Having thoughts of selling....

[nghbuell]

So i bought my xb9s last october and have used it for mainly getting to and from work this year (8500 miles sinch march) its a great and fun bike but i cant help but feel guilty for having a toy and only one car for my wife and i. We have two kids so it sucks when i drive the car and she's stuck without wheels...i did ride pretty much in any weather though...i mean i got pelted with salt from a passing salt truck...
.
anyway i just feel like i could sell the bike and get a decent fuel efficient car with the money from the bike....but i dont know...i love having a bike but not having a second vehicle sucks! I have about 11k on the bike now and it runs great. only two issues i have had were fuel pump which i replaced and the rear bearings going out. so torn, because i know i will miss it but cant help wanting a car for the kids...i cant afford another car payment right now so thats not really an option.
So opinions, suggestions, and thoughts on what i could get for my bike?

Thanks guys,
Nick

[Jesse T]

Well IMO these bikes aren't getting very much on resale so really you might only end up up with a down payment on a used car. Also my thinking is, if its paid off and you only keep liability insurance on it, its not costing very much at all to own. At least thats how I justify keeping mine...Good luck! In the end you just have to do whats best for you and your kids [up]

[turboraven]

Your other option would be to put an ad on craigslist "trade buell for car" and see what turns up.

[gtp3800]

in my opinion if you ride that much and you love riding you will be saving money in the long run. I compared the gas consumed on my bike to my car and this season ive saved 578 bucks just from taking the bike instead of the car. Here is an option for you, find an old ford focus or mid 90's gm that will average 20 + mpg. I bought a 97 olds in great condition for 675 bucks. I only drive that in the winter.

That way your wife gets the nice car, you get the nice bike, and the beater/ winter car for back up.

[airBuell]

I have a 2000 ford focus SE wagon, paid 2k for it almost 4 years ago. It's worth it's weight. I don't feel bad driving it because I have an awesome XB12s too! My wife and kids get the nice car.

I think you should keep the bike, or you are going to end up with a ford focus/97 olds, or something similar and no bike! :(

[captain chaos]

Look for an older (pre 03 or so) Saturn (SC,SL,SW)and keep the bike. They are VERY reliable, will knock down 40mpg+ on the road and can generally be had for less than $1000. After GM took control of the division they went down hill on the "reliability" aspect so stick with the older "S" series.

I bought an SL2 this year for $700 just to fight the gas prices (when I'm not on the bike). It's be a really solid little car (seemingly in defiance of the 216,000mi showing on the ODO), it has plenty of room for my wife and 2 boys and I consitantly get between 38-42mpg out of it. Sure it's boring as all get out to drive but I ride the bike most of the time so it's barely an issue.
My brother just sold his SL1 w/ 280,000mi on it and he had very simliar results: reliable as a hammer, great on gas, boring but comfortable.

I have a Ford Focus also and it too is a good little car; more room than you'd think, good on gas (35mpg) and TONS more fun than the Saturn but they are much pricier and the first couple of years (2000-01) had a few bugs in them.

If you sell the bike for the reason you stated you WILL regret it and be searching for another one next year. Ask me how I know......

[buellbradski]

If you put 8500 a year your gonna kick yourself for selling it id try to pick up a beater car

[nghbuell]

yeah i know guys thats my dilema. i know i would regret selling the bike, like i did my 5.0 ranger i built. i really wish i had that back...and its for sale by someone else so i could buy it back for what i sold it for....but thats really not practical :) v8 in a two seater...but man that truck moved! haha lol well i threw it on CL (rockford) and well see. i have promised myself that if someone gives me 4200 for it that i would take it. i have to do whats best for my family. i will check out the saturns and see if i can swing a cheap car first. thanks guys and i appreciate your input and experience.

[ATFIII]

Best of luck brother, and be safe!

[07xb12sgrin]

saturns are great beaters. just that after a while they start to burn oil, but parts are cheap as they get. top end rebuild will only cost a couple hundred $. just like buell, to bad they stopped making the s-model. i have two. mine has 262000 on the clock and runs like a top. getting ready to get rid of the 97 wagon, cause the wife wants a new car.

[nghbuell]

well i got a text from a guy who wants to trade a 98 Wrangler, 4-cyl 5-speed, 128k and a yamaha 85 dirtbike for my bike. I like Jeeps, My dad, uncle, good friend, and other friends have jeeps and they're all fun vehicles. Not the most economical but i can drive and have fun with it all year round. :) going to go look at it tonight...we'll see.:)

[wolfo68]

that looks like a great deal man

[Alfatango1]

A guy offered to trade his 2000 F150 with 74,000 miles for my XB. Pics looked clean, too bad it's only a standard cab. I might take him up on it if he throws in like $800.

[Burton]

offered to trade his 2000 F150 with 74,000 miles for my XB

That's sick! I assume that you have a back-up Buell right?

[Alfatango1]

No back up Buell currently, but I'm a dealer so I can ride anything in the show room. I have an 1125R right now that I'd ride for a week or so until I decide what I want for real.

[Burton]

keep us posted!

[ATFIII]

^ yes, keep us posted.

[nghbuell]

well........I am Buelless [confused] dont really know how to feel... :D or [sad] i miss the buell but dont feel guilty about having a jeep that my wife and two kids can ride along with me. buell was kind of lonesome and with so many posting about crashing i was nervous i would be next i mean i have 25k riding experience with no crashes....

but i have a good running 98 wrangler and 03 yz85 which also runs's great! i want to sell the 85 since i'm a little big for it and dont really need it. the jeep does need a top. it has a soft top but is rough.

I have the 85 on CL for 1050 OBO but want to see no less than 900 for it.

I do still have the buell inner air box top (that holds the filter down) with stock filter if anyone is interested... air box cover has one tab broken but other than that is fine. its from an 03 xb9s for reference. email me at [email protected] if your interested.

i will always love buells and when i can hope to have an 1125cr.

Later Nick

Thanks guys

[Loki]

I thought about trying to trade my bolt for a CR cause i hate the Harley components in the bike at times. But i dont think i would be happy i got rid of it. To unique. Plus im young and dont have to worry about anyone else to haul around.

[nghbuell]

yeah, really regret it now....jeep is cool but needs some work. i have a buyer for the yz85 coming saturday so thats cool but i really miss my buell now that my dad invited me on a bike trip this saturday...i could borrow his 79 cb750 but know i would hate riding it for two days...anyway i got a killer deal on my buell ($2600 w/ 2612 miles) and traded for the jeep (KB's at about 4500) and this dirtbike which i should be getting about 800 for. i fell it was a good trade but made the decision kind of hastily which i normally do. got to work on that. but now i have decided i want an 1125cr which you can find fairly resonable on CL...i will not be buell less for long :)

[nghbuell]

funny how time changes things...i am still buell-less...but not bikeless. i bought two 1982 cm450e motorcycles that "didn't" run for 400 bucks. Both of them running and i'm doing a "dirt tracker out of the one with knobby tires and loud pipes :D

anyway i sold the jeep and dirtbike and ended up getting 1400 more than i paid for the buell...and i got to put 9000 miles on the buell last year. not to bad i guess :)

money's tight and things are taking alot longer than i anticipated to get this old 450 on the road but owell thats life. take care guys