New vs Used Bikes

Ride along on the V-Strom as I discuss my thoughts on buying myself a brand-new Harley Fatboy. Riding from Western Sydney to the beach.

[@pinkiewerewolf]

It’s always a good discussion. My take. I ride a lot of miles a year and my main trips are between Coastal Northern California and Coastal Central California, 500 miles one way. That run alone starts in remote area to the San Francisco Bay Area 5 hours South of me, to the San Luis Obispo area, which is getting crowded, and these are highway miles. I’ve been doing this for 8 years twice a month, along with my other riding. If a rider is covering that kind of ground a new (or near new) bike is justifiable. I’ll spend 15-25 grand US money because I love riding and that actually saves me big time over a four wheeled vehicle in purchase cost and fuel expense. If a person doesn’t ride a lot of miles then a used bike is a good idea. Saves money on the purchase… but that’s the only advantage unless there have already been modifications that the rider would have performed themselves on a new bike. Reliability, that’s not always a new bike thing these days, with all the electronics. Not all manufacturers make warranty issues easy. KTM has been notorious for this, I’ve heard. My KTM is new and I hope I don’t have to go through those nightmares. Harley fixed my issues no hassle. My four Kawasakis, haven’t had issues during the warranty period. My ZZR 1200 developed issues but only after serious mileage, around 60,000 miles. My 2017 Ultra Classic has 40k on the clock and I was riding the Hell out of it but my destination in San Luis Obispo changed and I no longer have a garage to park it in down there. So I bought the KTM because it’s smaller and I can fit it down the narrow alley to get in the back yard, rather than park on the street. I dunno, maybe the KTM will become a replacement for the Harley, if I don’t ride the Harley often. Time will tell. I bought my Harley in 2018 when the new models were coming out so I got a bit of a deal on it. My advice then? Life is short buy the bike and ride the Hell out of it. My 02 F250 Superduty with the Navistar Diesel engine has around 330,000 miles on it. Miss my old Mustang GT from the 90’s, I’ve had three used Rangers. I like Ford. 😂 Found your channel looking at the DR 650’s. I want one. I think I’d ride the Hell out of it and love every mile. Problem is I don’t NEED it. I’ve got a lil KLX 300 and four other bikes in the garage including a KLR and the 890 Adventure. I WANT a DR 650 though. 😂

[@landshark9603]

Thanks for watching and sharing. You sound like a man after my own heart. You make great points. At some point, you stop justifying it and just get what feels right. As for the DR, I do regret letting my last one go. With the high price of second-hand ones in Oz, it would actually be a no-brainer for me to get a new one. After the cruiser! Ride safe brother!

[@pinkiewerewolf]

@@landshark9603 I imagine the DR and DRZ are quite pricey now that they aren’t sold new in Australia. That’s a shame. Another reason for me to think about one here in the US.

[@squiddly-diddly]

Noooooooooooooooooooooo!! Dooooooooon't doooooo iiiiiiiiiiiiiit !!!! Plenty of bargain 2nd hand cruiser bikes ..if that's want you want going forward.... that's the primary question you have to be honest with yourself about....why do I want what I want..... Personally, I still think Harleys are over rated.... Mechanically I'd go for a Honda VTX or a Suzi M90 .... There's plenty of old gits who have bought these and locked them in the garage...

[@landshark9603]

haha. Tell me how you really feel? The M90 did come up on my radar as well as a tonne of other heavy-weight cruisers. It does get really hard to justify buying a new Harley. Thanks for watching and sharing champ.

[@squiddly-diddly]

10 grand will get you a Suzi C90 with only 20,000 ks...

[@landshark9603]

Suzuki's are hard to overlook.