Know When to Hold 'Em, Know When to Fold 'Em, Part II

 

Two Days of This...

In February of this year I had the good fortune of attending the California Superbike School at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Led by Keith and Dylan Code, this traveling circus of motorcycle goodness travels the country (and the UK, I believe) teaching life-changing (and saving) techniques in an easy-to-digest manner, surrounded by expert rider coaches, great staff, and a cadre of like-minded riders that made great company over a two-day weekend session. A chain of events got me here, which leads to the title of this posting.

December 2020: Friend tells me about a trip he took to a Ducati/Triumph dealer. Dealer tells him a Multistrada is the best all-rounder, but a Daytona 765 is probably the perfect track bike

July 2021: After gestating in my mind for months, I go to my local Triumph dealer to try the new Trident 660. It was brand new and the redline was screaming at me at 6,000 (break-in) rpms, so I figured it was just a sparky, but unexciting beginner bike. I didn't know at the time that this was a break-in setting, but in my mind, this was a bike for someone else. In the showroom was a used Daytona, and I asked if I could test ride it. After months of considering a sport bike, I just shoved my head in the lion's mouth and figured I'd give it a try. After test riding an Aprilia Tuono and going 0-90 mph in about ten feet, I approached the Daytona with respect and trepidation. Took it out on the main road, a loooong straightaway. I went to eight thousand, ten thousand, twelve thousand RPM and experienced that intoxicating Triumph triple howl, and I was completely hooked. Very fast, but very approachable, unlike the Tuono or my friend's 848 Street Fighter. If I'm going to buy a sport bike, it's definitely going to be a Daytona.

August 2021: I'm in Cleveland at my brother-in-law's house, and wouldn't you know? The cheapest new Daytona on CycleTrader is right here in Cleveland. I go and check it out, and the deal was done in about thirty minutes. Very fair price, fantastic sales experience, and I booked my ticket to fly back to Cleveland-Hopkins and pick it up the following weekend.

September 2021: I blow through the six-hundred mile service and finish the thousand-mile break-in as quickly as I can. Take those first few glorious pulls to its 13,500 rpm limit... and realize if I'm going to ride this thing properly I'm going to need some skills. I've been riding for awhile and thought I was a solid rider, but the Triumph exposed me for the fraud that I am. I'm a great commuter and I've read just about every motorcycling book out there, but seriously- I felt weak and out of my element on such a capable machine. During the break-in period, I went riding with a guy who'd been to the school (CSS). He said he learned a ton and enjoyed the BMW S1000RR so much at the school that he picked one up for himself. You know how you can look at a good runner, baseball player, or musician and recognize their graceful flow? I saw that with this dude, and I promised myself I was going to get educated on riding sportbikes.

February 2022: After months of anticipation, I arrive a day early to trail run Red Rock Canyon (amazing) and attend the school with my buddy. I learned so much in those 48 hours that I was ready to sign up for another session while I was still packing my gear from this round. Seriously, I knew I learned a lot, but it's February and my newfound skills are languishing while it rains and snows off and on for several weeks. Finally, we get some good (enough) weather to do some riding and I instantly realize my riding is transformed. Like Neo learning Kung-Fu in The Matrix, everything seemed to be happening slowly, but I was flying. Truly- riding a motorcycle is different than it was before I took that class. I took out my Harley several times, but I came to the sad realization that my relationship with H-D had run its course. I think I wrote the ad copy on my flight home, and I put it up for sale just as the weather started to warm up.

Sold! My beloved Dyna's in good hands.

The point of this posting, similar to when I sold our 911, is this: Big-ticket items, even when sitting unused, have costs. Depreciation, maintenance, taxes, insurance, etc. The same can be said for a boat or a vacation home. If it no longer works for you, get rid of it and put that money to work elsewhere! The monetary and emotional costs aren't worth it, and if you miss it that much, you can always get another widget - it's all just mass-produced stuff. Even that custom jewelry or home can be replaced, perhaps with something even better.

I had a feeling the Dyna wouldn't be around forever because it's a cruiser and I don't 'cruise' very well. I love big distances, fast turns, and a bike that leans me a bit into the wind, as opposed to holding on for dear life on the bars and squeezing the tank like my life depends on it (also the reason I scratched up my paint on the tank, squeezing like a vice!). I've said before that a Harley makes you adapt to it, not the other way around. I sold it on Cycletrader and it was win-win for the new owner and me. Cheaper than a dealer for him (and I can provide every receipt, piece of paper, and story about the bike), and I got more than I would have wholesaling it. The dreamers can leave their bikes listed sky-high for 150+ days, but I'd rather have it priced to sell, and then sell.

In the end, I'm really happy to have right-sized my motorcycle fleet. I sold a solid bike to a guy who's going to love riding it, and I can get back to riding gravel, doing track days, and improving my skills in the '2 days to learn, lifetime to master' lifestyle that is motorcycling.