Doing your own maintenance is one way to save some money on your bike. By being able to do most of the work yourself you also free yourself to shop around on parts looking for the best price. But one of the things to think about is setting aside money upfront for all this stuff. Oil, tires, filters, tools, all cost money. Further, you can figure out when you are going to need these things. For instance my 848 has 4000 miles on it now, I got it in February. We’ve got 3 more months of great riding weather (actually late January and February are usually about the only times that it gets too cold for me). So more than likely I’m going to need the first major maintenance done on my Duc around December or January. I believe it is 3 hours of maintenance plus parts. So I expect it will run close to $500. There are also 3 track days coming up. So I’ll probably be up for new skins too. We don’t need to talk about the need for a new mirror.
Anyway, you know you’ll need this stuff so why not start setting aside money now? That way when it comes time to pay, it won’t hurt so bad.
Over on Get Rich Slowly there is an article about setting up a Replacement Fund. I’d suggest something along the same lines except I’d call it a Maintenance Fund. You might do what they suggest selling off crap you no longer need and put the money in your Maintenance Fund. Seriously your bike is way more fun than those comic books.