Went out on Saturday for a long ride with a mate who coincidently owns the same model bike as myself Z1000 ST mine a 1979 and his a 1981. Went all over the place covering over 100miles and had a more enjoyable time than i have had biking for ages.
I've never owned a true sportsbike but have had a couple of Blackbirds and other large capacity hyperbikes but really lost the biking bug a couple of years ago. I enjoy my drag racing but its not really the same although nothing beats being able to really thrash a bike.
I've seen a few "I'm giving up biking" threads recently and thought i would share this with you. Sure classics arent for everybody and i'm glad they arent but most riders cover less than 3000 miles a year and many older bikes are perfectly capable of doing that.
Owning a classicCheap hobby!! Fully comp insurance costs me less than £100 pa including breakdown cover. Just fitted 2 new tyres to a mates bike for the grand total of £74 including fitting , yes they were new tyres. Servicing amounts to about £50 a year including parts, less if you DIY and most aren't difficult to work on. Road tax if they are old enough is free, for mine I have to pay the same as any other 1000cc bike which is still cheap imo.
They don't depreciate and buying even a nice one wont cost you more than £2k
LegalitiesLoud pipes are perfectly legal if the bike is old enough and no E or BS number is required. Full size number plates don't look out of place on classics unlike modern sportsbikes.
PerformanceFairly lacking compared to modern machinery but is that a bad thing?? Most riders never use the full potential of their bikes on the road, you cant without either a death wish or a hope to appear on the next episode of €œRoad Wars€ or €œTraffic Cops€ but suffice to say there's enough to keep you interested and so you don't get caught in traffic
AttitudeYou tend to ride differently on an old bike, you need to adjust your style to a certain degree to compensate for a 30 yr old design but you tend to chill out a little and not feel stressed to make progress all the time. Personally it makes riding a lot more enjoyable for me I can €œalmost€ understand why people buy Harleys
ImageWe all make judgements of people by how they look and what they ride. Picture the sportbike rider with this seasons R1, loud pipe, tiny number plate, unmarked sliders on his very loud leathers topped with a Rossi rep lid fitted with dog ears
. Compared to the classic bike rider with a shiny 70's classic, €œnormal€ gear and all appearing legal.
Who is likely to get hassled by the €œman€??
A change is as good as a restSo those of you who feel like giving up biking either because of the cost or the fact you don't use it enough or even simply fed up with being made to feel like a criminal every time you put the key in the ignition, perhaps you should try something else at the end of the day its doesn't cost much and unlike a sportsbike wont lose money while its sat in the garage.
