Doesn't help health insurance is more than my mortgage. And I have two kids that i need to support with health insurance. Alot more has changed than just the want to own a bike.
So you open a can of worms and not even clean up after you finish? If you bring it up, you better be ready to discuss it, otherwise why even bother in the first place? Very true, it is what I like to refer to as 'escalation', that created this problem. Horsepower wars (ZX12/Blackbird/Hayabusa/ZX14) then it was controlling the HP (TC etc.) Then came another horsepower war.......and so forth. But this is natural, progression and development are at the heart of our sport/industry as well as others. We have side control and ABS that works while you are leaned over.....all these things are derived from prototype racing. That's what also makes our sport valuable to society, it is through it that we are able to experiment and develop tools that can keep consumers safer and help lengthen racer careers.
I dont think its the price of the bike so much as the requirement to have other friends that want to spend that kind of loot. Lets say you have $12k burning a hole in your pocket, had 4 friends you wanted to hang with, and have a good time on the weekends? A boat would be the answer to that dilemma. If you had 4 individual friends that needed to be in control... then mostly theyd all be on PWCs. Side by sides seem to sell. ATV parks seem to have good attendance.
Insurance man. ATV's, dirty bikes, and SxS's don't usually get licensed or insured. It's one thing to buy a bike. It's an entirely different story to spend an additional $300/mo to insure the bastard. Why do you think Geico and Progressive have so much money to spend on all those tv commercials?
Is insurance really that much? That has to be with comp/coll. I have multiple sport bikes insured and I only pay about $250/ year but that is just liability. Even when I had full coverage I never remember it being much.
I am not, but I was at one time. I was also in the insurance business (no longer am). Times must have changed.
That's nuts. I pay right around $200/month for my house, an umbrella policy, 4 bikes, and my boat. All have full coverage, not just liability. I am in my 40's though, I know that helps. I did insure one or two bikes when I was in my twenties though an it was no where near $300/month.
