Leasing a motorcycle
Scary Fast
Would you lease a bike?
If someone gave you the opportunity to lease a bike would you do it?
What would you want for the terms of the agreement?
How many months?
What kind of milage limitation?
What about modifications? Pipe, bars, shocks etc.....
Let's take an R1 for example, what would you expect to put down?
What about monthly payments?
Should a maintenance agreement be included?
What could go wrong?
My friend and I think it's a great idea. You could lease a bike for 2
years, and get a new ride when the lease is up. Then the leasing
company could sell the used moto's when they are turned in. Of course
you would have to pay for damage, or excessive milage.
This may be a way to put a person with a budget for a 600 on to the
900-1000 that they really want. Or get the R1/ZX9 owner up to a Duc or
Bimota.
Would love to hear some of your feedback.
Frank
Sure, if I could lease *exotics* like a Bimota or Aprilla for a short time ,
I'd definitely lease them!!
<What would you want for the terms of the agreement?
How many months?
What kind of milage limitation?
What about modifications? Pipe, bars, shocks etc.....
Oh.. well I guess a short term(6-12months) with 6000miles maximum allowed.
Of course all scheduled maintenance should be covered in this lease as well.
The only thing I would be willing to replace would be the tires! As far as
accessories go, I wouldnt bother with them with them! Thats the whole point
of leasing isnt it?? Just pay for what the vehicle has, not would could be
on it!
<Let's take an R1 for example, what would you expect to put down
Ugh, thats not exotic...hehe......but for demonstrative purposes its ok. I
would expect to put down maybe $500 plus payments of less than $250/month
for a short term. So for the first year, my bike costs will be $3000 plus
insurance. So lets give a round figure of $1000 for insurance, now that
brings the total to $4000 divided by 12months and we get $335/month to ride
a new R1. As for the mileage, that would be debatable. 6000 miles over a
year would probably be sufficient for most leasors. That would probably be
enough for me, since I have other bikes to ride! Others might need more
miles, so their lease could probably reflect the price difference.
<Should a maintenance agreement be included
Well not so much a *maintenance agreement*, but all scheduled services
should be completed through the dealer, care of the leasing company , on
short term leases
Overall I dont think leasing is a bad idea, BUT I dont think the motorcycle
manufacturers engage in this because of market demands.Also they might lose
some of the 18%apr customers that buy on credit from them(I.E. Kawis Good
Times Plan, etc etc) (this is purely speculation on my part) Im sure they
would have to increase production to fill more orders, but on the down side
the used bike market would be flooded with used R1s and F4s(for example)
thereby diminishing their value even more. I think that higher end models
such as the BMW and Harleys(not neccessary a high end model) are leased
because of the light use they will receive. Its not uncommon to see a leased
Harley with less than 1500 miles on it. Im sure there are motorcycle leasing
companies in the US that lease sportbikes, but I dont think its a big
market. I could be wrong though.
I personally would love to lease a new exotic every year. It would be great
to have 4 or 5 bikes of my own and 1 leased one I could ride on really nice
days or to big events like Bike Week or the Honda Hoot! It would be great
to have that kind of depth in my garage!!!
Erik Astrup
><Would you lease a bike?
>
>Sure, if I could lease *exotics* like a Bimota or Aprilla for a short time ,
>I'd definitely lease them!!
*Exactly*. Any other "pedestrian" bikes would not be worth it.
For me anyway.
>Oh.. well I guess a short term(6-12months) with 6000miles maximum allowed.
>Of course all scheduled maintenance should be covered in this lease as well.
Yes yes!!!
>The only thing I would be willing to replace would be the tires! As far as
>accessories go, I wouldnt bother with them with them! Thats the whole point
>of leasing isnt it?? Just pay for what the vehicle has, not would could be
>on it!
Yep. I want to lease an MV Agusta for 6 months please.
From May to October. I won't do anything to it but ride it.
Track days included. LOTS of track days.
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Erik Astrup - Team Iguana Racing (Ret)
1995 Triumph Tiger
1997 Triumph Speed Triple
"It's such a fine line between stupid and...And clever."
http://www.mother.com/~eastrup/
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