If you spend any time on motorcycle forums you will find endless discussion about the "perfect" bike or which bike is "best". I have even see people post that they where waiting until they could get their dream bike before buying a bike at all. people are often obsessed with their bikes.
Too be fair, I'm somewhat guilty of this. BrainA made an interesting comment in his recent ride report: "There's a very logical assumption that most people make when spending their money: that because a physical object will last longer, it will make us happier for a longer time than a one-off experience like a concert or vacation. According to recent research, it turns out that assumption is completely wrong."
Brian's post was really about spending money on experiences vs things. This thread isn't exactly what he was talking about but it got the gears in my head turning.
So, how important is is having the right bike to your riding experience? Given the following two choices, which would you choose?
1. You get to spend a week riding anywhere in the world, in other words, your dream ride. The catch is that you must do it on an perfectly adequate bike that is not anything special. Think Ninja 650, V Strom 650, KLR650 or maybe a Suzuki C800 for you cruiser folks or Honda CRF250L for you dual sporters.
2. You get to ride your Dream bike for a week. Any bike you want. The catch is you can only take it on day rides from your home. So, basically you'll be riding your dream bike on roads you ride all the time.
So, dream bike or dream ride. How many of you couldn't have your dream ride without your dream bike being part of it?
I would take the dream bike on roads I know. Since it's a "dream" scenario, those roads will be totally devoid of traffic and police worries.
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I'd pick a weeklong European tour on a Ninja/Versys 650.
BrianA was right ... experiences are forever. I want to ride southern Chile for a week, and any 250cc or larger dual sport would be fine.
Dream ride all day long. Give me any of those bikes listed and 3 or more months to ride around the whole country.
Quote from: DachshundUberAlles on November 12, 2015, 11:01:54 AM
I would take the dream bike on roads I know. Since it's a "dream" scenario, those roads will be totally devoid of traffic and police worries.
You gotta take the roads the way they are. If you have some nice roads totally devoid of traffic and police around you then I want to come ride with you. Around here in N. Alabama we have some pretty nice roads with light traffic and very light police presence but they don't compare to my dream roads. I don't know that riding them on my "dream" bike would be that much more fun than riding them on the bikes I already have.
I'd take the Dream ride on an average bike. The Alps would be at the top of my list although a dual sport ride in South America would also be very appealing.
As for my "dream" bike. I can't say I really have one although there are a number of bikes I'd really like to own.
The current dream ride is the Trans America Trail. I'd happily do it on my XT350, but I'll probably look for something else before I do it, WR250R, DRZ400, etc. Nothing exotic, just capable.
As for the dream bike, it would have to be a Norton CS1 from 1927. I rode a friend's all over Daytona about 15 years ago, I begged him to sell it to me at the time. Now it's worth so much I couldn't afford it if he did sell.
Not the one I rode, it was way cooler with a very interesting history.
Interesting discussion topic.
No question. Hands down, every day, I'd take the dream ride on whatever decent bike was offered.
As I get older I am less enamored by high tech, high performance bikes. I appreciate them for what they are but I don't place near as much value on them from a personal reward/satisfaction standpoint as I might have 10-20 years, and more, back in time.
When I think back to Idaho or the trip to Ecuador, I could have done the vast majority of either, (and probably all of either with a little extra effort) on a Honda XL 200 and would value that more than a week, or a month, or a year on my "Dream Bike".
Disclaimer - fact is, I don't know that I really have a dream bike. I could sell what I have and by whatever else I might want, but I don't. So in a way, I guess my current "Dream Bikes" are presently sitting in my garage.
I don't even have ponder this one.
Dream ride.
I've already spent enough money on trips to buy anything I would actually own and ride. I think anyone that has ever taken a trip, I mean a real trip. Not just a few days only a state away. I mean go somewhere out of your element and comfort zone. See the world. Get detached from your current reality and create a new reality and memories and emotions. Go and live. Once you've done this you will crave more. That new fancy bike is far less valuable than taking a trip.
But in case you are asking. I would love to have a Britten. However in my engineering mind, that bike is priceless and I would cherish it in static form. It wouldn't get ridden, at least not often, and that's not why bikes are made. So I would be doing John Britten a disservice by owning it.
Go somewhere, immerse yourself in a new culture or leave culture behind and go where there are no people. No matter what you choose, enjoy life and live it. In the end things are just things. When you're old and aren't able to go anymore, hopefully you will have memories and can reflect on the places you've seen.
I think if you care about the ride and the experience more than that awesome 200 hp bike with a built in ballsac warmer, then your dream bike wouldn't be that hard to get. Right now my dream bike would be a triumph tiger 800 xc. It would accommodate my dream ride perfectly and is not that far out of reach for me. I just need to wait a little bit longer for the price on used ones to go down. The only reason I even want that is because it's nice to change things up a little bit. I honestly never even think about having a "dream bike". I do however dream about taking off and doing my thing listed in the previous comment. I'm willing to guess this is how most of you on here feel.
Dreams don't abide by rules.
Quote from: scrappyjon on November 12, 2015, 02:55:00 PM
I do however dream about taking off and doing my thing ...
Did you make it to PR this summer? Any pics?
Quote from: gharshman on November 12, 2015, 06:21:13 PM
Quote from: scrappyjon on November 12, 2015, 02:55:00 PM
I do however dream about taking off and doing my thing ...
Did you make it to PR this summer? Any pics?
We did. It was awesome! I did however, follow the advice of some of the folks on adv rider and stayed away from motorcycles. It was a good decision. The roads over there were as scary as the drivers. I was terrified in a CAR. The roads were extremely narrow and some of them were so steep that I literally could not see the road or where I was going. All I could see was the hood of the car and the trees. If you heard a truck horn in the distance that means pull over off the road as far as you can which is sometimes just a few inches. The people drive so fast on those mountain roads that the traffic sounds like a drifting car race. I tried to keep up so we wouldn't get run over. The tires on our rental car were pretty chewed up when I turned it in. It would be a great place to to some off roading though, with a group. Puerto Rico has everything. Beautiful beaches, mountains and rain forests.
(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/12/452b748989354714fa0ac410ee1acb2b.jpg)
(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/12/b9da9a6b0feff56340c85ee535468520.jpg)
(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/12/e9226434096e6dc93fd3fba8fe057c95.jpg)
(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/12/e6f36a585b1f8cacd63c98b00734d8b5.jpg)
(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/12/a5836d66150caee7ba395992c96455e8.jpg)
Edit to say. After seeing it and how the traffic flows over there, I would like to go back and ride it with a KLR or something that could handle the roads there. Sans passenger.
Quote from: scrappyjon on November 12, 2015, 06:43:56 PM
We did. It was awesome! ...
Cool...I've been several times, always for work, always find something interesting to do. Wife wants to go someday for vacation. I would love to ride a dirt bike in Puerto Rico, no traffic per the Dasuberalles' rules.
Dream ride for me but I want more than a week if its going to be a dream ride. :)
trip- spend a week or longer in new zealand. don't care what bike. dirt roads would be fine, so something capable of that would be excellent. just take a good pack and hiking shoes and have a blast. Already know where I'd go back to, so I"m set. north to south traverse and some sights along the way..
bike- i'm with mulley. I'd love to ride a Buell around for a week from ATL. I could hit lots and lots of great roads on a fantastic bike but unless I have unlimited funds and no fear of crashing, I'd probably be more likely to just take something like the new RCV213S with the HRC kit. I've ridden my CBR1000 around most of the good roads in the SE so nothing new there, but I did have a great few years tooling around the SE on my bikes.
Id' go with the trip. I do have a rain check for a longer trip to CO that my 950 owes me. Now that it's running proper, I'm itching to get back but I think it might be a few years before I get the chance again...
Costa Rice would be my next goal I think. I've driven all over PR and nice country but it does pale in comparison (IMHO) to Costa Rica. I enjoy riding bikes in places where others seem to fear driving cars (italy mostly, it's just stupid fun to ride there).
I would choose to ride something / anything capable of rolling through the Swiss countryside and then provide a nice climb up Regina Montium (queen of the mountains). That would certainly be eye opening. The one time I was there, it was on a large bus looking out the window as we coiled around the mountain with a wonderful view of what a trip down the most expedient path would look like if the bus driver messed up. Scary stuff!
I'd go with the Dream Ride in an as yet undetermined place. I already have a dream bike LMAO.
Quote from: SpeedyR on November 12, 2015, 09:29:06 PM
Costa Rice would be my next goal.
Costa Rica would be awesome. The scenery is amazing and once you get out of San Jose, cars are pretty minimal. It's almost like at one time you are on a major highway and then 5 miles down the road it turns into a remote dirt road with monkey crossings.
I'd love that.
Vincent shadow and Isle Of Mann.
I forgot to mention what my dream ride would be. I do plan to make it a reality at least partially.
I want to ride the Himalayas and visit some of the most remote and highest places on earth. I've already been doing a small amount of research. There are tour companies that can set you up with a nice ride out of India. I have no desire to be in some of the nasty overpopulated titles in India but it will probably have to happen so I can get to my destination. Or maybe go to Bhutan. Yeah that would be cool. Who even knows where Bhutan is?
Tasmania also comes to mind. Why, it's less populated than New Zealand with a lot more dirt roads.
More SE Asia will hopefully be in my future. I want to see Myanmar (Burma) and Laos. The Myanmar trip would include part of Thailand by default. It's pretty much the easiest way to get there via motorcycle.
For street riding. I would like to ride New Zealand and the Swiss Alps but street rides seem to always come in second to dualsport. It's just a better way to see the real world instead of just blazing through it. (blazing a path sure is fun though).
Dream ride is more important to me. I was looking at renting a bike in Poland the other day. None of the available bikes were something I would buy. But any of them would be more than adequate and I would love to spend a couple of weeks tooling around Europe on them.
Quote from: Yankee Dog on November 13, 2015, 04:34:38 PM
Dream ride is more important to me. I was looking at renting a bike in Poland the other day. None of the available bikes were something I would buy. But any of them would be more than adequate and I would love to spend a couple of weeks tooling around Europe on them.
Good call. Those SOBs know how to party.
My dream ride for now is to ride in all the mainland States. Once that dream happens, I will pick another dream. My dream bike is whatever I have at the moment.
My dream bike is a Me-sized V-Strom. Not likely to ever happen. I have the next best thing now. Just wish I could buy a new one. So dream ride would be my choice. Anytime I ride is a dream come true for me, though my skills may be more like a nightmare. New Zealand, Isle of Man and the NW US would be at the top of my list.
I'd pick destination + moped before I picked any bike ever made +day rides from home.
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Quote from: Zeus on November 15, 2015, 06:50:43 AM
I really don't have a bike that I fantasize over due to the fact I actually own it now. No frills just function over form for the different types of riding or rides I may choose.
One day I would enjoy loading up on my old Beemer and go west until I run out of pavement. NBD
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Well, a Vincent Black Shadow, Ariel Square Four..something like that would keep me home.
I'd say dream ride, but I'd want to take my ZRX, While not a dream bike by any means, I've def come to love it quickly. If not hell I'll just enjoy my ZRX and the nice roads near me and be happy. I find that the destination matters less than the people you go with and the people that you meet.
I want to do something like this as a ultimate trip...will take longer than a week to do mine......