are you implying bike has no soul? :stormy:

I am not sure about "soul" but a am sure about temperament!
and yes I do get attached to some of my bikes/cars but this is normally due to the amount of time and work (and money) poured into them!

Do they start to reflect your personality after a given amount of customisation?

I'm afraid that seems to be true! My poor DR650 has devolved into a quasi Enduro RTW Rat bike. I've owned it 10 years and 60K miles ... and it's not as clean as it used to be (like me!) Still running strong ... could use a top end rebuild.

Things are left unfixed and unmaintained ... the bike runs fine but it's certainly far from RTW ready. I am attached to this bike (to a point!) as it's been SO IMPRESSIVE with it's steadfast reliability and it total ease of maintenance.

So, after 10 years with this stellar ADV beast, what have I done?
Bought a Ducati of course ... which promptly BLEW UP. doh

I could have predicted this. jeiger

The never-ending story, eh? Everyone faces decisions at one stage in life about bikes and motor-vehicles in general.... Own 12 motorbikes in China right now, time has seriously come around to let go of some, Yes, spot on ~ I am attached (very) to some of the bikes but lets face reality here for a moment ~ how many asses have I, to put on them seats....

bikes are exactly like we riders, we're still running strong after years of abuse and some of us could use also top end rebuilt :rofl: bier

They say that dog owners end up looking like their pets (BBC - Future - Dogs look like their owners – it’s a scientific fact).

Maybe it's the same with us, we bond with the bikes that we grow to resemble. :rofl:

In fact I'm wondering whether we should have a rogues picture gallery of riders and bikes together so we can see the connection :rolleyes2: :rofl:

Sounds like my life - except for the money bit!

I think for some people its more about closure. I've certainly sold bikes, only to buy them back again afterwards because I thought the person was a dick and the bike deserved better. Sp I can relate to Mollydog's story of his friends trashing the bike. I remember a similr story in one episode of Hillstreet Blues with a Norton motorcycle.

As a student, I had a VW bug which I neglected to the extreme and it always bothered me. About 15 years later, I managed to locate it again and did a resto job on it. Passed it on to my son as his 1st car and when he sold it I felt no remorse in seeing it go.

Yet, I don't consider myself a sentimental slob and mostly bikes/cars are just tools. But like my tools in the shed, there are favorite tools I use a lot, and some I won't miss.

But if I had the money, I'd probably end up wit a shed full of wrecks and memories... doh

Its an interesting topic. I know that when my wife an I completed a long trip on our bike we did explore the idea of selling/abandoning them at the end. The cost to get them how was more than triple the worth of the bikes. But we definately had an attachment to them.

So we shipped them home. And you know, not once have we regretted it. The money we spent on that doesnt even factor into our lives. We had budgeted to ship anyways and that money was set aside for that purpose.

We still love our bikes and cart them around everywhere with us. The only time we will part with them is when they are beyond repair. Some may say that is the case already!

It's hard not to be especially when you've spent hours with it. I mean, I know I probably would have to let it go, but having it confiscated would not be what's ideal for me.