What is cost of maintaining a GS?

[PunchBuggy]

I realize this could be something of a scary topic. But what do I actually pay in a year for my GS? To do a budget, I can add in monthly payment and insurance, and I know what I pay in gas, but what is the maintenance cost (I do it myself)? Has anyone ever done this?

For example:
tires and balancing - figure one set a year
tools amortized over 5 years
-Adv Des toolkit $200
-Torque wrench $41
-Twinmax $100
-GS 911 $300
2 oil changes $110
California reg. $199
shocks - every 2 years
brake pads
helmet shields
inevitable accessories
-tankbag $150
-Kaoko $120
-helmet lock $15

etc. etc.

[teambarr]

tires and balancing - one set a year for the street tires, dual sport last around 4K miles
-Adv Des toolkit $200 (waste of cash, get a list of all the tools in this kit and go to Wal-Mart and Sears. You will save $150)
oil change every 6K miles, filter and oil from Wal-Mart for under $30
shocks - these will last longer than 2 years
brake pads - easy to change and are cheap. they also last awhile

[marc]

Missed this when it was first posted. Lots of the items on you list are either one time purchases or have nothing to do with maintenance. The most expensive service I've done was about $150 in parts. Most are closer to $50. I put about 12k miles/year on the bike giving me about $200 in maintenance costs. In that time period I'll use a little more than 2 tires. That adds another $300 to the cost. Insurance costs me about $100 (liability only for two bikes).

That's about $600/year in operating costs excluding gas. Riding gear, gloves, helmets, etc. are expensive and must be replaced every so often. Call it $200/year (new helmet every 5 years, new gloves every 3 years, new riding suit every 8 years). That brings me up to about $800/year plus gas.

Then you add the options like tank bag, panniers, extra lights, etc. If I add that stuff to the initial cost of the bike I'm sure the total would be at least $20K. So how long will I keep the bike and how much will it be worth when I sell it or trade it in. Guess from past history: I keep the bike 8 years and get 4K back. That puts the bike cost at about $2k/year. When added to the above maintenance costs I'm at $2,800/year plus gas. Add in the stuff I forgot (like rebuilding shocks every so often) and the cost is probably in excess of $3K/year.

I didn't add the cost of tools as most I already had and those that I got for the GS will be kept and used with future bikes. Besides, I like tools.

Is having the bike worth that much to me? Hell yes.

[PunchBuggy]

My goal wasn't to bemoan the cost but to make an accurate budget. $3k a year is an inexpensive hobby. I used to race RC and it was a least that.

[marc]

$3K plus gas... and that's for about 12k miles/year. Adjust for your circumstances.