Bikes then and now.

[G]

You'll have to say which aspect is unfair.

The point of that comparison is to show that other people's comparisons in regards to expensive bikes now were unfair!

[chickenstrip]

[G]

[dydey90]

Here’s a comparison.
Ducati 900SS was the faster bike available in 1976 and cost a whopping £2050. That’s around £14,300 now.

The average house cost £12,000 at the time which is £84,000.
The actual average house price now is £215,000.

If a house costs three times as much, why not a bike?
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This post is probably not serious and shouldn't be taken literally.
Past: CBR125,ER6f NINJA 650, ZZR600 Current: VFR750

[Ste]

Average house price is £231,000 or it was in July and that's the latest data which is available.



https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/housepriceindex/july2018

[G]

[stevo as b4]

OK I'm just sitting out the rain reading PS again. An interesting comment came up about buying affordable bikes, and there being more coverage of them. Alot of magazine classics, specials, SP's and Homologation bikes along with most two strokes are not everyman bikes now, or can be obtained by the family man on a budget who rides for a hobby or wants a little project to play with.

Now I get there are two main types of people and trains of thought here, so here's my question mainly aimed at non essential bike owners or leisure riders/hobby tinkerers:

Does having a special, fast, well equipped or capable bike bother you? And is it essential for your enjoyment? Also would you always try to buy the best bike you can afford?

A guy mentioned lowly bikes like CB500's and Yamaha XJ600 Diversions etc. Im thinking that for a bike you want to work on or re-build or improve, then a cheap middle weight never flash bike would do for many? If it's only for summer evenings and rides to pub/cafe or days out away from home/work then a spec fast or trick bike don't matter?

So say a re-built clean XJ600 with a Kenny Roberts style paint job, a nice shiny exhaust and a decent shock would be good enough for some as an example?

I think it would for me, as power and spec and fully adjustable razor sharp handling isn't too important to me on the road in 2018 and on a bike that might only do 1000miles or so a year just to get me out of the house etc.

Reading the likes of RIDE/Bike etc, it's all about the new generation of bikers with £15k+ adventure bikes, tourers and funky Street bikes. They talk of how many riding modes, power sockets, and hard luggage capacity the bikes have. And how good the navigation menu's and electronics are, as well as throttle mapping and which ECU re-flashes, and how good the manufacturers range of plug in clothing is etc.

I've never been more turned off bikes that reading that stuff.

But equally even if cost wasn't a huge issue, I can't ever see me saying I'll spend £5000+ on building a special big bore Z1000 motor for the ultimate big air cooled Lawson or Cooley or Spencer replica. It all seems very unnecessary for something that your only going to use as a road bike, or even for classic track days etc.

Which camp do people on BCF fit into most?

[chickenstrip]

I still want a capable all-rounder.
So I want comfort (reasonable) for touring.

Good fuel range for touring.

Good handling for when the luggage is off-loaded and for when I'm not touring, although this is subjective - there is better handling available on other bikes than mine, but they don't provide the complete package I want.

Good performance (150-ish top end minimum, good, clean pull down to traffic speeds, enough for grin factor when the opportunity arises to open it up. I'd quickly get bored with any bike that doesn't have up to a certain level of performance, but I also know my limits, and there are plenty of bikes out there which have far more than I need, or could best use (doesn't mean to say I wouldn't enjoy such in the short term ).

I want it to look nice in my eyes.

Low maintenance.

Reliable.

All this because for the vast majority of the time it will be my only bike, but it doesn't have to be the best available at any of these attributes individually.

Gadgets are not particularly important to me as built-in accessories. All I have added in that regard is the sat-nav which most of the time isn't used, only when touring abroad.

Mine already has a fuel gauge, two trip meters and a clock. That's enough as standard for me. And I'd get by with only one trip meter and no clock
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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
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!