I Don't Like Motorcycles

[legion]

I'm going to put the 951 up for sale in the next month. That is a certainty. My house needs a new roof and I need to pay down some debt.

Maintaining the 951 is killing me. I want something cheaper to maintain. For the time being, I won't have a lot of cash to spend on a third vehicle. (Maybe $5,000 tops.)

I don't like motorcycles. My standard line is that I prefer my death traps with four wheels.

But with gas prices what they are, and the desire to have a "fun" vehicle, I'm giving a motorcycle a second look.

Is it possible to get a decent used motorcycle for $5,000?

[Dueller]

you can get 3 or 4 or maybe more for $5K. What do you anticipate for rgular use? Weekend, errands, road trips, work commute, two up riding, dual purpose/off road, etc?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Maybe I can work out a trade for your 951. . . I've been thinking about getting back in - given I still have most of my "go fast" bits off my old one (that went to the great fire pit in the sky). . . Hmmmm. . .

But yes, you can get a pretty good bike for $4k-$5k.

[Steve Carlton]

Get a ZRex.

[Hugh R]

Up the life insurance. It's not about you, it's about your wife and kids, if any.

[ckissick]

I knew a guy who always wanted a motorcycle. Finally, at age 60, he got one. Within a week, he was killed by a left-turner. I'm just sayin'.

[rammstein]

Originally Posted by legion

I'm going to put the 951 up for sale in the next month. That is a certainty.

No.

[varmint]

define "decent".


look over in the R1100S forum. they're bottoming out at around 6.





but here's the standard advice. if you havn't ridden in a few years, get the cheapest piece of crap dirtbike you can find. ride it around for six months to see how you handle it. then get something nice.
actuarial tables say it's a dead certainty that you will have some sort of screw up in the first six months. better to prang some p.o.s. than an expensive toy you've emotionally bonded with.

[Arizona_928]

kawa makes a nice 250cc $3100 new.. but i would go with a good used buell for 5k

[nostatic]

$5K will get you any number of very nice used bikes.

But you either love 2 wheels or you don't. And the risk is higher than with a car. But you can help to move the odds more in your favor. I just finished re-reading Hough's "Proficient Motorcycling" tonight. Good to revisit topics. That was after a 20 minute ride tonight just to unwind. I *love* being on 2 wheels. I still have some fear issues to work through, especially on the freeway at night, but truth be told you should always have a healthy dose of respect for what you're doing when you swing a leg over the bike.

Do an MSF training course, get good gear, and study the craft. Practice techniques like hard braking, swerving, etc. Learn to read the road and the situations. I've found that my track time in the car has helped with my bike as I got pretty good at visually reading traction levels at speed. Plus racing in a pack at triple digits works your spidey sense pretty well.

[onlycafe]

i saw this gassing up across the street this afternoon.



i'm not crazy about bikes either, but this looks pretty cool to me.

[Rick Lee]

I got my first real bike just after I unloaded the SC. I figured as a track-only car, the SC ran me $500 every time I touched it and took it out of the garage to go to the track. I get the same thrill on a bike, can do it every day and it's a tiny fraction of the operating cost, though a lot more dangerous. What's this thing about an actuarial certainty of a mishap in the first six mos.? I'm going on two yrs. now, averaging 800-1000 miles a month and have not gone down (yet). Having a bike has cut down on my drinking too, as I don't drink when I will be on the bike. Maybe one or two beers, but only if a few hours before I'll ride. Until I drove the 330i to LA this weekend, I had not gone through 1/2 tank of gas in any car since I got to Phoenix on March 24th. But I've put about 1300 miles on the bike, 60 of which were way, way offroad. No better thrill out there. 45-55mpg doesn't suck either.

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by varmint

define "decent".


look over in the R1100S forum. they're bottoming out at around 6.


but here's the standard advice. if you havn't ridden in a few years, get the cheapest piece of crap dirtbike you can find. ride it around for six months to see how you handle it. then get something nice.
actuarial tables say it's a dead certainty that you will have some sort of screw up in the first six months. better to prang some p.o.s. than an expensive toy you've emotionally bonded with.

Get a used BMW and just ride it.

[on2wheels52]

It just depends on the level of newness/sophistication you're after. I paid $400 for an '81 Honda CM400 ten years ago with <5k miles, needed the most minor of maintainance to get road ready. It turned antique (no more license fees) in '06, insurance is $40/year. I don't have to ride it very often to make it worth keeping around, if only to make me appreciate the later model ones more.
Jim

[widgeon13]

[QUOTE=onlycafe;3900511]i saw this gassing up across the street this afternoon.


Cute, training wheels, must be off the reservation at Turning Stone.

[lendaddy]

Seriously, get an early 90's Honda CRX HF(high fuel mileage model), mine got 50mpg! Many bikes don't get that. Those CanAm things are awful IMHO.

[legion]

I simply have no idea what a motorcycle costs. I'll probably get something that isn't worth much (if I go through with this).

What is my experience riding a motorcycle? Next to nothing. I rode a dirt bike twice as a kid. I tried to ride a friend's 4-cylinder Honda maybe 11 years ago and nearly dumped it. It was before I knew how to drive stick so the whole clutch/throttle thing was alien to me.

The state of Illinois offers a free motorcycle training course. I figured I'd start there.

What would the motorcycle be used for? Mostly getting around town. That includes my 1.5 mile commute when I can't ride with my wife, going to the gym, running errands, etc.

A friend of mine and his wife got a pair of motorcycles a few years ago. They have altered their behavior to take slower, less busy roads when on their bikes and haven't had any problems.

I'm already used to driving like other cars don't see me in the 951. It is low enough that most minivan drivers look over the roof when they check their blind spot (if they bother to check their blind spot).

[lendaddy]

CRX HF If my situation screws the pooch I'm getting another. It was a great little car.

[mattdavis11]

They don't call them donor cycles/murder cycles without reason. If you get one, make sure that's really loud. It might save your life.

[Rot 911]

Originally Posted by mattdavis11

They don't call them donor cycles/murder cycles without reason. If you get one, make sure that's really loud. It might save your life.

Not many people can get this ignorant in only 2 sentences.