10 Reasons For and Against Buying A New Bike

Blog Date - 18 September 2011

In some ways I consider myself very lucky indeed.  I have 2 bikes already and I've scrimped and scraped and saved up enough to buy another.  There's a whole lot of people who can't afford to do that. That said, there's a whole lot of people who can easily afford to do that, and have a smart warm garage to keep their bikes in, and the bikes they have are a whole lot newer and less worn out than mine.  Still, 10 years ago I'd have killed to be in my current predicament.

I've got a CLR 125 City Fly and a Yamaha FZS 600 Fazer.  The 125's got 33,000 miles on the clock and is getting very tired now.  The Fazer's got 27,000 miles and is still in very good order.  This is due to the fact that 125's do wear out quicker as they're always working harder and the 125 is used daily in the worst of weathers whereas the Fazer is used regularly in all conditions it makes fewer, longer runs rather than countless short, dirty and grinding trips.

If you read the blog regularly you'll see I've been testing and looking at a whole range of middleweight machines.  If I get a middleweight I'm effectively replacing the Fazer.  And that's the problem.  There's nothing wrong with the Fazer.  It starts fine, rides fine, tours well and does everything I need it to do.  It's just that I want a shiny new one.  So here I'm trying to work out whether I'm just spending and wasting money because I'm a spoilt brat, or whether there's a set of good reasons to replace the bike.

Reasons Against.

    1.  There's nothing wrong with the Fazer

    2.  There's no point in spending money to buy something I've already got

    3.  Any exciting new bike just becomes "my bike" and stops being special in time

    4.  There's no bike out there right now that I desire so much it hurts, just ones that are a "bit better" than the Fazer

    5.  The Fazer's mileage means it's trade in value is pretty poor, but there's plenty of life left in the bike

    6.  Any new (to me) bike I get I'll worry about scratches and wear and tear, I've gone past that stage with the Fazer

    7.  The Fazer's a blooming fast and powerful machine, any replacement is at best going to be about the same, if not slower

    8.  I've spent a bit of time and money getting the bike the way I like it

    9.  I know the bike's quirks and foibles so I know what I need to keep an eye on

    10.  There's a whole lot of other things I really should spend my money on

Reasons For.

    1.  I like the Fazer but I'm getting kind of bored with it and want something new and different

    2.  When will the Fazer reach the stage it needs a lot of money spent on it

    3.  The money's no good in the bank, it's earning little interest and life is very short

    4.  It's good to own and learn from different machines, to grow as a rider and owner

    5.  I'd actually like a less powerful and slower revving bike that's relaxing to ride

    6.  I'd like to find a bike that's even more comfortable than the Fazer and uses even less fuel

    7.  Getting parts for the Fazer will become more difficult soon as it's already 10 years old

    8.  Although the gf is comfy on the back seat of the Fazer, there are bikes that would be even comfier

    9.  The Fazer's not very good at "plodding and pottering", sometimes we like to go real slow and take in the scenery

    10.  Now is the season to be buying a bike, it's heading towards winter and prices should be dropping.

I know what my problem is.  I want everything in one bike.  I want the fuel economy of a 125, the luggage capacity of a Gold Wing with a trailer. the performance of a R1, the handling of a R1, the comfort of an armchair and after all this it must be able to go real slow when the mood and scenery demand it.  There is no such machine.  If there were it would be selling in it's millions.  

At the moment I think I've made a decision.  The decision is to keep on looking and if something really REALLY grabs my attention at the right price then I will buy, but until such a bike comes along I'll enjoy the looking.  My real focus should be on building a suitable garage to keep any new purchases in.  There's no point in spending all that money if it's going to sit in a damp and dreary shed which causes the bike to rust and rot.  I should sort out my home situation before I sort out the bike situation.  Boring...but the right thing to do.  

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