NiGoCo

A couple months ago, out of nowhere, I got a wild hair to build a commuter bike. Seriously just out of the blue. I liked the idea of being self sufficient, challenging myself and all the other good things that come with bicycle commuting.

Last week I finished it and did the commute a couple times. Some things broke and I wasn't happy with the ergos so I made some changes. All the parts finally got here last weekend and I buttoned it up Sunday night. All I needed was a set of grips.

Now I don't own a car. I've been motorcycle only for the last five years. So Monday morning I fire up the motorcycle and as I'm backing it out of the driveway it starts making some unhealthy noises. I had to have my wife drop me off at work because I didn't have time to ride the bicycle plus it didn't have grips.

Tuesday I rode the bicycle and absolutely love it now. It feels really good. I borrowed a truck and trailer from work and dropped the motorcycle off at the dealers for diagnosis.

Got word today the motorcycle is terminal.

A three year old motorcycle with only 10K miles on it that has been 100% reliable and rode daily just happens to tear up an engine the very day that I finish the build on a commuting bicycle that only came to be due to a random thought. What a super freaky coincidence.

Anyway, I'm kind of at peace with it. I'm choosing to take it as a sign. I'm not happy that I'm going to be paying on what is essentially a 500# paperweight for the next couple years but I cannot afford to put an engine in it. I'm hoping I can repair it myself cheaply but the dealer thinks pistons are contacting valves which only equals expensive.

So the problem is my wife is beside herself with this situation. She's panicked that I don't have a vehicle. I explained that this is exactly the reason I built the bicycle anyway. I planned to stop using the motorcycle to keep the boring commuter miles off of it and use the bicycle for that purpose. But she's not having it. She absolutely does not like the idea of me cycling to work. She's convinced it's about the most unsafe thing I could do.

Anyone have any thoughts or tips on how to get her on board with this?

I mean it's the new reality so it's happening regardless but I'd like her to be more at ease with it than she is.

Cyclist0108

She is giving you an excuse to get a Lamborghini Huracán. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Shimagnolo

Good grief!
What make/model is this motorcycle?

gorillimo

Rollfast

My mom was cool with anything Dad drove except for his Kawasaki. She made him sell it within two weeks.

We drove this awful VW Rabbit for two or three months after finally fixing whatever it was that broke (fuel injection?), just to get something out of what was paid for it. I had to ride in the cargo compartment and stare at traffic you know. No wonder I preferred the AMC Matador station wagon we had before that. I was still looking back at traffic but not scrunched down.

Anyway, I'm proud of your bike building effort! Let's see some pics!

Teamprovicycle

Ok hold up first mistake

1: living beyond your means , you couldn't afford the motorcycle so you took out a loan like a greedy needy little man baby child .

Second mistake
2: trusting the dealer , you'd be better off smoking crack with the crack head who will fix your bike for 5 dollaz and a bag of rocks .

Lesson should be stay in yo lane , pay in cash , ride nude bars !!!!

( drops mic )

NiGoCo

Hey man! I never said I was smart

The motorcycle is a Yamaha FJ-09.

This is the bicycle build. https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting...ld-thread.html

Troul 

sounds to me like she's enabling you to buy a very expensive 4 wheeled vehicle.

If that is not affordable, then convincing her that the other option would be to sell the house to move closer to your work in order to increase the safety factor of bicycling.

NiGoCo

I have no desire to buy a car. That's not going to happen. I won't be adding any more debt no matter what happens. I can fix the motorcycle. I just can't afford to pay the dealer to fix the motorcycle.

Greenhil

rumrunn6

get term life insurance with her as the beneficiary. $100K for her & another $100K for every kid & if you have a mortgage, at least $100K to help with that

jj1091

Here's a comparative stat from the Virginia DMV for 2013:

The motorcycle fatality rate is over 17 times greater, and bicycle fatality rates are nearly 10 times greater than that for automobiles.
In 2013, bicycle and motorcycle injuries and deaths in Virginia were as follows:
Bike accidents:

• 800 reported accidents
• 739 serious injuries (92 percent of bike accidents result in serious injuries)
• 10 deaths (1.3 percent of bike accidents result in fatal injuries)

Motorcycle accidents:

• 2,000 reported accidents
• 1,800 serious injuries (90 percent of motorcycle accidents result in serious injuries)
• 60 deaths (3 percent result in fatalities)

In short, you're about twice as likely to be in a motorcycle accident than in a bicycle accident, and you're more than twice as likely to die in a motorcycle accident than on a bicycle. Bicycles are safer.

NiGoCo

I've got the life insurance taken care of. I made sure of that when I bought the motorcycle.

gregf83 

NiGoCo

I think the big deal is it's so foreign to her. I sorta faced the same resistance when I switched to motorcycles from cars. Except the concept of using a bicycle for anything other than recreation is not something that she can rationalize.

Another thing is the only people who you see around here on bicycles are beggars. They ride to the street corners to panhandle. On the weekends you may see some Roadies out and about but even that's pretty rare. So there is some social stigma attached that she is likely not all that comfortable with.

GrainBrain

Oh nice motorcycle, and a three cylinder? I have money on the timing chain guide or tensioner failing. If the bike was still running, then you probably haven't caused the pistons to smack the valves.

Good luck and enjoy the bike commute!

BobbyG

Better physical health, better mental health. Here are my bike commute videos. Hope they help.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...5TfAHK4EOymjDg

mstateglfr 

wat?!

Shimagnolo

Hell!
That is the exact bike I've been considering to replace my Versys 650.

WizardOfBoz

Yeah, this was my thought too. A little research (not checked, but as you know, there are remarkably few errors on the interweb):
Passenger Car Death Rate (for drivers and passengers): 0.11 per 10 million miles
Bicycle Death rate: 0.37 to 1.26 per 10 million miles
Motorcycle Death Rate: 2.27 (1994) to 4.01 (2005) per 10 million miles

So you are reducing your likelihood of death by a factor of about 10 by switching from motorcycle to bicycle. As far as deaths are concerned, at least.

Not sure that the Huracán doesn't have a bit higher peril though! For me it would, but I'm an idiotic yahoo. I'd be reminiscing about the '67 GTO (389, six pack) I had. Sigh... Looked like this:

NiGoCo

I absolutely love the bike. And to be fair it seems like a complete anomaly. I only know if two other guys that have had any serious issues and one guy was bouncing it off the rev limiter continually which caused his issues. I sure wouldn't write them off based on my singular experience, they are really terrific bikes especially for the money.

ggoytia1

Look to see if there is a motorcycle salvage yard or jump online to copart.com see if you can find a salvaged bike where you could swap out the engine and now you have a bunch of free parts.
good luck

leob1

What is the warranty limit on the MC? (having never purchased a new one I don't know)

Shimagnolo

Funny you should mention CoPart.com.
I had never heard of them until a fool in a pickup truck rant a stop sign and totaled my first Versys 650: https://www.copart.com/lot/44985557/
The only usable parts are the frame, engine, swingarm, and rear wheel.
Hell, even the exhaust system is bent.
I found a garage-queen Versys two months later to replace it.

Buddha2499