Jump to content
IGNORED

Beginning to start to maybe think about selling my 2014


hopz

Recommended Posts

I've seen people touring on the Burgman a couple times. Once saw one in a parking lot pulling one of those little motorcycle pop-up campers. Had stickers from all over, all over the camper. Always regretted not going in the restaurant and talking to the owner.

I saw one going the other way last year on the Top of The World Highway between Chicken AK and Dawson YT. The Milepost said it was chipsealed but it lied. 80 miles of dirt/gravel. Then 13 miles of just lovely paved road, then another 50 miles of dirt/gravel. Much like the Dalton Highway.

Link to comment
I too have given some thought to not riding anymore as my sense of balance seems to have diminished slightly. Should also mention I'm 74 but in good health and not overweight. I walk 3 miles everyday 7 days a week including some pretty strenuous hills. The reason I sold my R1150RT was due to the top heaviness issue and difficulty flat footing when stopped. I had dropped it several times. I replaced it with the 2010 FJR which seems to carry its weight somewhat lower and is easy to flat foot when stopped. I still miss the '04RT. I have thought about going for a new R1200RT but i hesitate because I know in my mind my years left for riding are most likely few. I don't like to think this way but I can't deny what I know to be true. Plan to do a lot of touring this summer forest fire smoke or no. Oh, I should also mention that my wife likes to ride as a passenger and I worry about putting her at risk as well as myself in fact more so. Don't want to be responsible for her being hurt.

 

Whether it's worth the money at this point is a decision only you can make, but as somebody who's gone from an '04 1150RT to a '15 1200RT, I have to say the '15 is a lot easier to ride. Much lower CG, seat seems lower while allowing adequate leg room (32" inseam here), and the wet clutch is much easier to modulate. And, as a bonus, it's a lot faster!

 

Link to comment
I don't know if anyone mentioned this pathway in this thread yet but I know of one older guy who wanted to downsize and bought this very cool Burgman 650 Executive and he absolutely loves it...

 

And a number of us can attest to the durability of the Burgman 650's final drive! You can ride one from the Bay Area to Death Valley with no oil in it with no apparent ill effects! (Hi, Greg!)

Link to comment

I have the Yamaha Majesty 400, made for several years now. I redid the tranny, changed oil regularly, etc. just because I could. Rated higher than the Burghman in problems, and many close Yamaha service places out there. Excellent service in my case, and it rides great. A buddy bought one after many years on HD and Yamahas, Honda 4s. etc. Same there, a good reliable rig with low maintanence. Mine has 42 K miles now, can't hurt it. Older models like mine do a comfy 70, on freeways, fast enough and looking for older roads can be more fun to ride anyway. Good web support too, riders groups etc. Later, and have fun, cal

Link to comment
  • 2 months later...

Don't think I mentioned it before but probably the main reason I have for maybe giving it up sooner rather than much later is fear of my fellow inattentive motorists out there. And then there is what seems to be much more anger and aggressiveness on the road these days. I live on the coast and like to ride east of the hump (AKA Cascade Mts.) and travel inland thru the Willamette Valley in particular Eugene/Springfield just isn't fun at all especially when the weather warms up. Gone are the days when I could ride from one end of Seattle to the other in half an hour just about anytime of day. Travel by road in general is just not much fun anymore and I'd just as soon stay home! There, that's really the long and or short of it right there. In this crazy town (Florence) with its average resident age of of 63 crossing intersections is just absolutely hazardous to one's health. All the local police have time to do is clean up after wrecks, just nuts, and with summer coming add to that the visitors heading north on good old 101 and it just gets worse, much worse! I'd rather sit in the garage with a cigar and a shot of Kentucky's finest and enjoy the peace and quiet and I might even live a bit longer.

 

"Kentucky in our hearts bourbon in our soul"

Edited by JamesW
Link to comment

James, I can understand your sentiment given the picture you paint. And for sure drivers everywhere seem to be worse than ever. Inattentive, distracted and dangerously aggressive to the point of road rage. The one factor that typically is in the riders control is congestion and avoiding the peak travel times and roads, which now seems to have ben taken away from you with never ending congestion. So I get it.

 

I'm glad that I live in fly over country where I can be on less congested roads in 20 minutes and depending on which way I head out of the city be on truly rural roads in less than and hour, so I have that last measure of control that keeps riding enjoyable. However, riding rural here is still not anxiety free. Instead of idiot drivers, I have to worry about deer, and worse yet, those damn wild turkeys that seem to be multiplying like rabbits in these parts.

 

...and the occasional manure spreader :eek:

 

 

Link to comment

James, I've been thru Florence, cute town, had a great dinner at the warf. I read your post and thought 'this guy is done'. All of life seems to be 'been there, done that'. If your enjoyment of riding is over shadowed by distractions, and fear of getting hurt then maybe it is time to call it a day. Motorcycling is more dangerous, and you made it all these years! Feel free to let it go. I suspect many others will get there at some point.

Link to comment
James, I've been thru Florence, cute town, had a great dinner at the warf. I read your post and thought 'this guy is done'. All of life seems to be 'been there, done that'. If your enjoyment of riding is over shadowed by distractions, and fear of getting hurt then maybe it is time to call it a day. Motorcycling is more dangerous, and you made it all these years! Feel free to let it go. I suspect many others will get there at some point.

 

Next time try the 1085 Restobar at the other end of Bay Street or even Mo's for great blackened salmon with drop dead mash potatoes and pretty good clam chowder with homemade bread, mmmmmm.... been going there since '81 and hasn't killed me yet. Don't usually frequent Bay Street during "the season" if you know what i mean. Then there is the Beachcomber bar and grill across from Mo's which is a biker bar no doubt but they're all harmless just a bit noisy and the food is really good with 20 micros on tap. They like my BMW and most of them think the FJR is a BMW because of the roundel with tuning forks, what do they know? Think if I give up riding I'll keep the beemer and park in front of the Beachcomber on sunny days.

Link to comment

Now that I think about it the Wharf in old town Florence closed some time ago. It's now just another family restaurant and is next door to the Beachcomber.

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...