How Expensive is Too Expensive for a Motorcycle?

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JohnBM01

JohnBM01

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$7,500? $10,000? $15,000? Even $35,000? Some motorcycles can be very exclusive... or every expensive. You have lots of money to purchase any kind of motorcycle. How much are you willing to pay for a motorcycle? How much is too much for a motorcycle? How expensive is too expensive for a motorcycle in the class it represents? Is it worth the price? And if you wish, share with us some expensive motorcycles. Lots of ground here, so feel free to share your thoughts on this thread.
 
All depends on how passionate you are about motorbikes and how wealthy you are. Whats expensive for one might not be expensive for others.
 
At $120,000 this MV is too expensive.

111406_mv_top.jpg
 
I used to be a Laverda fan, but they went under in 2004.

So, I guess a Ducati would be the "price no object bike for me".

I believe that Harley's while good bikes, for the most part, are way over-priced.
I have a neighbor that has a $30,000 Soft tail in his garage. I imagine it cost more than either of his Ford Trucks.
 
The F4 is due for a redesign...it's been the same since 98 except for the loss of the 750cc.

To add to that.... MV doesn't race which is such a no no in the biking world.

If you claim a good bike you better have it in World Superbike or Supersport.

Even KTM has already a bike in the World STK1000 series and BMW is developing a machine too.

MV......ill say it's beautiful but nothing more.

Then again im a Honda diehard. The best bike is the CBR600RR Period. I've been to the Ducati factory and love the 916 and 1098 but for my budget a CBR600RR is more than enough.
 
£40.000,- was cheap for the Ducati Desmosideci in my book..

Not that I'd ever consider buying a stupid Duc in the first place :grumpy:
 
Glad you mentioned the Desmodeci. I was wondering who would bring it up. One magazine said it costs about $72,000 to own. What do you expect when you got people like Casey Stoner making Ducati hot after winning the MotoGP crown with the respective struggles of Honda and Yamaha? Worth every penny. Question is... what would be the McLaren F1 of motorcycles? As in, worth every penny?
 
JohnBM01
Glad you mentioned the Desmodeci. I was wondering who would bring it up. One magazine said it costs about $72,000 to own. What do you expect when you got people like Casey Stoner making Ducati hot after winning the MotoGP crown with the respective struggles of Honda and Yamaha? Worth every penny. Question is... what would be the McLaren F1 of motorcycles? As in, worth every penny?
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Ducati was never hot in my book - But the $72.000 / £40.000 gets us the ultimate "replica" of a MotoGP bike. And bike so packed with the technology you won't see anything like it on the streets for the next 5+ years...

Just because I admire it doesn't mean I have to like it !....

The McLaren F1 of bikes.. Honda NR750 back in 92. Today - The Desmosideci no doubt - Nothing comes close. And, just as with the F1, to get the best from it takes someone with more talent than 98% of the population.
 
In general new motorcycles are not worth any extra expense. It's rare that a bike holds its value so spending some big cash on a bike should be done only on a vintage or collectors edition machine.

My two pennies worth.
 
Depends on the brand and bike...

I recently bought a Ducati 848... here in Aus, Dukes hold their value so well that it wasnt worth it to buy a second hand one..
Id be paying maybe 24k rather than 20k for a 10 year old bike
 
In the hands of the same rider, (an aussie mag, cant remember the name) the Ducati 1098R was actually quicker around Phillip Island then the Desmosideci.

Yes the 1098R costs $56,000AUS and yes, one will be delivered to my door with in the next 2mths :-)
 
Being a BMW guy, I started out looking at old BMW bikes when I decided to get a motorcycle...and found that all of them are really freaking expensive. I'm now a BMW and Kawasaki guy. :lol:

I would still love to get something like this old-school R60:
toms1966bmwlt2.jpg
 
Front end on that thing is just wicked cool! Took me five minutes while looking at one to find what's what. Here's one I saw at Barber last fall at the historics race:

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Expensive? Dunno. Bet it is, though. Parts, too!

As for the thread topic, I've always tried to find value in whatever I get. My FJR is a good value at a little more than half what a comparably sized BMW would cost. It's missing some things next to the BMW, like the alternator output is lower, heated grips aren't standard, GPS isn't standard like some bimmers, blah blah blah. You can buy an awful lot of that stuff for the price of nearly another bike, though!!!!

Personally, I can't see the money people spend on Harleys. 20s and 30s for what is basically a 1950s-era truck-frame air-cooled heavyweight motorcycle, just so your friends can see you have "the image."

There's no value at all in that. (IMHO)

There might be value in a Ducati 1098, or a Trueno, but I can't afford one, so it's "too expensive." :indiff:
 


Here is my bike :)

Defiantly one of the higher priced bikes, but Ive driven a handful of its "competitors" and I still stick with my choice. Worth the money if you got it IMO.
 
That is sexy Powripper. You get to ride that all of what...two months out of the year?
 
JohnBM01
$7,500? $10,000? $15,000? Even $35,000? Some motorcycles can be very exclusive... or every expensive. You have lots of money to purchase any kind of motorcycle. How much are you willing to pay for a motorcycle? How much is too much for a motorcycle? How expensive is too expensive for a motorcycle in the class it represents? Is it worth the price? And if you wish, share with us some expensive motorcycles. Lots of ground here, so feel free to share your thoughts on this thread.
Click to expand...

Any bike I can't afford is too expensive.!
But if I had the dollars... I'd get a Ducati Desmosedici, a 1098R a Hypermotard, An MV Agusta 312, I'd make a local Britten owner an offer he couldn't refuse, I'd talk to Honda, Yamaha etc and see if I could grab a GP bike or two, and superbikes while I'm at it.
And of course build up the classic collection, everything from a Guzzi Mk1 Le Mans to a Harley XLCR,and so many in between, any early Bimotas HB's SB's KB's, whatever. Egli's, Harris', Moto Martin. Honda CBX1000, a Husky NOX.. oh the list goes on and on and on... I've hardly started!
 
At the same time though you can pick up ex BSB bike etc for under £10000, how many fully prepped race cars can you get for the same amount of money?
 

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