Old vs. New Bikes

[Scout63]

The last new bike I bought was a 1200GS in 2013, which got sold a year later to buy an engagement ring. I don’t miss it.  I find I’m only interested in old bikes.  Here are my reasons:

I am leery of riding too far or fast.
I feel that I can work on them.
I like showing up on something cool and a little rare.
They remind me of my youth.
I like the way they look and sound.

I miss the young me that would jump on a bike and ride six states or across the country.  I also know that new bikes are so much more efficient, safe, reliable and competent.

Most importantly, I want to have something that wasn’t acquired with a payment plan or credit card.  I want to have earned it with mistakes and time in the garage (and a credit card to the parts company).  Just another way of posing I guess.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

No reason one can't ride "far" on an old bike.

[Navydad]

No reason one can't ride "far" on an old bike.

My son has a 1981 Suzuki GS850 that I rebuilt a few years back and he rides it all over the country. It is his touring rig and he has a new 300 Yamaha for zipping around locally. Me? I have a 2016 Stone and a 2015 Spyder RT. I plan on riding these for many years. I'm 66 so they should get me through. Just remember, your "old" bike was state of the art back then and you wouldn't hesitate to ride it anywhere. A little care and maintenence and the bike will still get you there and back.

[Petrus Rocks]

Interesting.  I love my old bikes because of what they do and don't do.  My newest bike bought new is a 2006 Buell Ulysess.  Love the simplicity, lack of maintenance, and it's ability to do a lot of different kinds of riding.  However, my Guzzi is a rougher edged version that is more narrowly focused on riding fast with a little more effort but a lot more panache
I raced for many years off road, buying a new bike every two years.  The newer the bikes got the better they were but after non-riding injuries forced me to stop I found vintage dirt bikes and it opened a whole new world for me.  The same applies- the older bikes are harder to ride (actually stop) real fast but getting there is very enjoyable. 
They are a lot easier to work on than newer bikes and the cost is lower too, especially if you do your own work.

I do want a Griso though.  It it ticks the right oddness and competence boxes.

I also like the strangeness of very old bikes.  Two projects coming up are installing the Triumph 750 motor into a Wasp (like a Rickman) frame and the same using a Ariel square Four.  I mostly finished a '61 Velocette street scrambler and have been enjoying the quirkiness of it's motor and riding it.  Strangely satisfying.  The bike is a complete dinosaur.

[JJ]

Being fully retired now, on Social Security / Medicare, etc., the only way I will ever see another new motorcycle in my lifetime is if I SELL on of my current two bikes....(**** SIGH ****)

[Scott of the Sahara]

My NOS 2008 Norge was 2 years old when I bought it with 12 or 13 miles on the clock. It has worked well for me all these years and I am not thinking of replacing it. So 13 years is getting a bit old in bike years.
On the other hand......... My 2014 Ural feels pretty old. It was used pretty hard before I bought it and I have been able to do some decent repairs on it including: Replacing the Donut and then the drive shaft. I was having some internal problems so I replaced the clutch. That didn't fix things so I got into the transmission and replaced 3rd gear. While on the way to a multi day riding trip with my wife, the swing arm broke. So I replaced that. I replaced the starter and the battery (although the battery was still good).  With all of those things done, it still feels like an old VW going down the street.

[lazlokovacs]

I personally think the safety difference is negligable... you crash on something new, its gonna hurt just as much as on something old...

[lucky phil]

I personally think the safety difference is negligable... you crash on something new, its gonna hurt just as much as on something old...

So you don't think ABS will help you not crash? Tubless Radial tyres with greater grip and superior suspension the same over ordinary suspension and tubed tyres?

My only argument with modern bikes is the "modularisation" of the engineering and the diminishing ability for the average owner to do any home maintenance with a standard well equipped toolbox. I love EFI and would rather connect a laptop to do my tuning than open the toolbox and get covered in fuel but the modern bike and modularisation mean that even the local dealer workshop shies away from ordering an expensive component to rectify an issue lest they get it wrong and have to wear the cost of the part. What's the dealer tech thinking when he suspects a faulty TPS in the new generation Throttle body/TPS/ECU/MAP sensor combo that's worth a quarter of the new bike cost as a part to solve that annoying running issue? is he going to risk it like he would have the 120 dollars stand alone TPS or send you out the door with a perfunctory fix hoping you don't come back, so he doesn't need to make that call. My V11 Sport is 20 years old now and new parts are getting hard to find for some things like the gearbox. Unless you are lucky and then want to mortgage the house.  At a point around 12 years or so the manufacturers tend to offload all their spares inventory in job lots and the the focus shifts away from a certain degree of 'customer support" to pure profit making form spares.

Ciao   

[SED]

My old bikes have ABS 7" drum brakes.  No way to lock them up.   

I agree with the old bike thing, fun to ride and talk about and rebuild.  Maintenance is more frequent, but usually not too hard.  I end up taking something apart every few years to fix it, but it's only stranded me once when I holed a piston.  (replaced the carb and added a decompressor plate) 

After 5 years with the Ariel I bought a "new" bike with disk brakes and push button starter - the '83 LMIII.  That was 13 years ago so even the new bike is getting old.   

I hope it's not inappropriate to post pictures of an old bike going places. (I hope you like them!) A couple months after getting it running it went on a 1000 mile trip into Canada (2nd pic on Needles Ferry) and it keeps going places.  Full disclosure - it was in the truck for the picture at the track and for the Feather River Bridges loop. 

[mechanicsavant]

Having spent most of my working life working on other folks vehicles & my own I want to turn the key & go . I understand the panache of vintage stuff too . I’ve currently got a couple V7’s . A Mk11 &  V7/850 . So far so good !

[lazlokovacs]

Ok, I'll keep the campfire chatter up,

We probably think roughly the same thing here,

Though, depends what we're comparing, I guess

Do I think a modern bike putting out 130hp + at the rear wheel with ABS and a big bright TFT screen across the handlebars is less likely to crash than an old airhead beamer with no ABS on drum brakes, then the answer is no....

If we're comparing a modern Guzzi V7 to a Jota then... yes

Personally, I like disc brakes a lot and I also like ABS but I don't miss it on my fastest bike, which is a Griso...
 
certainly never needed ABS on my Cali!!!

[lazlokovacs]

ps as far as maintenence is concerned, my griso has required about as much as my old bikes, little things, clutch lever grub screw came loose, el cheapo earth strap from battery snapped off, brittle hoses seeping, that kind of stuff...

But I'd still consider it a very very reliable motorcycle...

brevity being the soul of wit I'll leave it there before I bore everyone to tears...

[Guzzistajohn]

We were riding far on old bikes when they were new, same bikes, same parts. It's all in how you maintain them.

[Canuck750]

I would jump on my Eldorado tomorrow without hesitation and ride it across the country, it’s dependable and easy to fix. I have taken it for a couple thousand mile jaunt in the past, no problems other than one leaky fuel line. I would equally trust my 73 Laverda or 75 Ducati but have only ventured out for a couple hundred mile runs on them, not that either would have a problem with long distances but the Laverda seat isn’t very comfortable and neither have any wind protection.

[bobrebos]

I’m paranoid about everything.  I’m taking my 1971 Honda Cb 750 chopper on a 200 mile trip to North Carolina to a Honda chopper meet.  I know Il break down five times.  Lol. But I worry the same on my 2013 Stelvio or the 2010 Gold Wing.  I just worry as it’s my nature. 

[Gliderjohn]

Old bike (T-3) with some engine mods have had up to 115 indicated double up with the wife. The all stock Norge has hit an indicated 140 solo. Old bike goes pretty fast but lets you know you are going fast. Norge goes even faster but does not let you know you are going fast.
GliderJohn

[wymple]

Some new bikes I really like, especially the Guzzi stuff. And the BMW R-18. Most new stuff just strikes me as plumbing mashups that turn me off, performance be damned.  My GS1100 was never anywhere near slow. I just like the old stuff better, carbs & all.

[twowheeladdict]

Am I the only one that couldn’t get past “sold the bike to buy an engagement ring”. ???   

[berniebee]

I've never bought a new car or bike. Having been indoctrinated into the church of Our Lady of Depreciation by my devout father, I have a huge aversion to new vehicles.  Besides, I'm a somewhat competent mechanic. It would be a waste of my tools and talents to get a vehicle that worked perfectly for the first five or six years of ownership. (Side note: Mechanics was never my day job.)  To me the immense satisfaction of maintaining and repairing and the concrete results of restoring are nearly as satisfying as the riding. The money saved is nice too.

But why a nearly 40 year old SP1000? If I'm being honest, yes it really is about rumbling around curvy country lanes and showing up at a coffee shop with something the patrons won't see again.   "Yeah I restored that."   

[Jorg66]

@twowheeladdict,.... no you are not the only one who sold a bike to ..... .i once sold my guzzi to buy cows  .
Yup and later sold the cows and bought a Motorcycle ,............... Rest is History.

[coast range rider]

I understand the allure of once in a while riding an old bike that feels like it is going fast when going slow because of primitive engine, suspension, and brakes.
And I understand some people like to ride fast all the time, and some slow all the time.
For everyday riding I prefer the fastest, most comfortable, safest possible bike (hopefully lighter, too), with the advantages of fuel injection and abs. That means it's a newer bike. Or a bike that will be available 5 years from now, neither old nor new now. Of course that future bike has the significant disadvantage of the wait to ride.

[Scout63]

Am I the only one that couldn’t get past “sold the bike to buy an engagement ring”. ???   

Best trade I ever made.  GS’s are not rare and Sara is one of one.  And she doesn’t care that the cars are parked outside, there are eight bikes and two lifts in the garage and the UPS driver shows up every day with mysterious packages.  We’ve been together ten years and I still can’t stop staring at her. 

[wymple]

My wife thinks there's an Ebay scam going around. I keep ordering jewelry and motorcycle parts show up instead. She doesn't understand why I keep falling for it.

[tazio]

Best trade I ever made.  GS’s are not rare and Sara is one of one.  And she doesn’t care that the cars are parked outside, there are eight bikes and two lifts in the garage and the UPS driver shows up every day with mysterious packages.  We’ve been together ten years and I still can’t stop staring at her.

[kidsmoke]

Best trade I ever made.  GS’s are not rare and Sara is one of one.  And she doesn’t care that the cars are parked outside, there are eight bikes and two lifts in the garage and the UPS driver shows up every day with mysterious packages.  We’ve been together ten years and I still can’t stop staring at her.

This is good stuff.

 

I absolutely love my G5, but my only real skill is knowing who to buy from. I've got wrenches, and I can read, so basic maintenance isn't a problem. My fear is that when something old and mechanical finally fails, it will be prohibitively expensive to repair because I won't be able to accurately diagnose it. For now though, I find that Standard an absolute dream and am hard pressed to believe road going can be any sweeter on a modern machine.

Here's to hoping WG remains active so I can call on ya'll when the time comes. (and with that I'm off to make my '22 donation)

[maquette]

Best trade I ever made.  GS’s are not rare and Sara is one of one.  And she doesn’t care that the cars are parked outside, there are eight bikes and two lifts in the garage and the UPS driver shows up every day with mysterious packages.  We’ve been together ten years and I still can’t stop staring at her.

   We've been together 41 years Ben and I feel the same way about Nancy. Everything else is just fluff.

[xackley]

I am currently prettying up my 1958 R69 BMW, and even bought it a new power wheels battery.
Adding  bar end turn signals as it is becoming obvious that most people have no idea what hand signals mean.

Last year I was cruising a fairly straight country road and noticed it liking 70 mph, just like it did 40 years ago.
It was 20 years old when I got it and was my only transportation as a Boilermaker working from Maine to Virginia to Ohio, and never let me down.
Pick the right old bike and never have a mystery computer glitch, and carry a small adjustable, vise grips, and 4 way screw driver and you are all set for 99% of what might go wrong.

I keep looking at the v7 III, but having a "service required" light is really off putting and the main reason I keep thinking rather than buying.

Don

[Scout63]

I am currently prettying up my 1958 R69 BMW, and even bought it a new power wheels battery.
Adding  bar end turn signals as it is becoming obvious that most people have no idea what hand signals mean.

Last year I was cruising a fairly straight country road and noticed it liking 70 mph, just like it did 40 years ago.
It was 20 years old when I got it and was my only transportation as a Boilermaker working from Maine to Virginia to Ohio, and never let me down.
Pick the right old bike and never have a mystery computer glitch, and carry a small adjustable, vise grips, and 4 way screw driver and you are all set for 99% of what might go wrong.

I keep looking at the v7 III, but having a "service required" light is really off putting and the main reason I keep thinking rather than buying.

Don

I love a magneto bike, but 6-volt-only electrics are where I draw the line for primary bike status though. That and “Made in England” are deal killers for a one motorcycle garage.

[n3303j]

I love a magneto bike, but 6-volt-only electrics are where I draw the line for primary bike status though. That and “Made in England” are deal killers for a one motorcycle garage.

My '66 R60/2 BMW was magneto. With the Emerald Island coil it was the most reliable ignition system I ever had. Always started. Battery condition didn't matter. I bought it with used points at 50K miles. Sold it with same points at 100K miles. There is an aftermarket 12 volt alternator that fits in the original housing. Only issue was that drum brakes don't slow a bike as quickly as good disks. Then I fell in love with a T3 and that was the end of my BMW affairs.

[bobrebos]

Am I the only one that couldn’t get past “sold the bike to buy an engagement ring”. ???   

Lol!!!