Mid-life crisis, challenge, bucket-list or life-long dream?

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Re: Mid-life crisis, challenge, bucket-list or life-long dream?

Post by Dancematt »

nordwulf wrote: Thu Sep 13, 2018 7:53 pm Sorry, I deleted my V-Strom post. It sounded like the decision for the BMW was already made so figured my post didn't add much to the conversation, as well as sounding negative towards the BMW. It's like when a watch aficionado is considering an Omega and gets recommendations for an Oris instead. ;)

Well almost, if Omega outsourced their movements/ engine builds to a chinese company that it didnt own and only "supervised" its build quality and then these newly designed movements still theoretically failed in 1400 watches and had to be recalled before they even came to market then it would be the same as this.
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Re: Mid-life crisis, challenge, bucket-list or life-long dream?

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^^ :)

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Re: Mid-life crisis, challenge, bucket-list or life-long dream?

Post by downer »

Well, I achieved step 1 in my process - passing the theory test. Thankfully, plentiful preparation got me through without too much difficulty and I'm now ready for step 2 - the DAS course and CBT/Mod1/Mod2 tests - planned for later in October.

So far, I'm enjoying the ride (and still fairly set on a BMW). :D
Richard
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Re: Mid-life crisis, challenge, bucket-list or life-long dream?

Post by Thermexman »

Well done on step one. Step 2 is where the real fun starts. Enjoy!
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Re: Mid-life crisis, challenge, bucket-list or life-long dream?

Post by scooter »

Good news.

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Re: Mid-life crisis, challenge, bucket-list or life-long dream?

Post by Savagemouse »

Congratulations on getting the theory done, Now the fun begins.

Reading through this makes me want to get a bike again. Sold it when i left the UK, kept saying i would get another when i settled ..ended up moving again but there is nothing like it....

Maybe I should put the watch habbit on hold and get a bike again!

Did you settle on a BMW in the end?
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Re: Mid-life crisis, challenge, bucket-list or life-long dream?

Post by downer »

^^^ Thanks.

As for the BMW, I'm still strongly in favour of the F750 GS, but I have not committed yet. The bike seems to offer everything I'm looking for - safety, comfort, sensible performance (without being boring), a good warranty and a good dealer.

I've looked at a few alternatives - plenty of which are great, but so far, nothing has persuaded me away from the BMW.
Richard
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Re: Mid-life crisis, challenge, bucket-list or life-long dream?

Post by Clarky »

Richard, enjoy your new adventure on two wheels, I can’t think of any other way of getting about that gives you the sense of freedom motorcycling gives you (with the exception of mybe mountain biking) ether way you are going to have a blast.

Don’t get caught up on the traction control / engine electronic mapings too much and the same with slipper clutches... (for instance a slipper clutch enables you to bang down the gears and get off the clutch when entering a corner without the engine braking causing the rear wheel to lock up or over rev the engine) they are all great on a sports bike that you ring the neck out of it but on a trail / tourer bike that you are going to tour around on they won’t make hardly any difference if at all, it is just something else to go wrong, especially on a BMW (I am another biker not fond of BMW’s build quality) but like anything these days, car or bike related it can be a bit pot luck as to wether you get a good example or a friday afternoon example that ends up riddled with problems....

Good luck with your practical test & bike choice

Above all have fun.
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Re: Mid-life crisis, challenge, bucket-list or life-long dream?

Post by downer »

Thanks Andy. I appreciate your thoughts and insight. Concerning the electronics, I get the point that they are hardly needed on a touring bike and hopefully, they'll not be coming into play very often!

However, on the other hand, as a newbie I tend to think I need all the help I can get - and if an electronic gadget helps me to avoid locking a wheel or washing-out the front tyre, I guess I'd be better of with it than without it...

Having said all of that, I am beginning to wonder if I am suffering from "scope creep" in my bike search. Like everything else, it's always easy to convince yourself that you "need" slightly more than you actually need. I am sure we all relate to that from a watch point of view. :D

If I analyse what I need, I think almost any bike would do the job, and I should probably focus on something that is enjoyable to ride, rather than something is far more capable than what I need.

I think my current short-list is:

The BMW:

I like it a lot, but I think it may be overkill for what I need...

Image


Ducati Scrambler:

Not sure an air-cooled bike is really sensible and I'm definitely not a hipster...

Image

Triumph Street Scrambler:

Although I like the idea of buying British, it's probably naive to think there is much British content in these:

Image

I think the scrambler/dual purpose design is what I want - even though I have no plans to go offroad.

Anyway, the next step is the training - using a BMW.
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Re: Mid-life crisis, challenge, bucket-list or life-long dream?

Post by Clarky »

Hi Richard, all i ment was dont get too cought up in all the marketing hype of electronic this and electronic that... when learning to ride a bike just find something that you are comfortable on and that doesn’t scare the crap out of you while you are learning. Once you get more confidence i guarantee you will want a completely different bike with more power / different seating position etc etc... Having less technology trying to interfere with what your bike is doing will help you learn to ride the bike.

Modern tyres have so much grip that as a new rider you are unlikely to push them to thier limits, just avoid hard braking and accelerating on wet white lines and man hole covers.
I would even avoid purchasing a new bike. Find a good second hand bike to get some riding time on and take an advanced riding course where they will help you learn just how much grip you have on a bike. This is where you will gain confidence riding when you realise just how much grip you really have and that you can brake and lean the bike over much more than your brain thinks you can and you probably still are no where near the limmits of the tyres and I’m not talking about getting your knee down around corners.

It is a bit like getting in to watches... you tend to buy what you think you need / like and after a bit of experience you work out that it really isnt what you wanted after all and end up upgrading wich a bit more knowledge and understanding.

Choose your riding kit carefully. If you are not going to be riding sports bikes then i would look at the great textile clothing available and dont skimp on boots, gloves and Helmet. These three buy the very best you can afford. I am convinced i would have sustained much worse injuries when an old lady took me out on a roundabout if it wasn’t for the boots i was wearing ( she just pulled out on to the side of me crashing into my bike and foot/leg. The bike suffered a bent foot peg and gear shifter and my boots were scuffed and scrapped up but my foot and leg were ok...).

I must add that in 20 years riding bikes i have only had 2 crashes on the road, one wasn’t my fault (the old lady) and one was.... i ran out of tallant.

Andy
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Re: Mid-life crisis, challenge, bucket-list or life-long dream?

Post by downer »

Clarky wrote: Sun Oct 07, 2018 11:57 am Hi Richard, all i ment was dont get too cought up in all the marketing hype of electronic this and electronic that... when learning to ride a bike just find something that you are comfortable on and that doesn’t scare the crap out of you while you are learning. Once you get more confidence i guarantee you will want a completely different bike with more power / different seating position etc etc... Having less technology trying to interfere with what your bike is doing will help you learn to ride the bike.

Modern tyres have so much grip that as a new rider you are unlikely to push them to thier limits, just avoid hard braking and accelerating on wet white lines and man hole covers.
I would even avoid purchasing a new bike. Find a good second hand bike to get some riding time on and take an advanced riding course where they will help you learn just how much grip you have on a bike. This is where you will gain confidence riding when you realise just how much grip you really have and that you can brake and lean the bike over much more than your brain thinks you can and you probably still are no where near the limmits of the tyres and I’m not talking about getting your knee down around corners.

It is a bit like getting in to watches... you tend to buy what you think you need / like and after a bit of experience you work out that it really isnt what you wanted after all and end up upgrading wich a bit more knowledge and understanding.

Choose your riding kit carefully. If you are not going to be riding sports bikes then i would look at the great textile clothing available and dont skimp on boots, gloves and Helmet. These three buy the very best you can afford. I am convinced i would have sustained much worse injuries when an old lady took me out on a roundabout if it wasn’t for the boots i was wearing ( she just pulled out on to the side of me crashing into my bike and foot/leg. The bike suffered a bent foot peg and gear shifter and my boots were scuffed and scrapped up but my foot and leg were ok...).

I must add that in 20 years riding bikes i have only had 2 crashes on the road, one wasn’t my fault (the old lady) and one was.... i ran out of tallant.

Andy
Thanks again, Andy. I will definitely be buying the safest gear I can find. As for your guarantee that I will want a different bike in short space of time, I don't want to hear it. :lol: This bike will be a one-off purchase, designed to last me for as long as I am comfortable/able/healthy to ride it. The last thing I need is another expensive, escalating hobby!
Richard
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Re: Mid-life crisis, challenge, bucket-list or life-long dream?

Post by Clarky »

downer wrote: Sun Oct 07, 2018 1:56 pm Thanks again, Andy. I will definitely be buying the safest gear I can find. As for your guarantee that I will want a different bike in short space of time, I don't want to hear it. :lol: This bike will be a one-off purchase, designed to last me for as long as I am comfortable/able/healthy to ride it. The last thing I need is another expensive, escalating hobby!

You will be happy to know that I for one, have only ever had 4 motorcycles at any one time.... so no where near as bad as our watch obsession :)
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Re: Mid-life crisis, challenge, bucket-list or life-long dream?

Post by downer »

^^^ So, you have a collection and Dancematt changes his a couple of times a year... Reassuring. ;)
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Re: Mid-life crisis, challenge, bucket-list or life-long dream?

Post by Dancematt »

I like to try out new things :lol: some bikes didnt cut long time ownership, some where what i thought i wanted ie the NC, amazing mpg and storage but actually i just wanted to have fun and some didnt show their faults on a test ride like the old cb650f which took about ten minutes to warm up on a freezing cold day!....doing 30 mph through town on icey roads on a motorbike is fine but doing it with no throttle ie just the bike overrevving on warm up is not! Mainly two things mean i trade in, weight and brakes. Once you start to really push a bike both things get in the way for me, thats why ive mainly settled on the xsr700, it looks great, can be customised easily but has a very low weight, decent power and torque and brakes mpg is also not bad at about 60mpg,. The nc and cb500x were only hitting 65mpg when i started to thrash them anyways, also the mrs prefers the flat seat on the xsr as opposed to raised rear seats on most bikes. The reason why ive had two and a cb650f inbetween was that the first xsr was stolen and their second hand prices were too high to buy another so i went with the cheaper 650f to see how much of an improvement it was over the previous version before finding a bargain xsr

Test ride everything you can. Theres no substitute for riding a bike, they are all so very different and never buy brand new, just something with 1k miles or less. Good savings to be made for someone else to run it in for you at their own boredom
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Re: Mid-life crisis, challenge, bucket-list or life-long dream?

Post by downer »

I have to admit the XSR700 ticks most of my boxes - the only downside is a lack of local dealership, which is amazing given that I live close to a reasonably large city.

When I first started thinking about all this, I was thinking the CB500X or NC750X would suit me best, and I'm now coming back to have a second look at them, having given myself a slap and reminded myself what I'm really going to use this for. I'm not going to commute. I'm not going to tour Europe. I'm not going to have a pillion. I want to go out for a half-day or day on my own and see a few places, but mainly I want to enjoy the freedom and the journey. I'll probably also ride to Sainsbury's for a loaf of bread.

One question Pete (or anyone else)... Have you tried a DCT gearbox on a bike? I've been driving automatic/DCT cars for years and I've watched a few videos about the Honda DCT bikes, which (given what I've said above) seem pretty good. I realise it will make me "not a proper biker" but I couldn't give a damn about that. :D
Richard
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