[madjak30]

Just wondering how long everyone kept their first bike…was your milestone time, as in kept it for two years or two months…or was it a distance milestone?

I kept mine for one riding season (May to November), which turned out to be 9100kms (5685miles)…

How about you?

[Jeff in Kentucky]

I kept my first street bike for 5 years, and sold it because I needed the money to pay for college tuition, while keeping a $200 car to drive.

[Gary856]

I kept my first bike for about 1 yr 6 months. By that time I had 4 bikes, my side of the garage was full, so I had to sell one of them to make room for another. It was nice to have room to walk around for a while. Now I’m back to 4 bikes and back to the same problem – which one would I sell so there’s room for another?

If I could have only one bike at a time, I probably would have sold the first one before one year, because I’m always itchy to try something different.

[TrialsRider]

Still have both street bikes that I bought new, 1982 Ascot and 1986 BMW, bailed on the Honda 350F because the primary chain was stretched when I bought it. Wife still has her 1975 Suzuki TS185. Milestone will be when they qualify for vintage insurance.

[madjak30]

What kind of bike was it? I hope I keep my second bike that long, which I should be able to…the first bike was bought specifically to learn on, knowing I would be getting something bigger for my hiway riding that I do…my GS500 can do hiway and easily keep up with traffic, but it is out of power at those speeds…so if you want to pass someone quickly, you need to plan it and get a run at them…not really the safest way to ride.

I sometimes wish I had gone with something a little more powerful, but when I think back to the first street ride on my bike after my BRC, I thought it was a rocket and couldn’t see needing anything more…and that wasn’t too long ago…it was a great bike for commuting and going into town (and if that was all I did with the bike, I wouldn’t need anything more), but I started touring with it and that is where it shows it’s limitations.

Later.

[madjak30]

After I get the wifey used to the fact that I bought another bike, I need to start planting that seed…it would be nice to have a bike that was dirt friendly…even if it is a dirt bike that I would have to trailer, but I may push for a sled for winter before the dirt friendly bike…

Oh well, a guy can dream…I wanna be like Gary…

Later.

[Jeff in Kentucky]

I rode dirt bikes from 8 to 16 years old, and my first street bike was a 1978 Yamaha XS650 that I rode from 1980 to 1985 (the power was similar to a newer 500cc Kawasaki Ninja). I considered buying a new Honda 500cc Ascot in 1982, but I decided to save my money for college instead. 1982 was a lot like 2009, with new bikes sitting for years on dealer showrooms because of a recession.

[eternal05]

Can’t seem to get rid of that bike. Just too close to my heart.

[Scikotic]

Nine months. About seven to long.

[jcwhite]

Still riding it, but I’m in the market for a new one. That’s 20 months, with no off-season, because I commute year-round. It’s also a depressingly small 12k kms. I need more big road trips in my life.

[kirk]

Suzuki GS 500F. Nice starter bike but only kept it for one year. Now I have a Honda CBR 1000RR and loving it!

[Author]

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