03-31-2020, 08:53 AM
There might be a couple of y'all that remember me. I haven't been active here since late 2018 when I had recently sold my CB1100. The entire time I owned that bike, I struggled whether I should continue to own a bike I wasn't comfortable riding. Well, I finally parted ways in August 2018 when I traded my beloved CB for a new 2017 Yamaha FZ09. I had just sold my Grom, as well, so I found myself down to only 2 bikes (my Africa Twin DCT and that FZ).
The FZ was incredibly fun to ride, but the moment I bought it, I had a slight bit of regret. The FZ's big brother, the new Tracer 900 GT was recently introduced and was a bike I really wanted to get my hands on. Given my lack of off-road use of my Africa Twin, a more sport touring oriented bike made more sense. It was a bit of a moot point, though, because the Tracer GTs were very hard to get.
Over the next couple months, I found myself missing my retro ride. I didn't miss the CB specifically, just missed having a classic looking bike to ride and look at. Opportunity knocked and I found myself a deal on a brand new, 2015 Yamaha SR400 in Oct. 2018. It was unsold inventory at the dealer where I worked at the time and the owner was selling the dealer to retire. Old age inventory such as that was going to be treated like wholesale used inventory in terms of what the new owners would pay for it. So, I talked the owner into selling it to me between used wholesale and used retail value.
The very next month (Nov 2018), we got a new Tracer 900 GT in. I traded my Africa Twin and FZ09 in on it. Took a bath on that FZ, but I didn't care. I wanted it that much. This has been one of the best motorcycle purchases I have made.
By early spring 2019, I had grown tired of the SR400. It was just too small for me to ride comfortably which is funny to say having owned a Grom. I sold that bike and got most my money back out of it. I sat on that cash for a couple of weeks looking around for the next buy.
The dual sport bug had been biting me pretty hard. I had missed attending a friend's annual spring break camping/dirt bike riding trip in 2019 and vowed I would not miss it the following year. So, part of my commitment to that was to buy a dual sport bike. Ended up finding a well priced 2015 Honda XR650L two hours from me and went and picked that up back in May 2019
It was right about May 2019 that we finally started getting more inventory of Honda Monkeys and I probably would have used my pocket of cash to buy one of those had I not just spent it on the XR650L. Well, within a couple months I had a new Monkey anyway.
Fast forward to November 2019, I found yet another bike. Having really enjoyed the Monkey, I figured another retro style mini street bike was in order. We took a 2018 Kymco Spade 150 on trade and I talked my sales manager into letting me buy that. I never intended to keep it long, but I had a lot of fun riding it. It actually far outperforms the Honda 125 minibikes because it makes 50% more HP and has another cog in the transmission. It legitimately hits 70 mph with a big dude like me on it. Ended up selling it in Feb for a small profit.
In January, I picked up another bike, this time a little project. My neighbor down the street had a Kawasaki Super Sherpa just sitting and rotting in her garage. I struck up a conversation with her about it bought it for a song. The next couple months, I spent too much money getting it running and riding right, but it turned out to be a very nice little dual sport. So nice, I decided I would probably sell my XR650L after my camping trip in March. I wanted to take 2 bikes to the campout so my dad had something to ride.
At the end of February, I decided I didn't want to keep the 650L, but still wanted a nicer, newer, fuel injected dual sport. Went full stupid and pulled the trigger on a new CRF450L and traded off the 650L.
To end this story, I ended up getting a new job and quitting the dealer. I went on my camping trip and then Covid-19 hit. I now own the Tracer GT, Monkey, CRF450L, and Super Sherpa. For the first time in years, I am not thinking about which bike is my next bike. The World is too crazy to think about that and I am incredibly lucky to have started the new job I have now right when this craziness hit.
The FZ was incredibly fun to ride, but the moment I bought it, I had a slight bit of regret. The FZ's big brother, the new Tracer 900 GT was recently introduced and was a bike I really wanted to get my hands on. Given my lack of off-road use of my Africa Twin, a more sport touring oriented bike made more sense. It was a bit of a moot point, though, because the Tracer GTs were very hard to get.
Over the next couple months, I found myself missing my retro ride. I didn't miss the CB specifically, just missed having a classic looking bike to ride and look at. Opportunity knocked and I found myself a deal on a brand new, 2015 Yamaha SR400 in Oct. 2018. It was unsold inventory at the dealer where I worked at the time and the owner was selling the dealer to retire. Old age inventory such as that was going to be treated like wholesale used inventory in terms of what the new owners would pay for it. So, I talked the owner into selling it to me between used wholesale and used retail value.
The very next month (Nov 2018), we got a new Tracer 900 GT in. I traded my Africa Twin and FZ09 in on it. Took a bath on that FZ, but I didn't care. I wanted it that much. This has been one of the best motorcycle purchases I have made.
By early spring 2019, I had grown tired of the SR400. It was just too small for me to ride comfortably which is funny to say having owned a Grom. I sold that bike and got most my money back out of it. I sat on that cash for a couple of weeks looking around for the next buy.
The dual sport bug had been biting me pretty hard. I had missed attending a friend's annual spring break camping/dirt bike riding trip in 2019 and vowed I would not miss it the following year. So, part of my commitment to that was to buy a dual sport bike. Ended up finding a well priced 2015 Honda XR650L two hours from me and went and picked that up back in May 2019
It was right about May 2019 that we finally started getting more inventory of Honda Monkeys and I probably would have used my pocket of cash to buy one of those had I not just spent it on the XR650L. Well, within a couple months I had a new Monkey anyway.
Fast forward to November 2019, I found yet another bike. Having really enjoyed the Monkey, I figured another retro style mini street bike was in order. We took a 2018 Kymco Spade 150 on trade and I talked my sales manager into letting me buy that. I never intended to keep it long, but I had a lot of fun riding it. It actually far outperforms the Honda 125 minibikes because it makes 50% more HP and has another cog in the transmission. It legitimately hits 70 mph with a big dude like me on it. Ended up selling it in Feb for a small profit.
In January, I picked up another bike, this time a little project. My neighbor down the street had a Kawasaki Super Sherpa just sitting and rotting in her garage. I struck up a conversation with her about it bought it for a song. The next couple months, I spent too much money getting it running and riding right, but it turned out to be a very nice little dual sport. So nice, I decided I would probably sell my XR650L after my camping trip in March. I wanted to take 2 bikes to the campout so my dad had something to ride.
At the end of February, I decided I didn't want to keep the 650L, but still wanted a nicer, newer, fuel injected dual sport. Went full stupid and pulled the trigger on a new CRF450L and traded off the 650L.
To end this story, I ended up getting a new job and quitting the dealer. I went on my camping trip and then Covid-19 hit. I now own the Tracer GT, Monkey, CRF450L, and Super Sherpa. For the first time in years, I am not thinking about which bike is my next bike. The World is too crazy to think about that and I am incredibly lucky to have started the new job I have now right when this craziness hit.
