The last few weeks I have noticed alot of people here selling their bikes. It has me thinking. Why? My first thought was the economy. We all know it was bad and times are tough. So people are letting go of an expensive hobby. But as I looked closer, I noticed that several of those selling are looking at other bikes. That is everyones' prerogative, I won't bash. What I want to know now, for those of you who have owned several bikes, is this normal for bikers? I am the kind of guy that likes a certain kind of vehicle-Honda. I have owned 3 Honda cages. 2 of them the same model. I am on my second bike. My first was bought knowing that it was a throw-away. A beater that was tossed after it served it's purpose. I have always intended on owning a Honda and now that I have one, I will always own Hondas. Are bike owners that fickle? Do they often switch rides? Or are we a cross section of humanity that should not stereotyped in one post?
Ive always wanted to change my bikes on a fairly regular basis. if i look back over the nearly 30 years of riding ive done it averages out to about one change every 9 - 10 months. I guess it was like fashion, and i wanted to try the latest and greatest and experience the full vaiety of motorcycling life. i was searching for the 'perfect bike' and what ive found is that as you go through life the perfect bike changes as you get faster, better, more adveturous, older and of course , hopefully wealthier. For me changing bikes has been a privilege that has brought a wealth of experience and knowledge of all brands and differant types of bikes that is hard to quantify, other than when i ride a new bike these days i can pretty much tell alot about what sort of ride it is. my mottoe: Variety is the spice of life!
When I was young and could only afford one vehicle, I would sell my bike in fall and buy a car to get me through the winter, sell the car in spring and buy a bike. That seems like a long time ago, probably because it was a long time ago. Now I keep the bikes I like. The CB1100F has been around for about 18 years, the SV650 8 years, and the VFR about 9 months. I have mostly owned Hondas, and I always miss them when I sell them. But to answer your last question, I think we are all different.
I know of at least 3 biker buddies and they basically get a different bike every year because they it's fun to try out new bikes. However, for me, I'd have a hard time selling my VFR because I don't know of any other bikes out there that have it all in one package: comfort and performance. Maybe if my VFR gets so old that getting parts is impossible I'll get a Ducati Paul Smart SportClassic.
