[kopride]

Thanks for all your feedback. Yes, it is a tricky decision for me. There are a lot of great deals on the high end as well. And, in this economy, I could pick up a car that would sell for 20 or 30k more if people were more concerned with buying roadsters than not getting laid off. I am very lucky to be in a business that has been relatively unscathed by this downturn. (On the other hand, I was not exactly raking it in or benefitting from the boom, slow and steady has been the business plan).

When I jumped back into motorcycling from a ten year layoff, I jumped in with an entry level bike that I quickly outgrew. But that bike (a Yamaha) was very predictible, reliable, and stable and I probably started with the right bike. My current KTM (built in Austria) is a joy when it is properly tuned, but it is by no means, a put it away wet and start it up no problems 3 mos later when you get time to ride. (The valves need frequent adjustment and the engine basically needs to be rebuilt every few hundred hours). It is a real tradeoff and I must confess that there are many times that I will just grab the Yamaha and go; and save the KTM for when I am riding with the big boys.

Again, there are probably paralells and differences, but important to me is the ability to start it up on a nice day and cruise around with minimal troubles. I tend to be hard on my toys and would rather play with them than polish them, tinker with them, or stand around admiring them.