Been thinking about this for a while. With my friend passing away and others we know and correspond with, keeping these older bikes going is becoming a specialty.
Having the space to work on these bikes when things happen, the cost of parts, parts obsolescence, skill set required to troubleshoot issues, and peer pressure all adds up to these bikes slowly going to the bone yard.
You read articles on line regarding the newer bikes, what is a good fit for touring, with some off road capability, comfort, fuel economy, and the fact that we are all getting older, and you are confronted with the adventure style motorcycle. Had one of these bikes in front of me last year, two up riding and I watched the bike as it navigated the road. The rear suspension seemed to soak up the road bumps without an issue. The 800 Triumph Tiger I rode did exactly the same. Hard to argue which bike is better suited for a day ride and/or touring bike.
The cost of these adventure style bikes and what these will do compares nicely to the newer, larger, more expensive touring bikes. Weight is an issue for us older fellows. I have no issue right now, but have friends who are my age who do. This is not to say that in the future I won't have issues. Starting to think of an add on such as the Landing Gear.
I tend to think of us like the Warren Buffet's of the world and his cronies, stay in the same place forever, drive the same vehicles forever because why change/fix something that works.
I believe we all come to a day where wrenching is no longer fun, takes a lot of time, and we would just rather be able to jump on our bikes, hit the road, go touring or for a day ride, come back, park the beast and go have a coffee. The next morning, repeat in kind. I know I will hit this point in time, not soon, but it will happen.
There will always be a need for the cruising "Cadillac"; however, what these bikes will look like in the future may surprise a lot of us.
Just musing about the future and how it will affect me. This will be like the older cars that I had. Nice memories, and appreciate these when they are out in the coffee shop parking lots on sunny Sunday afternoons in the summer.
Cheers
Having the space to work on these bikes when things happen, the cost of parts, parts obsolescence, skill set required to troubleshoot issues, and peer pressure all adds up to these bikes slowly going to the bone yard.
You read articles on line regarding the newer bikes, what is a good fit for touring, with some off road capability, comfort, fuel economy, and the fact that we are all getting older, and you are confronted with the adventure style motorcycle. Had one of these bikes in front of me last year, two up riding and I watched the bike as it navigated the road. The rear suspension seemed to soak up the road bumps without an issue. The 800 Triumph Tiger I rode did exactly the same. Hard to argue which bike is better suited for a day ride and/or touring bike.
The cost of these adventure style bikes and what these will do compares nicely to the newer, larger, more expensive touring bikes. Weight is an issue for us older fellows. I have no issue right now, but have friends who are my age who do. This is not to say that in the future I won't have issues. Starting to think of an add on such as the Landing Gear.
I tend to think of us like the Warren Buffet's of the world and his cronies, stay in the same place forever, drive the same vehicles forever because why change/fix something that works.
I believe we all come to a day where wrenching is no longer fun, takes a lot of time, and we would just rather be able to jump on our bikes, hit the road, go touring or for a day ride, come back, park the beast and go have a coffee. The next morning, repeat in kind. I know I will hit this point in time, not soon, but it will happen.
There will always be a need for the cruising "Cadillac"; however, what these bikes will look like in the future may surprise a lot of us.
Just musing about the future and how it will affect me. This will be like the older cars that I had. Nice memories, and appreciate these when they are out in the coffee shop parking lots on sunny Sunday afternoons in the summer.
Cheers
