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| Deadonkey |
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Deadonkey
Borekit Bruiser
Joined: 04 Aug 2012
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 Posted: 20:57 - 18 Jul 2017  Post subject: Outgrown first bike really quickly |
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Hi,
Passed my DAS back in early may, did the lessons on an xj6n.
I wasnt a very confident rider and knowing the issues with new riders getting test rides I decided to buy what I knew,
And bought a 2010 XJ6 Diversion S.
The sensible option, didnt dive right in and buy brand new.
Now 3000 miles on and almost 3 months later I feel that ive outgrown the bike. Not so much powerwise but the options for luggage im finding limiting.
Went to the Yamaha TDM owners club meet with a mate who used to have one,
Hes now got a tiger 800 with top loading hard panniers.
I had the XJ6 with stuff strapped all over it.
Took me way longer to break camp and be ready to move than it did with him. I could still do it but it was way more hassle.
The problem I have is that there is very little in the way of luggage options available for my bike compared to a road going adventure bike. such as a Tiger or a F800gs.
I didnt really want a bike for sunday rides out, I wanted one to tour on, im now finding that my XJ6 isnt as suited to that as id like.
Other than soft or semi ridgid luggage the only option available to me is the GIVI V35 which are side loading hard panniers, so id imagine every time you open them all your stuff will fall out.
So heres the issue, do i spend £350 on V35s. Or just chop my bike in against something that I actually want to own and has decent top loading panniers available.
I have no passion for my XJ6, It only ever was a learning tool but im quite supprised how quickly I want rid of it,
Im left thinking why is the general advise for new riders to buy a cheap learner 600, because wont everyone be in my situation after a few months, Realising they have a boring bike that was built to a price and doesnt really suit their needs, Be it a bandit, hornet, er6 etc? the usual beginner stuff.
Anyway, Just my thoughts,
Keep the bike or trade it in for something I want and no doubt loose a load of money?
Anyone else done similar? |
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| c_dug |
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c_dug
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| Posted: 21:06 - 18 Jul 2017 Post subject: |
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Side loading panniers are fine, for big loads you just remove them when packing and unpacking. For small loads, the lids usually have a teather to prevent them opening past 90 degrees, which makes the whole process simple.
If you're happy with everything else about the bike, personally I'd be finding the £350 for the luggage, though for ultimate practicality you want a top box too.
If you're a little bit jealous of the adventure bikes, and you still won't be happy with the divvy, even when it's all luggaged up then it's definitely better to look at trading in, the longer you have it the more money it'll lose, and you won't see the money back on the boxes.
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| BrownTrousers |
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BrownTrousers
Trackday Trickster
Joined: 08 Sep 2013
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| Posted: 21:08 - 18 Jul 2017 Post subject: |
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If you aren't happy, chop it in for something else. It's that simple.
On the luggage side, would have thought top box is easy to come by for a XJ6?
Even side loading panniers aren't too bad just get pannier bags to go inside them then everything won't tumble out.
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Ducati Multistrada 950 | Triumph Tiger 800 XR | Honda CBR500R | Yamaha YBR 125 Custom |
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| TbirdX |
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TbirdX
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| trevor saxe-coburg-gotha |
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha
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Posted: 21:20 - 18 Jul 2017  Post subject: Re: Outgrown first bike really quickly |
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| Deadonkey wrote: | Im left thinking why is the general advise for new riders to buy a cheap learner 600, because wont everyone be in my situation after a few months, Realising they have a boring bike that was built to a price and doesnt really suit their needs, Be it a bandit, hornet, er6 etc? the usual beginner stuff. |
Let's start by saying everyone really is like you and wants to trade up after X months. So - they got a £1500 600 Hornet, Blandit, SV, ER6, whatever. Chances are they can still get a chunk upwards of a grand after putting under 10k on it. Hence the loss isn't exactly phenomenal - meanwhile they've had their little slow drop moments, their dropping a hammer on it in the garage situations, or maybe even piled it through a hedge. But still - they haven't fucked a dear bike.
Now let's say there are others. Others like me sen, for instance. Still on a shit heap '90s commuter 500 twin - some five years later, and about 75k miles down the road. Still - even now (!) - wringing the last drops of power from it, finally starting to get a peg down here and there, and generally milking the damn thing on pretty much every ride. Without wanting to blow me own strumpet, chances are I'd lead you a merry dance on my local roads. If you did manage to come by me, it'd be on the straighter sections. I only know because this kind of thing is a fairly regular occurrence for me - and fending off bigger, posher, ostensibly faster bikes is its own reward when you're merrily chucking a £750 toilet around.
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Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125 |
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| c_dug |
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c_dug
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| Posted: 21:30 - 18 Jul 2017 Post subject: Re: Outgrown first bike really quickly |
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| trevor saxe-coburg-gotha wrote: | Now let's say there are others. Others like me sen, for instance. Still on a shit heap '90s commuter 500 twin - some five years later, and about 75k miles down the road. Still - even now (!) - wringing the last drops of power from it, finally starting to get a peg down here and there, and generally milking the damn thing on pretty much every ride. Without wanting to blow me own strumpet, chances are I'd lead you a merry dance on my local roads. If you did manage to come by me, it'd be on the straighter sections. I only know because this kind of thing is a fairly regular occurrence for me - and fending off bigger, posher, ostensibly faster bikes is its own reward when you're merrily chucking a £750 toilet around. |
So. Much. This.
10 years in and I'm still riding around a reasonably ratty 600 Fazer. I could afford a new bike, if that's what I decided I wanted, in fact the previous bike was a much newer VFR800, but there is something immensely satisfying about ragging the shite out of a bike like mine, safe in the knowledge that if I properly bin it at any point, I've only thrown a grand tops down the drain.
I've ridden some very fast bikes, and jeeze they put a smile on my face, and a stiffy in my pants to boot, but I don't think I'd have one as a day in day out bike, horses for courses and all that.
As I said before though, it has to be what you want to ride. I love my Fazer, I'd be genuinely gutted if I was written off, or stolen. If your divvy doesn't give you the same feels, there's plenty more fish in the sea!
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| Deadonkey |
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Deadonkey
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c_dug
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| Kawasaki Jimbo |
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Kawasaki Jimbo
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| Pigeon |
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Pigeon
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Posted: 22:50 - 18 Jul 2017  Post subject: |
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| c_dug_the_bastard wrote: | Ignore the limit, it's bollocks.
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Ish.
Be careful about what the rack is made from and attached to.
My Givi was tubular steel, rated for 10kg and took 30 no problem.
My SW-Motech was rated 7kg and made from flat 5mm alloy. I put 12kg in it and it snapped over some bumpy roads in Norfolk.
Agree with Jimbo, organisation.
My Striple isn't exactly a natural tourer.
40l topbox (tools, waterproofs, food + drink go inside. Tent goes on top, swapped to a £45 popup tent 2 years ago and haven't looked back).
40L Lomo Motorcycle drybag (£15). It's not as user friendly as an open top, but it fits perfectly to Striple with 4 bungees.
Up front is a phone holder made for a mountain bike (£15). Keeps phone/satnav+charger. And easy zip access to passports / tickets.
Breaking camp takes no time, packing the bike is just bungees to specific hooks. Again, a minute.
Where can you save time, where can you save space. |
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| Tracer1234 |
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Tracer1234
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| Teflon-Mike |
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Teflon-Mike
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| Posted: 00:26 - 19 Jul 2017 Post subject: |
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https://scontent.flhr3-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/11412343_1006698036021780_2184677214586379016_n.jpg?oh=47c6280c6ac046ad6435d4b108ba859b&oe=5A0F0B14
46l expandable throw-overs, two-tier tank-bag, tent on the rack.. bedrolls in cargo-nets strapped where the'd fit, and a petrol can 'cos err bludy-guzz ran out.... doesn't even take a lot of organisation!
I call this all part of the 'fun'... system luggage is all well and good, but with as much space to chuck stuff as my car, there's no real challenge to it; all rather too easy.. so I have never even bothered to try fitting the rails and boxes I bought twenty years ago for the VF to the CB.... that's just my choice though.....
NOW.. you 'want' a new bike, man up, cough up and go buy one. You are no more a poser wanting a Ewan & Charlie bike to get across London than any of the folk that have to have a Rossi replica to pop to the shops or a sons-of-anarchy chop to crawl to the wine bar... you don't need our permission or approval, or futile excuses to justify it, and if you bought a seven year old Divvy 6 for more than it was really worth, from a dealer, what did you expect ? You made your choices and paid your money... what more do you want?!?!?
Do what you want with your money! But don't try and kid us that you 'need' a life-style accessory because of the direction the ruddy lid opens on the boot! Or that you have become such an expert in 3ooo miles that the bike is holding you back!!! Less try kid yourself. THAT is the trap here...
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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?' |
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| Lupo |
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Lupo
Trackday Trickster
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| Deadonkey |
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Deadonkey
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Posted: 00:37 - 19 Jul 2017  Post subject: |
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| Teflon-Mike wrote: | https://scontent.flhr3-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/11412343_1006698036021780_2184677214586379016_n.jpg?oh=47c6280c6ac046ad6435d4b108ba859b&oe=5A0F0B14
46l expandable throw-overs, two-tier tank-bag, tent on the rack.. bedrolls in cargo-nets strapped where the'd fit, and a petrol can 'cos err bludy-guzz ran out.... doesn't even take a lot of organisation!
I call this all part of the 'fun'... system luggage is all well and good, but with as much space to chuck stuff as my car, there's no real challenge to it; all rather too easy.. so I have never even bothered to try fitting the rails and boxes I bought twenty years ago for the VF to the CB.... that's just my choice though.....
NOW.. you 'want' a new bike, man up, cough up and go buy one. You are no more a poser wanting a Ewan & Charlie bike to get across London than any of the folk that have to have a Rossi replica to pop to the shops or a sons-of-anarchy chop to crawl to the wine bar... you don't need our permission or approval, or futile excuses to justify it, and if you bought a seven year old Divvy 6 for more than it was really worth, from a dealer, what did you expect ? You made your choices and paid your money... what more do you want?!?!?
Do what you want with your money! But don't try and kid us that you 'need' a life-style accessory because of the direction the ruddy lid opens on the boot! Or that you have become such an expert in 3ooo miles that the bike is holding you back!!! Less try kid yourself. THAT is the trap here... |
Whoa hang on a minuite.
I never said i was an expert or that the bike was holding me back.
Nor do i need your approval.
All im saying is i wasnt expecting that after taking the general advise offered to newbies that after 3 months id start to discover that the bike wasnt doing what i wanted to do within motorcycling as well as id wanted it to. |
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| trevor saxe-coburg-gotha |
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha
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Deadonkey
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| chickenstrip |
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chickenstrip
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Posted: 06:14 - 19 Jul 2017  Post subject: |
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My advice has always been buy the bike you really want, and never mind what others say. Biking isn't about practicality. If that's what you want, get a car. Much easier to load up than any combination of luggage on a bike. But we don't, do we? 
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| groovylee |
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groovylee
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| Posted: 08:19 - 19 Jul 2017 Post subject: |
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my first bike was a freebie, so i rode it.
second bike was my choice, and i bought a gpz500. i regretted it very quickly.... so i bought what i actually wanted, which was an R6. and ive never looked back 
so i get what you're saying in a roundabout way - if the bike isnt doing it for you, buy the bike you want. not the bike that is cheap, or the one that everyone else tells you to get, the one you WANT. you will be much happier 
Lee
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| trevor saxe-coburg-gotha |
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha
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| Posted: 09:49 - 19 Jul 2017 Post subject: |
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| Deadonkey wrote: | What im trying to get at is the bike isnt holding me back when it comes to riding ability.
Im not a great rider but i dont expect to be. Why would i be ive only been on a bike a few months.
All i was commenting on was im coming to the realisation that these beginner bikes thst are pushed to newbies like me soon get dull.
I would have been better of getting something brand new that i actually want to own, which seems to be the opposite of the advise generally given. And i wondered if anyone else felt the same after a few months. |
I'm getting mixed messages. Otoh, you want a bike that will make packing your camping gear quicker. Oto, you're saying the bike you've got is too dull.
These quite different considerations - possibly even somewhat contradictory.
My slightly cynical side thinks you've already decided to buy a Tiger or a F800 and you're after approval (perhaps because of certain misgivings, e.g. cost, etc.). This is pretty common - lots of people make posts ostensibly asking about a particular bike, and are then quite dismissive of other suggestions. The point being that they've already made the decision and just want it nodded through to pacify their insecurities.
Regardless of all that shit, a bike like an XJ6 for the most part is as dull as the roads its ridden on, and the ways its ridden on those roads. Give it a few properly spirited passes up and down e.g. the B2655, see how dull it feels then.
Secondly, and regarding the camping thing now rather than any inherent dullness of the bike, what's being argued in some of the above is that it's precisely the bike's limitations (with respect to what it can and can't carry, and how it carries it, etc.), which can be a big part of what makes the whole process of bike touring interesting. Without the various challenges, you might as well go in a van.
If a cure for dullness really IS your main consideration in all this, do something interesting. Make some more creative decisions. Choices that aren't just crumbling to peer pressure, and/or implicitly subscribing to the "dreams" set out in glossy monthly bike mags. E.g. get a Serow and ride off-road on legal "green lanes" from Whitby to Morecambe. Or buy a VanVan and tackle the Alps. Why? Because that funny little 125 is renowned for being able to out-climb 1200GSs once those mountain trails get too thin and steep above a certain altitude.
What you're seeing as the limitations of your bike could easily be seen as challenges that make the whole process more interesting, or even as virtues when seen from a different angle. Alternatively just throw money at an imaginary "problem".
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| Polarbear |
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Polarbear
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| Posted: 10:46 - 19 Jul 2017 Post subject: |
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If you are into touring, an adventure bike is a brilliant tool for that. All the mainstream manufacturers have dozens of options for luggage, their own or 3rd party.
An adventure bike can be a surprisingly fast bike on the roads as well. I, for one am a better rider on a 'sit up and beg' bike than a Rossi wannabe. edit - better than I am on a sports bike I mean. 
You can get sporty adventure bikes as well, Tiger Sport and the Tracer 900 to name a couple. I had a Tiger 955i and a Tiger Explorer. I've always regretted selling the 955i, it was a wonderful, comfy bike even if it wasn't the prettiest thing in the world. My Explorer, well I had to sell either that or the Trophy and I kept the full blown tourer.
Buy what you want as well. Especially while you can. Wife and kids and life can put the kybosh on having expensive man toys so make the most of it.
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| Teflon-Mike |
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Teflon-Mike
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| Posted: 12:51 - 19 Jul 2017 Post subject: |
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| Deadonkey wrote: | All i was commenting on was im coming to the realisation that these beginner bikes thst are pushed to newbies like me soon get dull. |
There's no such thing as a 'dull' bike.. only a dull rider. As again trevor tried to point out, it aint what'cha got, it's what'cha do with it, that matters, and where you choose to 'find' the fun.. or not.
As illustrated, my bike is a rather old Honda CB Seven-Fifty. These were put on the Euro-Market in the early '90's as 'Back-To-Basics' all-round, low cost 'retro' motorcycles, in antithesis to a decade of bigger better faster more, ever more specialized, ever more single minded, and significantly ever more expensive life-style motorcycles, particularly sports bikes; Kawasaki offered the Zephyr in a similar vein, Suzuki the Bandit and Yamaha did a neat cost cutting job on it's aged XJ600 to repackage that as the Divvy; before emissions controls kicked in and things like the Hornet evolved the genre into the modern 'naked' genre.
Point is that these are ALL-ROUND and back-to-basics street-bikes. They shunned headline features like excessive performance, or audacious styling, and harked back to the era of the 'Muscle Bikes' of the '70's, and the idea, like the US Muscle Car, that what you got wasn't an over the counter ready to ride bit of engineering excellence but a robust blank canvas for you to adapt how you wanted for your own ideas of style and practicality or performance....
Bland and Boring were DELIBERATE... this was the whole point of them... The 'Fun' isn't 'in' the bike, like a play-station or theme-park.. the 'fun' is in what you may do with them; whether that is riding them or messing with them, that's up to you.. And THAT is the point.
One that if you are deriding one for being boring and not living up to your expectations, not delivering the on-demand push button 'fun' you hoped for, you are missing, and blaming the bike, rather than yourself, and want to go find another bike you will hope to fulfill that aspiration, whilst you STILL don't find the fun, but expect the machine to serve it on a plate for you.
As a 'learning tool' these bikes were sold in the US as 'beginner bikes', sold there like Honda CG125's or YBR's were/are here; not a lot of anything, but a little of everything; go us; go learn; find out what you can do; find out what you like; before you go look for 'more' of it, but more; find out you only get out as much as you put in to get it....
Point of photo of heavily loaded Seven-Fifty, was to illustrate that when it comes to 'touring', that 'inconvenience' of not being able to chuck loads of gear in the boxes is similarly missing the point.
I have system luggage; When I commuted, it was fantastic. One box on the rack as a top-box; when I got to work, took lid and water-proofs, saving finding space under the desk. Come Friday, boxes shift down to the sides; tent and bed-roll on the rack; cameras in one box, spare cloths and a billy-stove in the other.. how far can I get fro the factory before night-fall.... And doing that every day, and every week-end; very easy, very convenient.
Slight aside; the top-loading ammo-tin boxes of modern adventure sports, rigidly fixed to the bike, are something of an asthma to me; they are based on rigid GRP panniers of the 60's and 70's, that were a PITA in practice with small hole to shove luggage into, on the bike. The ruggedised aluminium versions, evolved by the Paris-Dakar replica's because they might take the odd knock; Removable system luggage, in the 80's was a revelation for practicality; load it like a suit-case in the house; THEN two seconds to lock-on to the bike! And if you have ever woken up n the morning, in the tent in hissing rain; and had to go out-side to get your clean gear off the bike before you can get dressed, having pannier, in the tent, like a suit-case, is a real boon!
That sort of 'luggage' you are envious of, I'm afraid I don't think IS all that much more 'convenient'! Its 'awkward' and in city traffic, bolted full time to the bike, as much of a hassle as a help. to my mind; more affectation for aspiration and aesthetic of the Charlie and Ewan wannabee... but hey ho, no more pretentious than a power-ranger suit and Gixxer if that's your bag....
AND I suspect that if you switched to such a bike, more area for potential disappointment STILL looking to the bike and the hardware to deliver, on a plate 'the fun'... THAT was the point; That Seven-Fifty with the carrier bags and cargo-nets; was showing how 'back to basics' biking, NOT having hard luggage, ammo-box or system style is actually OFFERING you the chance of 'fun'... IF you wish to find it... rather than resent it!
You say ts not your thing, but to pick up on Trevors suggestion of riding the wheels of his CB500, and the fun in that; I would encounter the week-end warriors on thier Super-Ninga-Blades, bought with similar expectations that the 'fun' is in the machine, and GP fantasies, every week-end; and get very very frustrated by them trying for 'knee-down' on every bend; Watching them accelerate hard and fast towards the vanishing point, with all the drama of massive acceleration, then even more, with huge excitement stimulated by huge braking forces come the next bed, where I would, riding 'progressively' catch them back up, before being frustrated as they dropped over, filled the lane, clambering off the side like a road-block to go round the corner at a walking pace, trying to get hero skuffs on their nee slider, before repeating... I wouldn't deliberately try and humiliate them stuffing an old dinosaur loaded to the gunnels up the side two-up.. but some-times... it did have to be done!
And I would pity them that that single minded, must go fast, bit of what a bike could do was/is the 'only' place a bike could be fun.. and they didn't even get that, on demand from the bike, when a two-up, over-loaded old heap could humiliate them in their presumed 'element', and the 'fun' I had been having all week-end; starting LONG before I even got close to loading the bike, let alone riding it, was utterly alien to them!
THAT is the point... the 'Fun' of touring isn't delivered by the bike, and very very little of it is found on, let alone 'in' the bike.
Starts with looking at the 'Whats-On' listings, whether there's an event you fancy going to; more looking at maps, planning a rough route.. tip.. leave the effing smart-phone or sat-nav behind! Even more fun winging it! EXPLORING, seeing stuff, finding new roads, new places along the way! But, after plotting a route; there's the 'fun' of the planning; when should/could I leave? What do I need to take? What's the weather forecast? Do I believe them! Am I gong solo? Am I going 2-Up? Do I pack the intercom or the bike to bike, or do we go by hand-signals and stops? WHAT do I REALLY need take... and more fun there.... another hint; hard luggage, makes it so easy to carry stuff; have space will fill it! You can very easily end up carting the kitchen sink with you; NOT having that space; having to be a bit more thoughtful, a lttle more considerate, picking what to take ad what to leave.... do I REALLY need three different cameras? Do I really need to carry four tins of beans and a six pack of beer around with me? Surely there will be a convenience store 'somewhere' near the cap-site? Etc etc etc.
THIS is all 'part of the fun'.. hat sort of luggage you have, or want? REALLY is a non entity in that bigger picture!
As said, top loading bolt on boxes, have as many hassles as helps; even system luggage; you can bet that something wont play ball, and wont fit in it 'some-where', but even if it does; any 'easy' is missing some of the fun, the thrill of finding a way to attach that petrol can you have collected en-route, and would be a pitty to leave behind, just 'cos you cant find space for it; Or the 'bargain' spare crank-shaft or seat for the 'project bike' found in the auto-jumble....
It is ALL an adventure; it is ALL fun, and doesn't matter whether you head of on an FJR or a Fizzie to do it.... the FUN isn't to be found solely in what you rid, or when you ride, ts n the ENTIRETY of the experience, and there is even fun in the adversity....
A-N-D... you are i the same trap as them power-rangers looking for high-speed thrills; chasing ever faster harder accelerating, harder braking get your knee down bits of kit, to serve them them thrlls on a plate, and unfortunately NEVER findng them, and convincing themselves they need another even more audacious bit of hardware, or trick shock-absorber or whatever to 'deliver' that 'fun' as they become ever more accustomed and immunized to how much the bike is delivering to them, and NOT putting in to get more out of even that...
THIS is why the competent all-rounders like a Divvy are recommended for newbs; as they offer so much all-round versatility to sample so much of what might be done on a bike, from more spirited back lane scratching to intercontinental touring, popping to the shops, gong to work, day tripping, WHATEVER.. and they DON'T serve up the fun on a plate, they DO challenge you to put in to get out, and with more humble capabilities do so long before anything more specialised or dedicated is likely to entrench your notions of 'the fun's IN the machine'.
Like said... its your money, its your choice.. if you feel you have 'out-grown' the Divvy, and you 'need' something 'more' in any area to fulfill your biking expectations, carry on.. go get a Long-Way-Round-Replica, or whatever, to get your next dose of 'I want the bike to serve me fun'.. and see how long the novelty of that lasts.....
BUT... you have NOT outgrown the Divvy you have; you simply haven't grown IN to the Divvy you have; you haven't got the lesson it COULD teach you yet, and may never do so.
It may be utterly anathmic to you; but I bought that old 'Seven-Fifty' almost fifteen years ago; it was when I bought it, a clapped out ex dispatch hack, on its last legs, bought for cheaps as I needed wheels; I expected to keep it at best a year until I could afford something else, and had an idea that I 'might' be able to mess with it as a 'project-bike'... the back-to-basics 'FUN' won me over.... and it's still here; still delivering, still 'FUN'.. I can pop to the shops on it, or I can load it up for a rally, or I can take it proper touring doing three or four days never staying in one place more than a night, even with a bunny on the back... The bike is 'fun'.. but because I don't EXPECT the bike to delver me that fun.. it helps me find it.. in spades, and quite often, LIKE having to improvise a bit to find space for the petrol can or whatever daughter has found in the souvenir shop.. shortcomngs, actual LACK of easy lack of convenience NOT doing it all for me IS where added fun s to be found.
Its ALL in you... in your attitude, your approach and your expectations, how much 'fun' you might have... and very very little is in the bike, or riding the bike, let alone what sort of luggage system it may of may not have.
It is LIKELY that you will have to sample different bikes, and different luggage and different ways about to appreciate the 'Back-to-Basics' lessons the Divvy has to offer, let alone relish them and find the fun in them....
But, here and now you have a large chunk of DAS style enthusiasm and pre-coception and aspiration.... that quite likely needs to be exhausted before you have any sort of epiphany to change your view-point and attitudes.... if you ever do..... BUT.... point is, until then, you are likely onto a looser chasing unicorns maintaining this idea that it is the BIKE that should serve you your fun, and that 'easy' is an laudably attribute.....
Your call... if you want to chop in the divvy... chop n the divvy... if you want to find some FUN... put in to get out, and stop looking at the bike, and start looking at your aspirations...
As Trevor says you are offering mixed signals what you are actually asking us, or what your irk really is; BUT, as I said in prior post, DON'T KID YOURSELF!!
From my view-point, it seems you have a chunk of dissolution that Divvy demands more of you than you'd like; that fun isn't served on a plate; the initial shear joy 'thrill' of riding a bike, you got when it was all utterly new on DAS or early miles after, has worn off; its not novel any more; you want something to revive that novelty; you are a little enviouse of apparent (and it IS only apparent... with decades practice loading bikes I can probably load soft paniers and slap stuff on with straps and nets as fast as many faff with boxes!) convenience of your mates adventure sport and likely tired at comment and 'reputation' and other folks anti-aspirations that a divvy is a good start bike, but you 'will' out-grow it.... Whilst, looking for things to do with the bike, covering miles and getting experience, not ALL of which will be the most fun, and a lot of will beg more fro you than you likely expect, making ideas that 'easy' must be better, and that 'different' must be fun SEEM, like the luggage question, to make sense....
Its the lull after the storm... it's all part of the learning, its all part of the experience... BUT... that is ALL it is....
If you 'want' another bike; if you can afford it; if you think that its the next step and you are ready for that next step; go for it! But dont kid yourself that you 'must' because you have out-grown what you got; or that whatever you replace it with has to delver your dreams...
If you still think its all in the bike... you still haven't learned the lesson that beginner bike was trying to teach... and you may take a dozen bikes to STILL not learn that lesson.. ad be even more disillusioned by trade in depreciation on them all...
If you want to Find Fun... stop looking at the toys, to deliver it... look at yourself... bikes an inert chunk of metal.. it don't tell jokes, it don't sing and dance, its NOT an entertainer, its a mode of transport.. look at where you can go on it; look at what you may do with it; and recognize that its a tiny fraction of the fun that may be had, and for whatever you want out YOU have to put in to get it.
Then ANY bike stands a chance of being fun..... otherwise, almost none do.
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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?' |
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| Alpineandy |
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Alpineandy
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chickenstrip
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| Posted: 13:49 - 19 Jul 2017 Post subject: |
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| Teflon-Mike wrote: |
There's no such thing as a 'dull' bike.. only a dull rider. As again trevor tried to point out, it aint what'cha got, it's what'cha do with it, that matters, and where you choose to 'find' the fun.. or not. |
Clearly never had to suffer a 400 Superdream 
Or a GS850G.
There are dull bikes though. Ok, so you can find nice twisty roads, but if the bike handles like an over-laden camel, exciting is not the word I'd use. And if it's places of interest it takes you, well ok, it got you there, but it wasn't the bike that made it interesting. There ARE dull bikes.
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
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