I Don't Enjoy Biking Anymore.

[MyCarVsYourHe...]

I've only been biking for the last 5/6 years but I've really become miserable with it, no matter what I ride these days I just don't enjoy it, I've developed a fear from no where, I especially worry when my mrs is on the back, alot of bad drivers near my parts. I used to live on bikes, now I hardly ride. Has anyone ever experienced this? I think it may be time to take to four wheels

[Bendy]

So ditch it for a while and do something else, you're not obligated to enjoy it.

[DrDonnyBrago]

Maybe you just need to try something different, have you ever done trackdays or green laning for instance? Who knows, you might just enjoy a different style of bike, something like a supermoto or just something different to what you own already might reignite the buzz.

Failing that, give it a rest for a while, you might come back to it, you might not.

[N cee thirty]

maybe take up offroading ?
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'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

Jewlio Iglesias wrote: I actually did vote BNP once

[Rogerborg]

It's very common, there are far more people with licenses than actually ride.

Heck, I'm only just past 3 years, it's more than likely that I'll grow out of it as well and find some other mid-life crisis. I used to do foul weather riding just out of contrariness, now I'm past that and just take the car if it's pissing down or frosty - it's a pleasure activity for a lot of us, there's no sense in forcing yourself to keep doing it if you're not enjoying yourself.

Have you thought about getting a "tiddler" (as Mike calls 'em) just for local tooling around, see if that puts a grin back on your face?
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[pepperami]

As said by others "take time off from biking" you never know your desire for bikes may return at a later date.

Can I suggest some other hobbies :
Naked trampolining
Extreme ironing
Jelly juggling
Stamp collecting
Train spotting
Public vomiting
Pipe smoking
Indoor furniture climbing
Knitting with noodles

There you go something to think about
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I am the sum total of my own existence, what went before makes me who I am now!

[Eddie Hitler]

Kind of know how you feel. I ride each and everyday rain or shine due to it being my only transport. Its just normal for me, I never get excited. I get moments of pure happiness though, and the thought of travelling around europe on my bike gets me very excited.

You dont have to ride a motorbike, find another hobby. You may come back.

[Stonefly]

I was a motorcycle courier from 1990 to 1999 and it totally killed any pleasure in riding bikes for me.
I left them alone for 12 years until last summer when the bug bit me so hard, i just had to get back on two wheels again.
Its the best thing i have done for many a long year.
I enjoy biking now, more than i did in my pre-courier days.
I would seriously suggest you just take a break from bikes for a year or two, then see how you feel.
As others have already said, why not try something different to take your focus away from bikes for a while.
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Current......Kawasaki ZZR1200 C2H and Kawasaki ZZR600 E7
Previous....Yamaha FS1E, Honda SS50, Suzuki AP50, BSA Bantam D14, Honda CD175, Honda CB250N, Kawasaki Z250A3, Yamaha RD250E, Kawasaki Z400, Kawasaki Z500, Kawasaki GPz550, Honda NTV600, Kawasaki GT750, Kawasaki Z1000R, Kawasaki GPX250

[Ayrton]

Try something new, or only use the bike for fun rides instead.
You could try something smaller, maybe to make yourself worry less. Or stop taking a pillion for a while until you get your confidence back.

You dont have to ride a bike, theres nothing at all wrong with a car and its actually sort of more practical

[Teflon-Mike]

What bike you got at the moment? What have you ridden?
What did you USED to enjoy about biking?
A lot of people get little more than cheap thrills & an ego-boost from biking, and these feel-good factors can wear of quite easily, if that's all that is sustaining the interest.
Have you done any Rallies? Off-Road riding, track-days or dirt; competative or fun-days? Have you undertaken any 'projects'; building a custom or restoring a classic?
The world of biking is a very broad cathedral, and there is a lot that may be enjoyed far beyond the imediete 'sensation' of riding on roads, or the pride of ownership.

When you have come to a dead end; often the only thing to do is go back to where you began, and find out where you went wrong....

Maybe backing up, down-sizing to a 'tiddler' could be a way to back-track, and rediscover some of the joy?

Maybe getting a tiddler as a project?
Maybe building an off-road 'toy'?
Or getting involved in amateur sport?
UK Marshalls Club?
Trials Observing?
StJohns support?
Lots of other ways of enjoying biking that don't actually NEED you to ride a bike, curiously enough!

Jelly Juggling Pererami? - you get even MORE abstract in your dotage, my friend. Not enough Medication. Not NEARLY enough medication!
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[WildGoose]

It happens.

I have the fear too, if it's any consolation. Have for ages.

Extra concern with a pillion is a healthy thing, if you don't get that, something is wrong.

I spend every day on the road, so get sick of it. There is no mystery in just "going for a ride" anymore because i've been there and seen it already. Your mindset changes from "for the journey" to "are we there yet", which is a shit outlook.

I have also hurt myself enough to not want to do any more, and know lots of people who are generally a bit broken from it. That's probably another cop out, but it is the way it is.

If you like tinkering with engines, get a slow and/or classic type bike and just enjoy that aspect of it.

Try something else.

I go running now, and as new age hippyist at that sounds, it makes me far happier than bikes do. There is also the guarantee of endorphins and adrenaline, which is by no means a guarantee on a bike.
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So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

[TheSmiler]

[stigg]

A fair amount of fear is ok but don't let it get the better of you, you will die one day...Fact!!! As long as you have enjoyed most of the journey then thats all you can expect. As others have said try something else for a while and come back to biking later on if you can.

[Rob W]

In before chris-red...

Have you tried a TDM?
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[Fowlersrs]

I think we need to ask first, what is making you miserable about biking? Is it a chore than an enjoyment these days? Is it the pillion pressure causing more worry than enjoyment for you?

If we can identify the worries, maybe we can help u find a way to re discover the fun this hobby has to offer on a broader spectrum!

[drzsta]

Sell the road bike.

Get a trailer

But an enduro/trails machine
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Current Bikes - BMW S1000RR ‘17 & KTM 690 SMC-R ‘12

[G]

My usual answer for 'fear' and the like is to do some advanced training - this should give you the control etc you need - and the confidence to know you are doing it safely.

[EazyDuz]

Nitro RC cars?
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To shreds you say? Tss tss tss

[dan_flash]

Get a second 'fun' motorcycle. A 125cc monkeybike for instance, or venture into other disciplines.

Hmmm. When the boat comes in I'ma look for a monkeybike myself.
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Yamaha XJ600S, Volvo v40.

[JoeDougieDoug...]

My advice would be to take a nice long trip somewhere - just go away for the day or weekend and find some decent roads and really rag it down them

Either that, or take the wife on the back and maybe do a little camping trip on the bike, just go and adventure somewhere, then when it gets late, pitch a tent (Giggity) and stay there the night.
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CBT Passed - 22 / 10 / 11 >> Theory Passed - 16 / 02 / 2012 >> Mod 1 Passed - 07 / 03 / 2012 >> Mod 2 Passed - 18 / 05 / 2012.

[kneedown]

Think I speak for the whole forum when I say take your handbags and piss off
Have a nice day

Twat

[scorps]

I stopped enjoying riding purely because of the pain in my joints after a few hours coupled with the road attitude of drivers up here in Aberdeenshire. I was hardly riding last year and rather than stop I just bought a cruiser where for the first time ever I could manage to put both feet down rather than having to jump on and off the seat when stopping and ride in a position where I was almost lying stretched across the tank to reach the handlebar.

I have noticed that car drivers appear to be more aware of a bigger bike and my confidence and pleasure has returned to the point where I get fed up when i cant use the bike and am actually looking for a job where I can commute as the job Im in now includes me having to use the car a lot.
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Do not presume that I am male.

[anthony_r6]

If you don't enjoy it no more, don't do it. Prep. your bike for storage, put it away and see if the urge comes back. As said, you don't need to ride. Take up something else and see how you get on. You may come back to it. If you find yourself not missing the bike, then sell up and be done with it.
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Ted : "Maybe he's agoraphobic."
Dougal : "Jack scared of fighting? I don't think so, Ted."

[snikks]

Take a break - either try motorcycling of a different kind, to lose the pressure of being on the road with other traffic, or drop it entirely for a while.

That way, one day you'll remember that wonderful feeling of being one with the machine you're riding, with effortless power at your finger tips and the ease and grace with which you practically flew along a long strip of smooth curvy tarmac. You'll either want it back, or you'll regard it as a lovely memory, but if you push yourself to continue on the road when you don't really want too, you might find any memories of that kind tainted.
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- CBT: 02/01/11 Theory: 26/04/11 Mod 1: 19/05/11 Mod 2: 19/08/11
- 2007 Honda XL125V Varadero (Sold), 1999 Yamaha FZS600 Fazer (Sold), 2001 CBR600F

[junglejim]

I started a thread on this.
Why don't people stick with bikes.
I meet a lot of people my age who have been riding a handful of years.
That was also the case 20 years ago.
I think biking for many is just a passing phase that they'll just get bored with.
I wish I had a fiver for all the people I've known who have started biking, and then packed it in after a few years.
The "stayers" are a rare breed now, sadly