People getting bored on their bikes?

[JonB]

Recently I have been noticing a trend of people getting bored of their bikes very quickly and looking to trade it in for something more "exciting". It often confuses me or gets me slightly frustrated when I see people slating a bike, like the Bandit for being easy to get "bored" on. In my opinion it is the complete opposite, I get a lot of fun out of my bike, even when not pushing it to the limit. I feel I have not fulfilled all of it's capabilities from a long shot, done track days on it, done slow ride outs on it, likewise done lovely spirited rides on it without getting suitably left behind. Next up is touring and I couldn't think of a better bike to do it on. I understand this is in complete contrast with a few weeks ago when I was considering ditching the bike. There is something about the bike that keeps me entertained.

What are people's motives for chopping bikes so quickly? Is it the inevitability that you are more likely to crash on a bike and the possibility of death that makes want people to buy their "dream bike" so quickly? I have never looked at the psychology of riding a bike like that. However I was at a stage where I wanted a 1000cc bike just to say that I have "done it", however I came to realise I got plenty of years left on this world "hopefully" to have the money and the dispensable income to get such a bike. If you buy a high powered bike so young in your life aren't you more likely to get bored of biking much more quickly with no more steps up to achieve that brim of excitement?

Another case for a possibility of being bored and this sounds really stupid, but do some people just fail to lack a connection with a certain bike that means they can easily get rid of them? I'm not saying that a motorbike is like a pet dog, or a human being, but I am easily attached to this Bandit, so much so that i'd probably get quite depressive if I had to give it away and/or it got stolen? I don't just view my bike as a material product, but a signifier of how lucky I am to own such a vehicle at my age. I KNOW I will remember this bike indefinitely for the rest of my life and I know it will be quite sad to see it go.

This has been on my mind a lot recently, why do people get bored of their bikes so quickly? If you do change bikes often, why?
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Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[veeeffarr]

I've recently been getting quite bored riding.. Everything just feels slow...

Doing 60mph last night felt like about 10mph, and I just wanted to get home... Having problems paying attention, etc.

Dunno, my GS needs a lot of money spending on it to get into good condition again (I like everything I own to be perfect) and I just haven't formed an attachment to it.

I got like that towards the end with my CG125, but I really really looked after that little bike but I just don't care with the GS.

Getting 3 points didn't help, I'm always watching over my back now, I've got 18 months til I become exempt from the new drivers act.

As I said, I think lack of money/mechanical know-how is pissing me off with biking the most.

[JonB]

Obviously having a bike that is not entirely mechanically sound is going to put a downer on the perception of your bike and that is probably one of the completely understandable reasons I can think of for being bored on a bike.

As for the points thing Toby, I'm not really talking about being bored of biking in general, more so the bikes themselves. Though I know if I had 3 points, I'd be pretty down until May when my 2 years is up.
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Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[Kara]

The best thing I ever did was buy a heap of crap NC24, it's alot more fun than the other bikes I've had that are subjectivly meant to be better.
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NC30 + Bandit 6
www.eabikers.co.uk

[_Will_]

I don't think i got bored per-say with my divvy, and as you do i had a connection with it, as did people who had been on it, people (my dad being the major culprit) often talked about when i would upgrade and i was always looking the autotrader at whats about.

Then i realised i could afford something nicer, saw the zee and my dad called the bloke as it was cheap, managed to get it down a quite considerable amount and impulse took over, its nice to own a nice shiny new bike

I honestly didnt think it could be that much of a difference but the zee being a more sports focused bike is worlds apart, i always thought the divvy was fun and had a blast pushing it, even to day i sold it, but the zed has far superior handling/power which makes it even more of a hoot.

In truth if i could have afforded to i would have kept the divvy, specially as i need a bike that fits its descprition for later on in the year as i to this day would still have fun on it, i miss it in some sentimental ways too.

I have grown much more confident on the zee and become a much better rider because of it and i love it, but at the same time i'm already thinking of my next bike.

I could have fun on a 50cc moped, so i don't think its that reason that makes me think 'i want a new bike'.
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Past -Honda qr50 | 2004 Peugeot Tkr s 50| | 1996 Yamaha XJ600s Diversion|

[woo]

I guess everyones personality is diiferent same applies to the size of their wallets as well cos changing bikes is not usually cheap.

I got a 1000cc cos im a lazy cunt and dont wanna have to work for the power anymore i just want it there from the word go.

Thats why i got rid of my 600cc bike.

Dont get me wrong the 600cc is more than fast enough & i know i dont have the skill too ride it too anywhere near 50% of the bikes ability, but road riding and track riding are two totally different environments and me and my mates when we out are usually the best behaved lot but we know how to control our bikes and ride within our own personal physical limits on the public roads.
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Elen sila lummen omentielvo!

[mr.z]

One reason i like older bikes, there not nearly as predictable, negotiateing a corner requires several tiny adjustments as you go arround, but at the same time you dont feel like you need to be hammering allong bouncing off the redline and shitting in your pants every time you go out, or maybe thats just me..

In fact the bike i want next is older and cruder than mine and 40mph lower top speed

Allot of bikes that are easy to ride are associated with boireing quite quickly, imo its because your not as connected to the rideing, just lean into a corner and you end up the other side, put the brakes on and it slows you down to a controlled stop, pull the throttle and a predictable ammount of power arrives in a steady flow.. which to me sounds like a car..
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>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[ncrn]

The thing that makes me bored of my bike, would be that the power is very little, and I get to its maximum quite quickly.

some weeks I use exactly the same road to get into college/work then the same road to get home, pretty soon this can get dull when your fighting to hold 70. But I find if I take another road home, it becomes fun again, I just enjoy the roads, I try not to think about how fast I'm going because really thats irrelevant, I'd like more power, but I enjoy the bike I have, and I think I'll be on it for the next few years, cause I'm not going to be able to afford another bike as a student
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Past: 55 Sym Jet, 91 ZZR250, 03 NSR125R. Present: 97 ER-5.
https://www.nsr125.co.uk - NSR Owners forum.

[woo]

Currently im using a gilera runner 50 to get to work and bloody heck its slow as heck top speed of 45mph on a straight and 50mph going down hill but i still find it fun, no where near as fun as my R1 but its a different kind of fun!
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Elen sila lummen omentielvo!

[Keen]

Maybe its because alot of people get into bikes for the adrenalin rush (sounds obvious but bare with me). I was reading an article about who crashes and why a while ago and it was saying how some bikers love bikes and riding, others just use bikes as a source of adrenalin really (incidentally these adrenalin-junkies are the crashers). Therefore when they get used to the rush that comes when they twist the throttle, they get bored and need a bigger bike with more power.

Personally I don't think I'll ever sell my current bike. I plan to buy other bikes when/if I can afford to, but I have a huge soppy sentimental attachment to this one, which I've never had with any of my previous bikes (only one I was even sad to see go was the ninja 250 I had).

I never get bored of riding, ever. I might fancy a change of pace, which is why I'm trying to learn to wheelie at the moment, but a 600 has more power than I can use and handles better than I can ride. As long as I keep improving/learning I won't get bored. But I can see why some people want to try different aspects of biking, e.g. maybe selling theirs sports 600 and buying a supermoto, or moving to cruisers to slow down.
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"he who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man"- Dr. Johnson

[Bishbash]

Some wise words there Jon. I also ride a Bandit. I also get annoyed when I see people who own bikes then chop and change their minds due to them losing interest in the bike they already have.

I absolutely love the bike I have now and my previous bike. I spend so much time and effort to get them to look nice and maintaining them I would not consider selling it unless I really want to.

I think the only reason I would consider a change in my bike is the need to go faster in a quicker time. But as I said that would be the only reason. Lets be honest how often are you riding around the top speed. I love to ride my Bandit in all sorts of scenarios. As you said it varies the type of riding you do and adds a little more spark to it.

Also I totally agree, why keep trying to get a more thrilling ride quicker when we have so much more time left (I hope), I dont know how old you are, but I am 25 with a 600. Which must I add has pretty much all I need in a bike right now.

I think that some people could change their bike if they do not like it or they are not comfortable on it due to not being able to test ride a bike in most shops. Which is a bad factor of buying a bike at a shop.

But overall I think it is just due to the wanting of more speed and not thinking what is the best I can do with this bike. But then again, some people just want the newest thing available to them and are suckers of the advertising world.

[mark83]

98R1 jokes aside.....

If you want a bike that you'll 'never' get bored of, get yourself a 2000 ZX10.

180bhp + no steering damper = shit your pants

Oh, and if you're the type of guy that gets bored of shitting your pants, buy a Deauville.


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Kawasaki ER6n -> Honda CBR600RR -> Honda VTR 1000 -> Moto Guzzi Norge 1200
Buy my Mercedes 350 Sport AMG Evo

[Zen Dog]

I was getting a little bored of the VFR, in a lot of ways its just too good. Everything is just so easy, nothing takes any effort, and its very hard to find any faults (although i would like quicker steering).

But rather than chop it in for something else (and i had a hard time finding anything that would come close, except maybe the new BMW F800s), i bought the MZ.

Its shite in so many ways (although the brakes are good and its very light), but everything takes effort! But this means a very involving ride, and when i'm on it i just dont stop laughing! One of my friends was also highly amused that the indicators flash faster as you rev...so it even keeps other people entertained!

My advice, if you're getting bored, is buy something weird!

Zen Dog
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Current - '94 VFR750FR (Dead), '00 VFR800FI, '10 600 Hornet - Previous - '11 CBF125, '10 Street Triple R, '92 MZ ETZ301, '05 TTR250, NSR125R, KMX125, "Honda" Win
My bike trip around S.E. Asia 2010/2011

[instigator]

I like the "new bike" feel. I like the buying process. Hence why I chop and change. Always good to try lots of other bikes anyway, rather than sticking to just one. (gsxr owners spring to mind. )

[Torque05]

Ive had 4 bikes in just over 1 and a half years. Although these did include two 50's and a 250 (still have them all) . I loved biking then on the 50's, i loved moving up to the 250 and now im loving being on my restricted 750 although at times i do think what it would feel like to have all the power there as i am at 33BHP instead of 107!

I also get times when i think of when my restriction period ends, what shall i do. I know the Zed will feel like a completely new bike but the bike ive craved since the age of 16 (Vmax) is actually attainable when im 19 and that thoughts just sitting there in the back of my head.

I can understand people changing bikes in the interest of a new challenge, to reach a higher level or just because theyre rich cu*ts but its up to them. If thats what they want to do and they have no feeling about getting rid of a bike then that doesnt matter. I think by the time im 19 i will be even more attached to the Z and probably keep it to be honest!
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~Sahf East Winnah~

~Yamaha Vmax 1996~

[mark83]

I love my bike (ER6n)

But when I pull up beside a Boxtser S on my way home from work I really have to work to smoke it off the lights.

Would be nice to have 150 horses on tap (as opposed to my current 72).

Another thing is: would love to be able to wheelie in 1st and 2nd just of the throttle when I please and like.

But my theory is: if you get a beast straight away, you have nothing to upgrade to having got used to the power!
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Kawasaki ER6n -> Honda CBR600RR -> Honda VTR 1000 -> Moto Guzzi Norge 1200
Buy my Mercedes 350 Sport AMG Evo

[Bendy]

I've had the same bike for 4 years, and I'm still not in any real hurry to change. Probably cos I'm aware that it's still better than I am and it can still put a grin on my face. And cos I've pretty much wiped out it's resale value.

That said, I have changed the gearing and had the suspension sorted, maybe if I'd never done that I would have got bored, but those changes make it a completely different bike so it's all good.

Perhaps I also have an advantage in that I've got friends with a fairly varied selection of bikes, most of whom are quite happy to do swapsies now and then. So, for example, while I've got a 600cc inline four, I could get my litre twin fix just by swapping bikes with Luke for a day or two. Fancy a triple for a few days, I chat up Jay. And most of the time, I don't come back from these swaps thinking 'oh my god, I need one of these'.

[garth]

Meh.

Some bikes you just 'click' with. Don't need power, comfort etc to be fun as such.

My Sv is a brilliant bike. Still selling it because I have more 'fun' on the underpowered, uncomfortable, twitchy goose.
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You ain't a has been if you never was

[Method]

The reason i got bored of my GS5 was because of the monotony of what i was doing on it.

What people tend to forget or ignore is that any modern bike will have the capabilities to do more than any rider will ever be able to use.

This is probably why you get frustrated when people slate your bike, because maybe you are using more of it or in a different fashion.

One bike can suit one person down to the ground and make the next person bored in 5 minutes.
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CBT Aug '03 ... Gilera GSM 50 ... Honda NSR 125 Aug '04 ...
Full Test Dec 04... Suzuki GS500 Jan 05... Suzuki SV650 Mar 07... Gixxer 6 K5 May 08... Oh and my 'Rado
My Bikepics.com - No Brakes, No Gears... No Fear.

[JAMSXR]

I get board very quickly but after bying my duke i realised a 600cc sportsbike is for me. I missed my Gsxr sooo much when i sold it . But now i have my kwak i think ill keep it for a good few years. Saying that i dont think i eva got board of any of my bikes just fancied a change of riding style. The duke was good fun but i missed the RED LINE BUZZ.
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Honda SFX50 > Aprilia SR125 > Aprilia RS125 > Honda RFV400 > K4 GSXR600 > KTM Duke > C1H 636 > K3 GSXR1000 > Aprilia RSV-R > Triumph Street Triple R > Ducati 899 Panigale > Aprilia Tuono 1100 > Triumph Daytona 675R > KTM SuperDuke 1290 2.0

[ram_doom]

Familiarity... breeds contempt best thing to do is ride other people's bikes from time to time, to remind you how much better yours is
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TL1000s, KDX200

[mark83]

[Kickstart]

Hi

Tends to be power delivery that I can find boring. Hence I am not keen on small 4 strokes (4 strokes to me need some torque to make up for the way that they do not feel like they want to be revved), but small 2 strokes are fun.

I had a 400 Superdream as a first big bike and did get bored. Solution was to go back to a 125 2 stroke. Bought a 600 Divvy for commuting, and found it boring to ride. Bought a tatty old FZR600 to replace it.

It isn't the ultimate power that I want, just the way it is produced. After that it is variety that appeals.

All the best

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

[Dan 4RR]

I personally aren't bored with any of the bikes I've got at the moment. But I sometimes find it strange that you see brand new bikes with less 500 miles on them back in the trader. Don't know the full reason but I suspect alot of people these days are easily bored or fickle...more money than sense... or they wanna have the latest bike because Mr Smith across the road has got the latest R1.
But then there could be the genuine reasons of course, like family member, ridding buddy died and dont want anything to do with bikes or the bike didn't turn out to bo what they wanted, doesn't suit them.
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Humans....the largest form of cancer the world has ever seen!
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[Project9928]

I've gone through 4 bikes in the 2 years I've had my licence. I've had 1 125cc bike, 1 600cc bike, 1 750cc bike and 2 1000cc bikes. I'm currently riding a 2002 R1 and to be honest I don't see myself having this bike for long. I don't count the 750 bike as gone through because I haven't ridden it yet, needs a lot of work and will probably end up as a rat bike.

My problem is trying to find a bike I gel with.

I liked my Comet 125 and had loads of great rides on it, but I wanted to go further and go on biking holidays.

This led me to getting a CBR600FS, I bought this thinking the fairing will be nice for the long trips, handles well for a bit of fun and will be a little quick if needed. Well I did get bord with the lack of torque and started to feel that the bike was really underpowered. Top end was more then enough, but I like having a bit more low end and mid range power but staying with an inline 4 engine.

That’s when I went and got the '06 FZ1n, it was everything I liked in a bike, good looks, naked, great handling, etc but for one problem...... the engine. To many electronics restricting everything and ruining the bike. Well one of my neighbours then helped by pulling out in front of me and wrighting off the bike.

Then I got the R1 because it was cheap, in good condition and I needed a bike. Its a good bike but not what I'm looking for. But still I can live with it and its only really for weekend blasts, so I'll probably keep this for a while and then build up funds for my next bike.

For my next bike I'm not sure what I'm looking for, at the moment I would like something like a KTM 990 or 625 Adventure. Give me a month and that'll probably change. My problem is that there are too many bikes to choose from new and old. Its just trying to find one that I like and gel with.

But then again you never really know what a bikes like till you've owned one. If you can afford it and want to try diffrent bikes why not.