How long do you keep your motorcycles?

How long do you keep your motorcycle before selling it and buying a new one?

  • 0-3 months

  • 3-12 months

  • 1-2 years

  • 2-5 years

  • 5-7 years

  • 7-10 years

  • 10-15 years

  • 15-20 years

  • 20-30 years

  • 30+ years


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I keep everything in my garage. I really hate clearing snow off the car on winter mornings. In summer the interior of my black car is also not an oven when I need to use it.
Not only do cars take up space that should be dedicated to bikes but it also accelerates rusting on your car by putting it the garage overnight. Outside the snow and slush can stay in a benign cold state rather than melt into a salty brine that creeps into every crevice.
 
Not only do cars take up space that should be dedicated to bikes but it also accelerates rusting on your car by putting it the garage overnight. Outside the snow and slush can stay in a benign cold state rather than melt into a salty brine that creeps into every crevice.
But don't bikes also get impacted by accelerated rusting by being in the garage?
 
I guess they would if you rode them in the snow/slush and then parked it inside.
Ah I see where you are coming from. Mostly a winter thing. Yeah so far my last 2 cars have been good parked outside. No issues with rust, but they were Japanese cars, and they both came with underbody rust protection from the factory.
 
Not only do cars take up space that should be dedicated to bikes

100%! I have a 3 car garage so, after all the running and non-running bikes, a motorcycle lift table, and three tool chests, there's no room for my pickup truck in there.

I do my truck oil change on the driveway, on my back, in -5 C, like God intended.

I keep everything in my garage. I really hate clearing snow off the car on winter mornings. In summer the interior of my black car is also not an oven when I need to use it.

You either have a 4 car garage or your priorities all upside-down friend! Remote start is your friend.
 
Ah I see where you are coming from. Mostly a winter thing. Yeah so far my last 2 cars have been good parked outside. No issues with rust, but they were Japanese cars, and they both came with underbody rust protection from the factory.

Yep. This is part of why I always keep a "Winter Beater" bike. I wasn't going to ride my pride and joy bikes through the salt, but I wasn't going to not do something I love for half the year just because it's a little cold and salty out.

Riding motorcycles and having sex should be at least every other day. Unfortunately, the missus is grossly sick and it snowed a lot yesterday, so my mental health is spiralling downwards right now lol
 
Just coat everything in protectant and store it indoors and it won't rust. You'll be much happier not clearing snow and scraping ice off cars/bikes plus loading/unloading in the rain also sucks.
 
Not only do cars take up space that should be dedicated to bikes but it also accelerates rusting on your car by putting it the garage overnight. Outside the snow and slush can stay in a benign cold state rather than melt into a salty brine that creeps into every crevice.
Well I'm a one bike / car owner and have a 2-car garage so both fit nicely in there. I prefer to keep the car in the garage for the reasons mentioned and it also makes it easier to blow out the driveway if there's nothing parked on it. In addition, there's the security angle that you can't steal anything from something that is not on public display. My 9 year old Mazda is not showing any signs of rust so far and it's not likely to disintegrate in the next couple of years before I replace it.
 
In addition, there's the security angle that you can't steal anything from something that is not on public display.

So, in this world you live in, when thieves break in, it's not to rob people, it's just to like.... take pictures of how people got the place decorated or something? I don't know man. Seems like a stretch.
 
No, but theft from, and damage to, vehicles parked in driveways is a large problem here in Orangeville. If I have space in my garage to keep the car out of sight why would I leave it on the driveway?
That`s how I see it, why ask for problems? I keep the Z900 and the snowblowers and lawnmower in the single door side and my car and odds and ends in the double door side, lots of room still. Here in Lindsay the car theft and theft from vehicles isn`t too big an issue. As everywhere the druggie dirtbags...aka..."homeless" are to blame. I`ve got neighbors who have had change and sunglasses etc. scooped from unlocked vehicles. Anything they can trade for drugs.
 
In retrospect, the average time I have owned my bikes is 2 years.

The main issue is that I'm a ***** of marketing and shiny things. I see something new (new for me), and I want it. Even when I have a bike, I spend some hours per week watching ads for used bikes, thinking of adding a new bike.

- Yamaha R3. 1 year. I sold it because, naively, I thought I needed something bigger. Huge mistake when I mainly used the bike to commute.
- BMW F800R. 2 years . Sold it because I moved to Canada. At the time I thought it was great. But as time has passed by, it was a meh bike.
- Tiger 660. 3 years. The first two years, I was in love with it. I couldn't have wanted more. At the end of last year I was sure that I was going to keep this bike for at least another 5 years. Then, the Monster came into the picture.
- Monster 1200. 1 year. It made me shift my mentality about the Tiger. Being on the highway, the engine didn't feel stressed. You could be going 100+km and in the 4k rev range.
 
So, in this world you live in, when thieves break in, it's not to rob people, it's just to like.... take pictures of how people got the place decorated or something? I don't know man. Seems like a stretch.
The more eyes that are on a valuable the more likely that it will go missing.
There are are advantages in being low profile.
 
Just coat everything in protectant and store it indoors and it won't rust. You'll be much happier not clearing snow and scraping ice off cars/bikes plus loading/unloading in the rain also sucks.
Or don’t care. I’ve never done a thing to protect bikes from rust. Had a few surface rust and dulling of zinc plated fittings, but never done a rust repair.
 
The more eyes that are on a valuable the more likely that it will go missing.
There are are advantages in being low profile.

A nine year old stolen Mazda is valuable? Are we sure about that? How much would you pay for one? If the answer is nothing, are we sure it's valuable?

Not knocking anyone's vehicle, because I can guarantee my own vehicle is worth even less... but that's kind of my point: I park my truck in front of my house, and have for years, because it's surrounded by other cars all over the street, that even stolen, would be worth more than what I paid for mine.

Anyone who can see my truck, can see much more valuable things, as far as their eyes can see... There's no incentive to take it. To the would-be thief, it's not even something they would look at. Yes, it being out front makes it more likely, but a 0% theft chance x 10x more likelihood of theft, is still a 0% chance of theft.
 
A nine year old stolen Mazda is valuable? Are we sure about that? How much would you pay for one? If the answer is nothing, are we sure it's valuable?

Not knocking anyone's vehicle, because I can guarantee my own vehicle is worth even less... but that's kind of my point: I park my truck in front of my house, and have for years, because it's surrounded by other cars all over the street, that even stolen, would be worth more than what I paid for mine.

Anyone who can see my truck, can see much more valuable things, as far as their eyes can see... There's no incentive to take it. To the would-be thief, it's not even something they would look at. Yes, it being out front makes it more likely, but a 0% theft chance x 10x more likelihood of theft, is still a 0% chance of theft.
Leaving your vehicle unlocked just invites problems regardless of the value of your ride.
Some lowlife is going to see it as a easy opportunity to rifle through, vandalize or use as a outhouse. Low hanging fruit and all.
The point of my previous post was that showing off assets can make you and your possessions a target for crime.
 
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