Buying a new bike

[timbo]

Just thought I'd open this thread for discussion. I've never owned a new bike, or even a nearly new bike. But if everyone thought like me, there wouldn't be any second hand bikes 
I'm also interested in the attitude of when a new product appears, eg RE, Mash, SWM, Sinnis etc, lots of us say, "well I'll wait and see how they sell",  reliability etc, me being one of those people.
So are the true heroes, those people who, either on a whim, or after a carefully considered decision, part with their hard earned cash, and buy new. The more I think about it, the more I think these people probably are the heroes/pathfinders for the rest of us. And also, how difficult it must be to launch a new product 

[manxie]

Very good point Timbo. I`ve only ever bought one new bike and one new car. The car we bought in 2001 and still have  One thing I hate, as I`m sure all of us do, is losing our hard in cash by buying a new vehicle because as we all know, as soon as it leaves the showroom we`re on a downer  I think the thing that concerns me about the bikes you mentioned is what are they mechanically and how easy would they be to get parts for? RE is tried and tested and parts availability is superb. However, the SWM for example, what is it mechanically? Some articles mention KTM & Husky but nothing for sure? Is a Mash a Honda engine, etc?  I also think most of us can tell how good the build quality is? The problem I have is I get bored quite quickly, so if I bought new every time I saw something I liked, I`d be forever in the red.....I am seriously thinking about the SWM GM440 though? 

[SteveC#222]

I think a lot of the 'new' market is driven by either go to work commuters, or the MCN/Performance Bike market " ...so you have to buy the new 2016 Turbonutter XXzzrV6 1900! the special tyres are inflated with Swallow's breath for lower rolling resistance, the turbo is lined with Unicorn horn for an extra 0.75 BHP and it has anti static paint to repel dust so you go faster and all for a mere £5000 more than last year model!!..

 I have owned new bikes in the distant past but would only consider it now if I was sure it was a keeper. The sort of bikes most of us like will only ever sell in small numbers so any purchase of a new model is always going to be a bit of a gamble. Even if you do your research a lot of the tests won't give a true picture as they are done by people more interested in much faster, sportier stuff.....that said some of those Enfields do appeal a lot...I could be very tempted by a Continental GT.

[Propellor]

Tend to agree with you steve.  I don't buy any mags or papers so I don't have to endure the drivel. Down side is that I'm out of touch with latest happenings. But then most motorcyclists seem to be that blinkered that there's next to no chance of anything revolutionary happening anyway. I don't count unnecessary use of electronics as revolutionary.

[SteveC#222]

To be honest I'm not interested in 90% of the new stuff. I was browsing MCN the other day while shopping with SWMBO and they had an article on the new Bonneville(?) cafe racer and was assured that the traction control could easily be turned off! The traction control on my XBR is controlled by the right hand twistgrip!!.  I hate unnecessary electronic trickery that just puts money in the hands of bike dealers ( i don't count them as proper bike shops!).

[Andy M]

Too much thinking IMHO, I aren't going to have a bike that is more hassle than fun. The dealer has the bike I want for the money I have, it's a deal either new or used. The what ifs on technology and residual value and previous owner bodged or dealer bodged are all just balanced out differently depending what you buy and impossible to predict. I don't play their warranty game on new bikes, I do the services myself and if that invalidates the warranty I would have to pay, but would have the fight first. I don't pay the MOT blackmail either, my horn can be as strident as I like and my light bulbs never blow while parked outside the test station.

I did keep the Bonneville for 8 years because I liked it and didn't fancy anything else. These days there are bikes out there I want to try, so I can't see me keeping the V7 after this year. I like ex-demo's and bikes people didn't like and sold at 6 months old, but what are the chances of finding the type you want like that. I've only managed it twice in 20 years.

So called traction control, actually ASR is just a freebie with ABS and FI, if you ride normally it will never trigger. It can't fail on its own,  any issue will be with the ABS or FI. I have no fear of electronics it's just another mechanism that can be diagnosed with the right tools and repaired. I won't be having points any time this side of the next war, electronic ignition all the way.

Andy

[Richard]

I once bought an MZ 301 new. 

Hardly counted as new technology I suppose.

Motorcyclists are incredibly conservative, especially as regards brand loyalty and engineering.

Full respect to the Japanese factories for the sea change they created in the 60s.