Mid-life crisis purchase

[Donstar]

My neighbours 50+ year old son drove up yesterday on his way home to show his mom his "new" '79 Ford SuperCab F350 4X4.  It was very heavily modified and the seats were approximately at eye-level.  The sound made a passing dog cower.  I was like a kid talking to him about his toy as his enthusiasm was contagious.  A comment was made by another family member about his "mid-life crisis purchase."  It is an interesting observation that so many make a major toy purchase in their 50's.  (The joy of such a purchase is not always equally shared between the purchaser and their significant other!)  I readily admit that I went through this a "few" years ago and still have the chrome and black Harley Davidson to prove it!  If you mention mid-life crisis to my brother, he'll be sure to tell you a story about a very expensive boat!   The interesting thing is that most  never pictured my brother having an interest in boats or me wanting a motorcycle.  I know we often don't recognize in the moment that we are experiencing an "age event"  but pretty easy to recognize later on in life.  Now that we know that this is a perfectly natural and expected occurrence, what will be...is... or was your mid-life purchase?

[RyanbabZ71]

Maybe? Purchased when i was 39

My thoughts are you can’t take it with you


Ryan B.

[KARNUT]

A modified 92 Chevy truck, 64 elcamino and a Genesis coup. The last one to go was the truck 3 months ago. The coup got traded in for my 14 GMC. The 64 on eBay after about a year for a hefty profit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Donstar]

Here is a recent picture of my bike taken in March.  I took this picture initially to show the empty (normally busy) parking lot.  

[Donstar]

A mid-life crisis purchase is often difficult to recognize when it is happens to ourselves.  It is easier to spot in others.  Sometimes we recognize ours long after the event has passed.  It's like aging. When my parents and grandparents were my age, I thought they were old and fragile.  As long as I keep away from a mirror, I'm still young!

[Grumpy Bear]

I've never bought a really expensive anything that stands out as a crisis buy. I have bought a few things that were once expensive to someone after their crisis.  

[garagerog]

A Harley, boat, or even a Corvette is a much cheaper mid-life crisis purchase than a new wife. . . .

[Donstar]

1 hour ago, Grumpy Bear said:

I've never bought a really expensive anything that stands out as a crisis buy. I have bought a few things that were once expensive to someone after their crisis.  

Yes, there are some good buying opportunities. I see them more often now as my peer group either downsizes or experience a less desirable life-event.  

[Donstar]

20 minutes ago, garagerog said:

A Harley, boat, or even a Corvette is a much cheaper mid-life crisis purchase than a new wife. . . .

Yes, I have a friend who is paying a very hefty part of his retirement fund for his mid-life choices....  I totally see the connection to the topic!

[Ithan Henry]

My wife tells me every car or truck I buy is a mid-life crisis purchase. So apparently I've been having one since I was 25.  

[Nanotech Environmental]

On 7/5/2020 at 10:50 AM, Donstar said:

My neighbours 50+ year old son drove up yesterday on his way home to show his mom his "new" '79 Ford SuperCab F350 4X4.  It was very heavily modified and the seats were approximately at eye-level.  The sound made a passing dog cower.  I was like a kid talking to him about his toy as his enthusiasm was contagious.  A comment was made by another family member about his "mid-life crisis purchase."  It is an interesting observation that so many make a major toy purchase in their 50's.  (The joy of such a purchase is not always equally shared between the purchaser and their significant other!)  I readily admit that I went through this a "few" years ago and still have the chrome and black Harley Davidson to prove it!  If you mention mid-life crisis to my brother, he'll be sure to tell you a story about a very expensive boat!   The interesting thing is that most  never pictured my brother having an interest in boats or me wanting a motorcycle.  I know we often don't recognize in the moment that we are experiencing an "age event"  but pretty easy to recognize later on in life.  Now that we know that this is a perfectly natural and expected occurrence, what will be...is... or was your mid-life purchase?

Dirtbikes & more dirtbikes. Got back in the sport at 38 after a 23 yr absence and am now 52. IMO, not many things can clear your head like a good spirited ride in the woods. It's also a relatively cheap way to blow off steam compared to many alternatives- and it's a hell of a good physical workout to boot. 
Dirtbikes also accidently created the impetus & foundation for my current business.

Edited July 8, 2020 by Nanotech Environmental

[Donstar]

2 hours ago, Nanotech Environmental said:

It's also a relatively cheap way to blow off steam compared to many alternatives- and it's a hell of a good physical workout to boot. 

I was interested in motorcycles as a teen but cars & trucks were my priority.  At 58, I felt that I was getting a little too sedentary so I challenged myself to get my motorcycle license.  The safety course in itself was worthwhile and I recommend it to everyone.  I had been driving for over 40 years and was amazed at how much more there was to learn!   I definitely agree that riding a motorcycle is very physical and requires a high level of alertness. (X100 for dirt bike)   I absolutely love the ride and challenges of my Harley. I won't ride on a day that I'm feeling less than 110% because many of the errors we can get away with in our trucks will not be forgiven on a motorcycle!

Edited July 8, 2020 by Donstar

[Grumpy Bear]

9 minutes ago, Donstar said:

I was interested in motorcycles as a teen but cars & trucks were my priority.  At 58, I felt that I was getting a little too sedentary so I challenged myself to get my motorcycle license.  The safety course in itself was worthwhile and I recommend it to everyone.  I had been driving for over 40 years and was amazed at how much more there was to learn!   I definitely agree that riding a motorcycle is very physical and requires a high level of alertness. (X100 for dirt bike)   I absolutely love the ride and challenges of my Harley. I won't ride on a day that I'm feeling less than 110% because many of the errors we can get away with in our trucks will not be forgiven on a motorcycle!

I got my first bike when about 10 years old. Learned to ride on a frozen river   It took until I was about 25 to get a license. You spend the first year learning to ride it then the rest of your life learning to stay alive on it. Like you, if I wish to ride I go out and shake hands with the FLH and if she shakes hands back...we ride...if it feels the least bit funny...we do something else. 

 

People the have never ridden on the street, and yes that includes guys who ride dirt only, are asphalt stupid behind the wheel.

 

Early on in life I went to church with a young man who was a factory Team Suzuki works rider. Expert by his 15th birthday.

He got his first street bike when he turned 20 and was dead two days later because he hand zero street smarts and even less asphalt skills. They might as well be as different as a Pogo stick and a jet ski.  

[garagerog]

I don't own a bike anymore, to old I guess, but back in the day I didn't have any trouble transitioning between dirt and street. Last bike I owned was a KZ1000, fast bike back in the day. My cousin however was one of those that did have that difficulty. Back in the early 70's he lived in SoCal and everything he drove had to be beyond fast, from his race cammed 69 Torino to the Kawa 750 triple he almost killed himself on. The Kawasaki 750 triple was a 2 cycle bike with an unbelievable power to weight ratio, look at it cross-eyed and it was liable to pop a wheelie while still resting on the kickstand.

[Nanotech Environmental]

2 hours ago, Grumpy Bear said:

 

People the have never ridden on the street, and yes that includes guys who ride dirt only, are asphalt stupid behind the wheel.

 

Early on in life I went to church with a young man who was a factory Team Suzuki works rider. Expert by his 15th birthday.

He got his first street bike when he turned 20 and was dead two days later because he hand zero street smarts and even less asphalt skills. They might as well be as different as a Pogo stick and a jet ski.  

I would suggest that correlation, causation etc & vice-versa aren't related here.

I've held a street licence since 18 and have spent a fair share of time both on and offroad. I've taken several offroad courses taught by world class riders and now spend most of my time in the woods. I've also taught offroad skills improvement courses to numerous riders. I've raced some at a mid level, but really prefer recreational trail riding.

Here is some of what I've learned over the years;

It takes a short time to become reasonably proficient in a very basic way to handle a bike on the street(riding sense not included). It takes about 5 years(500-1000hrs) to become well skilled offroad.
The only riding skills that transfer from pavement to offroad are the most basic riding operations itself; clutch/brake/shifting. That's it. Even then, the braking has to be relearned.
HOWEVER, all of the skills acquired offroad(and there are a lot of them) do transfer directly to pavement riding, massively improving the riders skills in handling a bike on pavement. This cannot be overstated. It's no accident that world class motorcycle road racers spend their practice time riding dirtbikes, trials bikes, ice racing and flattrack bikes.
It's the same reason why so many dirt track & rally car drivers make great pavement racers- they learn transferable skills you just can't learn any other way.

It's easier to teach girls and women to ride offroad than it is to teach guys.
You can lose 5lbs and burn as much as 3000 calories in one National enduro.
My worst injuries all happened in crashes at speeds of less than 5mph.
Graham Jarvis probably isn't human.

One needs to learn to be both defensive and offensive when riding on the street. Some of that can be taught, some is instinctual, the rest is luck and experience(if you make it that far)
All the skill, sense and experience in the world can't protect you from really determined idiots in cars/trucks etc. Often, it's just luck. 
Stupid or overconfident riders on the street are their own worst enemies.
I suggest to all noob riders that I meet, to learn to ride offroad first. It's much better for them.

Not every dirt only person will be asphalt stupid. It's all in their mental approach to street riding, or driving. They also have bike handling skills pavement-only guys can only dream of.

Without knowing all the details, I can suggest with good odds that your young Suzuki friend's death very likely had nothing to do with bike handling skills, asphalt or not- he had them in spades. The asphalt wouldn't be a factor. It was something else that caused the death. 

I rarely ride on the road anymore, as cagers these days are too pre-occupied with non-driving related things. I also get bored easily on the street, which is not a good thing, so I generally avoid riding it where possible. My road riding these days generally consists of a short hop down a back road between trails. If I crash offroad, it's my fault 99.99% of the time- even though I may try and blame it on the tree I just hit, or (insert obstacle here). lol.
On the road, the %ages are reversed.

Edited July 8, 2020 by Nanotech Environmental