Hi,
as the title says, this is for UK only, but if you're curious about it, you can read all of it in 10 minutes.
It has been a long time since I don't ride, but I'm close to start again, I've put down a few numbers in the screenshots below, it seems kind of crazy but I keep my finances in order.
Including insurances (also sport and permanent injury/disability insurance), fuel etc the monthly cost easily skyrockets, so it's very important to know what will be my expenses and what I can do to cut them down.
For the most of it, it's just about numbers, so I guess I should be renting, but I hope that you will highlight something that I didn't notice.
The cost above doesn't include many things, it's just about what I believe was worth mentioning here in terms of (Van or trailer - Rent or buy the MX bike), because other things like permanent health insurance etc can't be reduced, they are subjected to personal evaluation.
One important thing is that I didn't check what are the rules of renting a bike, like for damage, how many minutes I can drive, who provides the fuel for the bike etc... I need to talk to someone onsite, I'm not aware of weird rules so far and I've never ridden in UK with an MX bike, I came here a few years ago... I'm pretty sure there is something uncomfortable behind, but nothing that I could spot on a website of official teams or various smaller businesses.
Thanks for your help.
First rule of racing, never add up what it costs.
Nobody rents bikes.
Where in UK are you based?.
I feel like you may be overthinking it somewhat 😄
you don’t need a £20000 van, nor do you need a brand new bike. Used 2 stroke and a transit and you’re away. £35- £40 track fee. No need to over complicate it for what it is, just get out and have fun. Life is short.
Another way is to do the experience days mx or enduro.
Rock up pay your fee between £190 to £230 get to ride brand new bikes, they supply clothing. Then at end of day say thanks very much and drive home.
No need for a truck
There are many around UK
Kawasaki do mx days
KTM do enduro and Mx days along with Honda
Gas Gas do enduro that’s just for starters of people I ride with.
I know there are more companies out there, just Google search.
I been doing this since 2008😎
Not a racer, but even just as a rider, burn the slips. Nobody needs to find those or that sort of negativity in life.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Free shipping: VITALMX
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
I need to keep track of it, I'm not racing anymore as a teenager :D .
The cash for the Van it's just related to me owning only that vehicle, certainly I can buy a very old one but it doesn't make much sense and it's not a problem as of now, the important thing is how expensive it is overtime.
I wouldn't buy a new bike, a 4500 pounds 125cc is the max I would buy to be honest, price wise, or whatever is on that max budget.
Thanks, I'll try to find also other teams/brands that organize such events.
Just curiosity, how much did you ride? Is it 1h? Or does it go up to when you empty the tank?
I have my own clothes/protections, so probably I'll spend less than the amount you mentioned, or maybe you included the track fee.
I just got back from riding wildtrax
I own the bike and the van it cost me 110 pounds today just to ride well my lad to
50 quid in van 20 in bike had oil,40 pounds to ride going up to 45 next year ,that's with out any food drinks wear tear on bike .5 sessions
Side not props to the prep man looked spot on today after many many years of slop In the winter
That’s fair enough, my point really was don’t overthink the cash values too much. I get having to do that running a business but if you worked out cost over time of anything fun in life it wouldn’t add up. All I was saying is life’s too short to overthink these things.
I've driven to the track in a £300 1L Suzuki swift with a £100 3 bike trailer.
I've driven to the track in a £600 transit with rust that bad you could see the road through the floor.
I've ridden trails on my road legal bike to the track when my van was off the road, it was awful in winter and burnt a set of new tyres on the roads in a few weekends but got to be done.
I currently drive a £2500 LWB Transit and am currently in Morocco not even 1/4 through my trip which will be to three continents, so I'd say it's a pretty dependable vehicle to put up with what it's been through, hell I was literally speaking to a bloke in a £50k++ 4x4 sprinter who's had me issues than I have!
If you're set on Motocross, track fees £35-£45 (bloody rip off, 10-15 euros even for a GP track on the continent) diesel to get there depends where you live, £5 for a big packed lunch, £15 fuel in the bike and you're done.
Enduro same price but you can offset it by trail riding every few weeks so you don't need to pay entry fees.
Buy the nicest 2006+ YZ 250 and pop a top end in when you buy it and it shouldn't cost much to keep trucking on, and that's coming from a KTM guy!
Unless I am hauling multiple bikes I usually just use my trailer, its easier load everything, keep tools and spare parts in it. But you do need a vehicle that can pull a trailer, and it needs to be able to do so in minimal off road conditions (most tracks offer gravel at best for vehicle parking). A van would also work, however you would probably need to do some modifications, and would cost a bit more done right. Do they have pick up trucks in the UK?
So in the UK, hauling a bike in a pick-up or an open trailer is a no-no.
Small vans are silly money here, and having places to keep stuff like trailers isnt easy.
I went out for a few drinks with friends, and a pub meal yesterday, £100 .. if you can steer clear of Starbucks, you can afford to ride LOL.
Bikes are not selling in the UK right now , prices are on their arse, 125's can be had for £3k, and be decent, you just gotta look and bargain hard.
Seemingly nothing is selling here, bikes cars vans, all the same ads up for months apart from salvage. Good time to be buying most things.
The whole thing is about to implode, everyone who rushed out and spent their furlough money, has 3 year deals coming to an end, and demand has softened, so instead of having to wait for cars, they are readily available.
A guy i saw on YouTube who buys low end stuff , showed cars sub £20k retail at auction , not even getting bids at £9k .
The EV bubble has burst , there are zero real punters buying them as they are losing money that fast , you cant believe it.
Telsa's in the UK were dropping that fast, last Xmas folk were having to queue 6 hours to charge them, they dropped £4k in a month, which meant they lost £36 waiting to charge.
And now loads are coming up at 3 years old, and nobody wants them, the used prices are in free fall. And to buy one you finance the difference between RRP and the value at 3 years, which has almost doubled.
A lot of folk have realised over the last 3 years , that nothing saves money like keeping what you have.
Exactly, nothing “eco” or “green” about scrapping a perfectly good car and replacing it with a new electric car with parts mined from god knows where and assembled all over the world, then worthless when the finance runs out. Only to do it all again. Crazy world we live in, I’ll just keep all my old shit, at least I own it!
Depending on who you ride with and how fit you are around 4 hours of riding.
You can use your own kit, it does not make any difference on price.
All the bikes are fairly if not new and maintained to a high standard.
All these events that I go to are run by top calibre riders and one is a multiple world champion and they give you pointers on how to improve.
plus in the long run if you do decide to buy a bike you would have tired a lot of different makes/ models
Thank you, I certainly have something to work on, maybe I was exaggerating, or I got scared to the 320 annual tax for the Van (which in future will be probably much more), so I thought to buy a very recent one...
Vans in UK are taxed differently, so maybe this won't happen like for cars, so I'll follow your recommendation, just choose a fairly cheap one (maybe 3-10k), then I think what to do with it.
Problems with Vans is also that they are usually ex work vehicles, so they are abused as hell, so that also pushed me to think to a more recent Van with low mileage (as my primary vehicle), even though I'm pretty sure that it would have been damaged anyway for all the start/stop that it does, city driving and whatever they used it for. (I disable the start/stop for example, but who used it before me, even in a new Van, essentially eroded the longevity by a lot)
I'd take a 125 rather than a 250 2 stroke, I was used to a lot of power with a 250 but the reality is that I can't push the 250 at max, it's unrealistic, so I prefer to squeeze a 125cc with racing parts and setup, more fun
.
I always had more fun with a 125cc, probably you recommended me the 250 because it lasts a bit longer, certainly not a bad idea, but an old motorbike may or may not last longer.
A pick up would be a nice idea, I love it by the style, but they consume like crazy, maintenance is also high, and in UK they are subjected to 400-500 yearly tax or similar, I can't even mention insurance, probably more than a Van, this is not US
, but thanks for the tip.
I think that a Van is better in UK.
Pit Row
I'm not a city guy, no issues :D .
I was just trying to get the most out of it
In the big picture, it's certainly a buyer market, but considering the recession in this decade (certainly not a growth, on that we can all agree), it's the main reason why I'm considering all the factors before to buy anything, but I won't overthink forever on it, gotta go anyway :D .
I certainly gave priority to other critical stuff in life and no finances of stupid items.
Tesla...
They break too much in the first years of ownership (I think it detains a record), which answers all the questions about quality...
But on the long run, that can be a nice luxury car and very safe (the safest non-armored vehicle), as long as you factor the maintenance/repair cost of the car, my last calculations accounted around 220-250 per month on 16-20y usage (total cost), coming from 60-100k miles used of a couple of years ago, all depends from how many miles you do with it, but that's the general price range. My calculation above was made with 8k miles yearly, including a major battery failure (but not the whole pack, you can also replace the damaged block) + major failure in the power train.
I also considered the money saved from the fuel if taken at home, even better if you charge it from your solar panels, that should bring it to 195 monthly. You can charge it during the day and avoid to have an expensive battery system at home, that's a nice money saving and any surplus goes back to the power grid, so when you don't charge it, you don't lose the opportunity to make money.
I was looking at newer vans too, as obviously for a trip that will take me off-road into some of the most remote parts of the Sahara and just all the road milage I needed something reliable and cheap to run. Newer vans come laden with emissions equipment which in my experience of 50k+ miles a year in new work vans always causes issues and is very expensive to fix. It's only the same as new diesel cars though so it's the same whichever way you go.
I decided based on what the company I worked for paid buying and maintaining my work van that I could put the money into making an older van nice and come out far cheaper through the life of the van, plus honestly I just prefer how older vans drive. New vans beep bloody constantly!
If you've got the time to find the right van and don't need one quickly the best thing is keep looking and waiting for the right one, no matter what age and budget you decided on. You're exactly right that some vans are abused, delivery vans are a no go. You want something that was either part of a fleet where they would have been tracked or a job where the drivers wouldn't be stressed or under time pressure, even better is a privately owned van but they're really quite rare.
Yeah 125s are absolutely great, I recommended the 250 because top ends last me about 2-3x as long as 125s but you can't go wrong with a 125 definitely, and the good thing is top ends are cheap and take probably 2 hours if you're relaxing in the evening. Can't go wrong with a 2 stroke really for relatively cheap riding.
For me in the UK, the cost of the van is well worth it as it reduces the chances of being followed back to the workshop and burgled later (which could happen at any time, but this reduces the risk) and having some cover for your tools etc when it pisses down.
Driving with my bike in the back of the pickup or when I was 17 and had my CR125 on a towbar/bike rack, it was a constant concern.
Main costs personally aren't so bad:
2 or 3 year old Austrian bike (generally, but got an older '17 125sx right now though, but two stroke so who cares)
Esso 99 (RON) fuel without ethanol
Suspension set up and general maintenance
Mid level helmet, boots, gear
An old van (more expensive these days)
Bike theft insurance with BeMoto
Compared to doing tarmac/asphalt circuit track days in cars or on road bikes, without even racing, motocross is a drop in the bucket in comparison if done with budget kept somewhat in mind, so no complaints.
Van--I've owned Six, end of story....
Mate of mine's done a few of the Dave Thorpe days on Honda (of course) CRF 250 X or L or whatever they are, he rates them. Last one being last week, and the week before you could see them on the gram prepping fresh bikes from the crate, box fresh for sure.
I think the Dunham's / LDR near Bristol do or did a similar Kawi thing, another mate did a Yamaha day over Wales and there's a KTM Enduro place real close to me.
I rented a bike at Wildtracks near Cambridge as a kid (visiting family over that way), definitely a few places around like, you say 👍
Seems pricey on the face of it, but all things considered it's fair, and it can totally make sense for some people.
Love my van. T6 kombi, its a work van, people carrier with its easily removable 3 rear seats, chuck a mattress in the back and its a camper.
I had a pickup truck and it was worse for almost everything in everyway apart from towing.
On the van, depends on how you go about things. Set myself up for riding in the UK for not a whole lot. Old van(T5) cost about the same as a new bike and a new engine for it was dirt cheap. Mechanical makeover was also inexpensive if you can spanner. And there are cheaper vans but I know the T5 will last forever which means running costs will remain low for years. Also a nice people mover.
Still a very affordable hobby when compared to road racing. Or even MTB these days.
Resale on a VW Transporter / Caravelle will always be there too.
Even my Mrs old T4 is worth something after 28 years on the road and by far the least desirable engine option.
Damn, is crime that bad in the UK, that your can't drive down the road with something in the back of a truck without getting robbed? Seems crazy. I lived in Stockton for awhile, and not even that place was anywhere near that bad.
I've got a T4 caravelle I've had 16 years
Worth more now than I paid back then with 62k on the clock I did get it cheap mind you as it needed paint
I see plenty of trailers and racks at tracks
No different than that Merc sprinter with the big wheels, awning and stickers slapped up it just look in your mirror s on the way home
Go round the block firsts if you thinks someone's following you or rent a secure lockup dont matter who follows you then
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