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Are motorcyclists transients unable to be satisfied?
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The ferret Online
Forum Moderator

Ohio
Posts: 31,281
Joined: Apr 2013
Post: #1
Are motorcyclists transients unable to be satisfied?
I belong to a couple motorcycle forums, and lurk several others. One thing I notice in common on all the forums is guys buy bikes, farkle the blazes out of them, keep them a year, then sell the bike they just finished making "theirs" and buy something else and repeat the process over and over again.

I have motorcycling friends who always seem to have a new motorcycle in their garage. So much so, that a common question is the next time you see them is "So, what are you riding now?"

It's not like the bikes they get rid of are bad bikes. There are no bad bikes anymore. Bikes have gotten so good any of them could last someone their entire riding career for the most part, with very few issues.

No, it seems to be a case of the wantsies.

Hey, I'm bad at it myself. In the last few years I have owned a Triumph Bonneville, a Honda CB 750 Nighthawk, 2 Yamaha FZ-1's, 2 Honda CB 1100's, 2 Yamaha Majesty 400 Scooters, and a Honda ST 1300. I've never come close to wearing one of these motorcycles out. I think the highest mileage is my current ST 1300 at 53,000 miles, one FZ in the 30,000 mile range, an FZ, the Nighthawk and the Bonnie in the 20,000 mile range, the 2 CB 1100s in the 10,000 mile range and the two scooters in the 5000 mile range.

I've lived in the same house for 21 years. I worked at the same place for 25 years. Been married to the same woman for 41 years. Always put over 200,000 miles on my cars before getting a new one.

So why the motorcycle leap frog? Huh

How about you? Are you guilty?

.
Defender of the Realm
2014 DLX (the pleasure horse)
2021 NC750X DCT (Angry Bird)
(This post was last modified: 12-18-2014 01:13 PM by The ferret.)
12-18-2014 11:06 AM
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ClassicVW Offline
High Mileage

New Jersey, USA
Posts: 1,415
Joined: Aug 2014
Post: #2
RE: Are motorcyclists transients unable to be satisfied?
I too, am very guilty and I don't know why either! (jeez, this sounds like a rehab meeting opening line)
I also don't act this way with cars. I own four SUVs. Three have 120,000 miles or more. The "new' one has 74,000.

I see nothing that would make me sell my CB. But over the past 14 years I kind of lost count on how many bikes I've bought and sold. My guess is 12, including owning two or even three at the same time. I now have two. I would sell the other Honda (a touring bike) before I part with the CB. I may respect some other modern bikes, and appreciate what the manufacturers are accomplishing, but mostly the style and riding position of them does nothing for me.

--George
[i]"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day that you find out why" [/i]-- Mark Twain
(This post was last modified: 12-18-2014 11:22 AM by ClassicVW.)
12-18-2014 11:21 AM
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HikerToo Offline
Road Warrior

Delaware
Posts: 1,519
Joined: May 2013
Post: #3
RE: Are motorcyclists transients unable to be satisfied?
nah....'86' 900 Ninja for >25 years, now CB1100 til I die.
12-18-2014 11:23 AM
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The ferret Online
Forum Moderator

Ohio
Posts: 31,281
Joined: Apr 2013
Post: #4
RE: Are motorcyclists transients unable to be satisfied?
Smart man Hiker!

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2014 DLX (the pleasure horse)
2021 NC750X DCT (Angry Bird)
12-18-2014 11:29 AM
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powerdogg11 Offline
Running Like a Top

Georgia
Posts: 392
Joined: Jul 2014
Post: #5
RE: Are motorcyclists transients unable to be satisfied?
Drove my last truck 1986 F-150 24 years (gave it to my son-in-law still driving it.). Wore out every bike I ever owned. Got out of riding motorcycles for a while and bought the CB this year. Most likely will own it until my last ride in a Hearst!

CB1100 DLX #185...Fuel Injected Dreams!
12-18-2014 11:59 AM
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hb9400 Offline
Running Like a Top

Marietta ga
Posts: 492
Joined: May 2014
Post: #6
RE: Are motorcyclists transients unable to be satisfied?
Have had a few models more than once, '75 Honda CB400F (2), '96 & '98 Honda 750 Nighthawk, '06 & '05 Suzuki Boulevard M50 (3) & '09 VStar 950T (2) but my unicorn is the '08 Kawasaki Versys. Bought and sold 6 times between '08 & '14, 1 of those times I bought back the 1 I sold. Just thought it was the ultimate do it all bike but I had too many negatives

It's a Kawasaki (I know brand loyalty is a factor for some)
Being 5'8" it was just tall enough to make you think about your footing every time you stopped
It had so much lean it made you feel like you were falling through curves
The passenger seat was just too high for my wife's liking.

Other than that I just thought it was awesome Smile Made me rethink the negatives of a parallel twin.

The ferret
12-18-2014 12:52 PM
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Cormanus Offline
Moderator

Queensland, Australia
Posts: 20,660
Joined: Dec 2013
Post: #7
Are motorcyclists transients unable to be satisfied?
I have no idea of the answer to your question, Ferret. I suspect there's a whole range of reasons. I also suspect there are people who buy and sell cars at the same sort of rate.

For the dedicated farkles, I think what happens is that the farkling is the mission and when it's complete they get bored and want to move onto the next thing. Time for a new bike and a new set of farkles before that, too, is complete and round they go again.
12-18-2014 01:32 PM
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CIP57 Offline
High Mileage

NY & NC
Posts: 1,410
Joined: May 2013
Post: #8
RE: Are motorcyclists transients unable to be satisfied?
I think for the most part motorcycles are for enjoyment not transportation. You can buy a bike for 10-15K ride it for two years at a cost of about 2g's a year. Can't do that with a car or people would trade them in too.

Most bikes I have owned recently have a 2 year life span before I'm tired of them and trade up for something else. I posted in a thread today I almost pulled the trigger on a Wing, probably for the first time I though hard and didn't go through trading in the CB1100. Had it been any other bike i think i would have done the deal. Its usually a very quick decision not something I think about very long. I'll admit I'm compulsive, I want what I want and I want it now.

I'm sure a lot of us have traded bikes for new ones and said, I should have kept that bike, I know I have.

1982 Suzuki GS1100EZ
12-18-2014 02:05 PM
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redbirds Offline
Been There

Patterson, GA, USA
Posts: 4,591
Joined: Jan 2014
Post: #9
RE: Are motorcyclists transients unable to be satisfied?
Guilty as charged. Having the CB1100 has changed my outlook however. I like looking at and riding other bikes and might even buy a second ride down the line (sure like that Ducati Scrambler) but I'm so pleased with the CB I can't imagine ever selling it. Other than the Puig screen and 2014 CB sprocket cover I've found no reason to change it. It's as if Honda designed this bike with me in mind.

1 Cor 13:4-7 (NIV)
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
12-18-2014 02:09 PM
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The ferret Online
Forum Moderator

Ohio
Posts: 31,281
Joined: Apr 2013
Post: #10
RE: Are motorcyclists transients unable to be satisfied?
Hb900 .. You sound like my buddy Jim. He's had 3 or 4 Versys. Last one he sold, backed out of the deal and gave the guy his money back, rode it another couple months, and then sold it again. He say's it's still his favorite bike ( He's had 3 FZ-1's, 2 Fatboys and and FJR among plenty of others) Just sent me video clips of the 2015 Versys and a youtube of " 3 years with a Versys" documentary by some English fellow THIS MORNING! This after giving up riding " for good" a short time ago. Lol

.
Defender of the Realm
2014 DLX (the pleasure horse)
2021 NC750X DCT (Angry Bird)
12-18-2014 02:14 PM
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