Do You Become Attached To Your Bike?

[mollydog]

Once, after being involved in an accident in Mexico, a friend's bike was
"confiscated" by the "authorities".

The wreck was not his fault, no one hurt. When he refused to pay a bribe to be on this way .. Policia claimed they were impounding his motorbike (an old, beaten down XT500 Yamaha from the 80's.)

Policia took his bike to a wrecking yard. No luck trying to talk them into giving it up or buying it back.

So ... friend (with a partner) returned to wrecker that evening, bribed the lone worker there ... proceeded to DESTROY the bike. They smashed the engine with hammers, tore Carb off, smashed it, cut wiring harness, smashed side cases, lights, everything. They walked away, left it without remorse or sad feeling about destroying his beloved former traveling companion.

He wanted to make certain the thieves could not benefit ONE PENNY from the theft of his bike. Mission accomplished.

So this brings up a topic I've been thinking about lately. Why do some travelers become so attached to their motorbikes?

Are you willing to spend THOUSANDS shipping your motorbike across continents? ... and Back? Or, are you willing to sell it off at trips end?

When you start a trip, are you willing to spend THOUSANDS to ship your Prepped Jewel half way round the world to your "Starting Point"? Could you not "Ride There" or take a different route ... or God Forbid, buy a bike somewhere near your start point, prep it best you can ... and go!

I understand the temptation and the connection of taking care of your faithful traveling companion. But ... it's just a machine, made in a factory on an assembly line along with thousands of identical bikes.

Do some honestly "fall in Love" with their bike? Now what about that? How does this happen?

Yes, many spend money and MONTHS (or longer!) lovingly prepping and customizing their bikes for RTW travel. So naturally, when faced with having to give up their beloved machine (partner?), they resist ... and some are willing to spend a year's worth of travel budget on shipping their bike onward ... or back home!

Does your travel money come to you that easily that you can burn a HUGE portion shipping a clapped out, busted up old nail back home? Aren't there newer, better bikes back home ... or somewhere along your future route.

I guess it comes down to what is your travel about? Is it mostly about the bike?
What motivates travelers to travel relates to how much they are willing to sacrifice to hang onto their machine.

We spend so many months or years caring for our bikes during the trip, storing them, keeping them from being stolen, constant maintenance and hundreds of hours doing modifications ... that the very thought of leaving your bike behind or selling it is tantamount to jumping off a cliff.