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46 Posts
62 years old here, two weeks to 63. Been going through bikes faster than old socks the last few years, trying to decide what I want to ride, and for a few spells, if I even want to ride. Right now I’m on a 6-month-old Honda CB650R. Loved the retro-ish looks from the moment I saw it, but the ride is very sport-like, really more sporty than I’m comfortable on, and to be honest, a whole lot more performance than I’ll ever need or use. Yeah, that ‘little’ 650 fairly screams. But, like so many others that have come and gone, it’s a great bike, but it’s just not screaming to me to ride it.
Before that it was a Monkey that lasted for 1 year, after about a 3-month period that I thought I was done riding. Before that a Valkyrie 1800 for a couple of years, before that a CTX1300 that I totaled. And a long, long list of more before-thats. Anyway, it’s been just about one season with the CB and I’m already looking for the next thing ... that’s never a good sign.
I don’t ride a whole lot any more. At my peak, I probably put about 4-5000 miles a year on a bike. The last 8-10 years it’s been more like 1000-1200 miles a year. So I don’t live to ride, but still don’t think I’m quite ready to hang it up. Gone are the days that I had to have big and powerful. Now I just want comfortable, affordable, and can keep up with highway traffic for the times I need to. I don’t do bike nights any more, I hate the crowd that group rides bring, I don’t even have a regular riding buddy any more. So my riding is pretty much solo, and 1-2 hours a pop is about all my butt cheeks can handle these days.
I’m a very average size guy, 5’9”, 180 lbs. I’ve been watching the bike news lately and seeing that it looks like Honda could be coming out with a Rebel 1100, which looks like it would be a very right-sized machine, but I’m guessing that’s going to miss the ‘affordable’ checkbox. For the amount I ride, I just cannot justify paying more than $7-$8k on a bike any more. The Rebel 500 is looking more and more like a closer look might be in order. And my first step in taking that closer look is typically joining a forum like this before deciding whether to pull the trigger. Again. Should be an easy sell to the missus, since it’s less than the CB, if I decide to do the stupid and trade in a 1-year-old bike in the spring. Or worse, trade it now - my local dealer happens to have a black Rebel 500 in stock.
So here I am again, looking for somebody to talk me off the ledge. Or not.
Before that it was a Monkey that lasted for 1 year, after about a 3-month period that I thought I was done riding. Before that a Valkyrie 1800 for a couple of years, before that a CTX1300 that I totaled. And a long, long list of more before-thats. Anyway, it’s been just about one season with the CB and I’m already looking for the next thing ... that’s never a good sign.
I don’t ride a whole lot any more. At my peak, I probably put about 4-5000 miles a year on a bike. The last 8-10 years it’s been more like 1000-1200 miles a year. So I don’t live to ride, but still don’t think I’m quite ready to hang it up. Gone are the days that I had to have big and powerful. Now I just want comfortable, affordable, and can keep up with highway traffic for the times I need to. I don’t do bike nights any more, I hate the crowd that group rides bring, I don’t even have a regular riding buddy any more. So my riding is pretty much solo, and 1-2 hours a pop is about all my butt cheeks can handle these days.
I’m a very average size guy, 5’9”, 180 lbs. I’ve been watching the bike news lately and seeing that it looks like Honda could be coming out with a Rebel 1100, which looks like it would be a very right-sized machine, but I’m guessing that’s going to miss the ‘affordable’ checkbox. For the amount I ride, I just cannot justify paying more than $7-$8k on a bike any more. The Rebel 500 is looking more and more like a closer look might be in order. And my first step in taking that closer look is typically joining a forum like this before deciding whether to pull the trigger. Again. Should be an easy sell to the missus, since it’s less than the CB, if I decide to do the stupid and trade in a 1-year-old bike in the spring. Or worse, trade it now - my local dealer happens to have a black Rebel 500 in stock.
So here I am again, looking for somebody to talk me off the ledge. Or not.