NEC

snip>

The trouble is that if you've lost interest you'll struggle to find
inspiration at a bike show. You can go to one of the bigger mainland
Europe shows but they're more of the 'trade fair' type of show and I
doubt if they'd motivate anyone.

Go and buy something different and do something you've never done
before like spend a week touring Europe on your own so you can just go
where you want at the pace you want and see different things. Maybe
buy a big trail type bike and **** off to the Baltic states, just do
something different because there's no point in going back to things
that you've previously become bored with.

 

The last paragraph describes me in about 2001. I'd got bored with the
sports bike thing and had to decide what to do next. The thing I enjoy most
about bikes is riding in spectacular scenery. I'd done this on sports bikes
but cobbled hairpins on Slovenian passes is no fun on a CBR600, so I got
what was the best bike for the job at the time. 8 years on I still have the
same bike and do one big tour to Europe every other year or so. I might
travel with a group as company in the evenings is nice, but I tend to ride
solo as that's what I prefer. At other times the bike might remain in the
garage unused for months, although lately I've been commuting 33 miles each
way on 3 days a week.

So, first decide what you want to do with a bike then buy the best one fit
for purpose. You may need more than one...

 

You're right and that's what I mean about feeling the industry needs
to evolve a bit rather than just pumping out the same old stuff.

That's not such a bad idea

 

You need to evolve ;-)

 

Now this I find really hard to understand. I also love motorcycling but
don't really need inspiration to decide what to ride. Ride anything.
Any bike is better than no bike.

Surely the starting point is where do you want to ride and the rest
follows;

Stupidity in the snow - Sidecar.
1000 miles across Europe for two nights in a field in Slovenia - K1100
3500 miles (or so) across Europe, 1000 euros in fines - GSXR1000.
5000 miles (or so) of commuting - K75
Garage ornament - ZXR750H1

 

ook

 

Dunnit just.

--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 GTV TS 156 V6 2.5 S2
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

How about getting a trailie/scrambler and getting involved in something
competitive involving mud and hills. Lots of mud.
There are plenty of specialities to choose from and a good chance to
get some fresh air at weekends with a different bunch of nutters.
A relative of mine is involved in classic scramblers which seems to
involve a lot of 1950s-ish stuff with Villiers engines and quantities
of beer after the meeting.
Just show up as a spectator at some local events and see which type
of event grabs your interest.

 

Heheh. As it says, I need to buy another car.

Sadly the bike just isn't working out for business use. It's ok when
I'm in my office, but for seeing clients it's just a pain. When you
factor in all the getting changed malarkey, I don't think I'm getting
any time-saving over a car.

Also having another car will make it easier from a sprog
point-of-view.

 

Look into it very carefully before you do it Ben.

CC are painful, but you couldn't buy, run & maintain a car for what they
cost you per month.

 

OK, I have your answer right here.

Buy a Ducati Multistrada.

A) It's different to just about every bike out there.

B) Whilst there's the whole Ducati Lifestyle[1] crowd out there, I'd
like to think that about 90% of them find the bike ugly and want
nothing to do with it.

Job done.


[1] And i'm thinking AntonyE here

 

For me it's that I get a brand new car, with insurance, maintenence,
and an instant free replacement hire car included for less than I'd be
paying out to do the same thing myself on a lease.

I almost opted out and took the cash at the end of the last 4 years,
but the cash allowance worked out only a couple of grand a year after
tax.

 

He got caught reviewing shows he hadn't actually seen.

--
Veggie Dave
http://www.iq18films.co.uk

"To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim
that Jesus was not born of a virgin." Cardinal Bellarmine

 

Never heard of him: had to Google the name.

 

And when you come up here ken, you can stay at ours & we'll got a fucking
great sunday run

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Honda Transalp XL600V
Range Rover Vogue

 

OR DIE!

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Honda Transalp XL600V
Range Rover Vogue

 

S1000RR

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Honda Transalp XL600V
Range Rover Vogue

 

Do what I do Ken, churn the bikes until you find one you like & keep it for
a while, then do it all again.

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Honda Transalp XL600V
Range Rover Vogue

 

IME, the allowance won't allow you to buy anything that's anywhere near
equivalent to what you get from the company, especially when you include
all the running costs.

When I had the 320d SE on my car list, BMW quoted me around 800 quid PCM
to lease one myself. Car allowance was £475 before tax.

On the other hand, when I did opt out, I got such a cheap deal, I'd
worked out I'd make a couple of grand a year, plus have a car for Katie
within 2 years.

However, despite the whole world hating the Prius, they're a great
solution as a company car, *if* you have other toys for the weekend.
ISTR my tax bill is well under 50 quid PCM for this one. You can't
really argue with that.

 

Sorry, couldn't resist.


--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 GTV TS 156 V6 2.5 S2
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk