Costs of Racing Classic Motorcycles

All racing teams have to work within a budget. From an owner/rider of a classic bike to a Moto GP rider, everyone has a limit to what they can spend.

Estimating Racing Costs

But how do you prepare a budget to race a classic bike? For the most part, a racing budget is much like a cash flow projection. That is, the owner will estimate (based on research) a year's worth of income and expenses.

A race team's budget will primarily consist of estimating the costs and predicting when those costs are likely to occur. For instance, once the bike has been prepared for racing, you still have to account for tires, fuel traveling, and spares.

Accidents Can and Do Happen

Not only must a team budget for known expenses, they must also have some money available for contingencies: a crash or a blown engine, for example.

Preparing a budget is all about research and planning within a known time frame. For instance, the dates of races or tests will determine when certain amounts of money will be needed. To help with the cost estimates, a simple spread sheet made in Microsoft® Excel will work well, or even a table from Microsoft® Word.

For example, the following chart is based on a five-race series with the costs spread accordingly. However, you will need to buy some expensive equipment before going to the first race.

If you decide the maximum you could afford to put into a season of racing is $10,000, you would be left with $4000 for the bike after the running expenses have been allowed for.

You must also allow for transporting the bike and equipment to a race. Most small teams will have a box trailer that they tow behind a pickup truck.

Sample Racing Budget