How am I gonna get rid of all this stuff?

[bmwscoot]

Sh*t,

How am I gonna get rid of all this stuff?

 

I think it’s happened.

Last season we sold off the ‘05R12RT as it seemed we were not riding much (it sure sold FAST!). There were numerous reasons that I won’t get into right now that limited how and when we rode. I disliked how the ESA failed me at only 1700 miles, and I disliked the replacement cost of the ESA shocks…I saw it as a >$3000 “balloon payment” hanging over my head in the future.

 

In retrospect, this was probably masking how I felt about riding in general.

 

When we did sell the scoot, it felt like a weight had been lifted from me for one reason or another. Well, we had 3 or 4 beautiful weekends sans bike, and I started thinking that a non-ESA R12RT that my dealer had at a nice price might get us back into biking. It wasn’t much (relatively speaking) over and above what we received for the ’05 so we bought the ’07. Both Barb and I redoubled our efforts to make time to ride again.

 

Well, last fall went OK, but it still felt like we were pushing ourselves to get out on the bike, rather than needing to ride it again and again.

 

I had time now to get THIS bike farkled up, and sent out the seat over the winter to get that out of the way. The bike fits great, runs great, and is comfy for the both of us.

 

This season brought just a horribly long winter…followed by a truly horrible, wet spring.

We spent our time planning rides to a couple of rallies….instead of riding.

It seemed like our enjoyable weather envelope had narrowed….

You know, it’s too cold (we have Gerbings, etc.)…or, it’s too hot (we have vented gear)…or, how are we going to get all this crap on the bike…we better take the cage.

 

We never used to question this stuff, we would just hop on and ride.

 

Well, we went to a rally, but I noticed we were planning our day around the Weather Channel radar…instead of just riding through whatever weather we would encounter (as we USED to do).

We have run all the local roads ad nauseum….must have been on all of them a million times it seems.

Long trips used to be something we looked forward to all winter, and now they seem like a logistic PITA.

I think this year, I have only put 1500 miles or so on the bike.

 

For some reason, I keep looking @ Mini Coopers when they go by.

 

So I think that’s about it. We have a mini-vacation scheduled the end of next week (sans bike) which will give us time to think on this one more time. But, in my heart I know where this is headed. I think the decision last fall to get back riding again was the wrong one, and this will come under the heading of “Lesson Learned:…it’s only money, I guess.

 

It’s looking likely that the Classifieds here, and Craigslist, and eBay will be getting a workout……….unless………

 

Well, we’ll see after next week.

 

[mbelectric]

OK, just leave me enough time so the summer doesn't run out, and I'll come get it...

 

MB>

[bmwscoot]

 

You better hurry up, I'm tuning up the snow blower.

 

btw:

Seriously...(for others, I know mbelectric's pulling my chain here)...this isn't going to be a want ad post...just wanted to write down where I'm at.

Another week and a half...THEN I'll post in classifieds if need be.

 

[Haynes]

It appears that you've already put enough thought into this. Perhaps you might meet a great compromise and end up with a 4 wheeled vehicle that still puts wind in your hair.

There is likely to be a time for all of us when it's time to stop riding. That time could be temporary or permanent; depending on what we replace our riding with.

Enjoy.

[KingBiscuit]

Jeff, I completely understand your situation and will share my unrelated experience to you.

 

I gave up motorcycles way back in the early 80s. The wife was not interested, work, kid, etc. I had been sailing for a few years and the wife and kid like that so the family really got in to it. We continued to spend as much time as possible on the boat and moved up in size of boat. In 1997, we owned a 32 foot sailboat, the company I worked for closed it's doors. Being empty nesters, we took a year off and lived on the boat. I felt that was the best year of my life. I vowed that when I turned 50, we would sell the house and all our stuff and set sail into the sunset. We move up to a 37 footer and just like clockwork, in 2006, our house sold, we moved on the boat and took off.

 

Ah the best laid plans...in the years since our first trip, the cruising scene changed, the coast was much more populated and expensive and most of all, I had changed. Like you, my enthusiasm had dwindled. I no longer wanted to be out in the weather all day. Hiking 2 miles to find a grocery store or post office no longer turned my crank. The constant maintenance on the boat, weather, the list goes on all conspired to one end. The fun of boating no longer outweighed the hassels of boating.

 

Luckily for me, in 2007, I was offered a great job and out of the blue a guy wanted to buy my boat. The wife and I sold the boat, moved back to Ohio, got jobs and most importantly bought an 04 R1150RT. The wife has since gotten her license and is starting to enjoy riding. I'm hoping that we'll do some touring together in the next couple of years.

 

I think it happens like that. After years of doing something, you hit that wall and it's over. I have been off the boat for over a year and have not once missed it.

 

Do what is right for you. You don't need to explain (though it seems I feel the need to), just do what you feel is right.

 

As I told my wife, "If we want to get back into boating, there will always be a boat for sale somewhere". There will always be a motorcycle, even a BMW for sale somewhere.

 

I hope you have fun and enjoy whatever you decide to do.

 

Dan

 

 

[Whip]

I completely understand your situation

 

...not me.

 

I don't know how our life would be different without motorcycles, but I know we wouldn't be near as happy without em. Our marriage and our lives have been enriched by the experiences we have shared on a "proper motor bike". Maybe you need to aim a little higher and plan further ahead....Alaska....Europe/Francois....New Zealand.....who knows!!!!!! There is an entire world of amazing opportunities out there waitin on you. Maybe now isn't the time, but don't give up on the dream. Things change.......

 

Whip

 

 

 

[Green RT]

I completely understand your situation

 

...not me.

[...]

Whip

 

 

 

There is a difference between understanding a situation and wanting it for yourself.

 

I completely understand how he feels. I went through the same thing with sail boats. But I am not ready to give up bikes yet.

[Green RT]

Dan,

 

I had a similar but different experience from yours with sailboats. Like you I became infatuated with sail boats. Bought a 25' Merit. Spent every weekend racing, first on other people's boats to learn something, and then on the Merit. After about 15 years, it lost its magic. Finally, I sold the boat 20 years after I bought it. I rarely look back although I still like being on the water.

[AlaskaMike]

Wow...you know I've done this with several things. I used to look forward to leaving the house at 4am to go fishing.....now (at 57) I would rather catch less fish and go later in the am. I will probably see the day that the rain, the light packing, the hordes of daydreaming motorcycle squashers, will all start to grind on me.

 

I agree with King Bisquit, do what feels right to you, 'to everything there is a season..."

[Marty Hill]

Jeff,

 

The Mini is a great car. If your finding ways to not use the bike...that party is over. Having been to alaska/europe and new zealand both ways, they are all wonderful...even by auto.

 

Enjoy life with Barb, that's what counts.

[MrHondamatic]

I/we took a break from motorcycling a few years back. At the time I had no intentions of riding again. Too many other things in life to do and enjoy. Now that I am back on two wheels, the wife and I are chomping at the bit to purchase another larger bike and hit the road together. After our test ride the other day, the wife is even more excited than I am, if that's possible. Like Mr. and Mrs. Whip, we fully enjoyed our bike time together, and will again. It was a large part of our life, and will be again.

 

But everyone's situation is different, and you have to do what feels right for you. Sell the bike, sell the gear, but keep your endorsement current just in case.

 

Hmm, I kept my endorsement...... Maybe I did intend on riding again, and didn't realize it.

[hopz]

We lived in Florida for 25 years. Loved boating. One boat gave way for the next... each one larger and more comfortable.

 

We lived on a large canal off the Intercoastal Waterway (East side of Florida). We lived for the weekends and occasions when we could go out fishing or on cruises. The last one was a 32' Tiara, twin engines, tuna tower, sport fishing machine.

 

Then the move to Texas was coming. The boat was going. I was depressed, but let her go. In short order I was feeling relieved... no more bottom paint jobs, no more expense of filling 300 gallon tanks. No more eating expensive fish... why spend $500 to catch 20 pounds of fillets? No more dangers of running the inlets in bad tides, no more maintenance and fixing... rust never sleeps. Freedom.

 

I know what you feel/think Jeff.

One of the things that pulls us along (well... pulls me along) is the "next". For some reason I am always looking to the next. Next bike, next trip, next experience. Maybe you are there too.

 

As I grow older though I notice I am changing... I am learning to enjoy and value what is happening now.

 

I am reading a book just now where the wise old man asks our hero to recall the greates moment in his life, and he does. He tells the old man. The old man relies that he is wrong... the greatest moment is NOW. Enjoy NOW...

 

Whether it is boats, or bikes, or books enjoy the now.

 

Enjoy your decision, and if you have to change it, fine, go with the now.

 

 

[John, Northeast Florida]

This thread once again reaffirms the mantra of the X-files: "We are Not Alone." I almost felt like I knew every response, first hand. Having gone through a lifetime of boats, serious offshore fishing, expensive motorcoaches, and now motorcycles, I'm finding that at near 68 years old a good cigar, book, and kicking some employees in the ass, (humor intended), helping wife of almost 44 years, taking grandchildren fishing on a pissant 24 foot Basstrack pontoon boat docked in my back yard, are becoming the important things in my life. Don't get me wrong, I have a garage full of cycles and an HP2Sport on order. I just returned from a 6000 mile trip on my RT and now am looking forward to some day and maybe weekend trips. Cycling has diminished in importance but will never go away. What scares me even more is losing interest in cycling!

[Quinn]

There is a definate difference in new hobbies/ interests, mature ones, and waning ones. I recently gave away my 16 ft. sailboat after it had sat in my driveway for maybe eight years. It just quit being fun and I had moved on to other things. But I do remember devouring information from books and magazines, going out every weekend and doing MOB drills, and shopping for all the latest gadgets that would solve all my problems. I can remember the first time I got home without having had to open up my tacklebox of repair hardware to fix something. Boy, was I proud.

 

Motorcycling was a hobby/interest I'd given up also, but the time seemed right to re-new it. It's different this time; I'm more mature, more skittish, and more thoughtful. The bike is a lot different and I'm no longer wearing army surplus and an open face helmet. The diffences are enough to make everything seem new again and fun again.

 

Who knows, maybe I'll try sailing again one day. Probably on a Sunfish that I can handle easily by myself. Maybe you'll take up motorcycling again. Probably on a Burgman or a Vespa; even a dirt bike.

 

Keep looking at the Mini. Get a fun convertible. Enjoy life. Motorcycles will be waiting for you if you decide to come back.

 

 

[markgoodrich]

Like you, motorcycling is a hobby for me. It's not a passion, like it is for Whip, for instance. I like to ride (leaving next week for 2-3 weeks in NM/CO, with my wife), but I, too, hit the wall regularly, the "too hot," "too cold" syndrome is familiar. 600 miles across west Texas in August no longer sounds like an adventure, it sounds like torture...like an obligation, if you will.

 

The adventures we have on a motorcycle trip, compared to a car trip, the fact that we actually go out on those so-familiar roads on the bike, never even considering such a day in the car, the minimalism of motorcycle travel, all still appeal, but at the same time can be daunting. When daunt exceeds appeal, like you I'll probably decide to move on to something else...and look back with happy memories of the bike experiences.

 

I know that sense of relief, too. I had a track bike, a wicked-fast one, for awhile. I crashed it, not doing much damage to me or to the bike, and got "back on the horse" a month or so later. I kept asking myself "what the hell am I doing going 140mph down this straightaway?" and the next day loaded the bike and all the accoutrements on a trailer and took them to a shop in Houston to sell on consignment. The relief I felt as I pulled out of the parking lot with an empty trailer was visceral. Of course, today, three years or so on, I regularly check Craigslist for "track" under "motorcycles for sale."

 

I guess what I'm trying to get at is, you're not the only one....

 

 

[Stir]

Wow...you know I've done this with several things. I used to look forward to leaving the house at 4am to go fishing.....now (at 57) I would rather catch less fish and go later in the am. I will probably see the day that the rain, the light packing, the hordes of daydreaming motorcycle squashers, will all start to grind on me.

 

I agree with King Bisquit, do what feels right to you, 'to everything there is a season..."

 

Hello! Want to post a new thread introducing yourself?

[Jerry in Monument]

Look into the monitor, you are getting sleepy, very sleepy......

 

You will donate the R1200RT to me.

 

When you awake, you will only have happy thougts and feel good about your donation.

 

You are getting sleepy, very sleepy......

[tallman]

Is the Mini big enough for Mini Snowta weather?

 

Perhaps this will help?

Or not.

 

Good luck clearing your mind of conflict and reaching a happy outcome.

 

 

[bmwscoot]

SOOOO...

 

It's looking like that's it for bikes...just for a while or for good...who knows?

 

I just know that after our mini-vacation, we decided to get out of biking for a while, at least.

 

We are getting toward the end of bike-buying season up here, but I'm posting on craigslist locally, and will put up an ad here.

 

I think I'll hang around a bit to follow all you guys and gals adventures...maybe we'll come visit an UN in a Mini CooperS, or a convertible...who knows!?