Have motorcycles changed your taste in cars?

[mrothwell]

If you get any of the usual car magazines, the big thing everyone is testing is the Shelby GT500. 662hp for $45k. If you do the math, it has about 5.7 pounds per horsepower, which is almost exactly the same ratio as...my 6 year old sportbike. Yep, this guy, that I bought for less than 10% of what the shelby cost:



So with all of the development and everything that Ford has done, they've managed to finally make a vehicle that can keep up with the cheapest sportbike that Honda makes. Bra-vo. Owning a motorcycle has officially killed my desire to own a "fast" car. I no longer care about "modding" my BMW's motor. Turbo kits make me yawn. I am jaded.

[modular]

No, they have not. I will always drive a full size pickup. The steering wheel with have to be pried from my cold, dead hands.

[ab8349]

I have zero interest in (performance) cars anymore...my next will be some kind of diesel utilitarian hatch.

[BlkMkVGTi]

Not at all. I still own a "performance" car because it's a completely different mode of transportation. However, I rarely commute with my motorcycle or use it for utilitarian purposes so I might have a different perspective.

[Knock Sensor]

I'm not as interested as I once was in fast cars, I can still appreciate them and would like to own some more "fun to drive" cars, but the sport bikes of today are just crazy. Even my 10 year old superhawk can outpace 99.5% of everything on the road that I encounter short of another liter bike.

[SpclAgentD]

...my next will be some kind of diesel utilitarian hatch.

x2 I don't know if it's because I'm getting older or if I just have other priorities, but I'm perfectly happy with my R6 and R32. Although, lately, I've been thinking about selling the R32 to get a Touareg TDI

[atomicalex]

To grow in tracking cars, I will have to buy a faster car. This will cost some money. For the money I would need to invest to have a decent track car, I could buy a track bike and a nice dirt bike, and have some left over for farkles. So yeah, I think bikes will take over for a while.

[sucking chest wound]

Since I took up motorcycling 5 years ago, I have virtually no interest in cars any longer. Particularly from a performance standpoint. I'm interested in a car being reliable, and providing utility, but not much else.

My friends who needle me about the impracticality and dangerousness of motorcycles are happy to pay $45k for a beat, out-of-warranty, 5-8 year old luxury-performance car so that they can pose as performance drivers. That's their priority, I guess.

I'll take a sub-20k, brand new, out-of-the-crate bike that can smoke mostly anything on 4-wheels any day, when performance is the factor.

[ANSAracingb]

I still love cars. I love fast cars. I don't have the funds to buy anything remotely close in price to the new Shelby but I don't care.

New cars, to me, don't really have any character. I prefer to drive my 27 year old, 90hp (ahem, brake horsepower) VW because I so rarely see them anymore. I love it. If I want to go faster I hop on the bike.

I don't think that owning a motorcycle has changed my tatse of cars at all. Would I love to drive the new Shelby GT500? Hell yes. Would I like to own one? Meh, not so much. I'm happy with what I have.

[dlob32]

Everytime a see a car now i think of how you could have a motorcycle for atleast a fourth of the cost and have more fun. Cars have kinda gotten boring to me in all honesty. I ride everyday (4k miles in the 4 months that ive owned my current bike). Ive also gotten so use to 40+ mpg's that I too will be buying a tdi next.

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[turbinepowered]

I still love cars. I don't have the funds to buy anything remotely close in price to the new Shelby but I don't care.

New cars, to me, don't really have any character. I prefer to drive my 27 year old, 90hp (ahem, brake horsepower) VW because I so rarely see them anymore. I love it. If I want to go faster I hop on the bike.

I don't think that owning a motorcycle has changed my tatse of cars at all. Would I love to drive the new Shelby GT500? Hell yes. Would I like to own one? Meh, not so much. I'm happy with what I have.

Edited slightly; I've never much cared for "go fast" cars as a measure of greatness, but otherwise this sentiment is mine too.

I have VWs that are nearly my own age, they'll keep doing just fine. The bike has handled commuting, errands, weekend fun, and basically everything but moving passengers about (and ice... we will not talk about black ice... ), but it didn't change my taste in cars from the utilitarian one bit.

[abawp]

Can't say that a motorcycle changed my tastes, but it did restructure the personal vehicles that I would own. Put me in the camp of people who were into fastish and fun to drive cars, but as soon as I hopped onto 2-wheels I was in another realm of excitement. Given the price of entry and the cost to remain on 2-wheels, it's really hard to beat with a car since you can basically spend Geo Metro money and have entry-level sports car thrills. I still desire to have the car of my dreams and I'll oogle over the latest and greatest fun to drive cars, I just can't fathom getting my thrills from something other than 2-wheels.

[kerridwen]

I don't really care for cars anymore... I don't even own a car! Coming November 1st it will mark my third year being bike only.

The bike is a much more "pure" driving experience. Performance cars don't have that much effect on me anymore. Not that I wouldn't love a ride in a Lamborghini Aventador, or a Ferrari Italia, but it's just not the same. The only thing I miss about cars is the utilitarian factor.

[mad8vskillz]

yes.
After getting into bikes I went and got a Nissan Titan (so i could carry bike on the back)
when that ended spectacularly, I went and got another gti, but instead of going the usual route (chip, suspension, blah blah blah) i just got a trailer hitch and a trailer. 0 interest in modding, only a mild interest in occasionally running it around the track (and even then, only when it's free/dirt cheap), but i do drive 35k/year

[Silly_me]

My only requirement for a car these days is for a comfortable reliable highway cruiser that can carry the people that I live with from point A to B, otherwise I'm riding the bike

I have no automobile mag subscriptions, but I have buckets of motorbike rags

[Spinnaker]

I've been thinking about selling the R32 to get a Touareg TDI

I'm with you on this, really like the new Touareg and will give the newer ones a year or two to depreciate.

[rpmk4]

i've pretty much lost interest. the bikes $50 me to death, the cars $500 me to death. i just sold my mustang last week, to my dad, but sold none the less.

[turbinepowered]

Although, lately, I've been thinking about selling the R32 to get a Touareg TDI

I'm with you on this, really like the new Touareg and will give the newer ones a year or two to depreciate.

The one itch that the bikes can't scratch, because nobody offers one, is diesel. I love the way they sound, the way they drive, and the way the good ones just go forever on droplets of fuel.

Really wish that one could buy the AWD Tiguan in diesel spec and manual transmission options. I don't need something as big as the Toureg, and a tiggy would fit my needs quite well.

Oh well.

[Silly_me]

The one itch that the bikes can't scratch, because nobody offers one, is diesel.

+1 My couch on wheels is a diesel Come to think of it, the last sports car I owned was when I got married and had a kid because I was forced to give up bikes and smokes.....

[andycooper]

Not at all. I still own a "performance" car because it's a completely different mode of transportation. However, I rarely commute with my motorcycle or use it for utilitarian purposes so I might have a different perspective.

Same with me. I still own a "performance" car - in fact I just got a new one last week - and also have an Aprilia. Hmmm. I wonder if it says something about the RSV1000R .

[BlkMkVGTi]

Same with me. I still own a "performance" car - in fact I just got a new one last week - and also have an Aprilia. Hmmm. I wonder if it says something about the RSV1000R .

Without a doubt I balked from buying one in March after reading a quick review you wrote in another thread in this forum on your 04 RSV 1000. I had just gotten rid of a Ducati superbike and I was looking to steer clear of Italian temperament. However I then got bored of my way more utilitarian Triumph and I couldn't be happier with the Ape.

It seems like most of the people replying in this thread ride their bikes way more than I do. I dunno, I like the fact that I can get into my car without worrying about what the weather is like, having to gear up, etc. and still have an absolute blast in it, or even just putz around town. For me owning a motorcycle is a pastime, I've found that I much prefer to keep it that way.

[Metallitubby]

I hate cars now. I bought a Japanese econohatch/CUV and lifted it. That's the extent of my automotive prowess at the moment.

Supermoto > anything with four wheels

[Matt15]

motorcycles have neutered my car balls. cheap, exhilerating, fun, what more can you ask from a vehicle? i still would like to have a nice car but my definition of nice has changed from 'fast sports car' to 'new and reliable'.

[freedomgli]

Yes, motorcycles have changed my taste in cars, because now I'm in the market for a suitable tow vehicle and trailer to transport my motorcycle to the race track where it can be enjoyed legally in a much safer environment!

[freedomgli]

The one itch that the bikes can't scratch, because nobody offers one, is diesel.

There are conversions for the mechanically adventurous. On rare occasion you might stumble upon some esoteric used diesel bike for sale (Royal Enfield Taurus Greaves or EVA Products / Track Dieselmotorfietsen). And there are always rumors about someone, somewhere making a commercially available diesel powered motorcycle in the near future but that never seems to materialize because there just isn't a viable market for them.

Check out www.dieselbike.net for more

[drumonay]

This thread makes me happy.... I just sold my modded a4 and purchased a much more reliable '11 suby legacy. The legacy is great but i was afraid I was going to lose some of that "driving experience" that I loved with the audi. I'm taking my class in a couple of weeks and have been longing to get into riding for years. I love hearing you guys say that the thrill of riding keeps you from modding your cars because that is what I was hoping. That once I get a bike and get into it, the car will be more of a people carrier and the bike will be for fun

[turbinepowered]

There are conversions for the mechanically adventurous. On rare occasion you might stumble upon some esoteric used diesel bike for sale (Royal Enfield Taurus Greaves or EVA Products / Track Dieselmotorfietsen). And there are always rumors about someone, somewhere making a commercially available diesel powered motorcycle in the near future but that never seems to materialize because there just isn't a viable market for them.

Check out www.dieselbike.net for more

I would be all over a conversion, but most of the ones I see are using <6hp pull start diesels and belt drives or CVTs. Do not want.

[mrothwell]

Yes, motorcycles have changed my taste in cars, because now I'm in the market for a suitable tow vehicle and trailer to transport my motorcycle to the race track where it can be enjoyed legally in a much safer environment!

Thats the next step for me. I can't relistically afford to drive my car on the track regularly, but a motorcycle track day hobby is attainable. I've been looking for ford rangers in just good enough shape to transport a motorcycle, but bad enough shape that they don't cost real money to fix.

[Spinnaker]

I would also add that I bought my last bike when I realized that squeezing another 40hp out of my car would cost more than a nice bike, which would be faster and more fun anyway. Bikes have killed my interest in making cars faster.

[GLI Stee]

My bike hasn't changed my opinion on cars...

[eatpiealot]

Absolutely motorcycles have changed my taste. My project car is still sitting, whereas I just got back from the motorcycle track. After pinning out second and third gear on my bike I don't think any car could really impress me. Also, I'd love to see a car try to hang with a bike on a track