Last Hurrah Bike?

[fdb]

Hayabusa? ZZR 1400?

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Go to bike shop, see a bike you like, buy it, no fucking about, no research, just do it.

[Whysub]

Just having a look on coches.net in your price range (assuming you haggle)


1290 Super Duke R EVO in Alicante
https://motos.coches.net/ocasion/ktm/12 ... 743807.htm

That's the bike I went to see! They have loads of decent looking used bikes in there, from KTM, Ducati, BMW, Triumph, etc.

Whilst looking at the KTM ( which I didn't like) I saw the Aprilia, and had a good look at that.

Yesterday the shop sent me photos of the Spanish log book with the VIN, and the pages from the service book showing where it has been serviced and when.

From the VIN I got the UK reg, and found it was registered in N. Ireland and was there until it came over to Spain back in 2023

Emailed all the dealers shown in the book and asked if each could give me details of what they did within the service details. Everyone has replied, so have its service history-just waiting for the dealer where it was serviced here in Spain to get back to me.

Also if someone takes their bike from Belfast to Tamworth for a service and valve adjustment, they more than likely took good care of it.

Also a mate at Piaggio gave me details of its warranty claims. Only one for the front brake, so nothing to fear there.

Looks highly likely (bar any horrific details from the Spanish mechanic) that I'm going to pull the trigger on this one.

[Whysub]

Hayabusa? ZZR 1400?

We had a ZZR 1400 at work, great on long motorway hauls, but I have an NC750 for those, not that I do too many motorway trips here. This bike will be a toy for the odd mountain blast.

[Whysub]

Bit different.

https://ebay.us/m/sjORkj

Nah, if I had to ride an Indian, it would be the FTR.

Ditto, but I'd hold way back and see what happens to support now Polaris have sold off the brand to a private equity firm.

Wanted to buy an FTR, with all the carbon bits on it earlier this year. But I ummed and ahhed, dithered about a bit, snd when I decided to have it, the dealer told me it had sold the evening before.

Seeing as Indian dropped the FTR from their range, and Polaris have now sold up , I now wonder if I dodge a bullet.

[MrLongbeard]

Same, I was pondering chopping the Harley in for one as a local place (Midwest Moto) had some very nice deals, so nice they'd sold out and the FTR had been discontinued by the time I talked myself into it.

They've just got a unregistered one in for £10k, council spec dash rather than the TFT, which is probably a good thing given the boot up times for the TFT version, if Polaris hadn't sold out I'd probably be down there bright and early Saturday morning.

[Whysub]

Don't give up yet. I'm 66 and still love the GSXR

The last thing I want to do is stop riding, but I have to be realistic.

I doubt my my physical strength and my reactions will be the same in 5 years time as they are now. Don't want to be a danger to myself pretending I'm all good when actually I won't be.

Knowing when I will have to give up riding anything powerful and physically large will be a difficult decision to make, but I won't kid myself. It will be a sad day...

[Taipan]

Go to bike shop, see a bike you like, buy it, no fucking about, no research, just do it.

Pah! No need to leave the house. Go on eBay, see a bike you like, buy it, no fucking about, no research, just do it.

Worked for me!

[Skub]

The last thing I want to do is stop riding, but I have to be realistic.

I doubt my my physical strength and my reactions will be the same in 5 years time as they are now. Don't want to be a danger to myself pretending I'm all good when actually I won't be.

Knowing when I will have to give up riding anything powerful and physically large will be a difficult decision to make, but I won't kid myself. It will be a sad day...

Heh,it's a gradual process man. A bit like aging itself. It happens at different stages for everyone.

I was 65 when I made the decision five years ago to drop the sportsbikes and go for a naked. I found I could only ride my 10R one way and the realisation eventually dawned that I was missing out on just riding for the ride itself. On the basis of that I made a concentrated effort to get away from chasing the big numbers by buying a bike that made sustaining high speeds very uncomfortable. Yeah sure I miss my 10,it was probably my favourite bike of them all so far,but I couldn't keep doing what I was doing.

Like you,I want to enjoy riding for as long as I can and there's no 'one size fits all' solution,but don't look at it like a door suddenly closing and you are relegated to a pensioner bike.

[mboy]

Bit different.

https://ebay.us/m/sjORkj

Nah, if I had to ride an Indian, it would be the FTR.

Get an FTR... Seriously! Best bike I've ever owned at simply just making you feel good! I cannot stress how much fun this thing is to ride... Even the most mundane of journeys is an event...

And I owned a 21 Aprilia Tuono Factory 1100 V4 for a while too... In fact I've owned quite a lot of really exotic bikes, and the Indian puts a bigger smile on my face every time than any of the others did!

[mboy]

Wanted to buy an FTR, with all the carbon bits on it earlier this year. But I ummed and ahhed, dithered about a bit, snd when I decided to have it, the dealer told me it had sold the evening before.

Seeing as Indian dropped the FTR from their range, and Polaris have now sold up , I now wonder if I dodge a bullet.

No issues with mine yet... Not saying there aren't issues that some people have with them, but my experience of the owners groups/forums is that there's way less issues with the FTR overall (it's probably the most over-engineered bike I've ever owned!) than KTM or Aprilia... And I am a massive fan of both of those brands too!

Just buy one... There'll never be another, and they're actually appreciating in value as a result right now!

[mboy]

Same, I was pondering chopping the Harley in for one as a local place (Midwest Moto) had some very nice deals, so nice they'd sold out and the FTR had been discontinued by the time I talked myself into it.

They've just got a unregistered one in for £10k, council spec dash rather than the TFT, which is probably a good thing given the boot up times for the TFT version, if Polaris hadn't sold out I'd probably be down there bright and early Saturday morning.

Mine was their last black/green base model... Bought it just before Christmas last year... Paid for it (with the £4k off deal), then the following week it was announced they'd been discontinued, the £4k deal had ended, and the price of 2nd hand bikes started climbing rapidly as a result too!

No regrets over buying the base model... I really didn't want the electronic dash (it's more of a hindrance than a help) nor did I want to be bothered with T/C and rider modes... Mine is raw and doesn't interfere with the riding experience, exactly how I like it!

I will admit to having just picked up a bargain Ohlins setup for it though (shock and forks), and I've just bought a few carbon trinkets too, so it's going to look a little more pimp come spring than it does now...

[Yorick]

The last thing I want to do is stop riding, but I have to be realistic.

I doubt my my physical strength and my reactions will be the same in 5 years time as they are now. Don't want to be a danger to myself pretending I'm all good when actually I won't be.

Knowing when I will have to give up riding anything powerful and physically large will be a difficult decision to make, but I won't kid myself. It will be a sad day...

Heh,it's a gradual process man. A bit like aging itself. It happens at different stages for everyone.

I was 65 when I made the decision five years ago to drop the sportsbikes and go for a naked. I found I could only ride my 10R one way and the realisation eventually dawned that I was missing out on just riding for the ride itself. On the basis of that I made a concentrated effort to get away from chasing the big numbers by buying a bike that made sustaining high speeds very uncomfortable. Yeah sure I miss my 10,it was probably my favourite bike of them all so far,but I couldn't keep doing what I was doing.

Like you,I want to enjoy riding for as long as I can and there's no 'one size fits all' solution,but don't look at it like a door suddenly closing and you are relegated to a pensioner bike.

That's why I'm still doing trackdays. There is can ring it's neck and see silly numbers

And then just potter about on road using the huge torque.

Gonna keep doing them as long as I'm able. There's not a feeling like it.

[Scotsrich]

I’m 71 and keeping the GS for as long as the OH wants to go pillion even though it’s a heavy beast.

After that, who knows? An MT 09 appeals just now but I might feel the need to go even lighter.

Trouble is I haven’t had anything less than 130 hp for many years and I think it’s a mental thing that I don’t want to downsize. Even though lower hp would be more than enough.

[Whysub]

Go to bike shop, see a bike you like, buy it, no fucking about, no research, just do it.

Pah! No need to leave the house. Go on eBay, see a bike you like, buy it, no fucking about, no research, just do it.

Worked for me!

Not so easy here, as once you see a bike you want yo buy, you have to use a gestor to handle the administration of the sale between the two parties (whether buying from a trader or a private individual) and the DGT, the Spanish equivalent of the DVLA.

Aa an example, I recently purchased a cheap car, and the cost of having the ownership change registered via a gestor was €250. It took nearly 4 weeks to get your equivalent of the V5 back.

Even the dealer selling the Aprilia charge an additional €130 for transferring ownership on every bike they sell


Being able to buy on a whim, register it in my name, tax it and insure it on line within minutes is now nothing but a happy memory.

[Dodgy69]

If it's a mountain blaster, I'd been leaning to those MVs, bit different. What about a lecky.

[KungFooBob]

What about an R1250RS (I originally thought 1300, but they're too new to be in budget). Possibly a bit too much overlap with your distance bike though.

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-rev ... 50rs/2019/

EDIT:

Actually fuck it, get an M1000R instead...

https://www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk/en/models/m/m1000r.html

210BHP on a naked, think how much you'll annoy Yozza.

[fdb]

I'm not certain about UK residents in Spain, but spaniards can change ownership of a vehicle in a morning. A visit to registro de la propiedad (pay ITP tax) and then another to DGT (50€). Once contract is signed you have 30 days for thoose steps.

[Whysub]

Very true fdb, but it can take hours, hence my getting a gestor to do on my behalf.

[Mike1976]

Harley Davidson Electra Glide and matching caravan.