Motorcycles come with a raft of financial and environmental benefits. Let’s start with the fuel. Running a motorbike is generally going to take much less fuel than running a car, meaning lower harmful emissions per trip. The initial cost of buying a motorbike is also generally lower than buying a car, and let’s face it, how often do you actually fill every seat in your car every time you make a journey? Exactly. For the price you pay to own a car with four or five seats (or even seven seats), you rarely use it to take anyone more than just yourself from A to B.
Maintenance costs can be much cheaper too, with fewer moving parts to keep in working order and the cost of labour being much cheaper to fix the comparatively smaller mechanical issues associated with bike engines than car engines. All in all, buying, owning, and running a motorcycle is something that you should think carefully about the next time you feel the urge to replace the four wheels sitting on your drive.
But the love affair with pulling on the throttle of just one bike doesn’t last forever. Eventually, you’ll want to upgrade. And that’s when you’ll wish you looked after your bike a bit better, for the sake of an increased resale value. Things like crashes (see Fort Lauderdale motorcycle accident lawyers if you’ve been affected) can potentially lower the value, but else should we look out for? This all comes down to original parts and additions…
Original parts
Financially speaking, the resale value of your motorcycle is going to reflect market expectations as closely as possible where original parts are still in working order. To this end, be aware that customisation will not always bring the value up, even if you think you are adding value. If you do swap parts, keep the original parts safe. And try to protect the original paint as much as possible – hard to do, but a consideration worth bearing in mind if you want top dollar in the resale value.
Additions
As mentioned, any additions that are added for reasons of personal taste should be undone with the original parts replaced before selling the motorcycle. But if the original parts are worn down, replacing them may in fact be beneficial, as not all buyers are looking for a museum piece. This is where you will have to judge the market slightly, but in general, you should be OK to replace bulbs, worn grips, seat covers, and even engine parts to boost the resale value in comparison to selling the bike with original parts that are no longer in functioning order.