Anyone ever take breaks from riding?

[Matty D]

Count me in the group of folks who doesn't do much sport riding these days, just mostly commuting, errands, and the occasional jaunt to the beach with my girl. As long as I live in the city I'll probably always have a moto for that kind of stuff.

I can understand the desire to sell the bike and free up the cash and space, but your gear too? You'd only get pennies on the dollar (if anything). If you've got stuff you like that fits, I'd probably hang onto it, at least until you know for sure you're done.

 

[gixxerjeff]

I'm reminded of an old phrase that seems to kinda fit here.
"You don't stop riding because you got old, you got old because you stopped riding."
It'll take a lot before they finally pry my (already) arthritic paws from the bars....but that's just me.
We all began riding for personal reasons, we'll stop riding for the same.
No wrong answer here.

 

[moto-rama]

I mean total break. Sell the bike(s), all your gear, etc.
.....

:wtf

 

[horsepower]

Pete,
Come with us to Maui in early spring.
Swim with the dolphins and ride the KLRs around 600 turns around the island and you will come home with a new passion to ride whatever you have now.
Just do eeetride

 

[FreeRyde]

I didn't ride for 7 months this year due to work. It felt like I was dying. Now I get to ride 1-2 days a week for fun, and still feel like my hoon ratio is off.

I will NEVER contemplate giving up riding.

It's hard for me to read all of these posts "follow your heart, don't ride if you're not into it." This is a motorcycling forum. Or is BARF just a social club now that occasionally rides motorcycles?

 

[Maddevill]

Pete, how about trying a different type of riding? I'm with you...I stopped road riding years ago and only do occasionally because I love the comforts of an auto for getting around. However, I absolutely love the track and racing. It's what I love about motorcycles...and there's so many different segments of our 2wheel pastime. A touring bike for 2-3 day trips to see everything on the West Coast and Rockies? One of my dreams...I'll be looking for one of the larger BMW's for this in the next few years. So...maybe something like this? Or...how about something similar on the water?

I can' tell you how much fun the SXR-1500's are. Next spring, come up and try one of mine out for a ride...or maybe in the next few weekends if you can find the time and the weather is good. You could even ride your bike to the lake!



This, too.

Stand up jet skiis are BIG fun. :thumbup

Mad

 

[Climber]

Stand up jet skiis are BIG fun. :thumbup

Mad

Agreed. Way more fun that those sit-down ones which are kind of like riding a scooter rather than a real motorcycle. :laughing

I can see why people like the 'scooters', anybody can hop on one and motor around on it, but the stand-ups require some balance and skill.

 

[TheRobSJ]

Sell the bike(s), all your gear, etc.


Seriously considering just selling it, donating / selling my gear, and freeing up the closet space.

Don't get rid of the gear. You wouldn't get much money for it if you sold it, which means you're probably better getting the tax write off and donating it. But think about how much all that shit costs to buy all over again if you should get back into riding in a few years. I kept a pair of $500 Sidi boots that I managed to use a little recently. The Dainese jacket seemed to have shrunk

I took a break before. Am about to again. For many years here, that title under my name said "cars>bikes" which is a policy I still have today. Like 15 years ago, I sold my RC51 because I moved to an apartment and I just couldn't park a car and that bike in the parking garage. A few years later, my dad and I went in on a V-Rod that we kept at his house. I hardly every rode it since it was a pain in the ass to go over there and get it so I was more or less still on the break. 5 years ago, I really came back to bikes and parked one in my own garage, which eventually became the rolling couch I have now. I decided my side of the garage was for a bike for the past 5 years. But...

Times have changed. Now on my side of the garage is a new fun car. My Harley is parked in my mom's garage. Once again, it's a pain in the ass to go get the bike to ride it. This is the beginning of another break I think. I'd love to keep it, but realistically, I'm never going to ride it with that extra hurdle of having to go get it.

The bike I will of course lose money on selling it, but its value is more recoverable than gear, which I will keep. Jackets, helmets, gloves, cameras, and all that probably added up to $3k maybe. The thought of buying it all again plus the bike in the future is a tough pill to swallow.

 

[CDONA]

Stand up skis will give you fits like it did me, I had a beater 440 that I traded in on a then new SX650. Got reliability? Yes!
Planed out and cruising, I would inadvertently counter steer it on a minor course correction, and fall off. Took me years to figure out why.
Having a ski along with the windsurf gear, laughing my ass off running straight upwind, nobody on a board able to follow me.
Never been on a sit down.

 

[horsepower]

Also agreed.
There is never a need or a reason to sit down .....unless it’s on a bike. :ride
Real jet skiers stand up :teeth
Personally the new 1500s thrilled me .....for about5 minutes. I’ll take my old 701 Super Jets any day, any where.
But yah, if you want to ride Moto on the water ( old school or rich boy style, lol), I’m down for that too, Pete.

Bottom line, I didn’t even find motorcycles until I was almost 50 and some of the very best of BARF OG is well over 60 and still kicking ASS!!
You have plenty of time to quit and start over and still have a long and happy relationship with motorcycles. You’re what, like , 21 now?:afm199

 

[NorCalAthlete]

Hmm. Not a bad bunch of suggestions here. I'd definitely like to try the stand-up jetskis, never done that before, and Maui sounds wonderful.

 

[Squidly McSmearstain]

Just recently finished a three year break due to injuries and spouse/child requests.

I just could not go any longer. I asked my kids and wife permission to ride now. I said they had veto power, and I would not get a bike NOW. I absolutely WILL continue riding, but I was willing to make the break longer if they wanted. They all agreed (wife was a grudging agreement) I could resume.

 

[Shaggy]

Yes. Never sold riding gear though.

2003 - Sold all my motos to buy car parts
2015-16 - Sold my race bike because I was broke
2017-2019 - Didn't ride for ~2 years, but kept everything

Just did my first trackday since 2017 this weekend and plan on racing AFM Round 7 in a couple weeks. I still have a 2013 MTS1200 Pikes Peak that I’ve put less than 2k miles on since I bought it in 2016.

 

[bojangle]

Pete,

What's your relationship status? If in a relationship, how does she feel about motorcycles? Will it be an issue if you quit and later decide you want to resume? If single, seriously consider the implications of a future relationship. If you meet the girl and already ride/own a motorcycle, that comes with the package. But you you don't have one, you just might have a very hard time getting back into riding. It could cause major problems.


I'd say hold onto one motorcycle. If your current one isn't doing it for ya, look at something else. Even a different type of riding, like others suggested. Just my :2cents, but the cost of maintaining what you already have probably isn't all that much, especially if you only ride occasionally. So why not just keep it for the occasional ride, even if your interests are mostly elsewhere?

**Not to mention we'll have to kick you off of BARF if you stop riding.** :laughing

 

[Johndicezx9]

My break is over....

https://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10407456&postcount=3353

 

[Holeshot]

John...whew! She’s a good looker.

 

[tzrider]

Just busy all the time and I find that more often than not I have more need for the cage to carry golf clubs, surfboard, snowboards, whatever.

If golf is a higher priority than riding, a break might be a good idea. :laughing

Only kinda kidding. Sometimes all the things we do aren’t compatible from a time management standpoint. The list above is a lot easier to do with a car than a bike.

I’ve always thought of riding as an outlet for who I am, not as something that defines who I am. There have been periods where I didn’t ride for months at a time, then I’d go coach a few schools and go back to not riding for a while. During those times, it was a matter of what I could fit into any given week and what the priorities were at the time.

If that’s where you are and space that the equipment is taking up could be used better, maybe getting rid of it all makes sense. I personally would have felt a sense of loss if I didn’t know I could go for a ride at any point if I chose to.

 

[Pking]

Seriously, I tried...but it keeps calling me constantly :teeth

 

[Johndicezx9]

John...whew! She’s a good looker.

Thanks! :thumbup

She got a bath worthy of candles and a claw foot tub after the extended stay away.... I was as gentle as I could be! :gsxrgrl :laughing

 

[Holeshot]

Hahaha!