Awww no, motorbike sold!

[Brandane]

I have ridden motorbikes for the last 30 years, with the exception of an 8 year lay-off after I passed my car test and got sensible for a while.

That all came to an end today when I sold my lovely Yamaha Fazer 600 .

A few reasons for my decision; not least of which being that I have put myself forward for voluntary redundancy at work (bit of a Hobsons choice situation). Also the petrol price has meant that going out for a pleasure ride had become a thing of the past, I wasn't getting on with having to wear glasses under a crash helmet, the weather's always rubbish when you want to go out, roads are in a shocking state, wondering when my luck is about to run out, etc. etc...

I have really enjoyed the experience over the years and got as far as the south of France. Record mileage for a day was 700, from Cambrai in northern France to home in Ayrshire!

 

[vernon]

I've just SORNED my CB500.

I've done 130 miles on it since the last MOT and I've been too busy to get it tested.

I've had it six years and averaged 300 miles per year a big drop for the 17,000 miles per year that I used to do on my FJ1200.

I can't bear the thought of being without a motor bike.

 

[brockers]

The only times I've been without a bike in the last twenty or so years are when it's been nicked, and I've used the insurance money to pay debts. I sort of get used to cycling everywhere, or not being able to do a run to Sainsbury's when I've run out of Stilton at 11pm, but after six months or so I'm gagging for another motorbike, and seem to get money from somewhere to buy one!

Agree with you about pleasure rides going out the window, Brandane. My CBR took £20 to fill up last week , so gone are the days when I go for a spin down to the seaside if I'm bored. If I didn't need my motorbike to get to 'work' (I often have to get to the middle of nowhere by 6am), I'd probably get rid of the thing too.

My record mileage in a day was a relatively unspectacular 500 miles from the Picos in Northern Spain to just north of the Loire. Painfully perched on the plank of wood that is the saddle of an XT600, with a blown exhaust, blatting through French villages sounding like a machine-gun!

 

[deggers]

my sympathies brandane, I understand how they get into your blood. Im clinging onto mine but its getting to the point where its prob going to have to go. I was without one for three years and I missed it sooooo much (that was a fazer 600). dreading being without it. Still you have 30 years of great experiences. Really hope you get to have another one again sometime soon. chin up

 

[aoj]

I have ridden motorbikes for the last 30 years, with the exception of an 8 year lay-off after I passed my car test and got sensible for a while.

That all came to an end today when I sold my lovely Yamaha Fazer 600 .

A few reasons for my decision; not least of which being that I have put myself forward for voluntary redundancy at work (bit of a Hobsons choice situation). Also the petrol price has meant that going out for a pleasure ride had become a thing of the past, I wasn't getting on with having to wear glasses under a crash helmet, the weather's always rubbish when you want to go out, roads are in a shocking state, wondering when my luck is about to run out, etc. etc...

I have really enjoyed the experience over the years and got as far as the south of France. Record mileage for a day was 700, from Cambrai in northern France to home in Ayrshire!

I've also ridden motorbikes for the last 30 years. Since I starting cycling 2 years ago I've hardly used them, I've only got 2 motorbikes now, it used to be 5!

( n+1 ) ?

I find I enjoy the cycling more now. I did go out motorcycling for 50 miles when the sun shone a few weeks ago but something is missing, also wearing all the gear on the motorcycle is stifling after cycling . However I can't bite the bullet to get rid of them even though they cost and don't get used.

 

[Globalti]

I motorcycled for 12 years covering around 12,000 miles a year. My last big bike was my Honda CX650, I rode it late one night from the Lakes to Wensleydale in thick snow leaving a solitary wheelmark for miles as I penetrated deeper and deeper into the Dales, heart in mouth, wondering when I would fall off. I rode it from Newcastle to London one New Year arriving in London in a state of hypothermia, my riding suit encrusted with ice, which tinkled as it fell off onto the kitchen floor. I rode my old Honda 175 from John 'O Groats to Newcastle in pouring rain, got home and fell off it on my parents' driveway.

Got some points on my licence (97.1 mph on the M11, I was doing 110 when I spotted the coppers), moved to France so I sold it with huge regret. Nearly bought a pristine CX500 off Ebay last year, it had a small engine top end problem and the bloke just wanted rid of it; it went for about £150. But where would I have stored it?

Former motorcyclists, have a look at this website and dream: http://www.deus.com.au/#/bikes/

 

[XmisterIS]

I love anything on two wheels - I have an SV650 which is cheap and fun to ride. Just bought a Beowulf exhaust for it

. That being said, when it gets lovely and warm and sunny, I would much rather be cycling along in a t-shirt, shorts and shades, taking in the view, rather than bombing along in full body armour, sweating like hell!

 

[BSRU]

It was a sad day when some stranger took my bike away and gave a bundle of paper with pictures of the queen on them, didn't seem like a fair swap.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

I sold my last one (GSX750W) five years ago, a very sad day but I needed the cash at the time. A mate has just bought a Moto Guzzi V50 as a project bike but decided it's not what he wants and is talking of selling it. I am REALLY tempted to make him an offer as I love Guzzis and always wanted one. Spending the summer doing it up would be heaven.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

A mate has just bought a Moto Guzzi V50 as a project bike but decided it's not what he wants and is talking of selling it. I am REALLY tempted to make him an offer as I love Guzzis and always wanted one. Spending the summer doing it up would be heaven.

My dad used to have a Moto Guzzi, someone once described it as half a Fiat!

 

[eldudino]

I've put my VFR400 into storage at my dad's business, I wasn't riding it at all since I started cycling. Also the roads are so terrible that I found myself not wanting to go anywhere interesting for fear of wrecking the suspension!

I also agree with the point made above that pleasure rides are becoming a thing of the past, you stick £20 in to cane it out the back of the bike, it doesn't really fit with my new found love of riding everywhere for the cost of a banana, some porridge and a Tracker bar (yes, I spend lots on bikes/gear, but that's not the point)!

If I were to get another bike I think it'd be a Supermoto for use on shoddy roads, most can do a ton and get you where you want to go with a big smile on your face.

 

[tyred]

What sort of fuel economy can you expect from a motorcycle? Just wondering as I've never owned one.

I do know of someone who has a diesel Royal Enfield and claims 180mpg. Not very fast though. It's the engine from a cement mixer I believe.

 

[Norm]

Depends on the bike and the rider, unsurprisingly.

My "toy" bike gets ridden for fun, it has a big torquey engine which doesn't need to be revved to make progress and it gets a fairly consistent 45-50mph


On the other bike, which I use to do laps of Ireland , to commute and to get somewhere else in a hurry, I get mid-50s when i touring mode but I've had that down to high-20s when abusing the throttle.


Commuter bikes can expect around 60mpg, I used to get that sort of figure riding through London on a Kawasaki GPZ500. Something clever, like a modern BMW 650GS, can return into the 70s and apparently gets 88mpg at a constant 56mph.

But the "sports" bikes will use as much fuel as most cars, usually getting through a gallon in 35-40 miles.

 

[tyred]

It's just that I had been toying with the idea of getting a smallish motorbike like a 125 to commute on as a cheaper alternative to the car but my uncle who was a keen biker before he got married (!) was insistant that a small car is just as economical, warm, dry and safer. It surprised me, to put it mildly.

 

[pshore]

It's just that I had been toying with the idea of getting a smallish motorbike like a 125 to commute on as a cheaper alternative to the car but my uncle who was a keen biker before he got married (!) was insistant that a small car is just as economical, warm, dry and safer. It surprised me, to put it mildly.

Yeah, but, you have to queue in a car. I only go in the family car once every other weekend and then when you get to the back of a queue at traffic lights I say to my wife, "ooh I remember queuing. People do this all the time don't they !?!".

And the going round corners thing. It's so mundane in a car but more like ballet on a motorcycle. I guess if you live near hills you can do the corner thing on a push bike going downhill.

I love my FZ6. I am tempted by a motocross bike for a bit of green lane exploration but will probably stick to MTB'ing until my legs hurt too much.