thinking about another bike
 

I have the Husky (TE630) and I love it to death. I'm a bit concerned about logging too many miles on it. By some crazy miracle, my wife has told me that I can get a second bike. I can think of 1000 reasons not to do it, and only 2 reasons to do it. Why do it? Because bikes are awesome. Because I wouldn't beat the Husky down putting 5000 street miles on it. I'd ride the Husky when the day was going to take me off road; that's it.

Here are some practical reasons (other than money) not to get another bike.

Parking. I have a 2 car garage. My car would be kicked out to the driveway. I would likely put one bike in storage over the winter, so I can park my car in the garage, rather than scraping frost off of my windows every morning.

Maintenance. Fewer miles on either bike than if I only owned one. But, now I have two bikes to work on, winterize, etc.

Mods. I have modded the piss out of the Husky. It is the most modded bike I have ever owned. Exhaust, opened up airbox, JD Jetting tuner (think PowerCommander).

Equipment. For one, I'd have to buy repair stands for the new bike. Right now, I just have a Craftsman ATV jack. It works great for a dirtbike with a skidplate. A streetbike, not so much. I sold my Pitbull stands when I sold my ZX-10R. I also sold my throttle body sync tool.

To make matters worse, there are only two street bikes that really excite me right now. Both of them are Ducatis. Hypermotard and Monster.

I do not want another sportbike. I want to sit upright. I know there are other viable options. CB1000R, ZX1000, Speed Triple, to name a few. But, the more I think about it, the more none of those other bikes turns me on.

I want a twin. Too bad Buell isn't still around, because a Lightning would be pretty cool.

The added maintenance I can deal with. However, I was looking through the Monster owner's manual, and Ducatis have a service indicator that flips on when the bike is due for maintenance. The indicator can only be turned off by a dealer. Or, you can buy the $300 software & cables it takes to do it yourself (I actually have a similar setup for my Husky).

Will doing it myself void my warranty? I don't know. I'm waiting to hear back from the dealer on that one.

I'm leaning toward a new bike. I have had some shitty experiences buying used and that really makes me feel uncomfortable.

Thinking about all the cons of multiple bike ownership makes me want to just ride my Husky and worry about it when the engine gives up.

Any multi-bike owners or Ducati owners want to chime in?

From the Ducati website

Ok, so I get raked over the coals for 3 maintenance checks. I might be able to deal with that.

I love owning multiple bikes, I am restricted to 3 by my wife. If I wasn't restricted, I would have a whole pile of em.

You may want to check out something like a SV650 naked. Great bike. Have to go used though.

Vstrom/Versys, anything like that would be a great mile eater and low maintenance twin.

Yep multiple bikes is fun, it gives options that one bike could never give you

The only sure way to have a Ducati running at all times is to own a few of them at a time.

I know all those other options make good sense, but they don't get me excited about owning another bike, except maybe the SV650. I wouldn't mind having another one of those.

I've heard that Ducati has come a long way in terms of lowering maintenance intervals and increasing reliability. Have you heard/experienced otherwise?

At least if it's down for work/fixing, I'll have another bike to ride.

The problem with a lot of bikes that get you excited, is they are very limited and you will quickly want to turn around and sell them. This is where a lot of multiple bike owners fall. They buy and sell very often, constantly searching for something to excite them. Most people like this don't buy new. It's much more cost effective to turn around and sell used bikes.

As far as monsters, I have always heard from owners that they are a much better bike to just stand around and look at. I came close to buying one, but was talked out of it.

What about the Japanese big standards?

CB1000R

ZX1000

Just as reliable as their sportbike counterparts, I'd imagine. Same wrenching as well.

I have never owned a Honda, but I like the looks of the CB more than the ZX. The ZX has a bunch of bodywork hanging off of it that I don't care for.

I enjoy having multiple bikes, always a back up if one is down. Granted both mine are sportbikes (Buell and SV) and the SV is technically the wife's, but still.
Now moving out to a farm area, I'm seriously looking at something more dirt orientated, to better handle the gravel roads. Just have to see how the old budget works out.

My favorite monster is my 93. But, that's because of everything I've put into it.

The current Duc I have the most experience with is the Hyper. It is still going to need someone to do those valves... But, she's been behaving in the mechanical department. All I've dealt with is random recalls and a class action lawsuit for the plastic tank they say will expand because of ethanol in our fuel.