OK - I'm 50 in a couple of months and Jeez I'm bored. Been working for the same company for 20 years, I get very well paid, company car, phone, office and all the other usual benefits. I'm fed up with people telling me to go on twatter, facebook, linkedin and now being asked to go on sales training courses ........ sound familiar ? it really is time to move on. Here's a plan, take my 'potential' redundancy and buy a Mercedes Sprinter. Advertise for motorcycle collection, breakdown and delivery. Offer my transport services to courier companies and buy and sell motorbikes. Granted it's a simple business plan but I'd be working for myself, envolved in the one passion in my life and I don't have to answer to some git half my age. Or am I talking complete and utter bollocks............
Dunno - from personal experience everyone these days wants something for nothing.....advertise a bike on ebay for x amount and pound to a pinch of shit someone will offer you half that... It'd be nice though saying that....id love to mess with bikes for a living but I don't think it would pay the bills/enough. But then that's depends on your personal circumstances - my mortgage every month is a small fortune so I know I couldn't....
I like your idea, but i feel it may become seasonal only. I have a workshop where i am restoring a 1978 XS 650, an easy restoration and something i enjoy doing. But again, i dont feel there is a huge market for restorations as many people i know do it themselves. But i think bike delivery is a bit more of a prospective earner. As im always looking for my next bike and wondering how id collect it if it was not road worthy. Of course you could also offer transport to those who like track days.
On hindsight one thing could be buying up north and bringing down south.....loads of times ive seen bikes for sale up north/Scotland that are way cheaper than down south. (I had to travel in a transit with my mate up to north east Scotland from Bristol to get my RSV4) - it was only purely by luck we had access to the transit, if not I would have been looking for someone like you/prospective you. As iNDITIME said lots of people do know how to do restorations but theres restoring and restoring. But then its finding the person that will happily pay for your time, tough but not impossible.
not a tall, recovery is very expensive, get your self in touch with insurance company's and give em a quote.
I'd be concerned that your business idea has a 'low barrier to entry'. Just about anyone with a van can set themselves up. Even if you offer a much better level of service, how do you differentiate yourself from all the others, and will customers just pick the lowest quote? Similarly with trading bikes, there must be a lot of competition out there, including people trading bikes in their spare time as a hobby. Sorry, but I imagine it would be difficult to make a decent living, and you might find yourself equally frustrated, but for different reasons after 12 months. It sounds like you're making a decent living - a bird in the hand, and all that...
The other thing is that....if you did say for example go into it - would you end up being "bored of bikes"....as youre in that business day in day out??
My plan would be to buy somewhere close to a track and offer a B&B with van transport to and from the track, storage for peoples bikes wanting to leave them for pick up later or permanently leave as their track bike with no hassles. Id supply tyre warmers etc , change of tyres to track orientated then back if needed. Possibly hirering track bikes and roadbike dependent on insurances and cost. A kitted out garage for any maintance and repair of crash damage. Plus a warm welcome bike biased B&B serving cold beer. If I sold up here I'd have enough to set myself up like that but would there be much call for such a service. Pipedream maybe. :smile:
You sound like you have a comfortable life with a lot of benefits, be thankful for that in this day and age. I can't see many money making opportunities in your plan tbh. The fact you are on here seeking affirmation says to me that you already know this yourself. If it's something you want to have a crack at, try it in your spare time 1st, see how that goes. You have no overheads from home. It all sounds a bit 'mid life crisis' to me.
My new bike is being delivered from the Isle of Wight to Westbury in Wiltshire and the charge was £195. Although I got it free.
I think there is a business in moving bikes for leisure. I'd like to tour around north Scotland, cracking scenery and roads. However, living underwater in the south means it's a long trip in the bike just to get there and sticks a 1,000 miles on the bike for there and back. I'd like a service that took a few bikes ahead so you could then fly or take a train north and pick up the bike easily, enjoy the break then zap home not worrying about what must be at least a couple of days journey each way. If you could shift four bikes at once, you'd have a decent fee, solo it might prove less popular.
Fucking Dyno - get one of those....had a chat with the Dyno last night about doing my hyper and RSV4 - close to 1k for 2 days work...!
This can be done on a train in Europe and is a service I intend to make use of. I have seen a few vans on the M3/M25 doing just what the OP is talking about so it must work for some. Whether a decent living can be made out of it is another question all together.
