THANK YOU ALL For the amazing and supportive comments! Im working my way through all the emails now and will get back to you as quick as I can! Big Love!
You’ve probably already considered this mate. How about classic bike co-ownership. People can buy shares & invest in the classic bike. You can already do it for cars, whisky etc.. just an idea 🤷
Chris, PLEASE don't rely on TH-cam comments as market research. You've got some great ideas but too many people will give their input that have no intention of realistically using your proposed services. Just honestly looking out for you. Also, I liked the fact you thanked that car at the 'give way chicane' and still wave/nod at other bikes despite so many not returning the gesture lately.
Similar problem that the ferrari 575 had. They made the mistake of asking their 550 customers what they wanted, and they churned out the dog that was the 575. Most of the time, customers don't know what they want, until it's delivered to them
UK pricing is cooked. I stored my Honda in Germany for 2 months last year in a massive BMW dealership and it was 40 euros per month. Didn't have to drain anything, took 15 minutes to drop off and 10ish to pick up.
Then industry will go bust. Look at the sales figures, hardly anyone buying bikes as it is. The majority of people paying without credit will be those who have retired and just taken up biking. Those sales are not enough to sustain the industry.
@@Handlethetruth666my girlfriends nan said that about housing, we have just inherited the house, in 1972 it was new at £4000 with inflation today that’s £70 k it’s valued at 300 k who the f has 20 k to spend on a bike then double mortgage rates, energy etc, people will just pay their everyday stuff then people like you moan bike shops go out of business Christ
I think workshop space you can hire by the half/full day or longer is a great option. You provide bike ramps, tools, power etc. and people book in and do their own maintenance. A lot of people wont have an indoor space or tools to carry out routine maintenance. You could sell even sell oils and basic servicing consumables.
That would be a great idea. Doing maintenance is really difficult if you don't have much indoor space. I don't like doing maintenance outside where I live in case thieves are about and I draw attention to the fact I've got a bike indoors
@@robertgreenwood6940I have a council garage with a crappy old flaking roof and rubbish condition concrete floor no electric etc and I'm the same I literally open it put bike in, close it as don't want to draw attention to the fact there's a few bikes stored in there by working on them outside of it etc Luckily have a 20ftx12ft conservatory so I can get them in there to do bits but in gonna bite the bullet and build myself a man cave or hybrid shed/garage to store and work in.
Amazing idea and I'm sure many in that area will appreciate you offering a space but be careful about the pricing because at 60 a month plus vat you are getting very close to the cost of a 20ft shipping container rental, And slightly more expensive than a 10ft container, In Wales atleast there are small indoor units available big enough for a hike which is about £20 a month, What would set you apart from anyone else is if you rented out a space but also allow people to work on theirown bikes there, like a storage workshop, Having just a storage space and not allowing regular access you wouldn't get much attraction
Things like this are common with expensive cars, I used to pick cars for my boss from a place in Kent. It was all private, access was by appointment only, the was no address on the website, they could service the cars, and prep them for use, they also put them in a dehumidifier if required.
Good luck with the new venture Chris… its pleasing to see how far you’ve come since those commuting days into wet and dreary London for your old old old day job you started out on. And yes, I can see the timeshare concept flying as the cumulative costs just make the ownership process out of reach for the many. 👍🏼
Nothing to be disappointed at, you've been smashing out fantastic content on 44Teeth. I am sure we all relish when you do post! As someone who wants to get a bike, I think it's a fantastic idea to offer potential ways of economically storing a bike and perhaps giving others a window to have something they've always dreamed of owning or preserving that. If one person uses this, you've made a difference and I honestly hope you succeed! (Quick note, I live in London and sweet Jesus its borderline impossible to get decent insurance rates, even with a garage. Especially if you're a new rider).
The only way I manage to get by insurance wise, is paying for classic insurance on a bike thats 10 years old or more. If it's 15 years old its straight forward, if its 10-15 years you have to join the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle club and then get the classic insurance etc. worked out as £180 for a year on a gixxer! Even after the price spike, 350 quid on a 2010 blade!
I hate the term, but it is true. A LOT of "bikers" only do a couple thousand miles a year in the summer, then the bike goes straight back into storage. I ride all year round, snow and ice hasn't stopped me yet.
@@BaronVonGrumble Matt Farah encountered this when he launched West Side Collector Car Storage. The original terms were that no pictures could be taken inside and everything was very private, but he was getting requests for people to look round so often that he asked all his customers if it would be ok to change the terms of service and allow tours and the likes. Turned out none of them really cared anyway.
I've got a 2007 Street Triple (owned for 10 years now), I have 7+ years NCB and have been riding for 18 years. I had fully comp insurance when I lived in Reading, kept in a garage, £250pa. Having moved to West London (locked-up in a private rear garden with 24hour camera monitoring), it's now gone up to £2500pa - 10 times as much! That's almost what the bike's worth. It makes it totally unreasonable to own, maintain and ride it. And this is hardly a brand new 'Gale. Makes me wonder what our options are as bikers now, we're being priced out everywhere I look.
Good luck with the new venture(s)! My one bit of advice is don’t spread yourself too thin, quality service deserves quality customers, so have a good screening policy to pick out the oiks out there…
That is what it is... but just on X amount of riders/owners, instead of about any Yahoo. Better for the insurance also as it is a known concept that they could already provide.
Here’s an idea… make it a bike museum, charge admission, and I will be a docent there. You know the old codger who knows a lot about bikes and their history who talks your ear off when you were only looking for a restroom. 🧐
Watch out for your commercial building insurer stating no stored fuel. That is probably what has driven others to stipulate drained fuel tanks. I have my own bikes in a commercial unit and it took a lot of persuading of the bike insurers but they agreed in the end, not impossible. Good luck with the new venture.
4000-5000£ insurance🤯, i'm 39 and got my A2 licence here in France in 2022 and bought a street triple S, and my full A licence last April, picked up a new street triple Rs. In both cases both insurance took my car insurance history for pricing the bike insurance and as i have full bonus (don't know how it works in the uk but here each year you don't have an accident where you're responsible, your bonus goes up, you start at 1 = no bonus et years after it goes down to 0.5 the maxiumun and divide the price by half) i paid 600€ a year for the S and now 750€ per year for the rs with full coverage i looked up the price for a brand new GS1300 with my insurance company, 850€ per year full coverage, UK prices are crazy
Still very high. I’m from Italy, 24 years old, and own a 2004 CBR1000RR. My annual insurance premium is 250€, they also take into account your car insurance history here.
@@BRMCaptChaos Belgium, pay 250 for my tenere 700 2023. When I'm 30 It changes to 150 for the first bike and then 50euros extra per extra bike no matter the cc or age (not omnium)
What a great idea!!! I could also see an opportunity where someone rents the space monthly which allows them to own more than one bike. So one bike is at home, one in storage. Then they could trade off storage between the two different bikes every month or so. Many of us can store one bike at home but not two. Renting a spot would allow for future bike purchases and options....I live in the USA but your idea is brilliant!!!
My underwriter refused to insure my new GS (in 2019). This is with 12 years no claims, late 40’s and 30 years of riding sportsbikes, supernakeds etc. garaged and out in the sticks!
You should have a small workshop area for the customers, supply general workshop tools and if people require manufacturer specific equipment, then they need to sort it themselves. Could include it in the price or charge a little per use.
always wanted something like this in my area. The reason being, so many people want to work on their bikes, whether it is to save money or just for fun but don't have the space for it. Those that want to save money on shop maintenance would gladly pay for a space to work on their bike.
There's something to be said for this. Most new build houses don;t have garages these days, most garages get turned into rooms.. people just don't have anywhere to keep a motorbike. Maybe there's a space here for a storage/maintenance/social club type thing where riders could store a bike, do mods/maintenance (either themselves or with help from the facility), meet others.. sounds good. Best of luck with it BvG, very best of luck!
Good luck with your venture, as you're probably finding already insurance is going to be your biggest issue and business cost. Alongside sales I ran a number of rental bikes and offered bike storage for 7 years but each year (started Motobox UK in 2014) it was an arm wrestle to get the policy for rental underwritten and in the end the cost became untenable. Once again all the best, good to see someone doing rather than just talking 👍
Maybe worth looking at the euro track day support/storage option? You guys will have a a lot of valuable experience in that no doubt with all your travels. A few bikes left over there in storage ready for their owners to ride. Loving the positivity!👌
Ive just pulled my o5 gsxr 600 out of 10 year storage,will be doing a light resto,as it was in a heated garage ,took 10 mins to start it up,was stored dry,and i winterised it before storage,ive had it from new,and my insurance is £123 fully comp,im 56 now,always bought new bikes,but they are way overpriced now,i wont buy another new one again,and i will hopefully have it ready to go by march,ride it for a few months then probably flog it,too much traffic nowadays
Really great idea, id be tempted to do something like this in non-bike friendly cities like Swansea. Here, there is absolutely 0 mc parking, and bike thefts are through the roof. Even if you're lucky enough to find a hard anchor somewhere, they come along and break your plate / mirrors / mounts etc... to make it viable in this scenario, i think you would want to be able to retrieve your bike on a day to day basis... and i dont know the best way to do that. Interesting idea though, and i think your exact proposed idea will work nicely for your setup anyway - as you were saying, youd have the space anyway so may as well make it useful
Mate just do it. The current trend of the big players going out of business that put the small local independent business out of business. If you have the skills you can always sell service.
this is kind of what matt farah from the smoking tire does in LA! he started a parking garage for rare and collectible cars. rich dudes park their cars there, he has battery tenders for all of them, and offers cleaning services as well as a professional service to make and manage listings to sell them on auction sites if they want to!
The parking space is a great idea im sure there are plenty that would avail of such a service and if you could completely separate the area to that your 44teeth set is closed off to the designated area for parking there wouldn't need to be somebody on site at all times but would have to ring a number to get buzzed in to retrieve or leave their bike so that way you dont have to give out keys to anybody. Best of luck with everything anyway
Hey. I've used Hampshire bike storage, who were absolutely amazing, top shelf. And I thjnk they were about 70 quid? Humidity contolled. Battery conditioning etc. And recently an old damp underground storage in nice, and that was 80 euro a month with absolutely no attention to the bike. Just FYI. For what it's worth, i think the storage and also the timeshare ideas are strong. Do it! Peace
It sounds like a great idea Chris but storing bikes used to have it problems with insurance, don’t know if you’ve checked that out, sure you must have. I know that insurance companies won’t always insure a bike if it’s not being kept at your address that might have changed or may depend on the insurance company.
new bike prices, insurances, and fuel prices astronomical ..... looks at a brand new £5k RE 450 Himalayan, 80mpg and £120 a year to insure as just one example, you don't HAVE to buy a 25k 1,000cc bike
Barons back 😊 The timeshare could be a decent idea for some I guess but the first thing I do with every bike I get is throw a bunch of parts at it to make it mine.
Insurance companies are very overdue better regulation in the UK, the whole insurance market is just a giant FU to consumers at the moment. You sneeze too loudly it can affect your premium and prices are beyond a joke. Thankfully the really insane prices seem to be a southern thing due to the levels of crime but I think the main issue is that the repair industry has basically normalised fraud. “Approved” repair shops charging way over the odds for repairs has causes knock on effects.
The insurance industry is heavily regulated right now and has been for the best part of 25 years, the FCA are the controlling government body. More control = even higher premiums, the premium cost is reflective of anticipated risk based on previous claims experience. If you believe the U.K. has become more lawless you’d be right, fraud, theft, and cost of repairs all conspire to push up premiums for high risk bikes, insured by high risk riders, living and working in high risk areas - what are governments and manufacturers doing to mitigate loss?
Bike syndicate isn’t such a bad idea. Aircraft syndicates work very well and for some people who want a special bike but don’t want to layout the entire cost. I’d love a syndicate in a GS but I won’t want to fully own one.
Think you may have mistakenly divided your entire cost by 30 bikes? I'm in rural Hampshire and pay £50 month for a car in a shared heated commercial warehouse space! Just trying to help give you a steer on pricing!
You can rent a council garage for £70 per month so need to think about your usp. Having electric and water is a good start. What about security and other services like detailing and battery trickle charge.
If i didn't live in Cambridgeshire I'd love to work doing random shit with bikes, cams, editing and stuff. The bike storage sounds like a good idea for those people that are lucky enough to have a investment, classic or race bike that isn't ridden often.
Good luck with the new venture. Sounds like you've got some great ideas and the motorcycle industry needs everything going for it that it can at the moment.
Good luck on this great new adventure. I would like to suggest fiddling around with a 3D printer te design you own parts :) you could even sand it smooth and then create a cast version of it.
Hi Chris.....you might need to have a system when a client wants to check on a bike and perhaps fettle a little.... perhaps some bike products dust covers perhaps chain lubes ... and of course a coffee machine. Best wishes for you in the future.👍
I ride a 23 year old TDM 900 £62 a year comp. Strangely my Royal Enfield 500 classic 16 plate costs £99 a year it only makes 27hp on a good day. I’m early sixties and have full no claims. I’m sure they just pull a price out if thin air.
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Yeah my 1977 z400 is the same price as yours also no tax or mot required as it’s historic vehicle. Cheap biking
With the current insane new bike pricing I’m amazed the secondhand market appears to be in free fall. There are so many good bikes out there, well loved and looked after at ridiculously cheap prices for super bikes etc. If I was a new full licence holder after A2 I’d be jumping at the secondhand bikes out there! World’s gone mad.
The used market is in freefall due to prices returning to the point they would be if COVID hadn't happened. Used bikes were massively overpriced as a direct result of COVID & it's about time the market went back to normal
@@mikey_bb interesting point about COVID, however I didn’t realise the secondhand market was that inflated back then. My thoughts now though looking at selling two bikes currently is just how crazy cheap many bikes are.
@@RichardS-qh8mi yep, due to COVID demand outnumbered supply (combined with the worldwide chip shortage, in part caused by COVID), used vehicle prices rocketed. Some of my friends sold 2/3yr old cars for the same price they paid for them new (some even made a profit) The market was due to crash back to normal & since the beginning of 2024 in particular, we've seen this happen. This, combined with a 'cost of living crisis' (read: greed crisis) & slow sales means that many businesses in the motor trade are collapsing.
10 years ago I bought my 2011 CBR 600F 2nd hand with 1500 miles on it. I ride to work everyday and park it in a central London bike bay. 10 years ago, I'd be parked next to lots of other sports bikes and super nakeds, street tripples and GSs. These days when ride in, I'm the only sports bike and the bay is full of mostly scooters. I think a big part of this is the risk of theft. It's out of hand in London. I would have bought a newer bike by now but I haven't because I wouldn't feel confident leaving it on the street. The only defence is to have a chain, disc lock and park next to a nicer bike. A long time ago London had a dedicated motorcycle theft police team but it was cut by Boris. Of course if you do make a claim after a theft, the insurance companies will just get that back off you in higher premiums. I'm now considering buying a scooter or ebike and getting a new bike solely for fun at the weekends.
Years ago I used to fly as a private pilot, and the only way a chap of my average means could afford to run an aeroplane was for me to part own one with nine other blokes. You’d book it out on the days you’d want it and everyone would pay a set amount every month to pay for its upkeep. I cannot believe that things are getting so bad in the motorcycle world that it’s now sounding like a viable option to group own a ruddy BMW GS. Still, if the potential is there why not be the first to do it and become the go to name for such a service. Good luck 👍
I would say, you should try setting something like this up in London, central. So many bike enthusiasts drive their classic bikes into central but are afraid to leave it anywhere because of theft. So many people also live in London but don't know where to leave it. Having your own garage type thing, similar to Bike shed but just as a parking bay rather than a cafe, allowing people the peace of mind to have their bike protected while they're out and about or doing meetings etc would be great. I actually think you could easily expand within the first 2 years into every major city center. Aslong as it's beating your competitors and, instead of it being like a car park and more of a literal bike storage area would be great. You could even have tools etc on the walls to hire. You could have info points if someones bike is struggling. You could have info points that tell each person who their bike is made by, why it was made, the style of bike they like, what gear goes best with that kind of bike, what fuel would be best to get the most out of the engine.
You could also just have AI points that tell them all this info quickly. You could supply the top 5 bike makes bike parts. Break calipers, fuel point, engine oil. There's so much you could do with it that would make it super successful to bikers and you could easily expand that into classic cars aswell.
Christ..I'm pleased I'm old..£198 to insure my,busa,zx7r and my rd250lc.all 3 bikes,fully comp too.ps..hope your new venture works,it sounds like a very good plan.
Best of luck with the new adventure, bike storage sounds like a great idea, no doubt with your golden touch it will be a success. You are definitely a member of the harder you work the luckier you become brigade. A couple late R1250GS on hire for people who want to go on European tours, but don’t want a GS the other 50 weeks a year, and when they are not on hire you can smoke them around yourself. Daily hire is a pain in the arse because punters are eating into your precious time.
Literally just took my bike out of a storage shed that I was paying 100$ a week for. (I did have other stuff in there, like an engine, but yeah) I think it's a good idea man, and I hope it goes so well for you, I love the 44Teeth team :) When you get some Merch in, I'll put an order in - assuming shipping to Aus doesn't cost thousands.
All you can do is invest in insurance firms (eg PRU, HIG, KIE). 40-60% annual premium increases, good for shareholders not customers. That's what I've done. Fed up with moaning - so had to be proactive!
Chris, it’s been a rich man’s game for a long time now. And I blame BMW for this. 30 years ago they were a curio niche brand for richer older riders who paid cash. At some point BMW decided they wanted to massively expand their business and sales, and their model of a basic bike price plus huge hikes for “features”, inherited from the car division, and which hitherto didn’t exist anywhere else in the motorcycle industry got repeated with every brand as their success and sales skyrocketed. The second thing they did was to set up and aggressively push PCP finance to expand who could “afford” to own a BMW, which has established the model today, where people just loan a bike and are pushed to keep “buying” another one with even more features, instead of buying a bike outright with features you actually need and can use. The result is an unsustainable market, and as those riders age and either give up riding, or downsize, it’s slowly collapsing inwardly. China and India will be there (and are right now) to pick up the pieces, which is fine as the global market for bikes is far bigger in those countries anyway.
I may have an insurance company contact that you could speak to. Love that you're bringing this idea to life. I'd support a Kent based franchise, and even help run it.
All bloody brilliant bike based ideas Chris! You can now have the strap line: “Pitboxx - thinking out of the box” Great to see after all those years of following your commuting waffle in and out of London, that despite all you’ve dealt with internally and externally, this all coming together. Sadly I cannot afford a bike but your ownership/share scheme makes 100% sense especially in the current climate. As does the storage system - would let that puppy run for a couple of years then definitely franchise the shit out of it! Ps: P2T has been superb - putting the real social back into media. Cheers for all the output across all the channels over the years 😎
Nice idea but you might have to adjust your prices abit... for that price you can get 10ft shipping container which will fit 2-3bikes and aload of other crap.
I don't know about the UK. My BMW Dealer offers winter storage. I haven't tried it yet. 50 bucks a month. I stop riding next month, mainly to save insurance, I get 3 or 4 months at a time. Last year I insured it for a full year. I only rode a couple of times. Its in a unsecure parking garage. I had one stolen here. Thet 25 locks and chains on it a PIA. So you might have a market. Classic bike I wouldn't by one unless I had secure dry place to keep it. Not familiar with london prices. It's got to be significantly less than me just renting a storage locker. Good luck with it, I suspect it will work. As a winter thing. Not interested year round unless I could walk there hop on my bike and ride away.
Great to hear from you again, best of luck! p.s. My experience is that overwhelmingly it's ADV bike riders are the ones who don't nod. Not sure why, but I'll keep doing it incase I'm passing you! 😂
I'll cross my fingers for a future nationwide expansion. I only have room to store my one bike, if I could store more relatively nearby at a place I'd trust, that would mean I can have more bikes, which is only a good thing.
Are these insurance premiums just a London issue? I live in the midlands and my insurance has always been between £150 and £200. I’m 36 and my bike is garaged. Currently have gixxer 750 and have been riding 11 years without a claim.
I think renting bikes is the best idea. You can do it in spain nice and easy. 200 for a few days on a mt07. Then you dont have the running cost storage hassles and depreciation of owning a new bike. And you could choose different bikes each week or month or whenever you want to ride.
I pay just over £50 in Nottinghamshire for a council garage with no electricity just a small garage. So given it's in London with trickle chargers and stuff I feel like £60 is really appealing. I'd have one if it were local. 😅
I pay $500 Aussie dollars for full comp insurance on an S1000R and it isn't parked in a lock up garage. Joe's quote was about $7,000 Aussie Dollars. WTF!
You will need a good background check for your customers and top notch security. Too many thieves in the U.K. looking for any opportunity to nick your stuff.
Great business idea with huge potential going forward. Starts with storage & before you know it your have mechanics/ classic bike restorers, shop for merchandise, café, sales & riding school 😂
And bike hire in general would be good. Not buying anything exotic, taking a big deposit and fit trackers to them all. I have friends in the US who hire a bike for a week at a time to do trips. It seems to be quite common place over there but I’m not sure we have many options here!
Interesting idea Chris, I am not interested as I live in East Sussex. I am thinking of another way to beat the system. The DVLA is a corporation, so simply withdraw your patronage to the DVLA and de register your vehicle. Plod will then come after you for no number plate, you can beat that in court by using the correct defence language, Next the law insists you have insurance, wrong, insurance is an optional extra and is also run by corporations. In court you simply say and prove you have a couple of grand in readies to pay for any damage you might do to a third party and as a free man of this country that will satisfy a judge. I refer to another rebel in Leeds who is doing just that and the police no longer bother pulling him over
THANK YOU ALL For the amazing and supportive comments! Im working my way through all the emails now and will get back to you as quick as I can! Big Love!
You’ve probably already considered this mate. How about classic bike co-ownership. People can buy shares & invest in the classic bike. You can already do it for cars, whisky etc.. just an idea 🤷
Chris, PLEASE don't rely on TH-cam comments as market research. You've got some great ideas but too many people will give their input that have no intention of realistically using your proposed services.
Just honestly looking out for you. Also, I liked the fact you thanked that car at the 'give way chicane' and still wave/nod at other bikes despite so many not returning the gesture lately.
Similar problem that the ferrari 575 had. They made the mistake of asking their 550 customers what they wanted, and they churned out the dog that was the 575.
Most of the time, customers don't know what they want, until it's delivered to them
Don't listen to this guy, he's a TH-cam commenter.
Ok dad.
UK pricing is cooked. I stored my Honda in Germany for 2 months last year in a massive BMW dealership and it was 40 euros per month. Didn't have to drain anything, took 15 minutes to drop off and 10ish to pick up.
I was about to comment that dealerships should offer this! Didn't think I'd see a comment coming in at 40; what a bargain 😂
Same with storing a car. UK prices are a rip-off.
My Bike lives in Spain on the same deal, but I pay €20 a month.
Everything in the u is a ripoff. Literally everything.
@@1980jamesm Where do you store it? could you provide a link?
Credit is the problem. If the government banned credit on cars and motorcycles, they wouldnt be able to charge 25k for whats really a 15k bike.
People should have the money. Not spending beyond their budget
It’s nothing to do with credit. It’s the useless features that no one needs that a cranking the prices up.
Then industry will go bust. Look at the sales figures, hardly anyone buying bikes as it is. The majority of people paying without credit will be those who have retired and just taken up biking. Those sales are not enough to sustain the industry.
@@Handlethetruth666my girlfriends nan said that about housing, we have just inherited the house, in 1972 it was new at £4000 with inflation today that’s £70 k it’s valued at 300 k who the f has 20 k to spend on a bike then double mortgage rates, energy etc, people will just pay their everyday stuff then people like you moan bike shops go out of business Christ
I think workshop space you can hire by the half/full day or longer is a great option. You provide bike ramps, tools, power etc. and people book in and do their own maintenance. A lot of people wont have an indoor space or tools to carry out routine maintenance. You could sell even sell oils and basic servicing consumables.
yeah, there are a few places doing that but it requires quite a lot of investment to set up so maybe in a year or two I can look at it!
Have you read Christine? That sounds like Darnell’s workshop place where he kept it
That would be a great idea. Doing maintenance is really difficult if you don't have much indoor space. I don't like doing maintenance outside where I live in case thieves are about and I draw attention to the fact I've got a bike indoors
@@robertgreenwood6940 Completely agree. I do mine in the back garden now but it's such a ballache to get it out there without scratching the bike.
@@robertgreenwood6940I have a council garage with a crappy old flaking roof and rubbish condition concrete floor no electric etc and I'm the same I literally open it put bike in, close it as don't want to draw attention to the fact there's a few bikes stored in there by working on them outside of it etc
Luckily have a 20ftx12ft conservatory so I can get them in there to do bits but in gonna bite the bullet and build myself a man cave or hybrid shed/garage to store and work in.
Amazing idea and I'm sure many in that area will appreciate you offering a space but be careful about the pricing because at 60 a month plus vat you are getting very close to the cost of a 20ft shipping container rental,
And slightly more expensive than a 10ft container,
In Wales atleast there are small indoor units available big enough for a hike which is about £20 a month,
What would set you apart from anyone else is if you rented out a space but also allow people to work on theirown bikes there, like a storage workshop,
Having just a storage space and not allowing regular access you wouldn't get much attraction
Things like this are common with expensive cars, I used to pick cars for my boss from a place in Kent.
It was all private, access was by appointment only, the was no address on the website, they could service the cars, and prep them for use, they also put them in a dehumidifier if required.
Things are priced the way they are to deter and price us off the road, at least it seems that way.
Good luck with the new venture Chris… its pleasing to see how far you’ve come since those commuting days into wet and dreary London for your old old old day job you started out on.
And yes, I can see the timeshare concept flying as the cumulative costs just make the ownership process out of reach for the many. 👍🏼
THERE HE IS. Glad to see you back Baron! All the very best for the new venture 🎉.
Thank YOU!
Nothing to be disappointed at, you've been smashing out fantastic content on 44Teeth. I am sure we all relish when you do post!
As someone who wants to get a bike, I think it's a fantastic idea to offer potential ways of economically storing a bike and perhaps giving others a window to have something they've always dreamed of owning or preserving that. If one person uses this, you've made a difference and I honestly hope you succeed!
(Quick note, I live in London and sweet Jesus its borderline impossible to get decent insurance rates, even with a garage. Especially if you're a new rider).
The only way I manage to get by insurance wise, is paying for classic insurance on a bike thats 10 years old or more. If it's 15 years old its straight forward, if its 10-15 years you have to join the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle club and then get the classic insurance etc. worked out as £180 for a year on a gixxer! Even after the price spike, 350 quid on a 2010 blade!
Riding season? Since when were we Canada?.
I hate the term, but it is true. A LOT of "bikers" only do a couple thousand miles a year in the summer, then the bike goes straight back into storage. I ride all year round, snow and ice hasn't stopped me yet.
A little cafe in there too would be great way to spend a few hours looking at bikes and drinking coffee
Absolutely! Although privacy for the customers is a priority :)
@@BaronVonGrumble didn't think about that . Best of luck with the new venture
@@BaronVonGrumble Matt Farah encountered this when he launched West Side Collector Car Storage. The original terms were that no pictures could be taken inside and everything was very private, but he was getting requests for people to look round so often that he asked all his customers if it would be ok to change the terms of service and allow tours and the likes. Turned out none of them really cared anyway.
@@ZeeBri Was going to suggest he looks at Matt Farahs channel for inspiration!
Oh would the blow up dolls to be available for a cheeky bit of relief .... Coffee & Dunkin donuts with some wet wipes . Of Course Privacy 100% 😂
I've got a 2007 Street Triple (owned for 10 years now), I have 7+ years NCB and have been riding for 18 years. I had fully comp insurance when I lived in Reading, kept in a garage, £250pa. Having moved to West London (locked-up in a private rear garden with 24hour camera monitoring), it's now gone up to £2500pa - 10 times as much! That's almost what the bike's worth. It makes it totally unreasonable to own, maintain and ride it. And this is hardly a brand new 'Gale. Makes me wonder what our options are as bikers now, we're being priced out everywhere I look.
Good luck with the new venture(s)! My one bit of advice is don’t spread yourself too thin, quality service deserves quality customers, so have a good screening policy to pick out the oiks out there…
Lot of good things in this video, but the best was how happy and excited you sound.
Harry Metcalf does this with yachts, timeshare type thing where you get an allotted number of days to use it
Interesting!
That is what it is... but just on X amount of riders/owners, instead of about any Yahoo.
Better for the insurance also as it is a known concept that they could already provide.
Here’s an idea… make it a bike museum, charge admission, and I will be a docent there. You know the old codger who knows a lot about bikes and their history who talks your ear off when you were only looking for a restroom. 🧐
Watch out for your commercial building insurer stating no stored fuel. That is probably what has driven others to stipulate drained fuel tanks. I have my own bikes in a commercial unit and it took a lot of persuading of the bike insurers but they agreed in the end, not impossible. Good luck with the new venture.
4000-5000£ insurance🤯, i'm 39 and got my A2 licence here in France in 2022 and bought a street triple S, and my full A licence last April, picked up a new street triple Rs. In both cases both insurance took my car insurance history for pricing the bike insurance and as i have full bonus (don't know how it works in the uk but here each year you don't have an accident where you're responsible, your bonus goes up, you start at 1 = no bonus et years after it goes down to 0.5 the maxiumun and divide the price by half) i paid 600€ a year for the S and now 750€ per year for the rs with full coverage
i looked up the price for a brand new GS1300 with my insurance company, 850€ per year full coverage, UK prices are crazy
Still very high. I’m from Italy, 24 years old, and own a 2004 CBR1000RR. My annual insurance premium is 250€, they also take into account your car insurance history here.
Same in Germany. I pay 750€ a year for my Aprilia RS660. Full coverage.
You'll doing something wrong then. I pay £77 total on 4 bikes. 😅
£82 for Honda blackbird. Summit’ don’t add up.
@@BRMCaptChaos Belgium, pay 250 for my tenere 700 2023. When I'm 30 It changes to 150 for the first bike and then 50euros extra per extra bike no matter the cc or age (not omnium)
Glad to hear 44T is expanding. GL with the business, beats turning tricks
Depends who the punter is
It's a new business, not 44T.
What a great idea!!! I could also see an opportunity where someone rents the space monthly which allows them to own more than one bike. So one bike is at home, one in storage. Then they could trade off storage between the two different bikes every month or so. Many of us can store one bike at home but not two. Renting a spot would allow for future bike purchases and options....I live in the USA but your idea is brilliant!!!
My underwriter refused to insure my new GS (in 2019). This is with 12 years no claims, late 40’s and 30 years of riding sportsbikes, supernakeds etc. garaged and out in the sticks!
Thank you for the kind words. It is hard to do it all! Best of luck and keep your head up.
You should have a small workshop area for the customers, supply general workshop tools and if people require manufacturer specific equipment, then they need to sort it themselves. Could include it in the price or charge a little per use.
always wanted something like this in my area. The reason being, so many people want to work on their bikes, whether it is to save money or just for fun but don't have the space for it. Those that want to save money on shop maintenance would gladly pay for a space to work on their bike.
There's something to be said for this. Most new build houses don;t have garages these days, most garages get turned into rooms.. people just don't have anywhere to keep a motorbike. Maybe there's a space here for a storage/maintenance/social club type thing where riders could store a bike, do mods/maintenance (either themselves or with help from the facility), meet others.. sounds good. Best of luck with it BvG, very best of luck!
Monday has just got alot better 😊
Aww bless you Brother!
Good luck with your venture, as you're probably finding already insurance is going to be your biggest issue and business cost. Alongside sales I ran a number of rental bikes and offered bike storage for 7 years but each year (started Motobox UK in 2014) it was an arm wrestle to get the policy for rental underwritten and in the end the cost became untenable. Once again all the best, good to see someone doing rather than just talking 👍
Maybe worth looking at the euro track day support/storage option? You guys will have a a lot of valuable experience in that no doubt with all your travels. A few bikes left over there in storage ready for their owners to ride. Loving the positivity!👌
You’re correct with your first statement, people don’t nod at a GS. There is however a distinctive hand signal that should be used.
🤣🤣🤣
Ive just pulled my o5 gsxr 600 out of 10 year storage,will be doing a light resto,as it was in a heated garage ,took 10 mins to start it up,was stored dry,and i winterised it before storage,ive had it from new,and my insurance is £123 fully comp,im 56 now,always bought new bikes,but they are way overpriced now,i wont buy another new one again,and i will hopefully have it ready to go by march,ride it for a few months then probably flog it,too much traffic nowadays
Really great idea, id be tempted to do something like this in non-bike friendly cities like Swansea. Here, there is absolutely 0 mc parking, and bike thefts are through the roof. Even if you're lucky enough to find a hard anchor somewhere, they come along and break your plate / mirrors / mounts etc... to make it viable in this scenario, i think you would want to be able to retrieve your bike on a day to day basis... and i dont know the best way to do that. Interesting idea though, and i think your exact proposed idea will work nicely for your setup anyway - as you were saying, youd have the space anyway so may as well make it useful
Mate just do it.
The current trend of the big players going out of business that put the small local independent business out of business. If you have the skills you can always sell service.
this is kind of what matt farah from the smoking tire does in LA! he started a parking garage for rare and collectible cars. rich dudes park their cars there, he has battery tenders for all of them, and offers cleaning services as well as a professional service to make and manage listings to sell them on auction sites if they want to!
The parking space is a great idea im sure there are plenty that would avail of such a service and if you could completely separate the area to that your 44teeth set is closed off to the designated area for parking there wouldn't need to be somebody on site at all times but would have to ring a number to get buzzed in to retrieve or leave their bike so that way you dont have to give out keys to anybody. Best of luck with everything anyway
Hey. I've used Hampshire bike storage, who were absolutely amazing, top shelf. And I thjnk they were about 70 quid? Humidity contolled. Battery conditioning etc. And recently an old damp underground storage in nice, and that was 80 euro a month with absolutely no attention to the bike. Just FYI. For what it's worth, i think the storage and also the timeshare ideas are strong. Do it! Peace
It sounds like a great idea Chris but storing bikes used to have it problems with insurance, don’t know if you’ve checked that out, sure you must have. I know that insurance companies won’t always insure a bike if it’s not being kept at your address that might have changed or may depend on the insurance company.
There is a place in London what does this and their prices are £100 per month. Once you add on how much you pay for your bike insurance, it's a lot
May I recommend, including a worn/ unwashed banana hammock with every bike storage space rental? 🖤🖤🖤
new bike prices, insurances, and fuel prices astronomical .....
looks at a brand new £5k RE 450 Himalayan, 80mpg and £120 a year to insure as just one example, you don't HAVE to buy a 25k 1,000cc bike
Barons back 😊 The timeshare could be a decent idea for some I guess but the first thing I do with every bike I get is throw a bunch of parts at it to make it mine.
Insurance companies are very overdue better regulation in the UK, the whole insurance market is just a giant FU to consumers at the moment.
You sneeze too loudly it can affect your premium and prices are beyond a joke. Thankfully the really insane prices seem to be a southern thing due to the levels of crime but I think the main issue is that the repair industry has basically normalised fraud. “Approved” repair shops charging way over the odds for repairs has causes knock on effects.
The insurance industry is heavily regulated right now and has been for the best part of 25 years, the FCA are the controlling government body. More control = even higher premiums, the premium cost is reflective of anticipated risk based on previous claims experience.
If you believe the U.K. has become more lawless you’d be right, fraud, theft, and cost of repairs all conspire to push up premiums for high risk bikes, insured by high risk riders, living and working in high risk areas - what are governments and manufacturers doing to mitigate loss?
Bike syndicate isn’t such a bad idea. Aircraft syndicates work very well and for some people who want a special bike but don’t want to layout the entire cost.
I’d love a syndicate in a GS but I won’t want to fully own one.
Think you may have mistakenly divided your entire cost by 30 bikes? I'm in rural Hampshire and pay £50 month for a car in a shared heated commercial warehouse space! Just trying to help give you a steer on pricing!
You can rent a council garage for £70 per month so need to think about your usp. Having electric and water is a good start. What about security and other services like detailing and battery trickle charge.
all good and worth checking out in more detail. Some will pan out, some won't.
If i didn't live in Cambridgeshire I'd love to work doing random shit with bikes, cams, editing and stuff.
The bike storage sounds like a good idea for those people that are lucky enough to have a investment, classic or race bike that isn't ridden often.
Good luck with the new venture. Sounds like you've got some great ideas and the motorcycle industry needs everything going for it that it can at the moment.
You will very quickly get sick of dealing with the General Public, Save yourself the hassle would be my advice.
Good luck on this great new adventure. I would like to suggest fiddling around with a 3D printer te design you own parts :) you could even sand it smooth and then create a cast version of it.
Hi Chris.....you might need to have a system when a client wants to check on a bike and perhaps fettle a little.... perhaps some bike products dust covers perhaps chain lubes ... and of course a coffee machine. Best wishes for you in the future.👍
I ride a 23 year old TDM 900 £62 a year comp. Strangely my Royal Enfield 500 classic 16 plate costs £99 a year it only makes 27hp on a good day. I’m early sixties and have full no claims. I’m sure they just pull a price out if thin air.
Yeah my 1977 z400 is the same price as yours also no tax or mot required as it’s historic vehicle. Cheap biking
With the current insane new bike pricing I’m amazed the secondhand market appears to be in free fall. There are so many good bikes out there, well loved and looked after at ridiculously cheap prices for super bikes etc. If I was a new full licence holder after A2 I’d be jumping at the secondhand bikes out there! World’s gone mad.
The used market is in freefall due to prices returning to the point they would be if COVID hadn't happened. Used bikes were massively overpriced as a direct result of COVID & it's about time the market went back to normal
@@mikey_bb interesting point about COVID, however I didn’t realise the secondhand market was that inflated back then. My thoughts now though looking at selling two bikes currently is just how crazy cheap many bikes are.
@@RichardS-qh8mi yep, due to COVID demand outnumbered supply (combined with the worldwide chip shortage, in part caused by COVID), used vehicle prices rocketed. Some of my friends sold 2/3yr old cars for the same price they paid for them new (some even made a profit)
The market was due to crash back to normal & since the beginning of 2024 in particular, we've seen this happen. This, combined with a 'cost of living crisis' (read: greed crisis) & slow sales means that many businesses in the motor trade are collapsing.
10 years ago I bought my 2011 CBR 600F 2nd hand with 1500 miles on it. I ride to work everyday and park it in a central London bike bay. 10 years ago, I'd be parked next to lots of other sports bikes and super nakeds, street tripples and GSs. These days when ride in, I'm the only sports bike and the bay is full of mostly scooters. I think a big part of this is the risk of theft. It's out of hand in London. I would have bought a newer bike by now but I haven't because I wouldn't feel confident leaving it on the street. The only defence is to have a chain, disc lock and park next to a nicer bike. A long time ago London had a dedicated motorcycle theft police team but it was cut by Boris. Of course if you do make a claim after a theft, the insurance companies will just get that back off you in higher premiums. I'm now considering buying a scooter or ebike and getting a new bike solely for fun at the weekends.
I think one thing id love is somewhere secure to bikes with 24/7 access. I don't have a garage but still want to ride
Years ago I used to fly as a private pilot, and the only way a chap of my average means could afford to run an aeroplane was for me to part own one with nine other blokes. You’d book it out on the days you’d want it and everyone would pay a set amount every month to pay for its upkeep. I cannot believe that things are getting so bad in the motorcycle world that it’s now sounding like a viable option to group own a ruddy BMW GS. Still, if the potential is there why not be the first to do it and become the go to name for such a service. Good luck 👍
Good Luck with the new venture.
Always good to see a new BVG video!
I would say, you should try setting something like this up in London, central. So many bike enthusiasts drive their classic bikes into central but are afraid to leave it anywhere because of theft. So many people also live in London but don't know where to leave it. Having your own garage type thing, similar to Bike shed but just as a parking bay rather than a cafe, allowing people the peace of mind to have their bike protected while they're out and about or doing meetings etc would be great. I actually think you could easily expand within the first 2 years into every major city center.
Aslong as it's beating your competitors and, instead of it being like a car park and more of a literal bike storage area would be great. You could even have tools etc on the walls to hire. You could have info points if someones bike is struggling. You could have info points that tell each person who their bike is made by, why it was made, the style of bike they like, what gear goes best with that kind of bike, what fuel would be best to get the most out of the engine.
You could also just have AI points that tell them all this info quickly. You could supply the top 5 bike makes bike parts. Break calipers, fuel point, engine oil. There's so much you could do with it that would make it super successful to bikers and you could easily expand that into classic cars aswell.
Christ..I'm pleased I'm old..£198 to insure my,busa,zx7r and my rd250lc.all 3 bikes,fully comp too.ps..hope your new venture works,it sounds like a very good plan.
Being old(er) has its benefits. £350 to insure my 2 year old BMW S1000 XR.
@@specialandroid1603 it does have its benefits I guess.
Best of luck with the new adventure, bike storage sounds like a great idea, no doubt with your golden touch it will be a success.
You are definitely a member of the harder you work the luckier you become brigade.
A couple late R1250GS on hire for people who want to go on European tours, but don’t want a GS the other 50 weeks a year, and when they are not on hire you can smoke them around yourself.
Daily hire is a pain in the arse because punters are eating into your precious time.
Literally just took my bike out of a storage shed that I was paying 100$ a week for. (I did have other stuff in there, like an engine, but yeah)
I think it's a good idea man, and I hope it goes so well for you, I love the 44Teeth team :) When you get some Merch in, I'll put an order in - assuming shipping to Aus doesn't cost thousands.
All you can do is invest in insurance firms (eg PRU, HIG, KIE). 40-60% annual premium increases, good for shareholders not customers. That's what I've done. Fed up with moaning - so had to be proactive!
Good luck Chris! Great idea, I’m sure it will fly.
Best of luck on the new venture Chris! 🤞🏻
Chris, it’s been a rich man’s game for a long time now. And I blame BMW for this. 30 years ago they were a curio niche brand for richer older riders who paid cash. At some point BMW decided they wanted to massively expand their business and sales, and their model of a basic bike price plus huge hikes for “features”, inherited from the car division, and which hitherto didn’t exist anywhere else in the motorcycle industry got repeated with every brand as their success and sales skyrocketed. The second thing they did was to set up and aggressively push PCP finance to expand who could “afford” to own a BMW, which has established the model today, where people just loan a bike and are pushed to keep “buying” another one with even more features, instead of buying a bike outright with features you actually need and can use. The result is an unsustainable market, and as those riders age and either give up riding, or downsize, it’s slowly collapsing inwardly. China and India will be there (and are right now) to pick up the pieces, which is fine as the global market for bikes is far bigger in those countries anyway.
I may have an insurance company contact that you could speak to.
Love that you're bringing this idea to life. I'd support a Kent based franchise, and even help run it.
The website looks fine btw, nice and clean and all the information you need easily available
All bloody brilliant bike based ideas Chris! You can now have the strap line:
“Pitboxx - thinking out of the box”
Great to see after all those years of following your commuting waffle in and out of London, that despite all you’ve dealt with internally and externally, this all coming together.
Sadly I cannot afford a bike but your ownership/share scheme makes 100% sense especially in the current climate. As does the storage system - would let that puppy run for a couple of years then definitely franchise the shit out of it!
Ps: P2T has been superb - putting the real social back into media.
Cheers for all the output across all the channels over the years 😎
Should be “thinking inside the box”😀
Winter storage is a great idea!
Nice idea but you might have to adjust your prices abit... for that price you can get 10ft shipping container which will fit 2-3bikes and aload of other crap.
Yes, you are a bit crazy, but you're also brave. And alive. You get to choose how you wanna look at it.
Neat idea! Best of luck with it. I'd also be interested in studio space rental if you ever went down that route.
All sounds like a good idea to me, Chris. I wish you all the best on this new venture 👏
Congrats on the new venture Chris. Hope it goes absolutely great.
I don't know about the UK.
My BMW Dealer offers winter storage. I haven't tried it yet. 50 bucks a month. I stop riding next month, mainly to save insurance, I get 3 or 4 months at a time. Last year I insured it for a full year. I only rode a couple of times. Its in a unsecure parking garage. I had one stolen here. Thet 25 locks and chains on it a PIA.
So you might have a market. Classic bike I wouldn't by one unless I had secure dry place to keep it.
Not familiar with london prices. It's got to be significantly less than me just renting a storage locker.
Good luck with it, I suspect it will work. As a winter thing. Not interested year round unless I could walk there hop on my bike and ride away.
Yes sir. Love the idea and the vision of "YOLO". 100%. SP-2 looks the nuts ☺️
Fortune favours the brave Chris! All the best with the new venture! 🎉
That concrete wall is quite something. Thanks for the reveal.
How exciting, no substitute for just doing it. All the best Chris 🎉
Great to hear from you again, best of luck! p.s. My experience is that overwhelmingly it's ADV bike riders are the ones who don't nod. Not sure why, but I'll keep doing it incase I'm passing you! 😂
Great to see the Baron out and about again,good luck mate.
Nice, wish you the best with this venture
As a metric perhaps look at how much it costs to store a car at the Nürburgring. I think your pricing is correct.
I'll cross my fingers for a future nationwide expansion. I only have room to store my one bike, if I could store more relatively nearby at a place I'd trust, that would mean I can have more bikes, which is only a good thing.
Are these insurance premiums just a London issue? I live in the midlands and my insurance has always been between £150 and £200. I’m 36 and my bike is garaged. Currently have gixxer 750 and have been riding 11 years without a claim.
I think renting bikes is the best idea. You can do it in spain nice and easy. 200 for a few days on a mt07. Then you dont have the running cost storage hassles and depreciation of owning a new bike. And you could choose different bikes each week or month or whenever you want to ride.
Yes, I did that out here in Spain, renting a Super Tenere for a day before buying mine. Paid €120 for the day and did 300km’s on it.
Good luck with the new venture it’s definitely got some mileage.
I pay just over £50 in Nottinghamshire for a council garage with no electricity just a small garage. So given it's in London with trickle chargers and stuff I feel like £60 is really appealing. I'd have one if it were local. 😅
I pay $500 Aussie dollars for full comp insurance on an S1000R and it isn't parked in a lock up garage. Joe's quote was about $7,000 Aussie Dollars. WTF!
I genuinely thought you had one already. Excited for you!
Great to hear you being so positive matey 😁👍🏻
You will need a good background check for your customers and top notch security. Too many thieves in the U.K. looking for any opportunity to nick your stuff.
Great idea. I hope it works out well for you. Good luck!
Great business idea with huge potential going forward. Starts with storage & before you know it your have mechanics/ classic bike restorers, shop for merchandise, café, sales & riding school 😂
And bike hire in general would be good. Not buying anything exotic, taking a big deposit and fit trackers to them all. I have friends in the US who hire a bike for a week at a time to do trips. It seems to be quite common place over there but I’m not sure we have many options here!
All the best for the new venture! Good idea.
Brilliant idea wish you success in this new venture.
It'll be great to watch it all come together
Interesting idea Chris, I am not interested as I live in East Sussex. I am thinking of another way to beat the system. The DVLA is a corporation, so simply withdraw your patronage to the DVLA and de register your vehicle. Plod will then come after you for no number plate, you can beat that in court by using the correct defence language, Next the law insists you have insurance, wrong, insurance is an optional extra and is also run by corporations. In court you simply say and prove you have a couple of grand in readies to pay for any damage you might do to a third party and as a free man of this country that will satisfy a judge. I refer to another rebel in Leeds who is doing just that and the police no longer bother pulling him over