and Conquer gets his motor running in How Long Can I Keep My Motorcycle Going? Bryce weighs the costs of repairing a 22-year-old bike against the expense of spending his [...]
7 July 2008, 10:00 pmpppppppppppppppppppppppppp:
I have an xl600. an 87. they are good bikes, keep it
4 February 2009, 11:43 amsteve:
60 miles per gallon is exceptional. IT wont depreciate any longer. I have had dozens of honda thumpers and the fact is after 25 years they are do for new gaskets and seals. Thats nickel dime stuff. Compare that to the sales tax on a new Harley for example. And the Harley will leak oil in a year or two.
10 October 2009, 8:04 pmcynicwanderer:
parts can be divided into two groups. parts that are designed to wear, seals, piston rings, bearings, chain, chain sliders, brake pads, suspension bushings, fork seals, etc… and stuff that doesn’t wear, engine case, frame, plastic side panels, etc..
most of the parts that wear can be gotten in one way or another either from honda, other vendors or can be adapted, some of those parts are cheap (like seals, o-rings, etc…) but it’s a lot of effort to replace them, so you might as well overhaul or replace other parts while you have that part of the bike taken apart.
the parts that don’t wear shouldn’t need replacing, unless you wreck or damage it. those parts can be found used online, motorcycle dissmantlers, etc. they are likely to be pricey if you can still get them from honda.
as far as econonmics. bikes are relatively cheap to operate, i.e. cost/mile. so even if you have to overhaul a 25year old bike, after you’re done there is no reason it can’t last another 25 years. the xl600r was like $2300 new wen it came out. you can buy one for $1500 or less now, and even if you have to spend another $1000 to totally overhaul it it’s still cheaper then a new bike, you can get a lot of miles out of it.
of course, there are some parts that won’t last long on a bike. rear tires last about 3000-5000miles ($50-75/ea.), a good o-ring chain will last 8000-10,000 miles on the road ($100+). the trick there is to replace it before it stretches and ruins the sprockets. brakes last a while, if you don’t ride in the mountains. batteries, for some reason don’t last very long.
some of the older bikes are actually compare very well to newer bikes in terms of performance. the xl600r is one of them, as long as you don’t mind kick start. at least you can ride it without the battery, if need be and it gets really good mileage for that size bike.
8 November 2009, 9:29 am