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Can I Afford a Motorcycle?

by Zeynep
(Pittsburgh, PA)

Hi,

I have always dreamed that one day I will have a motorcycle in my life and recently got a permit. I'll take the classes next week. I am a graduate student and my fellowship is around $20K a year. I rent an apartment and support only myself. I live comfortably but have little room for any luxuries, I can't save enough to travel. Can I afford a motorcycle? I know I can go out and buy a used bike but I don't know how much regular maintenance costs, how much I can travel on a limited budget.. I rent an apartment in Pittsburgh with no garage and winters are at least 6 months long here. I was thinking I would look into renting a garage or at least a storage space but it adds to the cost of owning a bike.

I guess my question simply put is: Is it sensible to introduce a motorcycle into my life with very limited financial and space resources?

In two years my income will almost double and I'll have more suitable living conditions, at least a garage. Should I just wait?

Thank you!

Comments for
Can I Afford a Motorcycle?

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Jul 31, 2009
 Thank You!
by: Zeynep

Thank you for all your helpful and encouraging comments!

Safe and happy riding :)
Jul 25, 2009
 Buying a Bike
by: Kimberly

Like the person before me, by spending your money on the things that you deem as comfortable living, you could buy a secondhand bike with low mileage, or even one with some miles on it, but has been keep in good repair. It could be doable. As far as maintenance goes, that does cost some money. If you have any friends that ride and maintain they're own bike, you could do some trades, such as a home cooked meal etc. May even be in your best interest to learn how to do some basic maintenance yourself, which I recommend highly. Oil changes, filling brake fluid etc are easy and important for you to know how to do. I am lucky as most of my friends ride and have bikes, I am learning to wrench my own bike. You will have to know how to do your pre-trip inspection anyway. Insurance is another matter, but if you take the course it's cheaper. As far as storage goes there are usually folks around that have extra space and will charge you minimal fees for storing your bike.

All in all, only you know if you can afford the above mentioned items. I would also suggest that if you do buy second hand, take it to a bike shop and they can go over it to let you know if it's worth buying, what it does need to be safe on the road, and cost of repair. You can always sell it and move up to something bigger, and more to your style when your out of school. Very few keep they're first bike anyway. Hope this helps, and good luck with your studies.

P.S. Do your homework at all costs before jumping in ie: cost of tires, fork oil, engine oil, cab work etc.
Jul 23, 2009
 Affording a Bike
by: kenberlyc

Can you put a price on peace and pleasure? I think sometimes you can't. I hate to sound like the commercial but some things are just priceless. Only you know if you can make adjustments with your budget or not, but my bike is so important to my sanity, I would work extra hours or eat only peanut butter if I had to just to keep it.
Jul 23, 2009
 Affording a Bike
by: Anonymous

Well, I don't want to say whether you can afford to buy one..only you know that...But I will say that mine doesn't take much money for upkeep. I don't garage mine, I just bought a nice cover for a few hundred dollars and it stays good all winter with that. The gas mileage is better than my car so I don't spend as much on gas as I did before either. As far as maintenance and repairs, I think if you buy one with low miles than it should be ok. I guess there are all the accessories that go with a bike, but a lot of those are your choice...not necessary.

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