Are new bikes really that expensive?

[hawaiidirtrider]

3 minutes ago, Drop-Bear said:

One of my life long best friends won 1st division lotto when we were 17. A few months later. Attempted suicide. "Careful what you wish for".

Just sayin.

 

People can be depressed if rich or poor.  I always wondered about Anthony Bourdain. He had the greatest job in the world. Money is only one part. It’s a good part if you have more and time to use it. 
 

I gotta say riding dirt bike is great for relieving stress . Spending for a bunch for a Dirtbike does make it worth it to get away.

[Donny18]

51 minutes ago, tewyatt said:

New bikes are super awesome but my 20 year old drz400e puts just as much smile on my face at 1/10th of the price.  I would argue its more fun than the crf250r's i've bought new.

DRZ's are bulletproof.  They just need a 6th gear.  I had one and I got a buddy that has a 2001 with over 100k on it and has had minimal problems.

[Drop-Bear]

9 minutes ago, hawaiidirtrider said:

People can be depressed if rich or poor.  I always wondered about Anthony Bourdain. He had the greatest job in the world. Money is only one part. It’s a good part if you have more and time to use it. 
 

I gotta say riding dirt bike is great for relieving stress . Spending for a bunch for a Dirtbike does make it worth it to get away.

Money gets in the way of living. Riding dirt bikes is the epitome of living.

IMO. Depression is, working all week. Whilst not having anything to look forward to on the weekend.

New bikes are expensive, and most people don't have 11K cash to drop on a toy. But. $40.00 a week spent on financing a new bike is an Investment in your mental health.

As you said in an earlier post. Life is short. Don't do tomorrow, what you can do today. You may not be here tomorrow. Shit happens.

 

[Donny18]

2 minutes ago, Drop-Bear said:

Money gets in the way of living. Riding dirt bikes is the epitome of living.

IMO. Depression is, working all week. Whilst not having anything to look forward to on the weekend.

New bikes are expensive, and most people don't have 11K cash to drop on a toy. But. $40.00 a week spent on financing a new bike is an Investment in your mental health.

As you said in an earlier post. Life is short. Don't do tomorrow, what you can do today. You may not be here tomorrow. Shit happens.

 

Case in point:  I financed that Duke for 1.99% for 60 months.  That works out to just over $200 in interest paid across that 60 months and a payment South of $80/month.

That's a 12 pack of beer a week to own a brand new bike.  Like Nike says, Just Do It!

[Drop-Bear]

1 minute ago, Donny18 said:

Case in point:  I financed that Duke for 1.99% for 60 months.  That works out to just over $200 in interest paid across that 60 months and a payment South of $80/month.

That's a 12 pack of beer a week to own a brand new bike.  Like Nike says, Just Do It!

My Mrs and I have the perfect relationship. She's a saver. I'm a spender.

Seriously though. She saves for things. and never gets them. Seriously. Never. Something always comes up. I buy what i want, if there are consequences, I'll deal with them. Once I get home from riding .

Nike says "Just do it". I say. Just make it happen.

[IDTrav]

After blowing up my CR250R earlier this summer leaving me stranded by myself out in the middle of nowhere and having to push it all the way back to the power line main trail solidified decision on buying something brand new. Was completely shocked to see a simple dirt bike with next to zero electronics, no fenders and such a tiny engine was going to be over $10K!!! Absolute madness. 

You can get a brand new GSXR-750 for the same price as a new Yamaha 450 or a KTM 250 - how is this possible? What are you getting more out of a dirtbike? Suspension? A frame that can be hucked off a cliff and still run afterwards? 

[Drop-Bear]

3 minutes ago, IDTrav said:

After blowing up my CR250R earlier this summer leaving me stranded by myself out in the middle of nowhere and having to push it all the way back to the power line main trail solidified decision on buying something brand new. Was completely shocked to see a simple dirt bike with next to zero electronics, no fenders and such a tiny engine was going to be over $10K!!! Absolute madness. 

You can get a brand new GSXR-750 for the same price as a new Yamaha 450 or a KTM 250 - how is this possible? What are you getting more out of a dirtbike? Suspension? A frame that can be hucked off a cliff and still run afterwards? 

It's more of a feeling 

 

[Fatt_Tones]

 

Wanna talk expensive.....I been shopping around a little bit for a snowbike 

[Turboloader]

4 minutes ago, Drop-Bear said:

It's more of a feeling 

 

You still here Bear? I thought you would have split on to something different. LOL! Hans, you, my man, have truly been thread jacked. lol! Does a bear crap in the woods? Nope, he hangs out on Han's thread. LOL!

[ClayStuckey]

Just now, Fatt_Tones said:

 

Wanna talk expensive.....I been shopping around a little bit for a snowbike 

How much do you want to spend? I'm building one with the Panthera 550cc two stroke engine. 

[Drop-Bear]

16 minutes ago, M E T A L A C I D said:

You still here Bear? I thought you would have split on to something different. LOL! Hans, you, my man, have truly been thread jacked. lol! Does a bear crap in the woods? Nope, he hangs out on Han's thread. LOL!

Hans has to love me. He's a Monk. I could be a reincarnated family member.

Road bikes are fun. But, dirt bikes are all about rhythm. Rhythm is a feeling. Actually. It's "more than a feeling". 

Edited November 8, 2019 by Drop-Bear

[Colorado^]

13 minutes ago, ClayStuckey said:

How much do you want to spend? I'm building one with the Panthera 550cc two stroke engine. 

Oh, hell yeah!!  I was going to go that route, but in the end it looked like too much garage time for me.  Do you have a build thread going?  What track kit are you going with?

[IDTrav]

21 minutes ago, Drop-Bear said:

It's more of a feeling 

 

+1.

I have wayyyy more fun dodging stumps and rocks than evading police in the small city i live in. With how harsh laws are on the road now,combined with shitty drivers everywhere, I prefer to ride dirt. 40+ Km/h over the speed limit will get your bike in jail for a week, $2K in fines plus insurance premiums through the roof - and IF bad enough can face jail time. 

[ClayStuckey]

Just now, Colorado^ said:

Oh, hell yeah!!  I was going to go that route, but in the end it looked like too much garage time for me.  Do you have a build thread going?  What track kit are you going with?

No my fabricator has the bike now. We took the engine out of a Sherco SEF 500 and put the Panthera engine in the frame. I'm waiting on an exhaust now. He should have it done in a few weeks. If you will drop me an email I will send you some pics next week. clay@jotagasoffroad.com   By the way I'm just building the bike. Then I was going to ship it to Panthera and let them put the track on it. I'm in Tennessee so I have ZERO experience with snow tracks. And this will be a full on operating bike with a 98hp engine! 

[Drop-Bear]

5 minutes ago, IDTrav said:

+1.

I have wayyyy more fun dodging stumps and rocks than evading police in the small city i live in. With how harsh laws are on the road now,combined with shitty drivers everywhere, I prefer to ride dirt. 40+ Km/h over the speed limit will get your bike in jail for a week, $2K in fines plus insurance premiums through the roof - and IF bad enough can face jail time. 

 

[hawaiidirtrider]

58 minutes ago, IDTrav said:

After blowing up my CR250R earlier this summer leaving me stranded by myself out in the middle of nowhere and having to push it all the way back to the power line main trail solidified decision on buying something brand new. Was completely shocked to see a simple dirt bike with next to zero electronics, no fenders and such a tiny engine was going to be over $10K!!! Absolute madness. 

You can get a brand new GSXR-750 for the same price as a new Yamaha 450 or a KTM 250 - how is this possible? What are you getting more out of a dirtbike? Suspension? A frame that can be hucked off a cliff and still run afterwards? 

A brand new bike can and do blow up. That’s just a roll of the dice. You do good maintenance to try to cut down the odds on that.  Don’t ride by yourself and or be able to contact someone to get to you when things go wrong. But that’s another thread.... . I rode a cr 250 r for 12 years and I could just keep and overhaul If need be and still be way low on cash outlay for riding. I kept records and in 12 years I spent a total of around 8 grand (including $300 price) not counting fuel and oil. I shopped for deals on parts and did  my own work and I had a super trick bike for cheap. Id do little upgrades every year. Bike was trick!!! Really when you look at what is competitive and great now well it’s been great for around 20 years. You could even get a 6 speed counterbalanced 300 2 stroke with Ohlins 20 years ago. Some could still ride one of those now for a tiny fraction of a new bike. 
Right now you could probably get one if you looked for around 2 or 3 grand and just go through the bike . Can get a great bike to ride for cheap used these days. Some just have to have the very latest bike. It’s not necessary.

 

[Fatt_Tones]

1 hour ago, ClayStuckey said:

How much do you want to spend? I'm building one with the Panthera 550cc two stroke engine. 

 

I am only playing with the idea at the moment.  Emotionally this has been the hardest year I have had as far as transitioning to winter and putting the bike away.  Feel like I want something to ride in winter and not sure I want to go back to a sled.

 

If I pull the trigger it will be mainly ditch banging for now, until I decide whether or not I like it.  

 

So to answer your question I was thinking of a budget of around $9k cad.  Seems I can find a little used 500xc-w or exc for around $5k and a Camso 129 for $3kish.....then whatever add-ons from there I guess.

 

Honestly I have zero exposure to these snowbikes and hence barely know where to start lol.

 

 

[Donny18]

1 hour ago, IDTrav said:

After blowing up my CR250R earlier this summer leaving me stranded by myself out in the middle of nowhere and having to push it all the way back to the power line main trail solidified decision on buying something brand new. Was completely shocked to see a simple dirt bike with next to zero electronics, no fenders and such a tiny engine was going to be over $10K!!! Absolute madness. 

You can get a brand new GSXR-750 for the same price as a new Yamaha 450 or a KTM 250 - how is this possible? What are you getting more out of a dirtbike? Suspension? A frame that can be hucked off a cliff and still run afterwards? 

I was pondering this very question the other day when I was buying my Duke.  I spent $10K on my 2017 350 EXC-F, but just $5,150 on my Duke.  Additionally, I got 1.99% for 60 months on the Duke whereas on the 350, I only got 3.75%.  Perhaps financing is a factor?

I think it is also supply and demand.  Plus, you don't need a license (in most cases) for an MX bike.  I'm taking a stab and thinking there's not as much turnover in the cruiser or sportbike market as their is in dirt.  Street riders, in my experience, tend to hang onto their bikes much longer than us, which could explain the demand.

 

 

[IDTrav]

Just saw this on kijiji today. 

$14,099 + $895 + $295 = $15,289

+ 12% taxes = $17,123.68 

Sick bike, but $17k lol? Gotta be some wiggle room there.

[OKDinosaur]

2 hours ago, IDTrav said:

After blowing up my CR250R earlier this summer leaving me stranded by myself out in the middle of nowhere and having to push it all the way back to the power line main trail solidified decision on buying something brand new. Was completely shocked to see a simple dirt bike with next to zero electronics, no fenders and such a tiny engine was going to be over $10K!!! Absolute madness. 

You can get a brand new GSXR-750 for the same price as a new Yamaha 450 or a KTM 250 - how is this possible? What are you getting more out of a dirtbike? Suspension? A frame that can be hucked off a cliff and still run afterwards? 

Uh, gsxr750 = 12.5k, yz450f = 9.4k. GSXR is 33% more expensive, and arguably the dirt bike has more electronics, at least more advanced - yamahas have a bluetooth transmitter built into the bike that your smartphone can connect to and change engine / fuel mapping, gsxr doesn’t have that. So for a gixxer you’re paying 33% more than a yz450fx, and you get a simpler cheaper frame, cheaper thinner and shorter forks, cheaper cast wheels, a cheaper steel subframe, and a cheaper simpler ECU. The categories that you actually get more on a GSXR: the engine, front brakes, lots of plastic and a speedo + headlight.

Last time the gsxr engine was physically updated: 2008 Last frame update: 2011

Yz450 last frame update: 2020, prev. 2018. Last physical motor update: 2020, prev. 2018

Gotta factor R&D into price, and economy of scale. Street bikes sell many more units than dirt bikes, and not only that suzuki has been using the same tooling for 9 years now without investing a penny into R&D or new tooling. 

I would bet Suzuki has a higher profit margin on a gsxr750 than yamaha does on a yz450f. 

1 hour ago, Donny18 said:

I was pondering this very question the other day when I was buying my Duke.  I spent $10K on my 2017 350 EXC-F, but just $5,150 on my Duke.  Additionally, I got 1.99% for 60 months on the Duke whereas on the 350, I only got 3.75%.  Perhaps financing is a factor?

I think it is also supply and demand.  Plus, you don't need a license (in most cases) for an MX bike.  I'm taking a stab and thinking there's not as much turnover in the cruiser or sportbike market as their is in dirt.  Street riders, in my experience, tend to hang onto their bikes much longer than us, which could explain the demand.

 

 

Your duke was so cheap because it was made in a 3rd world country by someone making $2 / hour with no benefits, in a factory that dumps its waste directly into a river or hole in the ground with no oversight and gets its power from an outdated power plant that was bought second-hand from another country because it was too dirty to legally operate (in a first world country) and then pollutes even more by burning literal trash and animal dung to power the turbines so they can sell power for 1/20th the cost it would be in a developed country.

There’s not as much turnover in street bikes because they last longer, but street bikes sell way way more units per year than dirt bikes. That’s another factor why street bikes are cheaper comparatively, especially budget models like the duke which is sold globally in places like India that could never afford flagship models. The more units sold globally per year the lower they can make the profit margin.