My bike hates my car

[cg_ops]

I got laid off last July (womp), called an old boss and got offered a newer, better, awesome-er job before I got home (woot!). Unfortunately, the commute went from ~12mi each way to ~30... my (full size) truck didn't mind but my back/butt and wallet did (particularly when gas hit $7/gal). So, I recently picked up a new "commuter" car - a BMW M340 loaded up with all the fixin's.

Gyat dayum, I love driving this thing. Each weekend since, Instead of grabbing my gear, I grab a key, jump in, fire up my audio books (Dungeon Crawler Carl, highly recommend btw) I got it in April and have put a little under 5k miles on it already.

I've never driven/ridden a vehicle with such a Jekyll & Hyde duality before (at least not off the showroom floor). Put it in Eco and it drives like a buttoned-down Camry, happily cruising along the highway at 35mpg. Put it in Sport/Sport+ and the "Camry" suddenly goes all "Michael-Douglas-in-Faling-Down", ready to beat the ish out of every/any mouthy corner-entry/exit in its path., running them down with every one of its 400+ crank-horses on tap.

But, each time I go through the garage, my Duke just sits there, staring at me, angrily brewing on the bond we used to have. He's mad and his look says it, every day.

I need to ride him more but getting old sucks - he knows he's the limited expiration date you have flings with while i build the relationship with the one you marry.

That is all. Thanks for coming to my TED schlock.

 

[budman]

Whatever floats the boat man. Finding smiles with miles is a wonderful thing. Enjoy.

 

[cg_ops]

Indeed!

I just need to balance my ADHDOCD and enjoy it - 4/5 gas tanks are a game to see how high I can keep my average. My last tank beat my best R6 average, at 34.9mpg over 295 miles But... to do that, I'm not really enjoying the car. The 1/5 tanks is spent almost entirely in Sport mode - mostly trying not to lose my license. I know some BARFers have cars that make it seem slow, but I've never owned one that'll get me to 60 in under 4sec (best of 3.89 so far)

I think I need to sign up for a car/bike Sonoma day and make both feel equally appreciate, haha! (And learn to drive as well as I ride!)

 

[augustiron]

Sexy wheels.

Don't park them in the same garage, The Duke is a hooligan machine, who knows what it will do if it decides it wants to get even...

 

[Das MotorRad]

I recently had a similar feeling with my sport bike. Poor girl was just sitting there for six months as I enjoyed the adventure bike.

Jekyll & Hyde feeling is mutual across Bavarian Motor Works models; the boxer engine of the adventure bike is sedate until you twist the wrist...

 

[ST Guy]

I know what you are feeling. When I bought my 2006 convertible Mini Cooper, I almost stopped riding my motorcycle. It’s a John Cooper Works car with big brakes, a more powerful engine, an aero kit, 6 speed Getrag gear box, etc. Think an M series Mini.

 

[budman]

Interesting.

I have never had a car that gave me anywhere near the joy and satisfaction of riding a bike. Not even close.

 

[augustiron]

Interesting.

I have never had a car that gave me anywhere near the joy and satisfaction of riding a bike. Not even close.

I don't know your history, but I've seen several of your most recent acquisitions and they have all been stellar cars.
Sport caddy, Corvette, Porsche....

I think for us automotive mortals, the thrill comes from stepping up from a pedestrian car to a sports car.
If you are always in sports cars and nice fancy cars, it probably isn't as exciting...?

 

[Blankpage]

I probably would have bought an old beater for simple racking up commuter miles

 

[ST Guy]

For me, it was having a performance convertible. If either of those two things was missing, it wouldn’t have been the same. The best time I ever had with it was at a track weekend at Searspoint with the Shelby club. I was about the quickest on the track.

 

[Das MotorRad]

Interesting.

I have never had a car that gave me anywhere near the joy and satisfaction of riding a bike. Not even close.

I used to enjoy rollercoasters. Since riding motorcycles, they do nothing for me. They used to give a tingle in the dingle if you know what I mean. Now? Nothing. Wonder why

 

[ST Guy]

Try riding the roller coaster in Vegas at the New York, New York casino. The one that runs around the outside of the building. It will definitely tingle your dingle.

 

[Blankpage]

I drove a friends 911, it was pretty sweet and preferable to a bike in a lot of situations I thought.

 

[budman]

I don't know your history, but I've seen several of your most recent acquisitions and they have all been stellar cars.
Sport caddy, Corvette, Porsche....

I think for us automotive mortals, the thrill comes from stepping up from a pedestrian car to a sports car.
If you are always in sports cars and nice fancy cars, it probably isn't as exciting...?

I have had some nice rides, but not always. I always have felt a notched up anxiety doing the sportish drive thing in the mountains in a cage. Damn cars are fricking wide.. and with bikes and stuff I just cannot enjoy the drive anywhere near a good sporbike ride.

EDIT to add: When I got a Saleen Mustang in '01 as a step up from a POS car it was rather exciting so I get it. Before '01 I only had trucks basically. Nothing sporty.

Fun at the track, but as a weekend warrior and lifer moto dude my comfort zone and skill set make riding much more satisfying than a cage.

I do admit that during the pandemic endless burnouts getting on the freeways were pretty fricking fun!!

 

[Escape pod]

… know BMWs driving rudely it’s quite common.

 

[ThumperX]

I miss my 911s, beating heart and puckered up bung hole simultaneously if you so much as lift your foot off the pedal during a high speed cornering event.

 

[ST Guy]

Gotta let that rear end squat and take a bite of the asphalt.

 

[ScottRNelson]

I have never had a car that gave me anywhere near the joy and satisfaction of riding a bike. Not even close.

When I had the Honda S2000, it was a pretty even match with my Ducati M900 Monster. I would take the Monster on some good twisty road and want to come right back in the car and do the same thing. Then I would take the car on a good twisty road and want to come right back on the Ducati. I did that multiple times taking the same road once with each of those.

Unfortunately I managed to total both of those vehicles within less than 12 months.

Similar things happen now between my KTM 790 Adventure R and my Bronco Sasquatch for good dirt roads high up in the mountains. I take both to the same places.

 

[cg_ops]

Sexy wheels.

Don't park them in the same garage, The Duke is a hooligan machine, who knows what it will do if it decides it wants to get even...

I'm working on concincing the wife to let me get a bigass shed/container, so I can move all the big items in the garage into it and use the garage as intended... for the bikes, with a bit of room for a car

I know what you are feeling. When I bought my 2006 convertible Mini Cooper, I almost stopped riding my motorcycle. It’s a John Cooper Works car with big brakes, a more powerful engine, an aero kit, 6 speed Getrag gear box, etc. Think an M series Mini.

Minis are underappreciated - I've had a couple friends with them and they basically feel like bigass go-karts, kinda like a fat Miata. I bet that thing was a fun ripper

Interesting.

I have never had a car that gave me anywhere near the joy and satisfaction of riding a bike. Not even close.

Near the joy/satisfaction? I agree, not the same. But... as many/most BARFers can empathize with, the older I get, the slower I heal. If I hadn't already broken my back, lost a 1/4" of femur on the highway through my leathers, and shattered my knee... on top of severing my left/dominant arm, I'd probably still be riding any opportunity that pops up.

I've realized that it's often the gearing up/down that provides just enough hassle to overcome my desire to ride. It takes me 5x longer than most to fully gear (which I do for every ride, which is tiring on its own, especially at the end) and, that whole time, I can't help but think about WHY I'm gearing up, the experiences I've had, the risks I'm taking, and the post-covid shitty state of the road/drivers I'll be riding on/with. I can't really overstate how fatiguing a day of riding is.... starting with the gear-up, one arm to do literally everything, all comounded by 24/7 chronic nerve pain, and finishing with still having one, (now very tired) arm to peel all the sweaty, sticky gear off

The car allows me to enjoy the better half of the experience, with 0 effort and (relatively) minimal risk.

I think for us automotive mortals, the thrill comes from stepping up from a pedestrian car to a sports car.
If you are always in sports cars and nice fancy cars, it probably isn't as exciting...?

Totally the case for me - the closest I've had is my 05 Acura TL. Loved it, but it was still just an Accord in a suit... almost half the power/braking/handling capability of the bimmer.

I almost went with an 2023-24 M2 or 2020-2022 M3. Test drove them and they were incredible... but, to me, not so much better as to be worth the extra cost, loss of comfort, and attention... I kinda love that the M340 is a low-key sleeper. People/cops seem to see it kinda think it's far more a badged 3-series than the M-lite it is (it's faster than >2019 M3's

I probably would have bought an old beater for simple racking up commuter miles

Indeed, but I've wanted a nice car that'll do-it-all (almost, hence keeping the truck) for years now. I just might buy an old beater for putting commute miles on it... but man do I love driving it to/from work. Makes me look forward to it, rather than dreading it.

For me, it was having a performance convertible. If either of those two things was missing, it wouldn’t have been the same. The best time I ever had with it was at a track weekend at Searspoint with the Shelby club. I was about the quickest on the track.

I bet - I wish I liked convertibles. My mom had an SL500 for a number of years. I loved driving it but the novelty of the convertible quickly waned for me. I prefer a quiet cabin for listening to music/audio books. When I want the wind, 4-windows and a moonroof are more than sufficient for me.

Gotta let that rear end squat and take a bite of the asphalt.

I was expecting more squat. Gotta remind myself the AWD offsets the booty scooty

When I had the Honda S2000, it was a pretty even match with my Ducati M900 Monster. I would take the Monster on some good twisty road and want to come right back in the car and do the same thing. Then I would take the car on a good twisty road and want to come right back on the Ducati. I did that multiple times taking the same road once with each of those.

Unfortunately I managed to total both of those vehicles within less than 12 months.

Similar things happen now between my KTM 790 Adventure R and my Bronco Sasquatch for good dirt roads high up in the mountains. I take both to the same places.

This! That's the itch it seems to create for me, too!

Also, so sorry to hear about that kind of intra-year loss. That's heartbreaking

 

[budman]

I'm working on concincing the wife to let me get a bigass shed/container, so I can move all the big items in the garage into it and use the garage as intended... for the bikes, with a bit of room for a car

Good luck.. I hope you get your Wife to agree!

Near the joy/satisfaction? I agree, not the same. But... as many/most BARFers can empathize with, the older I get, the slower I heal. If I hadn't already broken my back, lost a 1/4" of femur on the highway through my leathers, and shattered my knee... on top of severing my left/dominant arm, I'd probably still be riding any opportunity that pops up.

Totally get it. I am kind of slow healing again right now myself.

I've realized that it's often the gearing up/down that provides just enough hassle to overcome my desire to ride. It takes me 5x longer than most to fully gear (which I do for every ride, which is tiring on its own, especially at the end) and, that whole time, I can't help but think about WHY I'm gearing up, the experiences I've had, the risks I'm taking, and the post-covid shitty state of the road/drivers I'll be riding on/with. I can't really overstate how fatiguing a day of riding is.... starting with the gear-up, one arm to do literally everything, all comounded by 24/7 chronic nerve pain, and finishing with still having one, (now very tired) arm to peel all the sweaty, sticky gear off

The car allows me to enjoy the better half of the experience, with 0 effort and (relatively) minimal risk.

Proper respect to you man.

I am very glad you are digging the car!!