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I've been thinking lately about my little fleet of vehicles -- being forced to sit on the couch with a leg up for 5 weeks will do that to you. I've come to realize that I may need to do a bit of reconfiguring to meet all my needs. This is directly related to the ankle injury, actually, in the form of this question:
"Is it really wise at my age to be planning on spending lots of time on a motorcycle in the desert by myself."
This is the first time in my life I've ever had the term "at my age" come up in my thoughts. First popped up while I was in the hotel just after the bike crash, glad as all heck that I made it that far. I'm a decent off road rider, but not particularly skilled (obviously
). I do love to camp and explore the desert, though, and often go by myself. And though I'm not particularly old (38) I'm also not 20 anymore. The consequences of errors/accidents are both larger and more apparent.
So all that said, here's the current fleet:
2002 Isuzu Rodeo Sport (wife's, must stay)
2009 Honda Fit
1959 Bugeye
1973 BMW R75/5
The original plan was to use the BMW as my desert scout -- I'm mostly just on roughish dirt roads so even a standard motorcycle can generally handle them. The Fit is our daily driver, with my wife's truck as the spare (we commute together almost every day as we work one building apart). The Fit is no good on dirt roads (ride is really rough and no clearance), the Isuzu does really well. The complication here is that my wife can't drive a manual car (which the Fit is) and has *no* desire to learn. So if I take the Isuzu for the weekend, she's without a car. Not good for the longterm health of our relationship, or for my ability sleep in our bed and not on the couch.
So I'm left with potentially shuffling the lineup a bit. Here's my current set of options, and I'd love some thoughts or other options:
1. Sell Honda, buy basic cheap automatic car
This replaces my Honda with something Jenny could drive. Basic cheap transport to function as a second car. Doesn't have to be nice, just functional (think late model Corolla). We'd drive her truck daily and just have this for when we need a second car.
Pro: cheap, simple.
Con: boring choice, means taking wife's pride and joy into the desert and risking damage.
2. Sell Honda, buy 4x4
This plan is similar (wife's truck becomes primary vehicle) but trades the Honda for some sort of 4x4. I'd be tempted by a FJ40 Land Cruiser or Series Land Rover for maximum interest, but could be swayed by a Suzuki Sidekick or Jeep or ??. Would need to be reliable enough to be occasional daily driver, including some use in the winter. I currently really like this idea -- I had a '76 FJ40 years ago and I had more fun with that truck than with any other vehicle I've owned.
Pro: most fun option
Con: most work, as adds another potentially needy older vehicle. Have to use a classic in the winter (think road salt, poor heat).
3. Sell Honda, Tunebug, BMW, buy better 4x4
This gives the most money for the 4x4 purchase, but I really don't want to sell the Tunebug or bike at this point.
Pro: Most resources for better vehicle
Con: No Tunebug. :frown:
"Is it really wise at my age to be planning on spending lots of time on a motorcycle in the desert by myself."
This is the first time in my life I've ever had the term "at my age" come up in my thoughts. First popped up while I was in the hotel just after the bike crash, glad as all heck that I made it that far. I'm a decent off road rider, but not particularly skilled (obviously
). I do love to camp and explore the desert, though, and often go by myself. And though I'm not particularly old (38) I'm also not 20 anymore. The consequences of errors/accidents are both larger and more apparent.So all that said, here's the current fleet:
2002 Isuzu Rodeo Sport (wife's, must stay)
2009 Honda Fit
1959 Bugeye
1973 BMW R75/5
The original plan was to use the BMW as my desert scout -- I'm mostly just on roughish dirt roads so even a standard motorcycle can generally handle them. The Fit is our daily driver, with my wife's truck as the spare (we commute together almost every day as we work one building apart). The Fit is no good on dirt roads (ride is really rough and no clearance), the Isuzu does really well. The complication here is that my wife can't drive a manual car (which the Fit is) and has *no* desire to learn. So if I take the Isuzu for the weekend, she's without a car. Not good for the longterm health of our relationship, or for my ability sleep in our bed and not on the couch.
So I'm left with potentially shuffling the lineup a bit. Here's my current set of options, and I'd love some thoughts or other options:
1. Sell Honda, buy basic cheap automatic car
This replaces my Honda with something Jenny could drive. Basic cheap transport to function as a second car. Doesn't have to be nice, just functional (think late model Corolla). We'd drive her truck daily and just have this for when we need a second car.
Pro: cheap, simple.
Con: boring choice, means taking wife's pride and joy into the desert and risking damage.
2. Sell Honda, buy 4x4
This plan is similar (wife's truck becomes primary vehicle) but trades the Honda for some sort of 4x4. I'd be tempted by a FJ40 Land Cruiser or Series Land Rover for maximum interest, but could be swayed by a Suzuki Sidekick or Jeep or ??. Would need to be reliable enough to be occasional daily driver, including some use in the winter. I currently really like this idea -- I had a '76 FJ40 years ago and I had more fun with that truck than with any other vehicle I've owned.
Pro: most fun option
Con: most work, as adds another potentially needy older vehicle. Have to use a classic in the winter (think road salt, poor heat).
3. Sell Honda, Tunebug, BMW, buy better 4x4
This gives the most money for the 4x4 purchase, but I really don't want to sell the Tunebug or bike at this point.
Pro: Most resources for better vehicle
Con: No Tunebug. :frown:
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