Saying goodbye...no, not to you guys

[pdedse]

I thought it would be interesting to see what shipping your bike looks like.  I sold my 2021 W800 to a gentleman near Carson City, NV.  Once I received payment I sent him title and keys and he arranged a pickup and delivery using Haulbikes.  A driver texted me a few days ago and said sometime between today and Monday.  He texted again today at 2pm and we agreed on around 7:00 this evening.  

A massive rig!


The back door is hydraulic, and folds out and down, and then serves as a platform to raise the bikes.  


Two levels and so he ties the bike down on the ramp and we elevate to the second floor.


4 bikes already picked up today; the Vespa on the right is what he rides once he's done for the day.  He's done some things to it; it sounded mean! 


The driver says each level can hold up to 15 bikes; some are too long to go across, but not the W


Floor jack moves the bike into position


The bike gets strapped by the handlebars to the walls, and then two more straps to the floor.  It looked solid.


He had 1 more to pick up in Salem for tonight, about an hour south of where I live.  Then 9 more stops tomorrow and Monday and then he arrives in Las Vegas, his home base.  The bike then gets loaded onto another truck and makes its way back north to Carson City.  He said he works all the western states.  Two weeks ago he left Vegas and dropped off bikes all over CA, OR and WA, all the way up to the Canadian border.  Then he picks up bikes on his way back to Vegas.  From arrival tonight to departure, took less than 30 minutes; he had to take lots of photos and video of the bike before loading.  

The buyer paid $700 for the service.  

It was a tough decision to sell the W800 and I'll miss it, but I'm still having fun trying out different bikes. And in the back of my mind, I know that retirement could be as soon as 1 year away.  That means relocating to Tucson for the winter months and splitting time there and in Costa Rica.  So I have a year to get my new KLX300 ready.  Either it, or my DR650 will head to CR and the other will stay in AZ.  The CB1100 stays Stateside as well.

That's the plan anyway, we'll see how it all works out.

Stetching the cub's legs


And after it's first real ride, already dirty...

[Cormanus]

Looks like a good set up in the truck. Be interested to hear when it reaches the new owner.

I'd be sorry to see such a pretty machine leave too.

[SportsterDoc]

This is the same setup, maybe the same rig, that transported my 2023 Moto Guzzi V7-850 from Belen, NM to Kettle Falls, WA.

The rig that picked up mine was almost full, hauling some very classic bikes to an auction in Las Vegas, NV, mid-January, 2024.

pdedse, you realize that your retirement must include your continuance on this forum!

[the Ferret]

Very cool

[Gone in 60]

What an interesting process! And a unique way ro say goodbye to a bike.

[pdedse]

... pdedse, you realize that your retirement must include your continuance on this forum!

Retirement from work...not bikes!  

[Wisedrum]

Can understand the hard decision to sell a W800 and that you now miss this bike. I keep mine and enjoy the ride on it since nearly 15 years and 83.000km. It's a very good and lovely motorbike. Somehow a 'solitaire' among motorbikes with its in German "Königswelle".

[pdedse]

Can understand the hard decision to sell a W800 and that you now miss this bike. I keep mine and enjoy the ride on it since nearly 15 years and 83.000km. It's a very good and lovely motorbike. Somehow a 'solitaire' among motorbikes with its in German "Königswelle".

I used to buy bikes thinking I'd keep them till the day one of us died, and have always maintained them with that in mind.  My KLR650 was the longest owned at 15 years, 53k miles.  But I've come to realize that 3 bikes is my mental limit and that I'm not a collector.  I suppose if I had the space and limitless money, I'd have kept all the bikes I've owned with the exception of two Yamaha xs650--I realized they were beyond my (lack of) mechanical abilities and interest to restore them, but still fun bikes.  Experiences with them made it obvious I'm better off with new bikes, and then along came the CB1100.   

I think getting a little older you start thinking how long will I be able to ride?  Then about 5 years ago, my mindset started to change and suddenly I wanted to try a number of bikes before I wouldn't be able to anymore.  So out with the KLR, in with the DR650.  The W800 café version was bike #3, and it gave way to a RE INT650, which morphed into the '21 W800 blue, and now it is in the hands of a mc enthusiast who himself will now be on his last bike as he is 76 and nearly deaf.  The W blue sales money allowed me to go small displacement with the KLX300, which I'm hopeful will allow me to explore a little more the trails where the DR650 is still quite heavy.  Tradeoffs.  

My wife and I want to go very small on the next house in AZ, maybe just 2BR.  I'm sure garage space will be limited, so only two bikes there.  And we love living in Costa Rica...so it might be that we'll spend 8-10 months there and a lot less time in the States, 1-2 off-road capable bikes there in CR.  So that's factoring in my mind as well.  For now, the CB1100 and the DR650 are my long term bikes.  I'd like to get 100k miles on the CB, it's at 30 something.  It's my long distance bike for the U.S....if I'm able to!  The DR650...I still have the dream to ride S.America, and it would be for that plus AZ.  

Anyway, that's the mind set.  After committing $$ to a 3rd bike,  the purchase cost during 4 years of owning the 2 Ws and the RE has come out to around $90 per month, money well spent.