My First Ride

[Toxz Qwaste]

My not-yet-to-be brother-in-law bought it new in '81. It was originally black but after a low-speed dump that ended up bending the crank, and a long storage, he resurrected it into what you see here and rode it for a few years.  He sold it to me in '02 after getting a ZRX and I started my street riding. I rode it for 2 years before getting my '02 Conc. The person I sold it to, someone I know, rode it for a short period of time and then let it sit under a cover outside for the last number of years and gave it no attention. I had a chance to see the bike recently and what I found was heart breaking to say the least. It wouldn't have been worth it to attempt to aquire it and bring it back to it's glory. The picture was taken in '04 just before I sold it. RIP

[jayke]

You never want to see your bike again after you sell it.  Nobody takes care of it like you did.

I traded my second bike, a '77 Suzuki GS400 in on a new GS650 in '81 at the dealer in a college town. It got sold to a guy in a frat.  I think he let everybody ride it. 

Next time I saw it 2 weeks later both sides of the tank were smashed in and the instruments were busted.  Never saw it again until 5 years later rusting away at a motorcycle junkyard.  It only had 600 more miles on it than when I sold it.

[JetJock]

You never want to see your bike again after you sell it.  Nobody takes care of it like you did.

I traded my second bike, a '77 Suzuki GS400 in on a new GS650 in '81 at the dealer in a college town. It got sold to a guy in a frat.  I think he let everybody ride it. 

Next time I saw it 2 weeks later both sides of the tank were smashed in and the instruments were busted.  Never saw it again until 5 years later rusting away at a motorcycle junkyard.  It only had 600 more miles on it than when I sold it.

Now that's a heart-breaker.

About a year after I mistakenly sold my beloved 86 VFR750,  I came across it by accident at a local Honda dealer. I immediately said, "I'll buy it!" But some other lucky SOB had beat me to it. I saw it again a month or so later, but the new owner wouldn't consider selling it back to me. 

[Strawboss]

It does make you sick. Thats why I have long standing personal policy to never, ever sell anything with wheels to anybody I know, especially family. I'll buy from them, but I'll never sell. I'm still trying to correct the things the previous owner did to my Bonneville, and I've had it for 26 years! He had it for 3 and only put a 1000 miles on it.

[mikeboileau]

We are a possessive lot about our bikes....

[Strawboss]

A lot of people become attatched to their vehicles, I'm that way, my cars are all at least 10 years old, I wash them, maintain them, clean them. At the same time many see and use vehicles as tools for a purpose, that sole purpose being getting them from point A to point B. Never washing it, never cleaning it, sometimes never maintaining it, not worrying about dents scratches tears or what it looks like, mostly replacing it every few years. People that own bikes are the same way. We have all types.