How long before you know?

[inditx]

I mean, riding a bike and really getting to know it? 

A 5, 10, 15 minute test ride will not do it I have found. Heck even a longer ride 50-100 miles won’t do it. 

Maybe you can really hate a bike in this time frame but I am just amazed that bikes I thought were perfect, for me at the time anyway, just don’t end up staying in the stable. Maybe I’m just too fickle, fair enough.

So, what say you? How long do you live with a bike before you really bond with it or put it up for sale?

inditx

[Perazzimx14]

I can tolerate any bike for a few miles. Its not until you get some real saddle time do you know whats right/wrong with it. Test rides can only tell you what bikes straight away do not work.

[Shorty]

I have sold most of my bikes right after the first or second tire change.  When I was younger it was boredom or "greener grass on the other side."   Or profit motive. The longest I kept any bike was about 8 years. Bonneville/sidecar rig. I gave it to my son,  but now he is getting too old for it.    I might have to take it back....    52 years of riding and about 50 bikes. I think fickle is the word indeed. They are only machines. You don't have to marry them. 

[Ncdan]

So I wanted to try a BMW many years ago and I had only owned metrics and HD.
A couple BMW guys I knew convinced me that I should try a R100rt. So I found a nice 1985 in great shape and bought it because they said I could not just ride theirs a few miles and grow to appreciate the quality and pleasure of owning one. 
Well, after 6 months, I still had not reached that point so I gave up and sold it.
Im not belittling a BMW because I know they are fine machines but apparently not suited for every rider.

[Perazzimx14]

So I wanted to try a BMW many years ago and I had only owned metrics and HD.
A couple BMW guys I knew convinced me that I should try a R100rt. So I found a nice 1985 in great shape and bought it because they said I could not just ride theirs a few miles and grow to appreciate the quality and pleasure of owning one. 
Well, after 6 months, I still had not reached that point so I gave up and sold it.
Im not belittling a BMW because I know they are fine machines but apparently not suited for every rider.

It good to know there is not a 1 size fits all. If so it would be a boring world.

[Moparnut72]

Im not belittling a BMW because I know they are fine machines but apparently not suited for every rider.

Kinda like a Moto Guzzi, no?   
kk

[Ncdan]

Im not belittling a BMW because I know they are fine machines but apparently not suited for every rider.

Kinda like a Moto Guzzi, no?   
kk

Lol, I reckon so👍

[Gliderjohn]

A big leap for me was going from a Suzuki GS400 that I had ridden for eleven years to a very stripped down T-3 LAPD police version. All the police stuff had been stripped from it including the windscreen and seat and a traditional T-3 seat was on it. Rode it 90 miles home from Emporia to Wichita, KS on a day that had 30mph avg. wind speeds to 50mph gusts (all cross winds). Was exciting at times on the T-3 for a first ride but would have been terrifying on the Suzuki. 
GliderJohn

[TN Mark]

I rode my Griso from Chicago to Ohio to trade it for a Cal Vin. I knew 5 miles into the ride home I made a mistake.

I traded a beautiful Bassa for a V11 Sport and knew in one ride down my street I made a horrible mistake.

The first mile of a test ride on a bone stock Victory Cross Country Tour and I thought, this bike sounds and feels constipated but the ergonomics are awesome. I added all the usual performance mods and have never been more content with any motorcycle. I now have over 85K on it.

The first few test ride miles on a CA Touring, a bike that I wanted to like, I hated. I quickly brought the bike back to the dealer. For me, the ergonomics were poor and the bike ran terribly. The slight change to the Eldorado ergonomics feel fine to me though.

[larrys]

It has taken me a couple thousand miles on my Monster to become truly comfortable with it. I will state that it the first bike of the genre that I have owned. Had 3K miles when purchased, now has 5K. It seems to have broken in considerably, also. Much smoother at lower rpms, much better manners in slow traffic. YMMV.
Larry

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

I say 1k miles

[inditx]

Love hearing the experiences, keep em coming!
1k is pretty good Mayor....

[Alfetta]

Love hearing the experiences, keep em coming!
1k is pretty good Mayor....

OK!   I purchased a CRF230F in 2009 and the next day wondered what the crap was i thinking.  Well I have tried to replace it a few times with "better" machines...  I think it will be in my estate sale..

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

I just remember the day I bought my B1100

I had taken the train to DC, stayed with a friend and he dropped me off at the hotel where the seller stayed after driving down from New York to meet me.  It was pissing rain and unseasonably cold for late spring.

The instant I got on the bike and made to depart, I dropped it on the slick wet brick driveway in front of the hotel. I got it up and drove off.  I had selected a rural route thru beautiful western VA for my return home.  One of the worst rides I have ever taken, I came the closest I have ever come to dying when I missed a highway exit and slammed on brakes trying to stop in time.  Stopped and stayed in a Roanoke hotel and was kicking myself for buying this tall heavy piece of crap. I hated it.

The next day I got up, the rain had stopped and I rode the rest of the way home, including a couple hours on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I still regretted the purchase all the way home.

I didnt bond with the bike and come to love it for several 1000mi after that, but now I adore my Breva and I doubt I'll ever part with it!

[reidy]

The day I took the Nevarda for a test ride a driver came through a stop sign from a side road about 5 minutes into the ride. I took evasive action and missed him. I took this as a positive sign that this bike will look after me. I bought it and owned it for 12 years and it looked after me very well.

 I only got rid of it after it was damaged in an interstate move when I was in the Air Force. The company that was contracted to move it strapped it down so tight that the straps broke the exhaust mounts, suspension leaked indicator broken and cosmetic damage. All fixable but I did not discover some of the damage when it was first unloaded. I was not a happy camper, but the wife suggested I buy a new bike. I was going to buy a Guzzi but the experience with the local dealer was not pleasant and the demo bike so poorly set up I ended up with a Bonneville.

[Scout63]

I think there is a difference between riding enough to bond with a bike and getting through the danger zone of the first few weeks. It is also a very different thing to jump on a new bike in a strange place and ride some distance home.  Nervousness, unfamiliar territory, unfamiliar controls and new ergos and handling combine for a dangerous first experience, at least for me.  It also takes a few weeks for me to build trust in a bike, especially an older one where I’m unfamiliar with the maintenance history.  I’d say six months of regular riding to really judge it.

[ohiorider]

Started riding BMWs in 1986 in Pgh PA.   I was subsequently transferred to Ann Arbor MI, and began frequenting Andy Pelc BMW in Canton MI.  I liked my K bikes, was on 3rd one in 1991, when I was smitten by a '91 R100GS 'bumblebee,' and bought it solely based on the recommendation of a very experienced BMW rider and dealership owner, Gary, of Heritage BMW, Greensburg, PA.

Paperwork all done, and the bike was ready for delivery on a rather nice day for Michigan in March.  I had ridden an airhead (R100RT) only once, a loaner to get me home and back to the dealer while my bike was being serviced.  Not impressed.

Back to the GS.  Off I went, growing disappointed over all the differences between my K bikes and this mechanical, clattering machine.

After roughly 100 miles, I was back at the dealership.  Andy Pelc, the owner, and long time rider walked out to the parking lot as I dismounted the bike.  He took one look at me and said, "You don't like the bike, do you?"  Simple answer, "no."

Andy then commented that I needed to give the bike some time.  "If after you spend a few thousand miles on this bike you don't like it, you may find you really don't like motorcycles."  Sure, Andy!

Fast forward a month or so. I decided to head south to Toledo/Maumee Ohio area and ride the road along the river.  3-4 HDs were cruising just below the 55 speed limit.  Dropped the GS to 4th, then 3rd, and passed this parade.  And at that moment, the pure honesty of the old airhead struck me.  This was Motorcycle 101, bare bones.  We bonded.

Almost 31 years and 162,000 miles later, still loving this old bike!




Here we were .... the working stiffs from Ann Arbor at Mid Ohio June 1991

[Joliet Jim]

I must be easy to bond with, the Trident has been in the stable 30 years, the Stone 20, and the Centauro about 16. If I had more room I'd have more bikes. It's so hard to get rid of one. I think the first rides home with each and I was bonded.

[egschade]

I think it's a question of the bike you're replacing and the performance gap from old to new. Going from the V7 III to the V85TT I knew right away that the V85 was superior in pretty much every measure - modern design vs. old school.

To really get to know a bike is a matter of saddle time rather than miles. Back and dirt roads is going to be a lot slower than highway touring. It feels to me like 8-10 hours will give you a really good measure of the machine.

[cliffrod]

I can quickly think of numerous bikes I rode (mine or not) which had something that irritated me in some perfect manner.  Some details were significant.  some were arbitrary & totally subjective.  But all of these things were deal breakers, like the difference of parts being within allowed tolerances vs go/no go fit.   These things are generally obvious from the start, often within the first ride or day. 

The bikes I've enjoyed the most, including the ones I've kept the longest (V7 Sport, Shovelhead and iron Sportster), are far from perfect but they don't irritate me like this.  Their specific issues are not deal breakers. It's just the way they are, like every other bike is in its own way.   I can't necessarily say why the bikes I've kept and enjoyed most are "better."  They just don't irritate me.  That makes them easier to enjoy.

[LowRyter]

I can feel right away whether I like the feel of a bike.  I can usually match my personal limits to what the bike is giving me in a few hundred miles.

OTOH, driving a car aggressively can take me 5-10k miles where I have confidence and "feel" to comfortably match my performance goals.  I've never understood how collectors can own a Ferrari or other high powered exotic and put a couple thousand miles on it and have an idea of what the car can do- I'm saying those owners can't, just that I don't understand. 

[Shorty]

Remember what Spock said on an episode of Star Trek: " Sometimes desiring a thing is sweeter than possessing it." 

[Gliderjohn]

Kind of along the line that LowRyter pointed out concerning getting use to a bike. I had been riding my T-3 only for over 20 years when I bought the Norge. I would say it took all of the first 1,000 miles or so to get use to the sensations at given speeds. It was really easy on a highway to creep up into the 15+ over the speed limit with no tactical sensation what so ever I had gained that much speed. After 22,000 miles I am still not comfortable with it on my three miles of non-pavement from my house. Those three miles feel much better on the T-3. There are things I really like about the Norge but I don't think I would buy another, at least not at this stage in life. The T-3 and I have been bonded for decades and will continue to do so.
GliderJohn

[John Croucher]

Bought a Covert at a yard sale, restored it, road it, sold it.   Just was not what I like in a bike.

Have a Buell Blast, small bike.  It takes 15 minutes of riding to get into the groove and then it a blast.

[Rough Edge racing]

Get to know a bike, do you mean it's limits of performance? Or just the odd stuff like a bike that falls into corners more than you prefer? Or adjusting to the the clutch or gearbox action?

[inditx]

Not so much performance rather the overall riding experience.
That would inlcude the things you mentioned as well.
inditx

[Rough Edge racing]

Not so much performance rather the overall riding experience.
That would inlcude the things you mentioned as well.
inditx

  I am not a distance rider, an hour or so and I'm ready to take a break...I like bikes with a noticeable internal combustion experience, sight ,sound, and feel. My vintage British bikes provide this. They are familiar, I feel comfortable and secure. My old 900 Monster gives the same but is more suitable for maybe a two hour ride...

[Chuck in Indiana]

I had about 5K miles on my Centauro.. my first Guzzi. I *liked* it, but didn't really love it other than the sounds it made. Then, coming back from a trip to Florida in a driving rain and gusty cross winds.. I got it. I thought, "If I was on my old BMW R100 RT, I'd have to get off the interstate. I'd be getting blown all over the road with the turbulence from semis, etc." The Centauro just *sat there.* I've had a spine frame ever since. <shrug>

[Muzz]

I would have to say I gelled with my Breva the first time I sat on the loaner. I parked my butt on it and....yeah.  Felt just right.

As the miles went on, I have grown to love it more and more.

[reidy]

To add a bit of a twist to this conversation, my first road bike was an RG250. I would strap a bag on the seat and ride the 150Km each way to visit my girlfriend who I now call my wife.

I loved that bike. I then purchased a GPZ 900R. I really loved that bike and in fact have owned two a 1984 and a 1990 but last rode one in 2000.
I would like to ride another of each of these bikes, just to see if they still have it, or have my expectations changed so much that they are just another bike.

Steve