Big Twin: taxes and cost to upkeep

[ycwoon]

Team..need to do more maths to make sure I can really afford to upkeep a Harley Big Twin. I tried looking on this forum, but the search is too generic and turns up hundreds of pages.

question:

- road tax per annum for a Big Twin

- approx insurance cost (I am in my forties) + theft/fire in Malaysia

- parking in a HDB MCSP is $40?

- average maintenance cost/year with regular servicing at dealers (well considering that it is the most ex at the dealers then will be a good max cost)

- I suppose the running cost is how often I ride it..but i am very curious on how thirsty a Fatboy is what is the km/l or l/100km?

 

Can someone help me to understand the following cost (guesstimate is fine..) for a Fatboy/Heritage or RK. IMHO, I think there should be a stickie page where everyone can update the repair cost..time is NOT that good, so, can help save some $$

 

Stock tyre change(Front/rear)

Brake pad change

Brake disc change

rear suspension change

front suspension change

oil changes

Clutch change

Clutch cable change

Throttle cable change

Belt drive change

 

Thanks in advance..

[hagar]

My previous ride was an 01 Heritage Classic. Over 3 years and 28,500klm the average cost was 20cents per klm excluding road tax (say $500 per yr), fuel, depreciation and accessories. I did have a couple of expensive fixes in that time such as a new ECM ($800), Engine relay & Start Stop swich ($275), batery ($295), Pillion seat ($275).

 

It will depend on the type of servicing (synthetic or regular), tyre wear etc. but you can budget at around 10 to 15 cents per klm excluding the items mentioned above. My fuel aveage over the same period was 6.3 ltr per 100klm

 

So for 10,000 klm per year (excluding depreciation and accessories)

 

10,000 x .15 (worst case) = $1,500

Petrol 10,000/100 x 6.3 x 1.75 = $1,100

Road Tax $500

Insurance 1st Party $1,000

Total per year $4,100 or could be reduced to say $3,600 with running costs at 10cents per klm.

 

Don't forget to add depreciation which will be say 10% per year.

 

All I can say is it's worth every cent and the best thing to do is enjoy the ride and not count the cents too much.

 

So why would anyone keep a track of every petrol purchase and expenditure on his ride. Sigh good question i've done it for all my HD's, my current ride is newer and running at 10cents per klm prior to fuel etc. - I gotta get out and ride more!!!

[ycwoon]

Hagar..thanks for the detailed response and it really helps, much appreciated.

 

So, for a used Softail, I supposed the overall running cost is about 6K/annum (4K+2K)when factoring in the 10% depreciation (assume used bike of 20K)..hmmm this is a bit unexpected.

 

What I am most afraid of are the un-expected repairs or a jinxed bike with frequent breakdowns...and HD parts is not cheeeap....

[hagar]

Hagar..thanks for the detailed response and it really helps, much appreciated.

 

So, for a used Softail, I supposed the overall running cost is about 6K/annum (4K+2K)when factoring in the 10% depreciation (assume used bike of 20K)..hmmm this is a bit unexpected.

 

What I am most afraid of are the un-expected repairs or a jinxed bike with frequent breakdowns...and HD parts is not cheeeap....

 

The thing is I don't believe that a HD is that much more to own than any other big CC bike. Insurance and road tax will be the same (depreciation on japanese bikes is generally faster than HD's). services will still be up to $300each x 2, tyres cost the same etc. etc. so 10cents per klm is easy. Some of the other bigger cc bikes can give you bigger headaches as they are more complex, Big twins are more simple in design, no water cooling, overhead cams etc. etc. (exclude V Rods).

 

You will have a problem in that a $20k big twin will be around 6 to 7 years old so you can expect some wear and tear expenses. But labour charges etc.can be cheaper if you dont use the dealership or use genuine parts particularly if it is not efi.

 

I hope I hav'nt put you off. I've had a numer of Harleys (Curently an 07 Softail) and I would not consider riding anything else.

 

Cheers

[ycwoon]

..to the contrary, Hagar....I think I am not put off by the cost...i am now more aware on the cost of ownership... I suppose to fulfill a wish is priceless...

 

I had always wish I could afford a Fatboy when I was riding my Sporster 883 back in '96.

 

..the finance minister has a few conditions on ownership..safety is primary and followed by not affecting the children education fund...hence I am very careful on both requirement.

 

Thanks again..

 

...anyone else can chime in on cost of maintenance..? i am sure with Harley on the road for more than 10yrs, surely there are a lot of you guys have some info to share!

[shiraz]

This is an approx cost IF you order parts yourself..

 

 

Stock tyre change(Front/rear) - $280 / $300

Brake pad change - $50

Brake disc change - $200

rear suspension change - $200 (ebay)

front suspension change - ?? no idea sorry

oil changes - $100

Clutch change - $200

Clutch cable change - $100

Throttle cable change - $100

Belt drive change - $350

 

all costs exclude labour..

[ycwoon]

shiraz..thanks for the update..very useful.

[ycwoon]

Some update based on my experience..

Cost for a Fatboy

Oil Filter $36

Engine oil $30

Transmission oil $18

Primary oil $21

 

Labor cost

Swap stock pipes to after market pipes = $50

Change handlebar = $40

[hst]

any recommendation for trustworthy & priceworthy shop. Thks

[ycwoon]

perform an in thread search in the 2 popular thread in Cruisers and it is well discussed in there. Each it's own

 

Allocate ample time or leave your bike there.

But waiting has it plusses, as you can drool at other ppl's harley or meet some really nice folks.

 

I have used the first 2.

 

Custom cycles in Geylang Bahru

Sunburst - ah yee in AMK

Rosli in Autobay

[gohjohan]

perform an in thread search in the 2 popular thread in Cruisers and it is well discussed in there. Each it's own

 

Allocate ample time or leave your bike there.

But waiting has it plusses, as you can drool at other ppl's harley or meet some really nice folks.

 

I have used the first 2.

 

Custom cycles in Geylang Bahru

Sunburst - ah yee in AMK

Rosli in Autobay

 

to add, there's Sun Hogs at Turf City. They also deal with Kuryakin products

 

Did you call or sms me during the past 1 week? I forgot to inform you that I'm now in HK. I've terminated my phone number

[ycwoon]

to add, there's Sun Hogs at Turf City. They also deal with Kuryakin products

 

Did you call or sms me during the past 1 week? I forgot to inform you that I'm now in HK. I've terminated my phone number

 

nope...no worries..we can still PM. Good luck! When I am in that area in a few wks time, I will ping you.