I don't need a new bike; I want a new bike, and so I'm pretending I can afford it and that I don't need to first sell my minibike and the old Honda I don't ride, ditch two cars and buy another car, and get the old horse trailer truck moving again.
I live in a world of fantasy that pretends none of that is more important than a new bike I likely won't ride very much, or maybe I will?
I don't commute; I work from home. I'm struggling with legit adding a bike to my lifestyle, because the last one didn't really take hold in a way I'd imagined.
I imagine slapping bags on for occasional 300-mi road trips, bombing around this boring little town on weekends while I let the grass grow too high and the constant house repairs fester like sore wounds, and exploring other places an hour or so away, and otherwise going to, I dunno, Walmart?
And so I'm browsing dealer inventory, there are zero 2026 models yet, and several 2025 models. I know how to shift but if I won't incur a price penally for E-Clutch, waiting is an option.
And I have a latent feeling I should show up to the MSF course and give one of those silly 5-min motivational speeches to the class, as a pointless "thank you" to the coaches who graduated me against their better judgement some years ago, when I accidentally went full-throttle around the big sweeper in the combined final test, peg scraping, engine redlining, clutch-limiting, coach waving his arms and screaming, class-cheering what-the-hell-was-that-you-just-did (hey, I kept in in the lane and came to the proper stop, so 10/10).
What do you charge per hour to deal with my neurosis? Thanks.