WWYD: Sell the bike dilemma | GTAMotorcycle.com

WWYD: Sell the bike dilemma

jonpurdy

jonpurdy

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So I've had my '11 F800R for almost a year now. Love it to pieces. It was a great upgrade from a Hyosung GT250R when I got back from Korea. I've put on almost 19,000 km (4,500 was from a trip to Florida).

My dilemma is this: insurance is a good chunk of change and the monthly payment is the same. I knew this going into it but it was totally worth it last year. I had evenings and weekends totally off and used them extensively for riding.

This year is different: I'll be working evenings and at least one day, if not both on weekends. Thus, I simply won't have time to ride. I commuted this past summer on the bike and it was fun but not quite as practical as the subway.

Now, I've been offered use of my father's F650GS for when I have a free day (probably twice a month or so) and want to go for a boot or for my vacation days; I won't be totally deprived. I'd just hop on the subway and pick it up.

tl:dr
First world problem. Can't ride nearly as much this year, worth it to keep my motorbike? What would you do?
 
sell the bike. ride the 650gs.
or cancel insurance and park the bike for a year or two...
the money you save can go towards your next bike.
 
Since you have use of your dad's bike, which is also a nice bike i would sell it. It's not like you will be totally bikeless, and you'll have a lot more money in your pocket each month.
 
Hmm, I could just cancel insurance... The bike lost a good chunk of value when I bought it during this first year. Holding on to it for another year wouldn't reduce it that much, I suppose.

I guess the thing holding me back is that I just love it so much; it's really a great fit for my style of riding. Plus it's not a common bike at all so selling and buying is more difficult than with an SS.

Good advice; thanks.

If I do decide to sell, GTAM members will be the first to know, haha.
 
Pegassus said:
Wow your bike as a beautiful speedometer cluster but the headlight is fugly. Pity that you want to sell it.
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Haha, actually I find the opposite. I wish it had a digital speedo. But I love the asymmetrical headlights.
 
Did you buy the bike new?? You are going to take a fairly large loss on it if so. :( Is it paid off? Do you need the money from the bike for something else, or just looking to shave off some expenses??

Why can't you ride before work?? Also, if you're working evenings, is the subway so practical? Maybe commuting on this shift will be more efficient than working regular hours. Traffic will be much lighter on your ride home, if it is late at night... is your bike safe at your work, at night?? If so I would keep it for sure. That is a nice bike and you will instantaneously regret not having it... even just having it sitting in the garage waiting for you is a nice feeling to have, whether you're using it much or not. In case you can't tell, I am biased towards keeping the bike. :)
 
Oh, and I agree with Pegassus... that gauge cluster is B-E-aUtiful, especially the RPM gauge.
 
SweetOnion said:
Did you buy the bike new?? You are going to take a fairly large loss on it if so. :( Is it paid off? Do you need the money from the bike for something else, or just looking to shave off some expenses??
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Yep, new bike. So I'd lose money on it. But I'd be able to sell it for the same or more than what is required to pay it off.

I'm not going to use the money for anything else other than paying down some debt (as a result of being a student the past year) and then putting it towards savings.

SweetOnion said:
Why can't you ride before work?? Also, if you're working evenings, is the subway so practical? Maybe commuting on this shift will be more efficient than working regular hours. Traffic will be much lighter on your ride home, if it is late at night... is your bike safe at your work, at night?? If so I would keep it for sure.
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I'll be working evenings and weekends because that's when students are available. And in the day I'll be heading to various schools (all directly on the subway).

And commuting on it is a wash for me. It's fun but hot in the summer, cool or cold in the early spring and late fall, and traffic sucks. The subway takes about the same time but I can read and relax. So my main concern is doing day trips or overnight trips way outside of Toronto (which I'll be able to do on my father's less fun but still nice bike).

Furthermore, the place I live next year might not even have secure parking for it! So it might end up living in my father's garage anyway, haha.

SweetOnion said:
That is a nice bike and you will instantaneously regret not having it... even just having it sitting in the garage waiting for you is a nice feeling to have, whether you're using it much or not. In case you can't tell, I am biased towards keeping the bike. :)
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Yeah, that's the main thing stopping me. At the same time, it is just a "thing" that's replaceable; emotion shouldn't have much bearing if it doesn't make financial sense.

I've got about a month to decide and think about it further and before vacation ends and real life work starts, haha.
 
OP, if you decide to sell - try to keep your insurance going (may be put yourself as secondary on your dad's bike). When it's time to get your bike again - you will have uninterrupted bike insurance history.
 
mongol777 said:
OP, if you decide to sell - try to keep your insurance going (may be put yourself as secondary on your dad's bike). When it's time to get your bike again - you will have uninterrupted bike insurance history.
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I'll be on his for sure if it gets sold. This would count as continuous?
 
AF4iK said:
What does that red indicator light mean, the one that looks like a parking brake?
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Indicates that ABS isn't on yet. Before it turns itself on you have to ride a few metres for the computer to check that both tires are rotating at the same speed. After a few metres the light goes off and ABS is enabled.
 
My girlfriend decided to stop riding for a bit to save on insurance so she went to cancel, but instead SF offered to just put it on fire/theft so she paid just $13/mth for it, and when she resumed her insurance (within a year) they did not even backcharge her for any of the months (it could possibly just have looked like she didn't want to pay over the winter season).
 
If you are keeping it you might want to have a frank conversation with your insurance and maybe go for fire and theft while you are not riding.

I know a few people that parked a bike for more than a year and the insurance company would not insure them on the parked bike afterwards. They basically told them that they think the bike was being ridden without insurance (which is a big problem as we all know) and that because of this they will not insure that bike unless the owner had proof it was not ridden (proof in the way of a repair bill like engine rebuild... showing it was not ride-able...). They could insure a new bike though no problem, just not THAT bike. Totally illogical, but we are talking about an insurance company...

This will depend on the company but it is worth while being straight up with them up front to make sure this does not happen.

Also, in the past, if you have NO insurance policy on any vehicle (car or bike) for more than a year they tend to kick you back to beginner rates. Not sure if they are still doing this.
 
You mention you'll be working evenings and more weekends this year. Does that mean your weekdays are free? I love heading up north on a weekday. So much less traffic, and the cops are a little more relaxed (both in pure numbers and attitude).
 
bboySushi said:
My girlfriend decided to stop riding for a bit to save on insurance so she went to cancel, but instead SF offered to just put it on fire/theft so she paid just $13/mth for it, and when she resumed her insurance (within a year) they did not even backcharge her for any of the months (it could possibly just have looked like she didn't want to pay over the winter season).
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backmarkerducati said:
If you are keeping it you might want to have a frank conversation with your insurance and maybe go for fire and theft while you are not riding.


I know a few people that parked a bike for more than a year and the insurance company would not insure them on the parked bike afterwards. They basically told them that they think the bike was being ridden without insurance (which is a big problem as we all know) and that because of this they will not insure that bike unless the owner had proof it was not ridden (proof in the way of a repair bill like engine rebuild... showing it was not ride-able...). They could insure a new bike though no problem, just not THAT bike. Totally illogical, but we are talking about an insurance company...


This will depend on the company but it is worth while being straight up with them up front to make sure this does not happen.


Also, in the past, if you have NO insurance policy on any vehicle (car or bike) for more than a year they tend to kick you back to beginner rates. Not sure if they are still doing this.
Click to expand...


Excellent advice. My SF agent has been really great with me. I'll let them know what my plan is and my concerns and see what they have to say about it (whether I sell the bike or not).


beverage said:
You mention you'll be working evenings and more weekends this year. Does that mean your weekdays are free? I love heading up north on a weekday. So much less traffic, and the cops are a little more relaxed (both in pure numbers and attitude).
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Weekdays are also not free; mornings will be busy but unpaid. This is the life of a fresh B. Ed. graduate.
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