To Everyone Out There....

[gemship]

Originally Posted by benb

Meh.. people automatically go to "guy with a bike buying problem hiding it from his wife" cause it's such a super common malady mentioned on these forums... really all forums for all male-dominated hobbies. A significant portion of the forum members on any bike/gun/camera/musical instrument/car/boat/watch forum are in it for buying the stuff rather than using it.

I don't have to worry about this cause I prefer to ride a bike over buying bike(s) at all costs. My issue is when my wife gets pissed cause I ride too long when we're super busy.

I really connect with the part you say about man hobbies...for instance. Earlier tonight I retracted a bid I put on a 1971 Kawasaki H1 500 in pretty much all original condition. I saw this bike on auction at Ebay early this past summer and did the same thing then, am I crazy or what? So anyways reserve isn't even met and some guy with sniper bidding had already outbid me. So chances are I wouldn't have even had a chance to win. Once more I am not married and have no kids and I have some serious disposable cash but I also have an inner voice. It doesn't sound like a female voice as far as I can tell but it likes to be negative. It said things like that bike is beautiful but it's older than you and much like you 75 Yami it will most likely need an engine rebuild plus those aesthetically awesome front drum brakes really suck for stopping power so are you sure you really want to own this???

Bottomline- even when you have nobody to answer to and crap loads of cash some times you just gotta quit when you're ahead. The sane part of me just says you can't even ride enough with what you got and that includes the bicycle collection.

Ps- I just wish I could be more like the rest of you guys who just blow your load because the "ID" part of me sees and wants but then there's that voice of sanity that says must maintain the spice.

[Ronsonic]

My wife knows that I am of an age where sleek, fast and Italian becomes irresistible - we agree that financially and morally the bikes are better than the cars or the women.

[unterhausen]

Originally Posted by gemship

Ps- I just wish I could be more like the rest of you guys who just blow your load because the "ID" part of me sees and wants but then there's that voice of sanity that says must maintain the spice.

You are what you own -- which means I'm a big pile of unfinished projects (a.k.a garbage my kids will have to dispose of)

[Louis]

Originally Posted by unterhausen

You are what you own -- which means I'm a big pile of unfinished projects

I tell myself that once I'm retired I'll have time to complete all those "in work" (i.e. abandoned) projects.

[daker13]

Originally Posted by GOTHBROOKS

is the whole “lying to your partner about the money you spend” a generational thing? or is everyone just takin the piss. i dont get it.

The 'hiding something I bought from my wife so I don't catch any crap' thing isn't exactly universal, but there's a reason people say it. It's like not getting along with the in-laws: some people get along great with their in-laws, but most people have some friction.

My friend owns a record store and he says he has customers who buy one lp a year and they'll say they can't buy a $10 record because 'the wife will kill me.'

My own feeling is that the gendered stereotypes break down on their own in practice and we middle aged dads all possess many so-called 'feminine' qualities, like being afraid of insects or snakes, or wearing too much perfume.

[fa63]

Wife and I both have "play funds". Same amount of money goes in there for each of us, and we do not ask questions on how that money gets spent. Works quite well. My play fund has been pretty steady the past few year or so, as I have been strictly adhering to one-in one-out

[parris]

We live in a small house so my wife's quite correct issue isn't me buying anything other than the "we have too much s**t already wheres it going to go"! It's completely size dependent. If a frame or wheel box shows up unannounced she gets rightfully pissed due to the space issue. I can come home with a custom firearm and the comment is generally positive along the lines "you haven't bought a new gun in a while you deserve it".

[BRad704]

Originally Posted by fa63

Wife and I both have "play funds". Same amount of money goes in there for each of us, and we do not ask questions on how that money gets spent. Works quite well. My play fund has been pretty steady the past few year or so, as I have been strictly adhering to one-in one-out

We did the "fun money" envelopes while we were getting our budget settled in at first. It's a great system to take some emotion out of spending decisions.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Mikej]

Again, op was not about hiding things. I thought more people on this forum would relate to wanting to get your bike parts on and your bike up and running so you could go biking before the honey-do list gets started. I was wrong. Married 23 years.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by gemship

I really connect with the part you say about man hobbies...for instance. Earlier tonight I retracted a bid I put on a 1971 Kawasaki H1 500 in pretty much all original condition. I saw this bike on auction at Ebay early this past summer and did the same thing then, am I crazy or what? So anyways reserve isn't even met and some guy with sniper bidding had already outbid me. So chances are I wouldn't have even had a chance to win. Once more I am not married and have no kids and I have some serious disposable cash but I also have an inner voice. It doesn't sound like a female voice as far as I can tell but it likes to be negative. It said things like that bike is beautiful but it's older than you and much like you 75 Yami it will most likely need an engine rebuild plus those aesthetically awesome front drum brakes really suck for stopping power so are you sure you really want to own this???

Bottomline- even when you have nobody to answer to and crap loads of cash some times you just gotta quit when you're ahead. The sane part of me just says you can't even ride enough with what you got and that includes the bicycle collection.

Ps- I just wish I could be more like the rest of you guys who just blow your load because the "ID" part of me sees and wants but then there's that voice of sanity that says must maintain the spice.

Also, it handles like a wheelbarrow with a flat tire.
When I was younger I did my newspaper route on a H1. Also had the H2.

[GOTHBROOKS]

what a painfully boring narrative.

[gemship]

Originally Posted by Tony

Also, it handles like a wheelbarrow with a flat tire.
When I was younger I did my newspaper route on a H1. Also had the H2.

Hi, just checking in on the forum today since I posted that. Doing a paper route on one of those bikes?....Man o man that's awesome! Yeah over at the 2stroke world forum there's this engineer who's owned pretty much all the 70's two strokes and he's stated a few times that he prefers the RD350 over an H1 or H2. I think it's a variety of reasons but there is the handling aspect which is huge. I think I'll stick to my RD250 and be happy with that plus there's plenty of room for upgrades and I already own it outright, she's gotta home. No need for more strays, LOL.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by gemship

Hi, just checking in on the forum today since I posted that. Doing a paper route on one of those bikes?....Man o man that's awesome! Yeah over at the 2stroke world forum there's this engineer who's owned pretty much all the 70's two strokes and he's stated a few times that he prefers the RD350 over an H1 or H2. I think it's a variety of reasons but there is the handling aspect which is huge. I think I'll stick to my RD250 and be happy with that plus there's plenty of room for upgrades and I already own it outright, she's gotta home. No need for more strays, LOL.

I did most of my route on the sidewalk, it was a different time
I liked the H1 better than the H2. The H2 handing was even worse than the H1. The H1 was a neighbors bike, serviceman who let me use his bike when he was gone.
I agree with the engineer. The RD350 was my first new bike, much better handling. It and the RD400 were outstanding bikes in their time!

[gemship]

Originally Posted by Tony

I did most of my route on the sidewalk, it was a different time
I liked the H1 better than the H2. The H2 handing was even worse than the H1. The H1 was a neighbors bike, serviceman who let me use his bike when he was gone.
I agree with the engineer. The RD350 was my first new bike, much better handling. It and the RD400 were outstanding bikes in their time!

I can only imagine living in a different time. Maybe less traffic, less time spent at intersections and lights. That's what those bikes crave for and then some. I think that's another reason that turns me off on pursuing ownership of such a beast. Anyway my little RD250 has a great sound. I bought it as a barn find two years ago and this past winter I wound up giving it the triple bypass. Got rid of the points and old regulator/rectifier, upgraded the whole ignition system pretty much but it's still magneto based. You can actually run the bike without a battery. Put chambers on it and had a lot of fun taking off and on the carbs to get the jetting correct. Also all new seals,gaskets and and crank/pistons and rings as well. I didn't do any cosmetic enhancements though as I wanted to keep the resto somewhat cheap and maintain that barn, survivor look. The bike sounds crisp and rips when she's getting up to temp but once she warms up she feels every bit like a 250 and that maybe due to the final gearing. As I went a tooth higher on the back sprocket and took away a bit of grunt there. I dunno what to say except there's that legend of the H1's and especially the H2's being fearsome wheelie machines. My 250 sounds every bit of that but she just doesn't have that kinda juice. On that note I would like to find some good 350 cylinders. I think that's the fun of those old Yamaha's. They still consume cash but not thru the roof like those big bore Kawi's.

[soulspinner]

Originally Posted by Jeff N.

My biggest fear is that if I die first, my wife will sell my bikes for what I told her I paid for them.....