Do you ever get fed up with your bike!

[ZXR400H]

Some of you may remember a couple of months back I had to replace my reg/rec and battery (around £100), then about 3 weeks ago a new speedo cable (£21) and now I have to rebuild the front calipers (£70-£80). Now I dont know how you guys use your bikes but I use mine to save abit of money on the weekly commute aswell leisure riding and this bike is costing me more in parts than im saving by commuting on it aaarrrgghhh!!

So do you guys get fed up with your bikes when it constantly costing you money or do you just live with it, Im wondering if I would be better off with something like an SV650 and would it be more reliable?

[cargo]

no

If you want 99.9% reliable go buy a new BMW and if your really luckly it will last until after you've died of boredom

[RedexRobB]

not got fed up of mine, but neither of my ZXR's have ever given me a problem (apart from head gasket on 1st zxr) that i havent been able to sort. Ive said it somewhere here before but once the problems these bikes have are ironed out, they are cracking bikes!

You have to remember, some of these bikes are getting on for 20 years old now that have had umpteen number of owners who will have ranged from looking after them religiously to not giving a damn. Unfortunately somewhere down the line someone is going end up with a bike thats not been looked after and has had alot of abuse and bodges.

But to be fair tho, the items you have described as going wrong are usual maintenance items that will always need replacing somewhere along the line no matter how cared for the bike has been, unfortunately they have come up as needing doing while you own the bike. Everone here at some point has to do work on all of those, needed a new speedo cable a few months ago myself. Same again for the charging system and battery, regularly people post with that problem. Calipers may be an exception but they do require looking after, which is key to making things last; regular maintenance.

[Jamz]

Think of it as a Fun Tax!

I still think maintaining an older bike still loses you far less money than when you ride a brand new bike away from the forecourt...

The only bikes I haven't had to plough money into over the years were VFR750's - but if something DOES go on them the cost of that will drag things back to even with the rest. Buying a Suzuki for build quality is Not A Good Idea (caps intentional).

[Scott221]

I get pissed off with mine. I have recently rebuilt it fully and theres a few more things that need doing. Not to mention the engine work that needs doing now its passed the magic 20,000 miles. So yeah, I get pissed off with spending money on it, but then I ride it and instantly forget about it as I'm having far too much fun.

[superman]

thing is when something does go wrong its not to bad or difficult to put right most of the time.... just think the things that you have replaced wont be going wrong again in the time you own the bike.

[ZXR400H]

My bike actually is 20 years old and the only reason I have kept it is because I keep thinking to myself you have got to expect these things to go wrong on it after this time, Just had to have a rant I guess.
I think its the frequency of things going wrong rather than the actual faults themselves as im only doing 200-300 miles between faults and just want to be out riding and enjoying it. The money side is just an additional irritant as I only fix it when I have spare cash and I can afford to run my car to and from work anyway but would rather ride the bike.

I still think maintaining an older bike still loses you far less money than when you ride a brand new bike away from the forecourt...

I've been there done that, never again had/got debt to prove its a pants idea.

[crushedlizard]

It is a pain when several things go at once. But once you've sorted them out, you'll be good for another 20years!

[Jamz]

I've been there done that, never again had/got debt to prove its a pants idea.

Which one is the pants idea? The brand new bike or old bikes?

If I bought a brand new GSXR1000 today then if I sold it tomorrow I'd probably lose £3000 on it.

Realistically, if I total all the money I've spent on bikes in my 9 years of riding it probably won't come to that! (not including consumibles, of course)

[ZXR400H]

Buying new bikes is a bad idea I've had two of them and obviously lost money on them and if you have a spill they tend to be more expensive to fix due to being the latest models and second hand parts can be scarce. Saying that my dad wont buy anything but new bikes these days, he usually keeps them 5-6 years then changes them.

[Xphyral]

no

If you want 99.9% reliable go buy a new BMW and if your really luckly it will last until after you've died of boredom

thats funny since the bmw's also have two wheels and an engine, how can a bike be boring? surely if theres boredom involved it's the riders fault?

[nc73]

I'm almost fed up with mine. Was cheaper to fix my Y plate Scenic, only cost me a tenner and less than an hour. Just failed MOT, the zxr has cost me 1 rear disc, pads, rear caliper seal rebuild kit, mudguard (on it's way) and bent handlebar! Hopefully I can bend the handlebar back. Will need front discs/pads, rebuild kit, and front tires pretty soon. Shoulda bought something newer I suppose. Although it's fun working on it, so not too bad. Gives me something to do.

[jake]

no

If you want 99.9% reliable go buy a new BMW and if your really luckly it will last until after you've died of boredom

thats funny since the bmw's also have two wheels and an engine, how can a bike be boring? surely if theres boredom involved it's the riders fault?

c'mon!? bmw?
the reason why they make there engines so lumpy is to stop the rider from falling asleep.

[mongo]

no

If you want 99.9% reliable go buy a new BMW and if your really luckly it will last until after you've died of boredom

BMW's go back to the dealers more than anything! Have a read up on all the nice problems they have and im talking about the ones that are used, not the ones that sit in garages and get taken out on sunny days!

YOu will get these problems on all bikes (rebuilding calipers, new speedo cables, etc) on all other bikes. YOu will have the same problems with cars as well if you actually use them. At least you know when that job is done though, it wont need doing again for some time!

If you cant be arsed anymore though, the only thing i can suggest is buying a new bike and having it under warranty, then once the warranty is up buying another new one. Its a great way to lose money though, on a 3 year old bike you ar elooking at losing realistically about 40% of the original value. My 07 zx10 that ive owned from new, has been back to the garage 6 times, its spent longer than 5 weeks off teh road while ive had a loaner bike in total and covered 17,000 miles in this time.

[cargo]

Perhaps I'm being a little unfair my mate races a genuine 1960s Grand Prix 500 BMW that was one of the works Rennsport machines it's an amazing bike. One of these days he'll give me a go on it.