Posts
81
Joined
11/9/2019
Location
South Jordan, UT
US
Edited Date/Time
8/13/2021 6:10pm
Hello everyone!
If someone were to bring a mobile power washing trailer to races or practices would you guys pay to have your bikes washed? if so how much is the max you would pay?
If someone were to bring a mobile power washing trailer to races or practices would you guys pay to have your bikes washed? if so how much is the max you would pay?
The Shop
I'm an idiot business wise though, as proven by being busy as fuck and still broke a lot of the time haha, so disregard as appropriate, just food for thought.
Most track owners wouldn't spend their time with it, so maybe open to a deal for a kick back.
I find it relaxing...
Example only.
5 cleanings per race day. Good Weather. 1 practice, 4 moto's. After practice cleaning will be a given due to the track being freshly prepped and over water. The other 4 will depend on track condition because less prep as the day goes on so you may not get a come back after practice until it is time to clean up and go home. So, I paid for 5 but only used you twice but if conditions are muddy all day, not so good weather, then I use all 5 but you are charging more for muddy conditions. No pro rated refunds if you did not use all 5 cleanings.
Helmet and boots are free with paid cleanings. Chain lubed free as well but some may be picky about what lube you are using.
For walk ups, helmet is $2, boots $5 and bike $10-good weather, $20 bad weather.
Figure out your cost and profit margin and go from there and as stated, I would do per day to secure the revenue.
$15 soap and brush
$10 soap and spray only
Hammer 663s
Let me do some simple math for you. Even if you washed 10 bikes per day, at $25 per bike, you're only making $250. Deduct gas, supplies, track vendor fees, and you're barely making any money. And working pretty hard.
You can only wash one bike at a time. How are you going to manage 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 bikes at a time? How are you going to make any money if you're not washing more than 2 bikes? I don't have the patience to wait for you to wash other bikes before mine, especially after I'm done riding. I'd rather go home, crack a beer and wash my own bike. I don't know that I would trust someone in a rush with a pressure washer.
I suggest focusing your entrepreneurial energy on another idea. Mobile car wash perhaps. People pay a lot of money for a good, reliable mobile car wash.
That can be a good idea but the issue I see is water. It can be an automatic and closed machine, or the owner washing the bike with a hot water pressure washer (if you plan to do it, I would not, the liability is high, I remember helping out a friend with a ktm freeride, first time I do it for someone else, and ... of course the bike would not start, crazy as i had been very gentle on the washing, and fortunately it was at my buddy's place and he is a mechanic). So the main issue will be the water, especially used water, where it goes, particularly if using all kind of washing chemicals. To be within the regulations may not easy on that part, and the fines for not following them may be costly in a culture that is more and more eco friendly.
Glen Helen tried coin op washers but they seem to take a beating. Milestone had one and it was nice to at least blast off the big chunks before the drive home.
Good idea though, good luck with it.
On a good day, we can wash both bikes with around 20 gallons, when it's muddy, it takes the entire 35 gallons for both bikes.
Also, bikes are never properly clean if the pits are dirt and not gravel.
Pit Row
Man I really need to ride...only 1.5 months from freedom
He had a line of bikes all day long, after every moto. If I had to guess, I'd say he grossed about $500 a day.
I do this to my own bikes every weekend anyways. Not much overhead just grind labor. I pamper my bikes as it is. If our wives go to the spa to get pampered, we should be able to have our bikes receive the same treatment. Haha
If you are doing races....especially muddy practice or races and you are simply providing washers and water that may work if you have capacity for multiple washers and limit time per wash.
In either case don't give up your day job.
However, i have thought of a trailer with a water tank and washer attached and a wash your own kind of deal but my issue is water. I don’t want to tow a couple hundred gallons of water around and I’m sure the track wouldn’t let me fill up my tank for free so to have to pay for the water that cuts into the profit as well as the gas mileage and wear and tear if I were to have to haul it.
All that being said. If I could pay to wash my bike at the track, I would. We are lucky here in California as there rarely have “mud”. Dirt is light and comes off easy.
What happens when you wash someone's bike between motos and water gets into an electrical connection and it won't start resulting in the rider missing a race? That "customer" is going to pissed off and blow you out in front of everyone in the pits. Even if it's not directly your fault, it will happen at some point in time. Are you going to refund them the money you charged and race entry fee?
Are you going to pull the seat and use an airbox filter cover to guarantee water won't accidentally ingress into the intake?
Will you blow off the bike with air, wipe it down, and lubricate needed items after the wash?
I'm not attempting to discourage you from having a side hustle at the track, but you need to think of these things and how you would handle them. To me, a good wash job is not just as simple as rolling it into your rig, power-washing the piss out of it, and then rolling it back to the customer. I would guess each bike is going to take about 20 minutes to do a proper job (wash, scrub, rinse, blow off, lubricate, start it up) so if you are lucky you might be able to do 3 per hour. If that was the case, I don't think I would even touch a bike for less than $15 ($45/hr gross)
Post a reply to: Just an idea… please help!