P124
CN
III LOWSIDE
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
T
here may be plenty of perks
in this game of motorcycle
writing, but high pay is not
one of them.
We get to ride the latest and
greatest for a living, but rarely can
a person who calls him or herself a
motorcycle writer physically afford
the tires, let alone the bike itself.
Motorcycles are luxury items.
The key word here being luxury.
They are not items deemed nec-
essary for survival by the greater
society—although I tend to think
they are from a mental health
point of view.
The last few weeks, my mode
of transport has been a luxurious
2019 Suzuki GSX-R1000R. A stel-
lar machine. It's as fast, smooth
and safe as any sport bike I've
ever ridden on the street. It's also
sitting in dealer showrooms for
anywhere between $15,500 and
$16,500, making it unattainable
for anyone of my ilk—even though
I admit the performance is stag-
geringly good for the money.
The want of a new motorcycle
is ever present. But lately, I've be-
gun to look in the rear-view mir-
ror. Depending on your financial
situation, a second-hand bike can
prove to be a wise investment. A
quick scan on Cycle Trader has
revealed some interesting op-
tions. For example, I found a four-
year-old Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R
ABS out the door for $10,995 in
Long Beach, Califor-
nia. This one was the
limited-edition model,
number 294 of 300,
with a year's registra-
tion and 2874 miles on
the clock. That's not
even run in.
A 2019 ZX-14R ABS
is the same bike—it
hasn't changed at all
aside from the paint—
and will set you back
an MSRP of $14,999.
And that's before you
consider the taxes,
insurances and associ-
ated costs of getting a
new bike on the road.
It, therefore, be-
comes a tough argu-
ment to go buying a
brand-new machine,
and I can't help but
feel sorry for the guy on the
dealer floor who must move new
bikes when he is undercut to
such a level thanks to stock that
hasn't even aged, despite the
number.
But what if you can't deny the
allure of a new motorcycle? I get
it. It's all yours. Unmolested. Un-
touched. Curiously, motorcycle
manufacturers have been slow
to adopt financing models like
leases that have been common-
place in the four-wheel world for
decades. But as the world moves
away from the outright vehicle
ownership culture, companies
are being forced into new models
to ensure they can keep selling
bikes and keep the bottom line in
the black.
Take Ducati, for example. A
little over two years ago Ducati
launched its Ducati Premier
Financing program, which aimed
to slice the cost of ownership
for potential customers. This
works similarly to the BMW 3asy
Ride Finance Program, which is
modeled off the car world. With
THE CHANGING FACE
OF MOTORCYCLE RIDING
There have nev-
er been so many
ways to get onto
a bike as there
are now.
