5th bike dilemma (first world problems)
5th bike dilemma (first world problems)
Author
Discussion

Bob_Defly

Original Poster:

5,939 posts

262 months

Wednesday 27th February 2019
quotequote all
I'm saving up this year for another bike, a Triumph Tiger 800 XCA. I want this bike for touring, some off-road fun, taking the missus out, and also because it's different from my other bikes. But after adding up the cost of the bike and accessories, it does look fairly expensive, which is making me question my decision. In Canadian $, the costs are:

$18,900 for the base bike in white
$ 4,265 for the expedition panniers, arrow exhaust, protection bars x 2, and comfort seats
$23,165 sub-total
$ 3,011 tax
$26,176 Total, so at a straight FX conversion that would be around GBP £15K all in.

My other bikes are:
2014 MT-09 - first proper bike, love it, don't really want to part with it
2014 CRF250L - lots of fun on the tight trails near me, again, will probably keep it for a long time
1997 Triumph Speed Triple - currently a non-working resto-mod project, my Dad's old bike
2003 RC51 - My only truly 'sporty' bike, will be keeping this one too as good ones are hard to find

So I'll hopefully be keeping all of the above.

Recently I was walking around the Toronto bike show, and got thinking about, if I do have $26K to spend on a bike, am I choosing the right one..? (nice problem to have I know)

I love the look of new Ducatis (but maybe too fast for the street, and I'm not really a track person), also the latest Speed Triple RS is probably my perfect bike, as I love nakeds, and I think it looks amazing. But owning three nakeds might be a bit silly. But I also agree with the 'hooligan' thread, I don't need a bike that will tempt me to go really fast all the time, as the speeding laws in Canada are as, if not more, draconian than the UK.

Is there a ~£15K ish new bike or a classic that would be all out more special than the Tiger, enough for me to reconsider getting an adventure bike altogether, and think, "don't be silly, why get an XCA when you could have THIS instead?"

Ho Lee Kau

2,278 posts

156 months

Wednesday 27th February 2019
quotequote all
If you do not get the adventure bike and get something else as your 5th bike, then soon enough the adventure bike will become your 6th bike.

Bob_Defly

Original Poster:

5,939 posts

262 months

Wednesday 27th February 2019
quotequote all
Ho Lee Kau said:
If you do not get the adventure bike and get something else as your 5th bike, then soon enough the adventure bike will become your 6th bike.
LOL, not sure the missus will allow a 6th, 5 is the absolute max apparently...

Ho Lee Kau

2,278 posts

156 months

Thursday 28th February 2019
quotequote all
Bob_Defly said:
Ho Lee Kau said:
If you do not get the adventure bike and get something else as your 5th bike, then soon enough the adventure bike will become your 6th bike.
LOL, not sure the missus will allow a 6th, 5 is the absolute max apparently...
Mine "allowed" me 7, but I finally went down to 4, which seems to be suboptimal as I would like to get that Speed RS :-)
Currently I have decided to stop accumulating as I do not use the ones I already have and I am not a collector type.

Harry H

3,765 posts

187 months

Thursday 28th February 2019
quotequote all
Luckily mine Mrs never goes in the Garage as that's "my space" Been up to 5 bikes in the past (3 at moment) but she has little idea as to how many are in there or what they cost.

I could stick a Desmosedici in there, tell her its' an old cheap track bike I picked up for a grand and no questions would be asked.

Back to OP you're thinking all wrong. Just buy the basic bike and then add the accessories later then you can forget about the total cost. I never think how much I've spent on trinkets for bikes (hate to) just the initial purchase price. Makes man maths so much easier.


Ho Lee Kau

2,278 posts

156 months

Thursday 28th February 2019
quotequote all
Harry H said:
Luckily mine Mrs never goes in the Garage as that's "my space" Been up to 5 bikes in the past (3 at moment) but she has little idea as to how many are in there or what they cost.

I could stick a Desmosedici in there, tell her its' an old cheap track bike I picked up for a grand and no questions would be asked.

Back to OP you're thinking all wrong. Just buy the basic bike and then add the accessories later then you can forget about the total cost. I never think how much I've spent on trinkets for bikes (hate to) just the initial purchase price. Makes man maths so much easier.
Do you save your bills? ;-)
I save all my car/bike-related bills (maintenance, purchases), but I will only sum them up when I am tired of life and want to have a heart attack to get the hell outta here. :-)

Harry H

3,765 posts

187 months

Thursday 28th February 2019
quotequote all
Ho Lee Kau said:
Do you save your bills? ;-)
I save all my car/bike-related bills (maintenance, purchases), but I will only sum them up when I am tired of life and want to have a heart attack to get the hell outta here. :-)
I've got a draw that I stick all bike/car related bills in that only gets sorted come sale time of a particular vehicle. Would never add them up though, way too depressing.

Bob_Defly

Original Poster:

5,939 posts

262 months

Friday 1st March 2019
quotequote all
Harry H said:
Luckily mine Mrs never goes in the Garage as that's "my space" Been up to 5 bikes in the past (3 at moment) but she has little idea as to how many are in there or what they cost.

I could stick a Desmosedici in there, tell her its' an old cheap track bike I picked up for a grand and no questions would be asked.

Back to OP you're thinking all wrong. Just buy the basic bike and then add the accessories later then you can forget about the total cost. I never think how much I've spent on trinkets for bikes (hate to) just the initial purchase price. Makes man maths so much easier.
That's a good point I suppose, as could bolt on all the stuff myself...