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adouglas · January 19th, 2011, 06:08 AM

What are your priorities?

Do you buy a bike to ride or to look at?

If you're out in the twisties one fine weekend unable to keep up with bikes that cost half as much, are you going to be thinking about how great your bike looks, or are you going to be wishing you had a better bike?

There are those for whom style trumps utility. They're the people who buy $400 shoes that look fantastic but are so frakkin' uncomfortable they can't be walked in for more than a few minutes.

See those polished rims? That polished swingarm? To keep the bike looking good you need to keep them spotless. Which is time you could be spending riding. One ride… ONE… and all that bling gets grungy.

That pristine red chain? Yah. That bike is not meant to be ridden. It's a show bike, dude. This thing goes to the show in a trailer, gets rolled off the trailer, parked, and ogled.

And all those farkles together probably cost nearly as much as the bike did. "Tweaking" ain't cheap if you want to do it right.

Think with the large head, not the small one. Get something reliable, fun, cheap and good-performing to ride. Run rings around the Duc. Grin ear-to-ear. Laugh all the way to the bank.

Put a poster of the Duc on your wall to look at.

Now, if you've got enough money to own a bike to ride AND a bike to show, then it's very cool indeed.

January 19th, 2011, 06:08 AM	#7
adouglas Cat herder Name: Gort Location: A secret lair which, being secret, has an undisclosed location Join Date: May 2009 Motorcycle(s): Aprilia RS660 Posts: A lot. Blog Entries: 6 MOTM - Jul '18, Nov '16, Aug '14, May '13	What are your priorities? Do you buy a bike to ride or to look at? If you're out in the twisties one fine weekend unable to keep up with bikes that cost half as much, are you going to be thinking about how great your bike looks, or are you going to be wishing you had a better bike? There are those for whom style trumps utility. They're the people who buy $400 shoes that look fantastic but are so frakkin' uncomfortable they can't be walked in for more than a few minutes. See those polished rims? That polished swingarm? To keep the bike looking good you need to keep them spotless. Which is time you could be spending riding. One ride… ONE… and all that bling gets grungy. That pristine red chain? Yah. That bike is not meant to be ridden. It's a show bike, dude. This thing goes to the show in a trailer, gets rolled off the trailer, parked, and ogled. And all those farkles together probably cost nearly as much as the bike did. "Tweaking" ain't cheap if you want to do it right. Think with the large head, not the small one. Get something reliable, fun, cheap and good-performing to ride. Run rings around the Duc. Grin ear-to-ear. Laugh all the way to the bank. Put a poster of the Duc on your wall to look at. Now, if you've got enough money to own a bike to ride AND a bike to show, then it's very cool indeed.