Im kind of sad

The RC51 that i bought my son a couple of years ago for high school graduation is gone.We are both Nicky fans and when asked what he wanted for graduation, he had to have an RC51. He had totaled an 06 CBR600RR and to be honest,his heart just wasnt in sportbikes anymore.He didnt know it until i bought the RC. He is 21 and tells me i ride to fast,which i probably do but,thats the way it is.Anyway,the new owner just picked it up and the bright side is,the kid drove down to Knoxville Tn, from Owensboro Kentucky and is friends with the Hayden family.He works at a local Honda store and says he see's Nicky all the time.He wanted the RC to build and make a track bike because he is a big Nick fan also. My son now wants to get back into dirt and is wanting to take the money and buy a dirt bike,Im going to let him spend half on a dirt bike and the other half is going towards next years college. That the only way i was going to sell it. I would liked to have kept it just to have because it was in primo condition and only had 9k miles on it but these damn kids just dont know what they want anymore.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Mar 19 2009, 10:56 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I feel your pain, I have my Ducati 749 on sale ATM, and I'm dreading the day it’s sold. Funny thing is I've had a few prospective buyers and I always tell them all the money they will have to spend on maintenance, how finicky the bike is, and paint as grim a picture as I can. So far I've managed to shoosh everybody away..haha.
Its funny you say that,I was thinking the same thing last night when the kid showed up to pick it up.What could i do to queer the deal, but the bike is flawless and i couldnt come up with anything negative to say.Sometimes i want tio wring my sons neck,i try to guide him in the right direction but he is as bull headed as i am.He has it in his mind that he has to have a KTM.I dont have anything against KTM except that they are overpriced and from what i can tell,high maintainence.Im pushing for one of the jap bikes for obvious reason,they cost less,more reliable,parts availability,parts costs, i have an account at the local Kawasaki Yamaha shop that gives me huge discounts,close to 50%, because i refer a lot of my boat customers to them for Jet Skies. The possibility of KTM being in financial trouble is worrying also. He wants a KTM 200cc 2 stroke,not for motocross but for a woods bike,tight trails and up and down the side of heavily wooded mountains.He tells me that KTM is the only one out there with a bike that is made specifically for just that type of riding [gearing,suspension etc] and im pushing him to get a 250 4 stroke.I have done the riding he is talking about,i introduced him to it when he was 5 years old but he seems to think i have no idea what im talikng about.He is stuck on the idea that 2 strokes are easier to rebuild,which they are,but the part i cant get through his head is that you have to build 2 strokes on a consistent basis where as the 4strokes are pretty much bullet proof and have the better low end torque for that kind of riding.At this point,i think he would just as soon get kicked in the nuts as admit im right. KIDS

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JohnnyKnockdown @ Mar 19 2009, 05:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Damn Povol You're a pretty cool Dad apart from all that crazy conservative ........ you're probabaly passing on.
At least your kid is trading in one bike and picking up another. He's still going to ride which is the important thing. Besides riding dirt keeps you above the ground while riding street can easily put you under the dirt.
You got that .... right,I have a 23 year old daughter who,how should i put this,is on the conservative side.She went head to head and in the faces of many a liberal college professor on many different subjects and still graduated Suma cum Laud with a 4.o . She would dare them to .... with her grades because of a difference in opinion. The girl will not back down,I love it.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Arrabbiata1 @ Mar 19 2009, 05:23 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Pov, the fond memories of the bike, the enjoyment and the experiences it imparted will always live on.

Some years ago I bought an '83 Strat from an ad in the local paper. When I turned up to try it out, he wouldn't let it go, and when I eventually prized it from his grasp, he insisted I gave it back to him so that he could play it one final time. When I put it in the case and handed over the money, he started sobbing his eyes out -I kid you not. So I got it back out again and hit him over the head with it, took my money back and his 57 Telecaster for good measure Seriously though, he wouldn't stop crying, so I said he better take it back, but he refused because he desperately needed the money ( I forget why). I ended up taking him out for a few beers because I felt so guilty. I guess he'd be suicidal now if he new that it was stolen two years later from the back of a car.

I digress, but I've known a lot of people who have been similarly attached to bikes, and seen many a good man weep when they've either totaled or been forced to sell their pride and joy.

That's a hell of a change your lad is contemplating - not only going off road, but hankering after a two stroke. What brought that about? Whether it's the KTM or the 250 Jap 4 stroke, sounds like a lot of fun to be had where you live.

I used dirt ride the desert near Mansfield - (most Brits reading this will know what I mean), impossible now due to the police presence; and Green-laning also is almost impossible around here these days
Dude,i am truely blessed to grow up where there is some of the best bike riding in the world.It doesnt matter what you like,there is a great place for it. Bad ... curvy roads , Hwy 129 AKA the Dragon- Tennessee, Cherohala Skyway ,Tennessee and North Carolina ,Hwy 60 in North Georgia,Blood Mnt-North Georgia, Hwy 28 western North Carolina. Hwy 68 Tennessee. If you like dirt,you have 100's of thousands of acres of mountains trails that feature tight woods riding,mud bogging in the valleys,river crossings,knarly hill climbs, Think Blackwater Enduro and that is what we have at our disposal.I live in East Tennessee and am 1 hour from any of that.Its a motorcyclist dream land.