when you dont 'gel' with a bike.

[leolion]

What do you do?

Im at a stage where ive suck enough money in that i dont want to sell and although its a decent enough bike i just dont 'get' it.

Do you sink even more money in trying to get it to a good place, keep plugging away at it as is and just hope the magic arrives or loose a fortune and swap to something else.

[Ste]

Stop throwing good money after bad.

[chickenstrip]

What do you want to do?
What can you afford to do?
What bike is it?
What have you done to it?
What bike do you really think you'd like, given no limits?
What's the nearest to that bike you can have?
How long have you had this one?
How many miles have you covered?
In what conditions have you ridden it?

If you're certain you're not going to click with it, change it for something else, and put it down to experience. Don't spend money on the next one until you're certain you like it.
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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!

[leolion]

[Ste]

[chickenstrip]

Nothing to do with the model itself, but change it. It isn't for you, simple.
Money spent is on wear and tear items, which you will spend on whatever bike you have. I was thinking maybe you'd ploughed the cash in for modifying it.

Go and get one of the bikes you think you really want. Get them off the tick list.
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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!

[Skudd]

I couldn't get on with the FJR 1300. Just didn't make me want to ride. I had to as I commuted on it but it hurt. Mr Taxman gave me a bit of dosh and I did a part ex for a BMUU1200 GSA. Now I'm back in love with bikes and can't keep off the thing.
There was nothing wrong with the FJR, it just wasn't for me.
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Famous last words of Humpty Dumpty. " Stop pushing me "
Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[leolion]

so im far from the first person to have brought 'the wrong' bike?

[Nobby the Bastard]

The eggcup valdes was completely the wrong bike for me, unreliable, crippled my elbows and shoulders and drank more oil than petrol but by fuck was the commute fun....
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[chickenstrip]

[leolion]

wondering if a track session with someone like the haslam race school would help?
This is my first 'big' bike and i wonder if its a confidence thing since i placed it on the ground during a u turn.
Maybe the 'on track' session at haslams would help with a bit more bike control?

[chickenstrip]

[leolion]

[quote="chickenstrip"]

[Nobby the Bastard]

[johnsmith222]

Are you modifying it with things it doesn't need?

If you can, just buy consumables as and when needed, as well as doing oil changes etc. Even on a bike that you don't like, consumables aren't really a waste of money as you're still getting transport out of it and you're going to have running costs like that with any similar bike.

If you're selling up, the ideal time for me to sell up is when your insurance has run out, but you have gotten it a fresh MOT just before the insurance ended. This is assuming you have other transport, and can sell it without being in a rush to get rid.

[leolion]

[MarJay]

I bought a FireBlade 954 (2002) as I mentioned in another thread. I didn't gel with it.

Everyone said that it's the best road bike ever. There is in fact such a post in the other thread. Journalists said it. Ordinary people said it. Even an old granny down the shops said it... (or she might have been talking about her fireplace? Not sure).

But I did not get on with it. The suspension was too hard, it had too much power and I was constantly looking over my shoulder for the rozzers. It's clip ons were low enough to cause pain, but not close enough to the seat to allow a nice riding position for short-@rse me. The seat was both slippery and hard.

The front end had so little feel that I crashed the bike on the second day I had it. Luckily the damage was not too bad but I never managed to recover the little amount of confidence I had. In fact, I just started to get my confidence back on my Buell when I had a mishap on that and broke my foot and my wrist. It wasn't really to do with the FireBlade, but having the wrong bike meant my confidence took a knock that wasn't worth it for the cachet of having the 'best road bike in the world'.

I suspect if I spent £3000 on suspension parts to suit my weight it might have been better, but the power was still a bit much for me. In fact I've not owned a bike with much more than 100bhp until I bought my 600RR track bike, which I think is only about 115bhp.

I am thinking about buying a 1000cc bike now, but only because my confidence has returned, and I need a heavyweight bike for my long distance commute. I'm sure I'd be happier with a more powerful bike had I not had a bad experience on my 'Blade.

https://cdn.bcf.44bytes.net/files/rightside_155.jpg
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Bhud]

Keep it if it's something dependable, otherwise get rid of it. It's like a watch. If you're choosing a once-in-a-lifetime watch, you're spending so much money that you should look for something you really like a lot. But if you need to know the time throughout the day, you would be better off with any quartz.

I have a bike I can jump on and go to places, near and far away. It's like a rubber-strap Casio. The cheapest of the cheap and the most dependable of the lot. I keep it for the utility and I can't really 'gel' with it. Partly because of the testicle-crushing seat, partly because of the upgraded shock, partly because of other things. But I compromise on these things because I know it will get me there without trouble, and I can thrash the hell out of it without fear or worry.

[chickenstrip]

[Shaft]

Happened to me with my VFR750.

Spent 25 years wanting one, bought one and instantly disliked it. I did try and I really wanted it to be a keeper, there were even things about it that I quite enjoyed, but the total experience was not one I got any pleasure out of.

It was all made worse by having other bikes I could use, so it ended up neglected, until I was made an offer I couldn't refuse.

Fortunately, I didn't do a big bundle of cash, but I would've done a lot less if I'd bailed out sooner.

Don't like your bike, get out of it.
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Things get better with age; I'm close to being magnificent........
20 RE Interceptor, 83 Z1100A3, 83 GS650 Katana
WooHoo, I'm a Man Point Millionaire! https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=234035

[Pigeon]

I might have missed something, but Chickenstrips questions on what it is you want, have tried, how long been riding etc are key.

The shortest answer is, try as much as possible and bikes you wouldn't immediately thinks of. So do a trackday (on someone elses bike, it costs, but its worth it). Try MX. Go cruising on a chopper. Try something light, something heavy, something revvy, something torquey, something old skool, something with a thousand buttons.

Every bike has something to offer, does something well that others do not. But they all do some things not so well. Every bike is a trade-off.

But to appreciate the good over the bad, you have to know exactly what it is you want. Which sometimes you didn't know you wanted, until you try it.

[Shaft]

[Easy-X]

Beg/borrow/steal another bike and see how it compares...

I alternate between my 125 and ebike and they're obviously chalk n cheese. But I find myself riding the ebike much more aggressively now and hurtling down the hills at 30-40mph which I never did before!

Conversely I find myself cornering on the 125 a lot better after riding the ebike for a bit. I think for the month or so I just rode the 125 (motorbikes are more toasty in the winter!) I though it was just because it was a cruiser that it didn't corner well... turns out you can actually turn the handlebars at low speed and you don't have to lean your way round 90 degree junctions
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[chickenstrip]

My questions were posed to find out why the OP is struggling to like his bike, and therefore to help me to help him decide whether or not to keep it, not so much to give him things to ponder to work out his next choice, although they might help in that regard.

I think test rides can be useful, but also, the novelty of something sampled briefly can be misleading too. And it doesn't tell you what a bike is like to live with long term, although it may give you some clues.

You do have to think about what you want from a bike. That's why I often don't reply on 'what bike to get' threads. It's too often a personal thing.

My choices have usually been ones of the heart. Practicality has always been a secondary consideration for me, which perhaps makes things easier. If you're looking for a bike to commute on, with good weather protection, good fuel consumption, those kind of things, you perhaps have to be more careful. But if you just want a bike to enjoy, for fun, it narrows things down for you, so you don't need to think so carefully, and you can go more with 'want', rather than 'need'.
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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!

[Bhud]