VFM biking :)

[Wrigsby1]

Sold my last 11GS early this year to get away from the Ewan & Charlie/TT obsessives and bought a good little XTR single... As a bike it was great but didn't quite give me all the smiles so just eBay chopped it for an 02 1000 V-Strom... Now what a good bit of fun and seriously underrated bike I've not even had to spend an extra £

It has loads of extra fitted by PO's such as braided lines, Cee Baileys screen, top box, uprated fork springs and loads of others and had recently had a new C&S kit and a service. It has over 40k miles and runs like a watch, no surges rattles or shakes and is still in a good condition. No service history but after working in dealers that doesn't really matter

It is actually more comfy than my heavily modded GS (as was the XTR!) and has an enviable reliability record... It can also GLF with ease

My point is mainly that being stuck in a BM loop is not necessarily a good thing and there are some seriously good deals out there, especially if you delve in the eBay pool and be smart. There are some great sellers out there also and I have bought/sold though eBay many times without any probs.

Also for people who like VFM riding rather than buying investments or posing, there are shit loads of great deals out there

PS For anyone about to mention BM reliability, shaft drive etc, after several BM's and clutches, gearboxes and all of the other I know all about it.... Still the best forum though...

 

[David Nimrod]

Also for people who like VFM riding rather than buying investments or posing, there are shit loads of great deals out there

You've got it right

Why anyone would spend big bucks on a new bike (of any brand) is beyond me.

 

[ppgser]

VFM

I reckon my GS's have cost me £3500 in depreciation since 1998.
Includes:
1 x 1100
1 x 1150
1 x 1200
1 x 1200GSA

If I had been buying new every time I am sure it would have cost a lot more than that?

 

[jonnie comet]

Also for people who like VFM riding rather than buying investments or posing, there are shit loads of great deals out there

Never ever been a better time.......

 

[Wrigsby1]

As the V-Strom was well under £2k and at least one more went on eBay for around that, the VFM available is excellent at the mo... It's mainly a point of not being stuck in the ultra low miles, FSH, buy through dealers cycle.

As for paying high to stay with the newer BM's then the high volume of GS's etc out there will make the market harder to stay in the black with.

A good thing about a bike a few years old is the "foibles" have usually being sorted and the useful extras have already being added

Did I mention the headlight protectors, centre stand, LED rear light, aux fuse box, mudguard extenders, stainless bits, heated grips, oil cooler cover ha, ha...

I bought and sold 6 BM's over the years without losing much money but there were one or two bigger bills along the way to absorb

 

[mark2jag]

Sold my last 11GS early this year to get away from the Ewan & Charlie/TT obsessives and bought a good little XTR single... As a bike it was great but didn't quite give me all the smiles so just eBay chopped it for an 02 1000 V-Strom... Now what a good bit of fun and seriously underrated bike I've not even had to spend an extra £

It has loads of extra fitted by PO's such as braided lines, Cee Baileys screen, top box, uprated fork springs and loads of others and had recently had a new C&S kit and a service. It has over 40k miles and runs like a watch, no surges rattles or shakes and is still in a good condition. No service history but after working in dealers that doesn't really matter

It is actually more comfy than my heavily modded GS (as was the XTR!) and has an enviable reliability record... It can also GLF with ease

My point is mainly that being stuck in a BM loop is not necessarily a good thing and there are some seriously good deals out there, especially if you delve in the eBay pool and be smart. There are some great sellers out there also and I have bought/sold though eBay many times without any probs.

Also for people who like VFM riding rather than buying investments or posing, there are shit loads of great deals out there

PS For anyone about to mention BM reliability, shaft drive etc, after several BM's and clutches, gearboxes and all of the other I know all about it.... Still the best forum though...

I had a Vstrom with all the bits and bobs on it too. it had been played with on the engine side of things and went like a stabbed rat. Unfortunately at that time i was doing lots of motorway miles and it weaved like a bastard, which i tried to cure but never could, so I sold it. grrrrrr what a dick............. Wish i hadnt in light of present experience.

 

[Schtum]

As the V-Strom was well under £2k and at least one more went on eBay for around that, the VFM available is excellent at the mo... It's mainly a point of not being stuck in the ultra low miles, FSH, buy through dealers cycle.

Pah....cheapskate....! Besides which, if everyone took that approach there'd be no motorcycle manufacturers, no dealerships....not to mention no new bikes which eventually become the old bikes that you cheapskates buy.....

 

[David Nimrod]

...if everyone took that approach...

But they never will, so the status quo remains

 

[Schtum]

But they never will, so the status quo remains

Possibly but it's your duty to your fellow motorcyclists to share some of the burden of depreciation. So, visit your nearest BMW dealer and get your credit card out this weekend....while you still can.

 

[David Nimrod]

So, visit your nearest BMW dealer and get your credit card out this weekend...

I'm afraid the days of me 'getting my credit card out' are long gone

I'll leave that onerous duty to the lucky ones who still can

 

[Wrigsby1]

Pah....cheapskate....! Besides which, if everyone took that approach there'd be no motorcycle manufacturers, no dealerships....not to mention no new bikes which eventually become the old bikes that you cheapskates buy.....

I have to admit that the pleasure or leaving it to others to have the depreciation and run the bikes in for me is growing by the day...

This Strom is probably better now than when it was new especially after reading reports of the poor setting up/running and some dealers attitude when new

Blame it on Ewan and Charlie

 

[Deleted account 231002001]

I've had some expensive (for me) bikes in the past, but theres a real freedom about having cheaper bikes. You don't feel guilty when you don't ride them for a few weeks knowing how much their costing, you don't mind about treating them a bit rougher when your having fun and yeah you really feel as if your getting good value for money.

When I went over to Spain a few weeks ago my TTR600 must have been the cheapest bike on the ferry by quite some way as it was rammed with alot of new and very expensive bikes (too many 1200's to count). But I had a great time, it was a hoot thrashing it around the Picos on knobblies and I rode some great trails. £1800 bought and paid for, no expensive dealer servicing and replacement plastic panels from Yamaha if I do bin it for about £30.

Yes I would like another bike as well if I could afford it but I would set a budget of £2500 for a classic, something like Darkhorses R80/7 or a cheapy Brit bike.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

I have to admit that the pleasure or leaving it to others to have the depreciation and run the bikes in for me is growing by the day...

Me too - wouldn't want to pay HP and depreciation costs on a new bike

I can have 3 great & fully sorted (Ohlins/Corbin/TT/Panniers etc) BMW's for less than the price of one new TwinCam 12GSA and they'll all do what a 12GSA will do...............or I can even sell one and bank the cash for some brilliant holidays

 

[Wrigsby1]

It's nice not to have a stressy over the "1st scratch" or that incy bit of corrosion that will give people sleepless nights

When in and around the bike trade I have seen grown men almost tearful over a car park drop...

I have always been "owner and keeper" of my bikes for cash and then I answer to me only

And I know those pooooor bike shops need our custom but one of the main probs with the last economic bubble is our over-reliance on credit...

Best bit is riding round the new shiny bikes on the "old nail" that I have just heard being firmly slagged only minutes before... What fun