Is Enough Really Enough?
written by sideout
Everything is good in moderation. Lack of moderation leads to possible cases of obsessive behavior. And obsessive is neither good nor healthy. Obsessions could ruin lives, bring chaos and destruction. Sometimes obsessions have no cure. One just have to learn to let things go. That might be the only reasonable treatment to that kind of behavior.
Motorcycle related cases are no exception. However in rare instances they are quite the opposite - healthy, constructive and even productive. Now with all that said - no, I am not obsessing about yet another motorcycle. Or am I? Some of my friends have a betting pool going that I will buy another bike by March 2009. Despite the betting odds predicting the purchase to happen in the next couple of months I strongly disagree - I will not purchase another motorcycle in the nearest future.
After shuffling through a few motorcycles, trying off-roading and adventure riding I narrowed it down to the following two motorcycles (that I happen to currently own) - Aprilia Futura RST 1000 and KTM 950 Supermoto. They bring the best of the motorcycle worlds that I seemed to enjoy the most - fun street commuting and long haul one or two up sport touring. Futura is virtually unmatched in it’s styling, seat comfort and sporty character - arguably the best sport tourer I demo-ed. The Supermoto, aka the Orange beast, is the ultimate street commuter, very flickable, a lot of fun to split lanes on, fairly light. With that said it does look like I am in absolutely no need of another noble steed in my stable. And that is exactly how I feel. I have ENOUGH motorcycles. I do not need more. Or is enough really enough?
My friends are trying to get me to venture into adventure riding with them. This idea is very enticing. I drool over trip reports on advrider.com each time I browse through them. I want to push my limits and go in the unknown. Ok, not necessarily unknown. Probably an unknown road to a known destination. But still - a definite adventure. As I mentioned earlier after trying off-roading on the BMW F650GS Dakar saying that I did not like it would be an understatement. Now I might be having second thoughts. Obviously I sucked at off-roading. You suck at pretty much anything you do for the first time. So is there a possibility of me trying this out again? You never say never …
I have never been to a track day before. Although my friends (namely Motodisiac) keep pushing me to go do that. Frankly I am afraid to go there on either of my bikes. Futura is a bit too heavy, the Orange beast is too high and most importantly I do not want to drop either of them. I like them way too much (obsession?!). The likelihood of me taking a spill there is pretty high. From what I hear first timers often times get a bit too confident for their own comfort and begin to follow the more experienced riders. Then they start taking turns a bit faster than they should be. That is where yet another bike comes in the picture. Motodisiac owns this beautiful red Duc 749R for his track days.What do I own? Exactly. For a beginner like myself any of the big 4 sport bikes will do just fine. You can get a 650cc Suzuki/Honda/Kawasaki/Yamaha for around 4 grand. It will be in a shape good enough for a track day. And on top of all of that I would totally rock the Replica racing leather suit from REV’IT! :). So do I see me going to a race track on a track bike in my future? You never say never …
What do you think? Do you see a new bike in my future purchased within the next 4-5 months?
I voted “for sure,” but I don’t think you are obsessed. You identified a unique need for an off-road bike and/or a track bike. Each bike would serve a purpose that your other bikes would be unable to fulfill, for either mechanical or logistical reasons.
I wouldn’t say “obsessed” even if you had bikes that handled multiple roles. I admit this is partially in my own defense, as I own three street bikes.
Have fun — when I grow old I’d rather say I owned too many bikes than say, “I wish I bought XYZ ….”
DrFaulken
November 9th, 2008
I agree with you. I’d rather have no regrets and own the bikes I want to own than say “I wish I bought XYZ …”
And on the part regarding me not being obsessed in your expert opinion - I am pretty sure most of my non-motorcycle friends will disagree with you :).
sideout
November 9th, 2008
You are completely wrong about your track expectations. First of all, your KTM is perfectly suited for occasional track day. As a matter of fact it will be more fun that the superbike on a tight track like Streets of Willow. There is a lot less chance of crashing on the track because you are in controlled environment. If you start in the beginner group, nobody will push you and you will slowly get up to speed. You don’t even need fancy REV’IT! suit, your gear will work just fine. You are not doing this to become MOTO GP racer, it’s for personal enjoyment only. I can guarantee that by the end of the day you’ll be grinning non stop.
motodisiac
November 10th, 2008