The Cheapest and Most Expensive Motorcycles You've Ever Owned

[Cher]

Since it is starting to get nasty outside and a bit dicey to ride, I thought a topic of DFWM interest and discussion might be:

Of all the bikes you've ever owned, which was the cheapest to keep, and if applicable, the most expensive?  ("Expensive" can include bling and/or mods)  The only criteria for the cheapest, is that the bike's displacement should probably be anything over 400cc (so no Pit Bikes, people!)  

And if you've got pictures… well you know The Rules  

[Charlie98]

Cheapest, hands down, was my '79 XS650 twin... When I was in the Army, my brother bought a new car so he gave me his old '77 Corolla.  I found out I couldn't afford the insurance ($50/mo, liability, was a lot of money when I was only making $650/mo,) so I traded it straight up for my buddy's XS650:  Net cost $0!



Self portrait, Pueblo, CO, 1988.  Nobody can tell ME I can't park where I want...


Most expensive to date would be my '93 CBR1000F... bought new in '94 for right around $6700.  Fair amount of mods... most done after my brother low-sided it and I got the insurance check.  Heli-bars, V&H SS2R full system, Givi windscreen, carb and airbox kit, dyno tuned, and the usual upgrades... Dunlops, chain/sprockets, tail mod.  Sold about 10 years ago to a friend of mine, who still has it; I put 37K on it, he's probably put another 10K on it since then.



I say to date because I suspect my current road bike... the 796... will only lead me to a path of financial ruin.  I'm trying to decide if I should upgrade the 796, or say 'screw it' and upgrade to a Multi.  I know the correct answer, I just know my wife does not have the same answer.

[Cher]

The Cheapest Motorcycle I've ever Owned:

I'm fairy sure the cheapest motorcycle I've ever owned was this 2002 Triumph Daytona triple.  We bought it from a local Triumph dealer for practically nothing and it never needed anything.  It was a gas and oil bike.  Beautiful lines, single-sided swingarm, and well put together too.  And talk about easy to clean rims!     I think a collector must have owned it before us because the thing was a total cream puff.  And that engine howl!  Holy smoke, you'd downshift just to hear it crackle and pop...



Unfortunately it had the misfortune of sharing the garage with a slightly newer Ducati superbike, which, while not as pretty, was better by any metric (except cost!).  We sold the Daytona after about 18 months so we could concentrate all of our funds on the Ducati, which has the dubious distinction of being the most expensive bike we've ever owned… By far.

[Cher]

The Most Expensive:

Oh the '04 yellow 999.  Where to begin… First I need to say it was also a "gas and oil" bike; it never  gave us a single problem mechanically.  It was a base model with 124 hp at the crank and the gray painted DSS.  I owned the bike for nearly five years and put close to 36,000 miles on it.  Eventually I think it had about every mod available; from a hellacious Leo Vince complete exhaust to brushed aluminum billet bits everywhere.  I loved that bike - it just "fit."  I did several long distance, out of state trips, and four or five track days out at Cresson.  It was excellent.  But then, I had the brilliant idea that I needed to start dragging knees at track days.  Yep, bad idea.

Crashed the bike twice almost one year to the day of each other.  First crash was expensive to repair (bent steering yoke and forks being among my favorites, along with most every piece of bodywork being damaged or destroyed).  But we fixed the damage and I rode it a lot before I crashed it again at Cresson…



This time the damage was minor - just body work… So I found a decent, complete set of red body work off of an '05 - '06 on ebay.  Sold the bike right after that.



 

[koko64]

Most expensive, Harley FXR. Cheapest, Kwaka Z250.
Harley had a Crane cam, HS40 Mikuni Flatslide carb, tuned 2 into 1 pipe, Accel ignition mods, better brakes and suspension. Sold the Harley after modifying and tuning it and was thinking about a Buell when I discovered the M900. Thank you Ducati for saving me.

[TresGatos]

One Memorial day in 1996, I left work for lunch wanting an enduro, and stopped by Albuquerque Motorsports.

All they had to fit the bill was a Suzuki DR 650.  Was not crazy about the colors, but they delivered it to work that afternoon.

Kept it until it was stolen in 2006.

Untitled by danrayman, on Flickr

I have not found a pic to post, but the one above is close.

Loved that bike - was awesome for Albuquerque's varied choices (arroyos, sand, forest trails, rocky technicals, ... ).

[swanny]

Cheapest....YZ250...it is a two stroke so the displacement should be allowed to be under 400cc...Raced it for 3 or 4 years in cross country racing and never an issue other than fork seals and rear shock blowout!

Most expensive...Probably the 848...putting full Ohlins front,rear and steering dampner.  Those along with dry clutch conversion and full track bodywork was costly.  Hopefully get to take her out a time or two next year!

Swanny

[herm]

My first bike was an 80's era Honda Shadow. Bought it for 500.00 from a friend. I had the bike for about 6 years, and only put a set of tires and a battery into it. Sold it for 1000.00 

My current monster is on the other end of the spectrum....

[muskrat]

cheapest and the most deadly of them all was a Honda 125CR.  That bike literally dared me to do things.....stupid things and Darwin was asleep thankfully.


the most expensive has been my S4r, too much bling and 6 years of mods.

[Yorkie]

The cheapest bike I have owned.

1992 750SS converted to a 900 cafe thingy.  Bought it for £365-ish and spent (including the bike £1300) fixing it up.



The most expensive bike I have owned.

1998 916 Bip.  Standard apart from the exhausts.  Bought for £4500.



Yorkie

[GK]

Cheapest bike Kawasaki Z250. It was a gift from my brother! I was due to buy it for $700, but he was hit by a truck and the bike was (as was himself) pretty banged up.

Thankfully, he was okay in time and the parts bike that came with it, supplied me all the bits I needed to get it back on the road.

Most expensive bike was a 2001 VFR 800 FI which I bought new for $14500. Wish I had have bought the Monster new at that time! Live and learn. 😆😆

[Mhanis]

I have been wanting to play this game since you first posted this Lisa and I have been looking for a specific photograph to include but I cannot find it anywhere! I'll explain in a minute:

The most expensive I've owned is my '09 M1100. I bought it well at $10,000 as it was a leftover model I bought in 2010. But then I started pouring $$ into it buying FARKLES. Carbon fiber this and that, exhaust, custom decals/paint job on and on. Then add numerous tires and services due to the high mileage I've put on the bike (52,000 and climbing!) I have damn near paid for the bike a second time!



The cheapest bike is the photo I cannot find. In 1986 I bought an ’86 Yamaha Virago XV700 in Midnight Black. I paid $3000 for what was then a tariff beater. I loved that bike and I put over 50,000 miles on it and I didn’t sell it until about a year after I bought my Monster. I think I got $2500 for it when I sold it. Anyway, there is a great picture of me as a very stylish pre-20 something sitting on that bike looking phenomenal. It is an actual printed photo and not a digital image, I am going to keep looking for it and if I come across it I’ll scan it in and post it.

However, I just tied my record for cheapest bike purchase last week!  I still LOVE my Monster and I commute on it 90% of work days. The miles are piling up on the thing and many of the miles are simply commuting to and from work.

While at the motorcycle show last month, I came across a Suzuki TU250X, that bike had somehow slipped past my consciousness all these years. Anyway, I REALLY liked how the bike looked, it is just a really cool looking machine. Fast forward to last week and while trolling Cycle Trader I found a brand new 2015 model sitting at the dealership in Lawton Oklahoma for (get this) $2999!! I couldn’t freaking believe it. I drove up there this past Saturday, took it for a quick spin and put cash on the desk and brought it home. The DUC will be retired from daily commuting duties thereby extending it longevity and I’ll be happily motoring along on this:



I have removed the rear passenger seat as there is no way in hell I’ll be riding this thing 2-up! The power is anemic but that isn’t what I bought it for. And truthfully, I didn’t buy it to save money per se, it is all about making the Monster last as long as possible.

And I’m going to keep looking for that picture.  

Mark

[Cher]

Very cool.  Excellent purchase of the Suzuki.  I can see why you like it