Live it up or be Sensible?

[Reppyboyo]

Mostly to do with money.

I currently ride a Triumph Speed Four, as some may know and Im simply not happy with it.
As much as its a good bike in its own right, it doesn't suit my riding style and as such is no fun at all, I haven't pleasure ridden in months and only view the bike now as a method of transport, pretty much against what biking is about really.
What I`ve allways lusted for is a Speed Triple.
Anyway, after asking some friends in life (few random bikers also) I`ve come to two options:

Live it up:
Sell the current bike, get a loan for what money I need and get the Triple or as an old biker friend from work would say "Just get a loan and get the bike. Do it while your young and free, not tied down with a house and kids, you only live once as they say".

Sensible:
Stick with the S4 for yet another 6-12 months & save.
Get the bike next year when its cheaper & I could get a smaller loan due to savings.

Im a little stuck.
I dont have a high paying job (around 12k a year if Im lucky) and I really want to find a new job or training.
I have no problems with paying off a loan, its more an annoyance every month than anything.
Still, nothing will be happening till im debt free, which will be end of this month or first week of Febuary.

So yea, apart from the mini-rant there, opinions on what I should do?
Im really torn in half over this.

[Shaane]

How do you feel about your currant bike? If you're bored of it then maybe you should consider a loan.. As long as you can afford the repayments you will be fine i suppose.

Also would it be much cheaper in the next 12 Months? or would you have waited that long for such a little drop.

Just do what you think is best mate, if your bored of your currant bike then its up to you to change that, If not then enjoy what you have

Good Luck Mate

Shaane

[Ben.]

buy it. Life is for living not waiting to live.
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follow my racing season
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Road bike - sv650

[chris-red]

[Kickstart]

Hi

Sensible option would be to sell the S4 and buy a cheap S3.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[colin1]

well i have a tt600 which is basically a s4, and i love it, so i reckon u just have toby syndrome, where u dont ride ur bike so u get bored of it, so u then think u need to get a new bike, when all u need to do is make urself go ride it.

Arranging to meet up with mates is good as it makes u more likely to actually get off the sofa and go for a fun run.
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[hmmmnz]

sell it, get the speed 3 fuck it mate, no point riding some thing you dont like, and as your friend has said, your young and don't have any responsibilities. do it
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the humans are dead
I kick arse for the lord
Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[MarJay]

I just think its a boredom thing. The S4 is a very good bike. Its not like you've got a knackered GS500E with leaky fork seals and 30k on the clock...

I sort of have the same thing at the moment, only my VFR400 isn't as new or shiney as a speed four. However I'm saving for a new bike, and I do already have some savings. It won't be long before I'll be able to get myself something much newer and much shinier. However, I am honest with myself in that I don't *need* a new bike, but I want one. If I can afford it then there is no issue, but If I was getting myself into debt I think that it would be wrong to lie to myself and convince myself that I *need* a new bike.

After all, bikes ultimately are toys. The ideal solution would be to learn to love the bike you have...
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Itchy]

Change the gearing ratio on your bike with new C&S ? , cost you £100 tops and make the bike feel different I'm sureish you can give a pretty good emulation of a triple if you get the gearing right,
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[McGee]

Look man you don't like it so why keep something your not happy with. Get rid of it before you get fed up of two wheels and want a car instead.

A nice warm comfy car
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◙◙► K6 GSXR 600 ◄◙◙◙◙► K5 GSXR 1000 ◄◙◙◙◙► K5 GSXR 600 ◄◙◙◙◙► 96 RF600r ◄◙◙
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Its pronounced Jixxer!

[G]

[craigs23]

If you can afford it, do it.

If we were all too sensible then we wouldn't need more than a CB500.

[Itchy]

[MarJay]

[craigs23]

Why shouldn't it be?

A chat with other owners, a couple of hours' test ride almost had me convinced.

There's more to biking than what's on paper.

[McGee]

[Reppyboyo]

[G]

I have recently been riding a FX400R and CCM404 through traffic, both of which have less (peak) torque and less midrange than your speed four and neither have been a problem for me. Of course, they are geared lower.

The speed triple, even the newer one, is a heavier and bigger feeling bike which you may not find great for traffic. It's fairly tall geared too, though does have a reasonable mid-range stomp.

I'm never too convinced by people saying "get it, if you want it" - that sort of thing seems to lead to a lot of people being effectively disapointed by things they couldn't afford in the first place.

I expect you could get the fueling glitch sorted for not too much, say £40.
New sprockets (leave the chain if it's ok) £30.
Bar riser kit + bars £55.

So that's around £125 that might make your current bike suited to your needs and 'last' a lot longer.
You should be able to get some of that money back too if you keep the stock items and sell the new ones if you don't like it. It's a risk, but then it's a much smaller amount of money to risk than a new bike.


Yes, the new speed triple does look quite pretty, but is it several thousand pounds that you don't have pretty? If that's worth it to you, then you should probably do it.
No way it'd be worth it to me - infact I don't really like the looks of the car I just spent quite a lot of money on, but it ticked all the other boxes.

On the sort of salary you're talking about (I presume you still live at home) I'd be not wanting to spend too much on a really expensive bike - what happens if you crash it or it gets stolen?
Yes, you have insurance, but you'll still end up losing a load more money compared to a cheaper bike.

A final note, if you do decide to get a new speed triple, talk to Bendy who may have a little used one for sale that is very nice .

[Reppyboyo]

Sadly its more than £125 for an overhaul.

Fuel glitch can only be sorted by a Power Commander + Dyno tune.
Thats around £250 + whatever it costs for a tune.

Already got a bar conversion kit fitted, £120 + new bars (£40).

Only thing I haven't tried is changing the sprockets. May try it next as a last resort before I make any big money decisions.

[G]

I thought most of the fuel injection 'tuning' on trumpets could be done by a 'tune boy' or whatever it's called, so you'd just need a dyno place that has one?

If you've already got a bar conversion, you should be able to get some taller bars for not too much?

[Kickstart]

[craigs23]

[craigs23]

Incidently, I didn't get along with my Hornet 600, for no logical reason other than I didn't get along with it (well, the OE suspension and headlight were a bit so-so). So I went out test riding. One of the bikes I test rode was a 1050 Triple, I created a review if you'd like to see my opinions on the Triumph:

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=132456

[alun111]

I'd personally save until summer, and then decide what I wanted to do.
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Summer: '00 Honda CB600F Hornet
Winter: '93 Suzuki GSF 400 Bandit VP Variable Valve
Past Bikes: Lifan LF100-5 Lifan LF125-A Honda C70

[Reppyboyo]

If we get a summer this year.

As for Tuneboys, I wouldent know any local dyno places that use Tuneboys.
They all rant and rave about Power Commanders, let alone the numerous banners.