Motorbikes dilemma

I have a couple of motorbikes and have ridden almost daily for over 12 years now but recently have been having growing doubts about whether I should sell them.

My main bike is a Daytona 675, which is a joy to ride but it gets used for nothing but the occasional commute, trip to the gym or basically any journey when I’m on my own. I never ride for the sake of it anymore but definitely find winding the throttle open way too tempting!

Recently had a baby and there’s been lots of media about bad accidents this summer. My other half is fine with me riding so no pressure there but I have these nagging doubts about it being a pointless risk..

Am I just getting old or should I listen to the doubts and sell them both and buy a sensible car to replace our old ones!

Anyone been through this??

I miss my bike but I sold it for the equivalent of 2 months wages which gave me 2 months off work to spend with the family so it was worth it.

If you sell them and buy a car you’ll probably regret it, sell them and use the money properly and you’re less likely to regret it

I sold my two motorbikes and vespa over the last three years.
I occasionally miss it, but after a succession of motorbike accidents involving my nearest and dearest, decided to knock it on the head. I was also losing my bottle somewhat with age.
The first 6 months were hard but can’t say I miss it now, I just ride vicariously through Henry Cole’s TV shows.

Ha! Think I’d need to ban myself from shows about great bike trips!

Good point about regretting buying a car instead…

Feel in a real quandary about it and no idea where it’s come from

Have to say I went to the hassle and expense of passing my bike test in 2009, but 12 months later I sold my bike and have no plans to get another.

I love the feel of riding, that was the real call for me – there are some great cars that make you feel like you’re part of the process, but in reality you’re sat in it and using the controls, on a bike you’re using your bodyweight and for me no car can match the sensation of riding a bike, but even then I rarely used it.

They’re quick of course, a couple of grand will buy you a bike that can out-drag anything this side of a La Ferrari, but the risk of ‘road racing’ are huge, shit it’s risky enough riding around at legal speeds. Until I rode a bike I had no idea how brain dead most road users are and frankly how many will actually, actively risk your life for the sake of making a point about bikers “pushing in”.

In theory they’re quicker to commute in, first in the queue for the lights every time (unless someone tries to kill you – see above) get through gaps, loads of free parking, but on my commutes any time I saved in traffic I lost getting dressed and undressed both ends.

I enjoyed a few social / pleasure rides, sometimes a few of the others went a bit mad for my tastes, but their wasn’t any pressure to do the same, plus they’d been riding for a lot longer than me so probably were taking less risks like-for-like – but I’ve only got so many hours a week for myself (and a hell of a lot less now) and Biking Time came out of the same pot as Mountain Biking time, I’ll Mountain Bike in any weather, but Biking in the wet/cold sucks bawls, even so whenever I woke up on a sunny Sunday and got excited to get out, it was always the MTB that won.

I tell myself that one day I’ll retire and I might not want to MTB anymore, I’ll get myself some tame tourer and cruise about Europe or something – but the ‘Motoring Landscape’ would have had to have changed by then, for me the rewards aren’t worth the risks, I refuse to have a “them and us” attitude to other road users – so many of us sit in more than one camp – but there are certainly – decent road users, road users who’ll get you hurt through negligence and a couple of arseholes we should all try to avoid who’ll actively try to hurt you for any perceived offence.

Ha! Think I’d need to ban myself from shows about great bike trips!

You could always watch Henry Cole’s show about buying tractors in old sheds instead, but unfortunately that’s pretty shite.

What’s the other bike? Just sell one? Sell both and get something more sensible? lots of options that don’t necessitate giving up biking.
I’ve had similar thoughts a couple of times, but I had a word with myself and bought a Hinckley Bonneville and just ride (fairly) slowly now (but very loudly ;-))

Before you sell, make the effort to do a track day on the 675. A beautiful machine to ride in anger round a track!

After 12 years of motorbiking I got into a spot of trouble with the Police and then I moved to France, so I sold my bike. I still have pangs of nostalgia for the old biking days but biking was an essentially selfish mode of transport and now that I’m married with a child it would be senseless to expose myself to the risk. More importantly, I know that if I bought another bike my son would want one and he would certainly crash it – he’s already been hospitalised twice after bicycle crashes!

On top of that there’s all the kit, the cold and wet and we don’t have space for a bike where we live.

I’ve just passed 6 years of ownership of my Ducati Monster. Had a baby about 6 months ago and likewise under no pressure from my wife to give it up or get rid (quite the opposite). The only mileage it’s done in the last year has been to move it as we were moving house, via the MOT station as that had expired. It’s been SORN for months and despite enjoying that ride, not felt compelled to tax it again.

I don’t use it for transport, and the opportunities I used to have to use it to break up a dull week of car commutes don’t happen any more either.

I guess this is the case for me too:

I’ve only got so many hours a week for myself (and a hell of a lot less now) and Biking Time came out of the same pot as Mountain Biking time

Been pondering selling it, but the insurance is only £80 a year so not costing much to keep and it’s barely depreciating either. But then I could buy a very nice new MTB for what it’s worth…

Five years ago, the advice would have been to sell all your bikes and buy a vintage bike to keep in the garage as an investment and a Sunday ride.
But I fear that ship has sailed…

Sell your bikes & replace with a trackday bike & trailer?

Still get the occasional enjoyment of motorcycling but in a much safer environment….??

Had bikes for nearly 30 years & have sold up recently, riding kit also.
I’m not burdened with a wife & kids, so no pressure there. I just prefer to spend my free time on the mtb these days rather than blatting around the countryside.
I dont miss it and have no plans to get another.

Recently had a baby and there’s been lots of media about bad accidents this summer. My other half is fine with me riding so no pressure there but I have these nagging doubts about it being a pointless risk.

I suppose this is the thing really. If it feels like a pointless risk, it probably is.

My FB news feed has a ‘biker down’ message virtually every day – I don’t think there are more accidents than there were 10 years ago, we just get to find out about every single one in a way that we didn’t before.

As for me, I still love it so will still do it!

I have now got this. Inherited from my dad. It rarely goes above 60mph and is built like a tank but fun to pootle anout on. Its not risk free but less likely to want to hammer it. I have a hankering afterca 250 trail bike to commute on and do the odd green lane though!

oldtalent – Member

Had bikes for nearly 30 years & have sold up recently, riding kit also.
I’m not burdened with a wife & kids, so no pressure there. I just prefer to spend my free time on the mtb these days rather than blatting around the countryside.
I dont miss it and have no plans to get another.

Similar !,in 2007/8 I did 30 odd trackdays here and abroad,& now I havnt even got so much as a pair of gloves…
Was involved In BSB,Rd racing etc….but not bothered,funnily enough 2 separate people have approached me in the last 2 weeks to do something again for nxt year,& ive said no to both..

I said try Mtb’ing,its the future.. 😉

I had major accident ten years ago – three weeks in hospital and three months off work and decided to pack it in. Oh no actually, my wife decided I should pack it in. However she had the killer argument that it was her that suffered most because I was in a coma for a week and didn’t know whether I was alive or dead!
I would have another bike tomorrow but not worth the aggro.
One thing that does rankle though is that she still moans about the amount of money I spend on bicycles which is a fraction of the money I used to spend on motorbikes!

Every time I try and give up I always buy another a year or two later. So now I just keep one road bike, well 2 or possibly 4, depending on how you count them, but don’t actually ride them.

I was in a similar situation last year. 15 year’s of daily commuting on motorbike. 1 gsxr, 1drz. I rarely used the gsxr as the drz was so convenient for commuting.
Sold both for a BMW gs800. Yes, very bland throttle, nothing low or high, but it’s comfy, reliable and very useful with panniers. I still get the buzz of riding a motorbike and save money owning 1.

Keep a bike!

I think the riding in the UK is pretty crappy (and i love riding!), much nicer to ride on the continent, to much slowing down and overtaking to get a good flow going, roads are just too busy to make it enjoyable.
Once in a while however i do manage to enjoy riding on the road in the UK. I ride a supermoto so i normally ride B roads anyway, so speeds are lower its got the same sort of feel as riding a mountainbike with 800mm bars.

Why anyone would want a sports motorcycle to ride on the road in the UK ive no idea… great for trackdays and riding abroad however!

I’ll never be without at least one bike.
I am slimming down the collection now as the Supermoto doesn’t get used so thats for sale soon.
In many ways it’s ideal for the IK – tops out at 80, weighs under 100kgs and 50+bhp – it’s an absolute hoot but it just doesn’t get the use the ZX14 does so it’s going.

I have a fireblade in the garage. If I’m honest it’s been out the garage about 10 times since the start of the year. Most of that for commuting to my previous job. In the last 3 months it’s been out twice

Once for a ride around the Essex countryside and once for a trackday. Both were brilliant so for that reason alone I’m keeping it, even though it’s not getting as much use as it should

Similar story here.

I sold my motorbike earlier this year and all my riding gear.

Only used the bike for sunny day rides, didn’t ride in the winter or the rain.

Just seemed to get a little fed up with the traffic and congestion, every nice Saturday or Sunday and the roads up around Mid Wales would be quite busy.

Motorists (in general, though not all), just don’t seem to be aware or considerate.

Mountain biking for me is much more fun and less stressful.

I’m currently say under the English Channel somewhere, having ridden to Lake Balaton, Hungary and back over the last couple of weeks. I think I’m making up for the lot of you!!

Rachel

Why not sell them both and buy an off-roader like a trail bike or an enduro bike you can have great fun of road without the hassle of motorist and the right bike you can still commute on it.

Not the same as you but had big bikes when I was quite young then just road off-roaders for years.Got a new partner years back she loved bikes so got a Honda CBR600 then she had a bad car crash and never got on the back again.So had it for nearly 3 years from new and only had 2800miles on it never used it really so swapped it back for an enduro bike and have never looked back.I just think people are just to distracted in cars these days just think its to risky.You think there are far less motorbikes on the road these days yet the death toll is higher.

I kicked it all into touch about five years’ ago. I’d got really fed up of the lack of places to ride in the UK; so much traffic.
What never gets discussed by people who ride bikes is how anti-social it is. The final nail was when I took a day off on a hot summer day. I rode up to the Peak district and was seriously motoring down the A57. I took a sweeping corner at circa 100mph only to be confronted by a family of five walking a dog coming the other way. The look of disgust from all of them was horrible; they were on a peaceful country walk and I was racing by with a full race system etc. I got home and thought about how selfish the whole thing *really* was and just couldn’t justify it any more. Oh, and we had a baby. After that it seemed like a really silly thing to do.

Although I sold up, I went to the bike show at the NEC last year, the only bike that caught my attention was the CCM450.

It’s a useable adventure / off road bike.

Weighs only 130kgs dry with about 45 billion.

This would be my only option if I wanted a motorbike, something to ride off road, light, agile and wouldn’t be too concerned about the relentless quest for more speed and performance.

The large off road bikes are now very heavy and not really usable for most riders.

I gave up for 4 years give or take after instructing for 18 months took the shine off bikes for me. I’d ridden from 14 up until then (23). I had silly cars for a while but bought back one of my Dad’s old bikes from a friend and was away again. Haven’t been without a bike since. Currently up to 5. Commute a 50 mile round trip on the current Tenere, shit or shine. Had a Hayabusa before that, which was a great bike.
I’ve lost more friends to car crashes than bike crashes, and those I’ve lost to bike crashes have been 70% SMIDSY.
It is still the quickest and most stress free way of getting around. Wouldn’t be without one again.

Bikes, they’re awesome.

Riding for twenty years or so, had a series of big bikes and rode quite a bit to a reasonable level, but as the years go by I ride less and less and cycle more, commuting on the kawasaki is more stressful than on the road bike 🙂 however I’ve not reached the point where I can be without a motorbike, tried it but had to have one – very odd got grumpy without a bike outside the house. To the op i would suggest getting rid of one and maybe getting something more casual / stylish such as the suggested bonnie or maybe a guzzi (or even a c90 which are a great laugh)

I took my test on a Tuesday, then picked up a triumph 955i on the Saturday morning (16 years ago)
Rode it for about three years with a couple of local guys, both of which liked to make significant progress, and admittedly I spent a lot of time riding the bike faster than the law allowed on public roads. I was based in Wiltshire at the time, and a lot of folk had sports bikes. Would routinely batter up and down the a4, up to Avebury of bike evenings at the red lion, up the fosse way to Mallory park/donnington race days etc. Loved it – even used it on a track day

When my first nipper was en route, I bought a crm 250 (two stroke Honda trail bike) and took to the byways, eventually swapping the 955 for a Yamaha wr-f, which I build up with supermotard wheels etc

My genuine recommendation is to look at where you live, if you have byways near you then find the local Trf and go see where you can ride and get a trail bike. Look at motard wheels if you fancy track days (a 400cc thumper on a track day was so much fun, on the right track it would give the average rider on a litre bike a hard time).

Scotland is useless for trail riding motorbikes, Wiltshire was a honeypot.

Thanks for replies!

The other bike is a naked SV650 which I only haven’t sold as I crashed it last year. Minor damage but still needs replacement rear plastics to be mint again.

I thought about the track idea but to be honest I spend all my weekends either climbing, mtbing or surfing so can’t take up another hobby! Especially one I can’t share with my 7 year old.

Love the vintage bike idea and very nearly bought a bonneville instead of the daytona but thought I’d never ride it as wanted a fairing for longer trips. Maybe an old 70s/80s trail bike would still be fun, lots of fettling and less easy ban speeds!

Strange nagging feeling that I’m being selfish keeping on riding…

See my mrs preferred me trail riding as I would be more likely to break a leg than smear myself along the road surface at a ton+

Motorbikes are addictive, and seven yr olds can ride mx…..so can daddy…

Got rid of my zx6r as it did less miles in a year than I was doing on my bike, so spent the money on a few toys for my bicycles. I’m pleased I did sell it now, boss and good friend died a few months ago in a motorbike accident, I’m pleased I had one and experienced it, but also feel I got away with owning one. I know not everyone dies who rides a motorbike, but it’s probably affecting me more than I realize. Hear a Ducati outside the workshop, dry clutch rattling away, and expect him to walk back in, but no it’s just someone else filling with petrol to hopefully go and carry on playing safely.

I remember my last ride on a motor bike.
It was pissing down and freezing.
All my gear is still in the loft. Do I miss it? No.
Any spare time is spent on my Mtb.
If I needed to commute up town , I’d get a little bike.
Sell your bikes ,you can always come back to it later.

Maybe I’m odd, but whatever the weather, I always look forward to riding my motorbike 🙂 I’ve not even had my own car for 7 years. I just love 2 wheels! Granted, my commute is only 7 miles, I think I might suffer in Scotland winter on a 20mile commute!

Mentioning 7 year olds+mx:

My 6 yo lad and me a couple of weeks ago:

He’s now an MX fanatic and my youtube history is full of him searching for MX+supercross!!
I’ve just bought him a BMX for his birthday – tight arse Dad. Just the same as my Dad did to me about 35 years ago lol!

That’s a great photo!

Got a similar one of me and the boy surfing last week on the same board…

All that baby nonsense seems worth it once they start joining in

Ok – the bikes go. For now…

I’ll use the money to spruce up the T4 and get away on more camping weekends with the kids

Thanks all!!

Had bikes for nearly 30 years & have sold up recently, riding kit also.
I’m not burdened with a wife & kids, so no pressure there. I just prefer to spend my free time on the mtb these days rather than blatting around the countryside.
I dont miss it and have no plans to get another.

I rode from 16 to 47, with the last 10 years just commuting (into/around London, but approx. 100 miles per day, so on big bikes).

While I love 2-wheels, where I live now I have no need for a traffic-beating commuter, so haven’t one. If for some reason it changed, I’d happily get another.

The biggest thing was taking up MTBing 10 y/o – this meant I didn’t need to evening/weekend blasts of ‘excitement’ .

Although never had wife (either ex or current) concerns and of my 3 sons, only one tried 2-wheels (3 years on a scooter) – but now into a car.

My main bike is a Daytona 675, which is a joy to ride but it gets used for nothing but the occasional commute, trip to the gym or basically any journey when I’m on my own. I never ride for the sake of it anymore but definitely find winding the throttle open way too tempting!

Yeah that’s how it is it comes to us all. If you give it up it’s really difficult to get started again

Have a look for a different kind of bike a big naked or something else that is good to ride without having to go stupid fast.

Traded my R1 for an FZ1 last year I miss the glory of riding an R1 but I don’t miss the constant urge to ride it at 3-figure speeds everywhere. The FZ1 is a blunt instrument in comparison to the R1 but 80 feels like 80 and not 30

Have a look around the showrooms, get some test rides and good luck

Mine is parked up… No big crisis, I just stopped enjoying it as much as I did, and then got more into pushbikes. It’s the same appeal for me and uses the same chunks of time and the same wallet so something had to give.

I miss the people, mostly, it’s a different sort of social