Both motorcycles I have owned I have purchased, quite cheaply because of one simple thing;
The former owner's girl/wife told him to get rid of it.
Usually because a kid was on the way, but that is irrelevant.
The larger point is the woman told him to get rid of it. He obeyed.
Now if I had limitless funds I would conduct a study to see how successful marriages were where the guy willingly obeyed his wife and got rid of the motorcycle vs. those where the guy looked at her with one eyebrow raise and simply chuckled, patted her on the head, and continued on to removing the carbs and tightening the chain.
I predict the men (who are kind enough to be beta and give up their motorcycles on the cheap so the rest of us can enjoy them) are more likely to get divorced or have marital strife. The men who simply told the little lady, "Ah, no, I will be keeping the bike and by the way, put on your leather jacket, high heels and helmet, we're going for a ride" would be less likely to get divorced and suffer marital strife. The theory being of course that women like strong, independent men, no matter what they say and no matter how much they test them.
Regardless, I do genuinely want to thank those men out there who give up their bikes so willingly. If it weren't for you, us bachelors and alphas would have to pay (I estimate in my little economist head) at least 40% more for motorcycles.
Regardless, I do genuinely want to thank those men out there who give up their bikes so willingly. If it weren't for you, us bachelors and alphas would have to pay (I estimate in my little economist head) at least 40% more for motorcycles.
ht to The Private Man for the post that prompted this thought in my head.
12 comments:
I never asked Better Half to get rid of his bike, but his own enthusiasm had waned; he sold it shortly after Lance Criminal was born. I almost regretted it. I do like the theory of the "shit test," but I never tried it. Lance Criminal once asked me why I never nagged his dad. I told him Dad was a grownup, responsible for his own decisions. Of course being an under-the-radar type of Alpha, HB usually makes responsible, cooperative decisions. He also gets to take credit for those decisions. OMG, I think I just showed myself to be a submissive wife!
Incidentally, the "Alpha" who bought his bike was in reality an alpha-wanna-be Beta. Apparently he needed the bike for street cred. Silly kid.
I picked up a factory fiberglass hood for my '89 SHO for nothing from this guy. The reason was his old lady made him sell the car it was going on because she wanted a jet ski that hardly gets used. And the hood was sitting around taking up space.
Poor guy, when I went to pick it up with my hoodless SHO, he just looked so sad. Yeah men and their toys, willing to drive two hours without a hood on their car to buy a rare factory accessory.
My father bought a motorcycle last summer. My mother threatened to divorce him if he wouldn't stop riding it. He bought a second motorcycle. She shut up and they are still married.
I bought a motorcycle to learn on last year. I was approached at a party by a stunning Brazilian 19 year old whose boyfriend was not present.
"Can I ride with you on your bike?"
I replied - "No."
She's my girlfriend now and she looks great on the back.
Regardless, I do genuinely want to thank those men out there who give up their bikes so willingly. If it weren't for you, us bachelors and alphas would have to pay (I estimate in my little economist head) at least 40% more for motorcycles.
Yeah, baby! Thanks to all those spineless schlubs out there who obey the wife... ;)
I agree that it's about control. I also think that engaging in risky behaviors after you have children is selfish. If you want to ride around on a motorcycle, do it before you get married and have kids or after your kids are adults. Granted, this should be your decision to not take the risk and leave your kids fatherless.
So what'd you get?
Or maybe once their kids were born they had an epiphany about how the risk wasn't worth the reward anymore.
Lots of guys trade fairly peppy 2 seaters for for a a more practical vehicle that can haul groceries _and_ wife _And_ stroller...
Yeah, this pretty much sums it up.
http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/2011/09/25/#006255
BTW: What did you get for your new ride?
Thanks for the linkage. It always saddens me when I hear about guys being "forced" to give up their motorcycles when they meet a woman.
In an ironic but predictable turn of events, when I mentioned to my first ex-wife that I was thinking of getting a motorcycle, she threatened to get a really short haircut (I loved her long hair).
After our divorce, she started dating a guy with a Harley. In retrospect, I realize that I was the beta in regards to the motorcycle and most things in my marriage. I should have just bought one and then bought some cool biker clothes for her.
Live and learn.
Well I'll be damned if you aren't 100% right again!
My brother danced to his wife's tune and ended up with an ex to show for it. His current wife won't let him have a bike either and he thinks he's being noble to humour her! Goof.
My wife wouldn't THINK of trying to shove something like that down my throat. Mind you, she's a real woman. Old world all the way, just like me!
I do take issue with your purchase strategy though, Captain. Don't cheap out on your ride, economics has no business in the manly pursuits. Buy them new. Drive the best bargain you can, finance it if you have to - and bite the bullet. Get the best machine you can possibly afford. If the old lady doesn't like it - tell her to walk. Women can stand with us and our metal gods - but not between us.
You could just marry someone who likes that stuff anyway. But then - you wouldn't get your discount.
I had a very similar experience Capt!
I'm not really into motorcycles (can't really afford to try) but I love sailing/kayaking.
I've been wanting to travel along the coast into the wilderness and visit many of the islands there. There are no roads, only one tricky trail which is only accessible on foot. Kayaking all the way would take several days at full throttle and I only have access to a laser sailer which is not suitable.
Then I saw on gumtree one day last year, a kite for a kayak! I had no idea you could use a kite with a kayak. That would make island hopping in the wilderness for a few weeks a lot more plausible.
And best still, he only wanted $50 for it! So I called up and went over the next evening. It was in brand new condition, he was selling all his kayaking/surfing equipment for cents on the dollar. Why? Well he and his domineering wife were starting a family. Whether she was pregnant at the time I don't know. But it was clear to me that his laid back surfer dude attitude made him a push over. We talked shop for 2 hours. It was very clear he didn't want to give it all up. He told me he wished he could come. I tried to convince him to come with me (It's the middle of the wilderness, at sea to boot! Some backup would be nice) but he wouldn't.
The kite was a lot bigger than I needed and designed for speed. I didn't think this would be a problem as I could just fly it high and keep the speed down.
I lost it on the maiden voyage after reaching a speed of 36 knots in a KAYAK! The kite was ruined, I bruised myself a lot, nearly killed myself, all the old cruiser retires in the dock called me a 'stupid boy' and only one girl got the hots for me, but she looked about 12.
One day I will make the trip and see all the whales down there. Maybe I'll be 80 and have to hitch a lift there and back on a yacht. All I'm certain of is that I'm not going to stop being me (retarded) and I won't fail a shit test.
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