Time to move on chaps

[Rufus]

After +4 years of very happy R18 ownership I’ve taken the big decision to move on and get another bike. Just for a change and something a bit more of an all rounder (ish).This forum has been both a very valuable source of information and a pleasure to be on and contribute from time to time. It’s been the best forum I’ve come across and will miss it. Below is the bike. I’ve chopped in both my bikes against it, I wanted to go down to just the one bike again, for lots of reasons. Ride safe everyone

 

[Anibal]

Congrats on your new bike. Like you, I love this place and I find myself gravitating around it. I love my K but I also loved my B. Ride safely my friend.

 

[bdalameda]

Wow that's a major cultural shift going from an R18 to a Hayabusa! Enjoy your new ride - I owned an early Hayabusa - great bikes. Ride safe!

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Nothing wrong with a change. For now, the R18 continues to offer me what I want but, you never know.
Safe riding as your new metal might be a little faster than the R18

 

[Rufus]

Congrats on your new bike. Like you, I love this place and I find myself gravitating around it. I love my K but I also loved my B. Ride safely my friend.

Cheers m8

 

[R2K]

Thanks for being a part of our family, enjoy your new ride and be safe out there. You don’t need to go fast on that bike you will look fast with it at any speed.

 

[HUNTS]

After +4 years of very happy R18 ownership I’ve taken the big decision to move on and get another bike. Just for a change and something a bit more of an all rounder (ish).This forum has been both a very valuable source of information and a pleasure to be on and contribute from time to time. It’s been the best forum I’ve come across and will miss it. Below is the bike. I’ve chopped in both my bikes against it, I wanted to go down to just the one bike again, for lots of reasons. Ride safe everyone

View attachment 21817

I forgot that I owned a bike dealership… I’m getting old.

 

[Rufus]

Thanks everyone.

 

[Mac]

Wow, it seems like only yesterday that you bought the second one, I must be getting old. I have always been tempted myself on the Hayabusa but my sanity adviser warns me off every time, for some reason she will not forget the grass stain on her knee when she was on the back of my K1200s! That’s a lovely bike and so very different so stay safe and enjoy.

 

[Hammo]

Wow, it seems like only yesterday that you bought the second one, I must be getting old. I have always been tempted myself on the Hayabusa but my sanity adviser warns me off every time, for some reason she will not forget the grass stain on her knee when she was on the back of my K1200s! That’s a lovely bike and so very different so stay safe and enjoy.

After +4 years of very happy R18 ownership I’ve taken the big decision to move on and get another bike. Just for a change and something a bit more of an all rounder (ish).This forum has been both a very valuable source of information and a pleasure to be on and contribute from time to time. It’s been the best forum I’ve come across and will miss it. Below is the bike. I’ve chopped in both my bikes against it, I wanted to go down to just the one bike again, for lots of reasons. Ride safe everyone

View attachment 21817

All the best my friend and enjoy your new adventure , most of all be safe .

 

[Rufus]

Wow, it seems like only yesterday that you bought the second one, I must be getting old. I have always been tempted myself on the Hayabusa but my sanity adviser warns me off every time, for some reason she will not forget the grass stain on her knee when she was on the back of my K1200s! That’s a lovely bike and so very different so stay safe and enjoy.

Hi Mac. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed having them, I think they are marvelous machines and it’s taken me a good week to reach a this decision. There’s lots of small reasons really, I dont know whether this will chime with anyone else but after many years (36 road riding in my case on many different bikes) I’ve become a bit bored with it all tbh. I can’t see myself not having a bike in the garage (because I’ve had them so long) but years ago on my days off I used to be off all the time riding around the country enjoying myself. Don’t feel that so much anymore.

It’s probably because the environment that we ride in has changed so much over that period of time, with traffic, bad roads, idiot drivers on mobile phones, speed cameras and well…..the powers that be seem to want to just ruin any fun or pleasure we have these days. So, I was thinking about legacy, whatever that is and i pulled out my old scrapbook that has a picture of every bike (and vehicle) I’ve ever owned. I was daydreaming a bit.

Anyhow, flicking through I found pictures of my first Gen1 Hayabusa i bought in 1999 (nearly new) and then a new Gen2 i had in 2017 and it crossed my mind, even if I’ve lost my ‘mojo’ a bit, would it be a nice place to end up, with a Gen3? There’s so many sensible reasons to bin this idea completely but I thought about it more & more this last week and thought ….sod it. Yea why not. So I seriously looked into it. It’s a bit ‘last of the dinosaurs’ mentality I suppose too, I know nobody cares but the Hayabusa has run more or less the whole time I’ve been riding and there’s not many bikes that can be said of these days and it’s likely to be killed off (in Europe) soon when they ban ICE altogether.

No doubt I will miss the glory of the R18’s but I’m hoping to get pleasure from the new bike and maybe find a little extra something with the memories from the previous two, , nostalgia? Dunno. Time will tell. Couple of pics below……

Funny what memories a picture invokes. I had my girlfriend (now wife) on the back of my Gen1 moving through slow moving heavy traffic on the seafront in Scarborough one day and had to give it a bit to avoid a car pulling out in front of me, so squirted past and simultaneously with a loud squeal she started banging me hard on the back of the helmet. Apparently she nearly fell off the back whoops…….didnt do that again.

 

[HUNTS]

Hi Mac. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed having them, I think they are marvelous machines and it’s taken me a good week to reach a this decision. There’s lots of small reasons really, I dont know whether this will chime with anyone else but after many years (36 road riding in my case on many different bikes) I’ve become a bit bored with it all tbh. I can’t see myself not having a bike in the garage (because I’ve had them so long) but years ago on my days off I used to be off all the time riding around the country enjoying myself. Don’t feel that so much anymore.

It’s probably because the environment that we ride in has changed so much over that period of time, with traffic, bad roads, idiot drivers on mobile phones, speed cameras and well…..the powers that be seem to want to just ruin any fun or pleasure we have these days. So, I was thinking about legacy, whatever that is and i pulled out my old scrapbook that has a picture of every bike (and vehicle) I’ve ever owned. I was daydreaming a bit.

Anyhow, flicking through I found pictures of my first Gen1 Hayabusa i bought in 1999 (nearly new) and then a new Gen2 i had in 2017 and it crossed my mind, even if I’ve lost my ‘mojo’ a bit, would it be a nice place to end up, with a Gen3? There’s so many sensible reasons to bin this idea completely but I thought about it more & more this last week and thought ….sod it. Yea why not. So I seriously looked into it. It’s a bit ‘last of the dinosaurs’ mentality I suppose too, I know nobody cares but the Hayabusa has run more or less the whole time I’ve been riding and there’s not many bikes that can be said of these days and it’s likely to be killed off (in Europe) soon when they ban ICE altogether.

No doubt I will miss the glory of the R18’s but I’m hoping to get pleasure from the new bike and maybe find a little extra something with the memories from the previous two, , nostalgia? Dunno. Time will tell. Couple of pics below……

Funny what memories a picture invokes. I had my girlfriend (now wife) on the back of my Gen1 moving through slow moving heavy traffic on the seafront in Scarborough one day and had to give it a bit to avoid a car pulling out in front of me, so squirted past and simultaneously with a loud squeal she started banging me hard on the back of the helmet. Apparently she nearly fell off the back whoops…….didnt do that again.




View attachment 21818

I remember reading the review of the first Hayabusa in a magazine that (I think) was called ‘Fast Bikes’…
Oh, the irony.
That model could do 312km/h, radar tested, if you folded back the mirrors. It was the ‘Busa and a Kwaka that caused bikes to be speed limited at 299km/h… because you are SO MUCH safer at 299, rather than 312km/h .
Whatever you ride, whatever style, whatever brand; who cares as long as it’s 2 wheels.
Rock on Rufus

 

[Mac]

Hi Mac. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed having them, I think they are marvelous machines and it’s taken me a good week to reach a this decision. There’s lots of small reasons really, I dont know whether this will chime with anyone else but after many years (36 road riding in my case on many different bikes) I’ve become a bit bored with it all tbh. I can’t see myself not having a bike in the garage (because I’ve had them so long) but years ago on my days off I used to be off all the time riding around the country enjoying myself. Don’t feel that so much anymore.

It’s probably because the environment that we ride in has changed so much over that period of time, with traffic, bad roads, idiot drivers on mobile phones, speed cameras and well…..the powers that be seem to want to just ruin any fun or pleasure we have these days. So, I was thinking about legacy, whatever that is and i pulled out my old scrapbook that has a picture of every bike (and vehicle) I’ve ever owned. I was daydreaming a bit.

Anyhow, flicking through I found pictures of my first Gen1 Hayabusa i bought in 1999 (nearly new) and then a new Gen2 i had in 2017 and it crossed my mind, even if I’ve lost my ‘mojo’ a bit, would it be a nice place to end up, with a Gen3? There’s so many sensible reasons to bin this idea completely but I thought about it more & more this last week and thought ….sod it. Yea why not. So I seriously looked into it. It’s a bit ‘last of the dinosaurs’ mentality I suppose too, I know nobody cares but the Hayabusa has run more or less the whole time I’ve been riding and there’s not many bikes that can be said of these days and it’s likely to be killed off (in Europe) soon when they ban ICE altogether.

No doubt I will miss the glory of the R18’s but I’m hoping to get pleasure from the new bike and maybe find a little extra something with the memories from the previous two, , nostalgia? Dunno. Time will tell. Couple of pics below……

Funny what memories a picture invokes. I had my girlfriend (now wife) on the back of my Gen1 moving through slow moving heavy traffic on the seafront in Scarborough one day and had to give it a bit to avoid a car pulling out in front of me, so squirted past and simultaneously with a loud squeal she started banging me hard on the back of the helmet. Apparently she nearly fell off the back whoops…….didnt do that again.




View attachment 21818

Good on you. No point living life thinking ‘if only’.

 

[Cu Dubh]

Hi Mac. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed having them, I think they are marvelous machines and it’s taken me a good week to reach a this decision. There’s lots of small reasons really, I dont know whether this will chime with anyone else but after many years (36 road riding in my case on many different bikes) I’ve become a bit bored with it all tbh. I can’t see myself not having a bike in the garage (because I’ve had them so long) but years ago on my days off I used to be off all the time riding around the country enjoying myself. Don’t feel that so much anymore.

It’s probably because the environment that we ride in has changed so much over that period of time, with traffic, bad roads, idiot drivers on mobile phones, speed cameras and well…..the powers that be seem to want to just ruin any fun or pleasure we have these days. So, I was thinking about legacy, whatever that is and i pulled out my old scrapbook that has a picture of every bike (and vehicle) I’ve ever owned. I was daydreaming a bit.

Anyhow, flicking through I found pictures of my first Gen1 Hayabusa i bought in 1999 (nearly new) and then a new Gen2 i had in 2017 and it crossed my mind, even if I’ve lost my ‘mojo’ a bit, would it be a nice place to end up, with a Gen3? There’s so many sensible reasons to bin this idea completely but I thought about it more & more this last week and thought ….sod it. Yea why not. So I seriously looked into it. It’s a bit ‘last of the dinosaurs’ mentality I suppose too, I know nobody cares but the Hayabusa has run more or less the whole time I’ve been riding and there’s not many bikes that can be said of these days and it’s likely to be killed off (in Europe) soon when they ban ICE altogether.

No doubt I will miss the glory of the R18’s but I’m hoping to get pleasure from the new bike and maybe find a little extra something with the memories from the previous two, , nostalgia? Dunno. Time will tell. Couple of pics below……

Funny what memories a picture invokes. I had my girlfriend (now wife) on the back of my Gen1 moving through slow moving heavy traffic on the seafront in Scarborough one day and had to give it a bit to avoid a car pulling out in front of me, so squirted past and simultaneously with a loud squeal she started banging me hard on the back of the helmet. Apparently she nearly fell off the back whoops…….didnt do that again.




View attachment 21818

I get it. WTF is up with us!?? Enjoy the new ride!

 

[Kevin Duffy]

After +4 years of very happy R18 ownership I’ve taken the big decision to move on and get another bike. Just for a change and something a bit more of an all rounder (ish).This forum has been both a very valuable source of information and a pleasure to be on and contribute from time to time. It’s been the best forum I’ve come across and will miss it. Below is the bike. I’ve chopped in both my bikes against it, I wanted to go down to just the one bike again, for lots of reasons. Ride safe everyone

View attachment 21817

Nice bike, good luck

 

[anchovyD]

After +4 years of very happy R18 ownership I’ve taken the big decision to move on and get another bike. Just for a change and something a bit more of an all rounder (ish).This forum has been both a very valuable source of information and a pleasure to be on and contribute from time to time. It’s been the best forum I’ve come across and will miss it. Below is the bike. I’ve chopped in both my bikes against it, I wanted to go down to just the one bike again, for lots of reasons. Ride safe everyone

View attachment 21817

Love it, I am picking up mine in a couple weeks too; a blue 2026 Special Edition Hayabusa. Keeping my Mars Red 2023 R18 base though, I love it. Haven't figured out how I will fit the new Suzuki in the garage, I have a few other bikes and can't fathom the thought of paring down. Love them all and they all have strong sentimental value.

 

[Rufus]

It’s not been an easy transition anchovyD, like you I also get attached to these things but I don’t have the means to keep an R18 aswell (not without overstretching myself). Bike values have really tumbled over here (lots of bikes not only ours) so I didn’t get what I believe they are worth as p/x so had to put both mine in. Ironically my Hayabusa is being delivered first thing this morning so as I actually type this I still have my two in the garage . I’m being positive about it though and looking forward to the change, but with a tinge of sadness too.

 

[Anibal]

Strength my friend. It will be hard at first but as soon as you start riding the Busa your will start feeling better. Enjoy it

 

[Berardi3]

After +4 years of very happy R18 ownership I’ve taken the big decision to move on and get another bike. Just for a change and something a bit more of an all rounder (ish).This forum has been both a very valuable source of information and a pleasure to be on and contribute from time to time. It’s been the best forum I’ve come across and will miss it. Below is the bike. I’ve chopped in both my bikes against it, I wanted to go down to just the one bike again, for lots of reasons. Ride safe everyone

View attachment 21817

Nice

 

[Lowflying]

I get it. All bikes are cool in their particular way. We don’t last forever so you gotta do what you gotta do. A Hayabusa is definitely cool.

I’m 63 now and have realised that there is no “later”. When I get restless and want to try a different bike I just do it. When I was younger I was more likely to hang on to a bike out of some weird sense of loyalty. Which made sense to me at the time as life seemed to stretch on forever ahead of me. I had time.

Now I’m still healthy and enjoying riding, but, I can no longer be in denial about how finite life is. If one can afford it, why not ride what you want?