How bad will I miss it?

OK, I've had my Nighthawk since November 1998. I've never not had it as an adult (or so it feels). I rode it 4 times this past summer. I love the bike. I just never ride it.

How bad will I miss it if I decide to sell it? Any of you had bikes then sold them and just couldn't live with yourself?

Yes, somewhere around 20 times by this point. Right now, I have 3 non-runners, and one runner. This last week there were 2 separate Craigslist TO-DIE-FORs within 25 miles of me for 2,000 bucks. I say sell. You can always find another bike, and there are so many different, cheap ways to scratch that itch.

I just don't have that itch to ride like I did a long time ago. Maybe it's partly because I have been so lucky for so long I feel like my "luck" may be running out and it's time to sell while I'm on top.

You'll miss it every time you go out to the garage and it's not there.

I have found it easy to scratch the itch with a rental from the Harley Dealer. ~$150/day a few times a year is cheaper than insurance, oil, tires etc. I found I was not riding my as much as I liked either and this is a good compromise. Plus, you always have a new bike every time you ride.

I had bikes continuously from age 16-28. I got rid of my last two after we were pregnant with our second kid. I don't miss it. I can't really see owning one again right now.

mndsm wrote: You'll miss it every time you go out to the garage and it's not there.

This. I didn't even like my nighthawk and I kinda miss it.

Bikes are not cars and are unbelievably cheap to keep. If you have any emotional attachment, keep it. Everyone I know who still has their first bike has never regretted it (Dunno if that's your first) and most folks I know wish they still had theirs. Some stabil, remove the battery and put the tires on old carpet samples and you'll be fine. Every now and again, spent a pretty Saturday getting it put together, cleaned up, started and after she warms up for a bit, ride it around the block.

Put it back. Wash rinse repeat.

You can't replace it for what you would sell it for.

My mother's husband still has his early 70's Kawasaki H1. It hasn't moved under its own power in 40 years... and he has trouble getting in/out of my mother's Volvo wagon, so there's zero chance he'll ever ride it again... but he still has it... barely 4K miles showing on the odometer...

Just sell it. You can't take it with you.

And when you have an itch to ride, just go and rent something. Around here, the plates and insurances are so expensive that I can rent something nice (about 100$/day) as much as I want to (about 3-4 times a summer for me) and it's still much cheaper. And I have more room in my garage. And when I feel like riding, I never end-up in the garage realizing that my barely used tires are getting hard and cracked, because they've been on the bike for.....has it already been 10 years? And not using your bike will make even a Jap bike leak oil like an old triumph once the seals start to dry out.

And if you ever realize that you really do want a bike back in your life, selling it will have given you the opportunity to sample something new and different.

My plates and insurance run a bit over $225/yearly. That won't rent too many days of riding. That said, if you're not going to ride, or enjoy it, get rid of it. Sure, there will be times when you'll miss it or worse, regret it, but so what? If you miss it that much, you can always find UJB(Universal Japanese Bike) at a more than reasonable price.

If you don't ride it, you don't love it.

foxtrapper wrote: If you don't ride it, you don't love it.

I don't believe that.

I had a KLX 250s for about 4 years. I loved that bike, and rode it a lot the first 3, but in the last year it sat and it seemed like I hardly ever rode it. So I figured I was done and sold it last fall. About half way through the summer I started looking for another one because I miss having it so much. It probably wouldn't get ridden as much as it did the first few years, but if I had it, it would always be there when I wanted it to.

You have to ask yourself if the money you get from it would make you substantially happy in another way. If not, don't sell it. But on the off chance you do decide to, would you ship to Canada?

Well, the money from it would fun part of next years auto-x season and help fill the new gun safe I got for my b-day from the wife.

Edit: This is my first (and only) street bike I've ever had. I had a dirt bike and a Yamaha Razz as a teenager, but this is the only bike I've ever had.

Bobzilla wrote: I just don't have that itch to ride like I did a long time ago. Maybe it's partly because I have been so lucky for so long I feel like my "luck" may be running out and it's time to sell while I'm on top.

I felt this way in 1998 and sold my one and only bike. I never had an accident on my bike and decided to quit while I was ahead. I decided to focus on autocrossing. In recent years, I have become board with autocrossing and my son's interest in café racers got me back into bikes. I now own five bikes (four runners and a CB450 with electrical demons). Maybe I will lose my nerve again, but I will probably always keep one bike. I am fortunate to live in a rural area and can ride back roads on which I might not see another vehicle during my entire ride. I can always keep a bike for those rides.

In reply to Ian F:

Crank seals probably need replacing by now. Getting the crank rebuilt is a pain.

In reply to fanfoy:

Wow, I insure 4 bikes for about $500 per year for all 4.

I'm probably going to keep mine for a good long while. Then again, it cost me a cheap e21 and a small amount of cash.

Mine had less than 3k miles on it when I bought it in 1998. I paid $800 cash and put the other $1300 on my Discover card. When Mom and Dad filed for bankruptcy the following spring, we found out the card was actually in Dad's name (different middle name) even though I'd been paying the payments. So it got wiped clean.... I had less than $900 in it in actual money.