How to find the right bike for your budget
You don’t need to spend big bucks to get a great bike. RIDE shows how to find an affordable bike for your needs
LOOKING AT THE state of the second-hand bike market, there are great buys out there in every price bracket. Yes, buying a new bike is exciting and brings peace of mind, with warranty, breakdown cover and great finance offers. But, to be blunt, you pay for it. As the first owner, you pay the 20 per cent VAT to the Treasury as well as coping with the lion’s share of depreciation. Hire Purchase and Personal Contract Purchase schemes help to hide this, but it’s still there.
If you do it right, buying second-hand offers so much more for considerably less money than buying new. Depreciation hits different models in different ways. For example, BMW’S R1150GS holds its value well, while Triumph’s Tiger 955i doesn’t: both are great bikes, but only one is great value. Be broad-minded about bikes you’d ride, do your homework, read the magazines, look at owner’s club forums and get an idea of whether a bike is for you and what to look for.
You may be saving a little buying second-hand so you can get a better bike than you could otherwise afford new. Or maybe you fancy a second bike that you won’t use as much, so why spend top dollar only to have it sitting around for occasional use? And if you use your bike for commuting, you may not want to subject a new bike to daily abuse.
Whatever your reason for buying a used bike, there are plenty of deals out there. We looked for bikes under £2000, from £2000 to £4000, and from £4000 to £6000. You’ll be surprised by what you can afford...
“Whatever your reason for buying used, you’ll be surprised by what you can afford”