Shopping for a Motorcycle — Thoughts on Tradeoffs
I’ve been shopping on line for my next motorcycle. This endeavor is absorbing a surprisingly large portion of my non-work, non-eating and non-sleeping hours.
Geography
I won’t bore you with details such as how the geographic scope of my motorcycle search on Craigslist has insidiously expanded over time. It started with only two markets: Santa Barbara, CA — where I work, and San Luis Obispo, CA — where I live with my wife in Arroyo Grande.
It wasn’t long before I expanded my search to Ventura, CA, a larger market that borders on Santa Barbara.
After that, my search went wide to include almost all California cities.
So one trade-off is personal convenience and smaller investment of time of buying locally. But by looking a few hundred miles away from home, you may find wider selection, lower price for a given year and model, etc, A local bike allows you to run over and have a look to see if it’s as good as the ad says it is. At a longer distance, you have to be willing to make the trip but then realize the bike is not right for you.
Which Bike?
My interest in riding flared up in the summer of 2006. I took the Motorcycle Safety Course (highly recommended) and purchased a small Honda Rebel 250 cc. It has good power, and is a great bike but is a bit cramped for my six foot height and my (too many pounds) weight.
But I ride it almost every weekend, and it gets me around on shorter rides just fine thank you.
As seasoned bikers will testify, once this two wheeled virus infects your mind, you have virtually no defense against a desire to trade up to a bigger bike.
I’ve been debating about a modest step up to a Kawasaki Vulcan 500. They are a great bike, remarkably zippy given the modest engine size, and available used at attractive prices. As we speak there are two in San Diego county either of which would make a great next bike for me.
But my friends suggest that I would soon tire of a 500cc bile. They claim if I’m trading up it should be to a bike big enough to make a real difference.
Go big, or stay home.
After a lot of shopping around, I have concluded that a used Honda Shadow Aero 750cc is a good choice. It has a lower seat height than my Rebel 250, meaning the center of gravity is fairly low. That matters in terms of low speed handling. Right now there are two low mileage Aeros, one an hour away at $4,500 the other about three hours away but a year younder and with oblt 800 miles on it (plys night add-ons) for $5,300 asking price.
Then a friend threw a monkey wrench in my bike buying decision process. He showed me an ad for a local Victory V92 2001 with low miles, ridden by a middle age guy who babied it, and has been dressed up with about $7,000 (ouch!) of additional goodies called “Farkle” in the bike world.
The Victory is in the Harley class, with a 92 cubic inch engine and classic looks to die for.
New, a stripped down Victory starts at around $15K, going up to well over $20K.
This 2001 Victory with about 5,00 miles on it carries an asking price under $7,200.
What to Do?
I am conflicted. My brain says I should ride the Honda Rebel 250 for another year or so.
But life is short.
I really want to move up a notch or three. I am convinced I can ride the larger Victory without dumping it. But my brain says a Honda Aero 750 is a smarter decision since it is a smaller step up in power and weight, it costs less, and it is a Honda.
There is only one Victory dealer near me (sixty miles away) while there are several Honda shops.
On the other hand, the Victory is powerful enough my wife could ride with me in comfort, and I could park next to a Harley without a hint of shame.
(Like that’s big problem for me…)
Before I close, did I mention I also own a 1967 Honda Trail 90? That is as close to being the opposite of a Victory you can get.