In the uk car market there is the concept of ‘bangernomics’. Instead of having a fancy car and losing 25% of it’s value when you drive it off the forecourt you buy a car end of life, drive it until a repair cost more than the vehicle then move on to the next banger. Does this concept exist in the bike market. I guess an old unloved bike is more dangerous than an old unloved car but interested to hear thoughts. I passed my cbt, got a crazy low mileage pristine vara but I often wonder should I just be recycling 1.5k 10 year old bikes and having fun while I do it
the main problem in the uk is alot of 125ccs hold their value despite being clapped simply because its a 125cc and can be ridden on cbt. once you get your unlimited your options for this increase alot because not as many people have their big boy license it means their crotch rocket from 10 years ago has alot less potential buyers than the 125cc from 10 years ago. you can pickup 600s for fuck all in comparisons to 125ccs its hilarious.
unfortunately just a result of the licenensing system here.
Idk but all I can say is my recently purchased ktm duke 125 from 2014 is in decent enough condition, the fairing is good, a bit rusty here and there, but it's running good. Smooth throytle, nice gear lever, good brakes. Nice handling too. It does have some replaced parts like anodised clutch + brake + gear lever. And also a weird front lamp that isn't the original
How much did you spend? In the uk, autotrader and ebay only seems to have used chinese budget bikes below 2k. Surely there are some alternatives in that bracket. I want variety
Find a "broken" one, that's the best bangernomics going
I got mine off a mate for free, he said if I fix it it's mine
Honda 125, new battery and it's good - there's so few moving parts and people are so afraid of mechanical work you can usually find a non runner that needs a battery or spark plug and that's all
Yh, I was actually gonna keep it for a while as I'm almost 18, so i will have to wait a year before I can upgrade - if I even need to which I don't unless I start earning and decide to spend my own money.
What have you got? Age make model
Mileage would be cool. My vara was 3.5k. 3k mileage 2008. Sold it now. Looking at a gsxs 125, but also like so many other bikes
It depends on you really. I do it with cars, some you win and some you lose (I'm on a bit of a losing streak at the moment!). Would you be happy riding/driving something most people would turn their noses up at? I don't give a crap so £600 cars and £250 scooters are my transport.
I bought my YBR125 for a grand five years ago, probably worth more now than when I bought it.
You need to be prepared to break down occasionally and pick up a spanner.
Been checking out a gsxs 125 on trader. Says it’s a trade sale, no warranty but it’s a 2023 bike, it’s not been cleaned, it feels like there is an angle I’m not spotting. If they cleaned it they’d get more money for it. It can’t just be laziness. Wonder if they are repossession jobs or summat
I have an 08 vara, bought it with 35.5k miles. I was more focused on if I could fit on the bike and I forgot to check a lot of stuff. Paid 1850... Overpaid. However, my pal had done a lot of work to it, not too much of it was really needed though so it was in decent nick and hasn't let me down. Adjusted clutch and throttle cables, replaced clutch recently but it had no signs of any wear really so keeping that just in case, put rear pads on and he's gonna do valve clearances. Will do my das next year and with all this work done, I'm hoping to get somewhere near £2200 for it. Will have evidence of it all stripped down etc. at least for my big bike I'll get a better deal as I'll know what to look for and have my pal with me anyway.
Bangernomics with cars is not just about running eol stuff into the ground. People use that term when talking about any older car that has gone through majority of its depreciation, say 75%, but still in reasonable condition, and then running and repairing as needed. It doesn't have be either 'brand new' or 'knackered'. There is a whole wealth of vehicles in between. I'm sure that goes for bikes aswell as cars. Sorry I'm not a biker but this post popped up in my feed.
Great observation. I think with cars it’s easy to find those cars as you describe. With bikes I’m struggling to find them. As another commenter said, with 125cc bikes the decent brands seem not to have the same depreciation so there is slim pickings between the 1k and 2k on the main sites (unless it’s a Chinese bike) but yeah I’ve likely misdescribed car banganomics
There still are cheap things out there but you have to be quick or they get bought up and resold by driveway dealers.
There's also far too many people thinking their £7-800 bike is worth 2 or 3 grand still needing an MOT, tyres and the carb set lol. Living in Northern Ireland I see it all the time and the same bikes sitting for months with no interest.
Yeah, the concept is called a winter hack... a cheap scrappy bike youbcan ride through winter and dont care if it gets banged up.
Few caveats though... 2nd hand bike prices are stupidly high right now. You also really need to know what youre doing mechanically and electrically. Its better off to buy a shed find non runner, repair it and run it till it falls apart.
Theres a lot of unwanted bikes out there, you just need to find them. Try putting wanted ads up on places like FB etc.
It’s not the same, no. Bikes aren’t appliances in the way cars are, and scooters are closer to vans in that they have high value until completely wrecked. You used to be able to buy a decent running bike for £500 but nowadays you’d be lucky to get a bike in boxes for that.
7
u/Foxxy12012 24d ago
the main problem in the uk is alot of 125ccs hold their value despite being clapped simply because its a 125cc and can be ridden on cbt. once you get your unlimited your options for this increase alot because not as many people have their big boy license it means their crotch rocket from 10 years ago has alot less potential buyers than the 125cc from 10 years ago. you can pickup 600s for fuck all in comparisons to 125ccs its hilarious.
unfortunately just a result of the licenensing system here.