I saw many riders who bought luxurious motorbikes to impress their peers, but they couldn’t afford their motorbike maintenance. And that’s why beginners usually ask, is motorcycle maintenance expensive? 

Motorbike maintenance isn’t too expensive; in fact, it will cost you around $500 a year, and this expense will rise as per your motorbike. Fortunately, you can save unnecessary maintenance expenses by adequately maintaining your motorcycle. In simpler words, motorcycle maintenance isn’t expensive.

Let’s look at what it means for you and what you can do about it. In this post, I leave no stone unturned so you can get a rough estimate of your motorbike maintenance expenses. 

Is Motorcycle Maintenance Expensive?

Undoubtedly motorbike maintenance is necessary, but it’s also crucial not ignoring the maintenance cost. 

Although the main cost depends upon a couple of factors such as the location and condition of your motorbike. 

For example, the cost of motorbike maintenance is much cheaper in Mississippi than in Hawaii. 

Also, motorbike maintenance is expensive if you own a high CC motorbike or luxurious motorbike. 

Your motorbike condition also plays a vital role when determining the maintenance cost. And that’s why experts recommend inspecting and giving maintenance to motorbikes frequently in a year. 

Generally, the maintenance would cost you around $500-$800 per annum. 

Again this cost can fluctuate according to your motorbike and the state you’re living in. 

Fortunately, you can save unnecessary motorbike expenses by applying some tips, which I’ve mentioned in the later section below. 

Which Motorcycle Parts are Expensive to Maintained? 

The average cost of motorbike maintenance would cost you around $500, but have you wondered which motorbike parts are expensive to maintain? 

Changing both motorbike tires would cost you around $400 while changing motorbike chains would cost you about $200. Thus changing motorbike tires and chains is a bit expensive. On the other hand, the simple oil change would cost you around $20, which is cheaper than changing tires. 

No worries, below is the detailed comparison and the table for your clear understanding. 

For better calculation, I don’t include technical hours because they vary from city to city. 

In the ideal case, the technician hourly charge would cost you around $80- $120. 

Motorbike Parts	When to Change	Price per visit.
Motorbike chain maintenance.	5,000 miles-20,000 miles.	$100-$350.
Motorcycle tires.	Every five years.	$300-$500.
Motorbike brakes.	40,000 miles	$100-$200.
Oil change.	3000 -5000 miles	$20-$40.

Oil Change: 

Changing oil is essential to make your motorbike cool and avoid friction between cylinder and piston. 

On average, a one-time oil change would cost you around $20-$40. Experts recommend changing oil every 3000 miles if it’s a conventional oil and every 5000 miles if it’s synthetic oil.  

Always remember that lack of proper oiling would permanently hamper your motorbike engine, which will further increase unnecessary costs. 

If you do off-riding a lot, then be prepared to change the motorbike oil more frequently. 

Motorbike Chain Maintenance: 

Motorbike chain maintenance is much more expensive than maintaining and changing the oil. 

Per visit, it would cost you around $100-$350.

According to experts, it would be best for your motorbike to change or repair the motorbike chain every 5,000 miles-20,000 miles. 

This means you should change or repair motorbike chains every year. 

If you do off-riding a lot, you’re supposed to change or repair the motorbike chain more frequently. 

Motorbike Tire: 

Just like the motorbike chain, changing the motorbike tire is expensive. And fortunately, you don’t need to change a motorbike tire every year. 

According to some experts, you should change the motorbike tires every five years. 

However, you shouldn’t wait for five years if you see signs that include tire tread wear, cracking, and pressure loss more frequently. 

You can read my previous article about motorbike tires’ expiry period. Click here to read. 

Generally, changing the tire would cost you around $300-$500. 

However, just repairing the motorbike tire would cost you much less than buying a new set of tires. 

Experts recommend riding on clear roads for your safety and tire health. 

Again if you do off-riding a lot, then you should replace your tire more frequently. 

Motorbike Brakes: 

You’re likely to change or repair the motorbike brakes if you’re in a city rider that frequently applies brakes in a mile. 

Changing the motorbike brakes isn’t expensive and would cost you even less than $100. 

However, if your motorbike brake rotor and pads malfunction, it’s likely to be expensive and cost you $100-$200. 

Experts usually recommend changing the motorbike brakes every 40,000 miles, which means you don’t need to change the brakes every year. 

How to Save Unnecessary Expenditure During Maintenance? 

No one wants to spend extra bucks on motorbike maintenance. Thus, you must know how to save unnecessary expenditure. 

Below are some tips to save your precious money; do not forget to apply all tips with your motorbike. 

Motorbike Parts:	Ways to Save Money:
Overall maintenance.	Frequent maintenance in years would help you figure out malfunctioned parts that would cost you more after a year.
Motorbike oil.	If you sense a burning smell or unnecessary sound, it will always be better not to consider experts’ advice.
Motorbike chain.	With proper cleaning and lubrication, you can make your motorbike chain last for years.
Motorcycle tires.	By avoiding off-riding, you can surely boost tire life and reduce unnecessary costs.
Electrical system.	By avoiding installing additional electrical devices, you could save your motorbike electrical system from being fried.

Say Yes to Maintenance: 

If you’re thinking of boosting your motorbike life while saving hundreds of bucks, then you should always opt for frequent maintenance. 

I know most of you are gonna hate the frequent maintenance of your motorbike. 

But believe me, this is one of the only ways through which you can save your precious money in the long run. 

Frequent maintenance in years would help you figure out malfunctioning parts that would cost you more after a year. 

Always remember when it’s about motorbike parts, it’s better to deal with malfunctioned parts before you miss the boat.

Change Oil Frequently: 

Oil is crucial for your motorbike cooling, and that’s why it’s always better to never ignore oil maintenance. 

Although changing the oil would cost you around $20-$50, and insufficient oil would cause your motorbike engine to overheat because of friction.

Experts recommend changing oil every 3000-5000 miles. Still, if you sense a burning smell or unnecessary sound, then it will always be better to not consider experts’ advice. 

You can also save a bit of money by changing the oil by yourself. 

However, it will be a bit messy, and you would love to hire a technician if you don’t want to mess around with motorbike oil.  

Motorbike Chain: 

Maintaining a motorbike chain would cost you around $100-$350. 

Although experts don’t recommend avoiding chain maintenance, you surely can save a bit of money during chain maintenance. 

Mainly you would require chain maintenance between 5000 miles to 20,000 miles. 

And with proper cleaning and lubrication, you can make your motorbike chain last for years. 

So definitely, you can save a couple of hundred dollars with proper chain care. 

Motorbike Tires: 

Motorbike tires cost the rider much more than any motorbike parts. And fortunately enough you don’t have to change your motorbike tire frequently. 

Experts usually recommend changing motorcycle tires every 5-7 years. And you can save a couple of hundred dollars by avoiding unnecessary riding on off-riding roads.  

You will have to avoid riding a motorbike around manholes as it will cause unnecessary tension on your motorbike tires. 

By doing this you might not save a couple of hundred dollars, but you can surely boost tire life and reduce unnecessary costs. 

Avoiding Installing Unnecessary Electrical Devices: 

Our motorbikes are starting to get more intelligent day by day, thanks to smart devices. But are installing additional devices good for your motorbike? 

No, installing additional devices more than your motorbike potential may harm your motorbike electrical system in the long run. 

And that’s why I would always recommend you check the power guide of your motorcycle and see how much output your motorcycle battery supports. 

By doing this, you will surely save your motorbike’s electrical system from being fried. 

Final Verdict: 

Is motorcycle maintenance expensive? Motorbike maintenance isn’t too expensive; in fact, it will cost you around $500 a year, and this expense will rise as per your motorbike. 

Fortunately, you can save unnecessary maintenance expenses by adequately maintaining your motorcycle. In simpler words, motorcycle maintenance isn’t expensive. 

Don’t forget to apply all ways to save unnecessary costs while maintaining your motorbike. 

Here are Some of My Favorite Riding Gears: 

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you found it helpful as you build your riding journey successfully. 

Here are some riding gears I use as a rider that I hope you’ll also find helpful.

These are affiliate links, so I’ll earn a commission if you decide to use any of them. But in all honesty, these are the same riding gears that I use and recommend to everyone, even my own family.

Motorbike Riding Pants:

For getting started, I like Scorpion EXO Covert Jeans for men (check the latest price on Amazon.com) and Indigo Protective Riding Jeans for women (check the latest price on Tobacco Motorwear).

These riding pants are comfortable so you can use these pants in summer, and these pants have a lot of space for using knee guards. 

Motorbike Riding Helmet:

Throughout my riding life, I used several helmets, and almost all helmets protect your head well. Still, I personally prefer YM- 929 Yema helmets as it comes with Bluetooth and aerodynamic ABS shells (check the latest price on Amazon.com).

And suppose you want an eye-appealing and yet effective helmet. In that case, you can go with Icon Airform Sacrosanct Helmet (check the latest price on Revzilla). 

Motorbike Riding Jacket:

Jackets are crucial to protect your upper body. Honestly, every rider has a dream to have an affordable yet best riding jacket. And that’s why I personally recommend the Alpinestars T faster motorbike jacket because of the protection and comfort it offers (check the latest price on Amazon.com). 

Motorbike Riding Gloves:

Almost all riding gloves perform well by protecting your hands from sunburn and cool nights. And if you’re a serious rider, then you should go with Alpinestars SMX-1 Air v2 Glove, which is lightweight and offers you excellent protection. (check the latest price on Revzilla).