To Sell or Not to Sell...

-Hey guys

Started thinking more and more about selling her... I've got the family to think about, wife, kids, etc... Sad thing is I still have same stupid grin now as when I first got her! I know I'm not the first to have these thoughts, and unfortunately I don't even have the time to ride it to work anymore. Beautiful weather now, and I have been on 1 ride this season. Really unfortunate that I'm even considering this.

Any realistic opinions? Should I keep her in the garage until the kids grow up, or let someone else have the fun of riding her?

Thanks in advance for the input!
-Denver

Shameless gratuitous road trip pics:

 

Sell the kids and wife instead. Riding motorcycles is the only thing that keeps me sane with 2 kids and a wife.

Rollin

 

I say keep it and buy a battery tender.

 

Start riding it to work everyday like I do...

 

Keep it - if you don't owe anything on it, just keep it.

 

Between work, the home, wife and 3 kids, the ONLY time I have to ride is too and from work. If you have to commute to your job, then there is no reason you can't work it in instead of taking the car. It's something you have to do anyway. You kill 2 birds with one stone. It helps me keep my sanity. A little ride time is better than no ride time. If your issue is money, then that's a different story............

 

I'd sell it if I wasn't riding it. Unless your filthy rich, it's a money pit (insurance, depreciation, etc.). You can always pick up another one years down the road when your circumstances changes. I may be a bit bias as I'm looking for a 5th gen though. :biggrin:

Some guy has a 5th gen a few houses down from me. I saw it one day when I was strolling through the neighborhood. I've never seen him take that bike out. I was going suggest that he sell that bike and let someone put it to good use, but I never see the owner. Always see the bike inside the garage cos the garage door is always open.

 

My first thought would be to keep it, but there are obviously lots of variables that only you can weigh and determine. Sure there will be some maintenance even if you don't get to ride it, but how sweet would it be to pull out your 2000 VFR in another 10 or 15 years and have it almost mint (judging by those pics, it looks pretty clean).

Now if I was the one looking for a 2000VFR, I'd say your a selfish bastard keeping it to yourself. But really - what are you going to get for it? A few grand? That's not going to replace the smiles and memories you've already shared with her. Then again, if it means putting food in your kids mouth, its a no brainer.

Hope you keep it, but good luck in whatever fate has in store for you.

 

depends on your finances
and what else you have going on, for me, the bike is really my only vice

I have the wife and two kids and provide for and take care of them pretty well. The bike is the only thing that is about me. The fancy TV with the big $$ Polk speakers was supposed to be me, but half, maybe 3/4's of the time it is on Sesame Street or Wild Kratts. Apparently neither of those shows show up very well on the pretty nice flat screen in the playroom! ;-) Apparently you really need 7.1 surround sound with a subwoofer to really enjoy Elmo! and really get the meaning of just how grouchy Oscar is! ;-) And the snacks taste so much better when you recline on the leather couch then the microfiber one. ;-)

I do a whole lot less miles now though. I used to average 20-24,000 miles a year of fun miles. Now some years I don't do 5k, and some, OK, nearly all, of that is commute miles (part of that is a change in job from one with no dress code to one where I have to wear a suit every day). But it still makes me happy when I do get away a little. Even if it is only a couple times a summer. And it won't be too long before the kids will be off doing their own thing and not want me around. But for now, when it comes to taking the kids to the zoo or amusement park, versus going for a quick ride out to the coast or up to the mountains on the bike; the kids win nearly every time. And it has been years since I have taken an over night trip, and the last time I did, I left early because I missed my son (it was before my daughter was born).

If it doesn't have a big impact pn your finances, and if you still enjoy it, and you can still get away even ocassionally, I would say keep it.

 

Thanks for the input! It isn't a money issue, bike is paid for and insurance is cheap. Maintenance is a good excuse to have some alone time in the garage!

The big issue is not being able to ride it to work. I have to take the kids to school/daycare, which is out past where I work. Logistically it just doesn't work to ride it to work anymore, unless I can fit a sidecar...

The other big issue is my mortality, with Havcar going up to the big Honda dealer in the sky it's gotten me thinking about life a little more. I kinda wish for my indestructible days back!

 

OK. I see your reasoning now why you can't (doesn't make sense) to take it to work. BUT, the kids aren't in day care forever. Depending on their age, it's 5 years max. Also, I've got 3 of my 1986 bikes that do a lot of sitting in my basement. I pull them out every once in a great while, but I love doing the maintenance and they are there when I want them.

As far as what happened to Havcar, that does suck and it does make you think. However, you can't live in a bubble as you already know, you can die doing just about anything. As far as the bike goes, all you can do is ride as defensively as you can. I am a much safer rider then I am a driver. It sounds weird, but it is true.

As Pliskin stated, what are you going to get for your bike? It looks to be in far too good of shape to let it go for what it's worth. If money is NOT your issue, as it appears to not be, then I would personally put it up in moth balls and keep it.

 

don't mean it to come off smart ass, or dismissive, but think about it this way

if you had a friend die in a car crash, would you give up riding/driving cars?

Obviously the danger is heightened on a bike and all, I know that
I actually did give up riding when my son was born for oh about 4 or 8 months
I really missed it, it is my only vice
I don't do drugs, don't really drink much, not big on watching sports for hours on TV, don't go to strip clubs with the guys every week, I like motorcycles, that is my thing, that is what I enjoy, so I do it.

But yes, the picking up the kids from daycare/kindergarten is also a hinderance to riding the bike even when I am not going in to the office. One of my son's classmate's father picks her up from school, and didn't ahve a helmet for her for most of the school year... Unbeleivable! Little thing could barely hold on to him

 

Go grab a lawn chair and a six pack and set up in his driveway, somebody will come out and you can offer him a beer and chat.......

 

On the loss of Havcar, it is tragic and he will be greatly missed here. I cannot imagine what his family feels or how much they do and will miss him. I have to echo what others have said though, I can't stop riding because something horrible happened to someone else. Friends and family know that riding is not just a hobby but has become a part of me and my life and I would not be the same without it. I wish you the best of luck with your decision as it is a difficult one to make, especially since you clearly still enjoy this bike and riding. My obvious vote is to keep her and just make sure to keep her maintained and in good shape while she's sitting.

 

I think every bike owner goes through this at some point. My 1st dilemma was when we were saving to buy our 1st house & money was tight. 2nd time was a year or so ago when I wrecked my back (again) & couldn't lift my leg high enough to straddle the bike, unless I was p*ssed or full of pain killers.
When money is the issue, its easy to see getting rid of your bike as an easy option, you have a car for transport + your saving money on rego & insurance, Very practical thing to do. But bikes are not practical (unless your a die hard commuter). Sure we tell our better halves that their good for parking & may not use as much petrol, but that's just BS. Their therapy, their the reason you can't wait for the week end or holidays, their something to stand around & look at & admire why your sneaking a quite beer, their a brotherhood & a good memories all rolled into one. I say (& pardon the pun), ride it out, unless your wife & kids start fighting over week old bread or your living on the street, You will regret it.

 

The kids will be grown up before you can blink. Believe me, my eldest turns 17 next month and it feels like she was born last week!

 

I love the yellow, but I don't see many up in Maine!

 

It is impossible to give you an advise. So I think.
Riding a motorcycle is an emotion....a feeling...a hobby....a way of life.....No one else can answer your question than yourself.....
But if you ask me........keep that yellow machine. You're not ready to say farewell to her. She is too pretty