Reality check needed

**MikeL** · 24th May 2003, 17:13

Scenario: Bike in workshop after unfortunate self-destruction of alternator last Sunday. Vague promises that it might be fixed in a week or so. Already spent one week taking bus to work - will go mad if I have to stand on a crowded bus again taking 1 hour and ten minutes to go from Queen St to Royal Oak. With the weekend approaching and suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms I tried to find a short-term cheap hire. No such thing exists, apparently. In utter desperation, decided to do the rounds of dealers, borrowing bikes for supposed test rides. Was having a ball, inventing all sorts of reasons why the bike in question was not quite what I was looking for, when disaster struck. I fell in love. My perfect bike. Not only did the salesman have to virtually tear me off it, but I found myself asking about deposit, finance, insurance... even though I knew perfectly well that spending $16,000 on another bike was totally, utterly, irrefutably insane, ridiculous, indefensible and completely out of the question. Trouble is, I can't get it out of my mind... Someone help me, please! I don't need this bike. I've already got one that looks good, sounds good, goes fast. For $16,000 I can have a new bathroom and recarpet the house and have some change left over. Why didn't someone warn me when I bought my first bike that this sort of thing could happen?

**SPman** · 24th May 2003, 17:41

What is it?

I had that happen to me - fought off temptation - the bike vanished from the showroom and I thought "good - now I cant buy it"......3 months later - there it was again and brain seizure took place with the result I traded my old bike on the spot!

**bikerboy** · 24th May 2003, 19:13

Whatever it is, it;s contagious!

I was thinking of getting something in addition to the 996, a bit more suited to trundling through town.

Then managed too dissuade myself as I'm happy riding the duke around town.
Now I'm looking at a second bike for track use!!

Help

**Slim** · 25th May 2003, 01:18

This happened to me too, a few years ago. And the decision I had to make was whether to go to the Isle of Man TT racing with a very good friend who's got lots of relatives (ie: free accommodation) on the island ..... or go and buy a bike (this was before I even got to the test riding stage).

I made myself weigh up the pros and cons for a week, to make certain that the sudden desire to buy another bike wasn't just a whim or the result of monthly hormonal changes.

TWO weeks later, I was doing the rounds of the bike shops, looking for a bike, having made the phone call to my friend to cancel the IoM 2000 trip.

Set yourself a period of time, say 2 weeks, to weigh up the pros and cons, and think about it seriously. Make your decision with a level head and maybe sort out a plan of action.

**bikerboy** · 25th May 2003, 13:55

New bike? bike shops full of shining new bikes? decisions to make.

Level headedness?

Do these really all go together ?

**SPman** · 25th May 2003, 17:10

Of course not! All bikes are bought from the heart - not the brain!

Except BMW's!!

and then

**MikeL** · 25th May 2003, 20:37

O.K., I think I'm getting over it. I'm begin to realize that it was just infatuation. Wiser counsels prevail (thanks, Slim, for the level-headed advice). I'm going to make a deliberate effort to put it out of my mind. After all, I've got lots more important things to think about...
BTW SPman, you wanted to know what the bike was. Would you believe, a BMW ?

Nah... you're very perceptive. Ve don't buy ze Teutonic bikes from emotion, naturlich. Ve buy zem becauss ve know zey are sehr gut engineered und praktisch. I've got a BMW car and I love it but the reasons I love it are the same reasons why I don't want a BMW bike.
Was it a Ducati or an Aprilia? Mamma mia! Italian style and flair and passion and ... temperament... Tempting, but not this time.
As for your Hondas and Kawasakis and Suzukis, well they're all so good and well-built and well-thought out and reliable that it's hard to see much difference between them.
No, this was something else. Something that struck a deep chord within. A bike that represents more than transport, freedom, speed or fun... A bike of breathtaking beauty and... [stops before getting carried away in further outbursts of lyrical prose]

Whaddya think it was??

**NhuanH** · 25th May 2003, 21:53

Mike, from the make you have omitted I'd have to wager a Yamaha?

Oh this is a fun game, only in cyberspace...

**SPman** · 26th May 2003, 00:21

A KTM 950?

**twistymover** · 26th May 2003, 00:38

You said you were going to spend $16000 and it was of breathtaking beauty. Is it second hand or a restored bike from another era? An old Moto Guzzi, or MV Augusta? Sounds like, if it were new, it might be between 600 and 900 cc.

**SPman** · 26th May 2003, 07:45

And it couldnt be a Triumph!???

**MikeL** · 26th May 2003, 08:23

Originally posted by SPman
And it couldnt be a Triumph!???

You see why I was a bit reluctant to reveal it? You're all going to mock me now...
BUT

When you get to my age you'll understand the whole nostalgia thing...
Yes, a gorgeous Triumph Thunderbird.
Sixties good looks with modern engineering and performance... elegance, refinement... and no oil leaks.
My kind of bike, I'm afraid. I am a Ulyssian, after all.
All I would need to do is work out how to strap my Zimmer frame to the back...

**Blackbird** · 26th May 2003, 13:48

As long as it has two wheels (excepting a H-D

), long live individuality!

Hope you really enjoy it - life's far too short not to be having a wee bit of fun. Fortunately, the last of our kids recently left home, my wife had a rush of blood to the head and bought an MX5 in celebration, which in turn opened the door to the Blackbird.

There's always a quid pro quo.... I shudder to think what yours will be!