Good to know! I actually didn't know the difference and I think autocorrect caught that one but for once it got it right I can't take credit for it but thank you for the explanation. I did know the expression "bimmer" though - used it verbally many times. I have never actually ridden a BMW motorcycle, but everything I have read on them is positive, especially the GS adventure bikes and the R1200T sport touring bike. I like that one too but my preference would be a GS. If the wife wants to ride, I'll probably end up with the RT. On the back of my Harley she falls asleep because it's basically a rolling lazy boy. She won't like either bike actually but she rarely rides so I may end up getting what I want...

My buddy has a Gold Wing (2008) and he's a great rider. He regularly likes to intimidate and embarrass kids on crotch-rockets with it. It's basically a Honda Civic on 2 wheels - no shortage of power there. Meanwhile I am downshifting and winding the Harley up to drag me and the wife up hills...pinging like mad the whole time. !@#$%^-ing stupid making a 100+ year old engine design that big. Sorry, rant...

Meh... The thread started by a few suggestions in another thread, so ranting is perfectly acceptable behavior.

But, you'll probably like a BMW. Have you ridden a shaft-driven bike before? They seem more linear and smoother, at least to me. It is a luxury brand, but they're very capable bikes. There's a feeling of 'specialness' on one. It's not an ego thing - so much as it's an "I deserve this because I earned this" thing. It's not that you're better than other riders, it's just that you've been able to choose something special, and they truly are special.

I'd actually consider a Goldwing to be kinda the same in the other direction. It's the best of the best, where comfortable touring comes in. Being me, I'd probably end up with quite a bit of official Honda gear, perhaps even including a trailer or camper.

Oh, as for ranting, I have some automotive rants. One that really gets me going is when people say stuff like, "They don't make them like they used to!"

Good. It's GREAT that they don't make them like they used to! Just update your skillset and you can work on modern cars. In fact, it's (usually) easier to diagnose and repair today's automobiles. They'll happily tell you (usually) what's wrong! They're far more reliable, far more efficient, styling is still excellent - just different, handle better, have more features, last longer, etc...

By every objective measurement, modern automobiles are awesome!

Hell, you can buy a minivan that has /better/ performance than a 60s Mustang. It even has cup holders and screens for kids to watch videos or play games! It has working AC, automated braking, day time running lights, air bags, anti lock brakes, automatic doors and gate lifts, a security alarm, etc...

Yeah, I can rant 'bout all sorts of automobile topics!

I love that they're controlled explosions thousands of time per minute and actually work. I love the engineering that goes into them - and the art that is often mixed with science that is the design of the cars. Also, don't get me wrong, I love older cars - but they're not better than today's automobiles. I have an old GTO Judge that's handles about as well as you're going to handle with socks on a gymnasium floor.

Not retired yet.

I don't see myself buying some mid-life crisis type of car, or anything classified as, "it's now or never". I have formerly bought top of the line, truck and sedan models. Too much money, too costly maintenance. And then it's a piece of junk 10 years down the line. I've never bought a specialty car and only driven it sparingly. Anything I've ever bought, I drove as my primary car.

I'll probably be like I am now, something new, once it starts to get old, I'll get another new one. Definition of old for me is whenever the car requires a lot of big maintenance, usually > 100-120K miles or 10+ years in age.

Favorite old: 69 Superbird, 440 six pack, rear wing and the trademark Road Runner logo
Intrigued: Anything electric/hybrid, etc, probably never buy one though
Probably: Classic look Jeep Wrangler (with stick, not auto), or Jetta same transmission choice.
No campers or houseboats!
Reminisce: First 4 cars, were all from the 70's, but they were bought in the 80s and 90s: VW Beetle, AMC Gremlin, Chevy Laguna, Mercury Zephyr. My friends joked that if there was an obtuse car model, I'd find it. But I never paid more than $200 for any car for years, and amazingly I saw all of them roll-over from 99999 to 00000 (nothing had 6 digits in the day, and of course we backed up to "do it again"!) Older brother had the Rambler where the seats went all the way flat. We younguns loved it, "it's like a bed inside a car!" <kids jumping up and down on the seats>, and our older brothers smirking, "Yeah ... bed in the car ...", big grins on their faces.

My better half decided on a Lexus. I would have preferred another Ford, but I was overruled.

Speaking of motorcycles, years ago, when I was doing a "junior year abroad" at the University of Exeter in Devonshire, UK, I had a Matchless 350 single. My, that was fun.

I wouldn't ride a bike in the States on a bet. A fellow from my high school had a Honda 350, back when they were a thing. A woman pulled out in front of him (he was on the main road and had the right of way) and he ended up body-surfing over the hood of her car. When the trooper questioned her, she said, "I looked both ways and didn't see a car."

Agree completely: they make them better than they used, far better. I know they use a lot of plastic, aluminum, etc now but cars for the most part are far more reliable and last far longer than they ever did. I HATED adjusting points and carburetors, although looking back I feel nostalgic about it, there is nothing like fuel injection and electronic ignition!

One of the main reasons I haven't ridden in quite a while. People here in the US do not care about motorcycles and don't watch for them. Some people do but many do not. Riding to work in the morning is like "Death Race 3000" or 'Mad Max": people try to kill me constantly because they are going too fast, not paying attention and texting, you name it.

Yup. There's still something(s) magical about older cars. I hold them near and dear, of course. But, frankly, would you rather get punched in the face with an air bag or would you rather smash a solid metal dashboard with your jaw 'cause your old stock automobile didn't come with seat belts?

Along that same line of thinking that I see people doing the currently fashionable 'resto-mods' where they buy a crate LS engine, toss it in with a 500 hp tune on it, and keep the stock brakes. Those drums on all four corners aren't gonna stop said car in anything approximating a reasonable amount of time.

I have what I call my 'barns' and they're really just those metal buildings that look like barns and I store stuff in them. I have multiple cars so I take them out in pairs. I leave them out, which means in my regular garage, for a few weeks - some longer than others. Every time I pull them out, I have to check things like fluid levels, tire condition, etc... So, that takes some time and is some hassle, so I leave them in the garage for a few weeks. I'm eagerly awaiting winter, because I got a resto-mod '91 Defender to play with this season.

It sounds really exotic to have a car collection, but it's less costly than people think. I'm not out there collecting Koenigsegg models, I've got much less expensive cars. For the price of a "cheap" Koenigsegg, you can buy 45 well maintained or restored muscle cars. I got a Land Rover 90 for $7k - and it runs like a top, is certified, has matching numbers, etc... It's not nearly as expensive as many people think.

One of my cousins is an instructor bus driver in a large Australian city - they get to see and hear about a huge number of "fender benders" involving buses. The most common reason from the other driver is "I didn't see you".

Well I've got about 20 years of working to go before I become "chronologially advanced" enough to do anything about this.

BUT... Jeremy Clarkson's "review" of the Ferrari F40 on Top Gear about 15 years ago has made me REALLY want one ever since. That is a pipe dream. But I've got 20 years to convince the missus that if we sell the house and cash in our pension funds we might be able to afford it. Does anyone know how comfortable they are to sleep in? Clarkson didn't talk about that.

In reality, I'll probably end up buying a late 50s/early 60s Chevy or mid-40s Buick and fixing it up... something I've always wanted to do, but work & family commitments see me short on spare time.

I'm a motorcycle enthusiast born in and living the in the USA. Japanese motorcycles are cheaper to buy (new or used) and don't generally don't break down much until they get pretty old. It's easy to find a shop and get parts for them particularly compared with other foreign marques (german , austrian, italian ones). American motorcycles are easy to find shops and parts for too, but are expensive to buy and are not as reliable as Japanese. I've owned a dozen motorcycles over the years and only one was not Japanese. A R80ST beemer twenty years ago, something went wrong with its fuel petcock a month after I bought it and all the gas in the tank ended up in the cylinders & on the garage floor. I took it to the only local BMW motorcycle dealer for a tune up 2 months later and he exceeded his $400 estitmate by $1000 on his own initiative without bothering to get my input on the matter. I guess typical beemer customers light their smokes with benjamins or something. Sometimes an old Japanese motorycle will turn out to be ill designed for maintenance and replacing the alternator or starter motor will require disassembling practically the whole bike. I got bit by that once, but other than that I have no complaints about Japanese motorcycles.
I currently own and ride a 919 Honda Hornet and a 250 Ninja (two very different riding experiences). The Hornet has 42 Liter SHAD hard bags. I owned them 10 years prior to retiring and plan to ride them for at least 10 more years, so I have no particular retirement time motorvehicular dream of my own.

I need to get a pair of antique/classic C90s for the missus and I. I should put that on the list of things to do. They don't go fast, but they live forever, can be fixed with a hammer, pair of pliers, adjustable wrench, bailing wire, and tube of JB Weld.

JB Weld is wonderful stuff. I repaired a Chevy head with it once, after it broke where one of the bolts went in from the exhaust manifold. It was still holding strong when I sold that POS a couple of years later.

It's an essential tool, like PB Blaster and Loctite! I'm (kinda) a little surprised that it held up on the head due to the heat. I suppose the high heat formulation would probably hold up better.

I have the 'kinda' in quotes because I've heard - and seen - some amazing JB Weld stories.

I have actually not owned a Japanese bike since the late 70's early 80's. All of my bikes since 1983 have been Harley's. Not that I have anything against Japanese bikes but I got bitten by the Harley bug way back when and have stuck with it, until now. My current ride is not at all what I want anymore. My last 2 Harley's have been dead reliable but there are always issues, and maintenance can be a bit of a pain. Not terrible and they are pretty much like old John Deere tractors so you can do everything yourself.

At this point in my life I just want something I can do a quick look over on and just ride. The appeal of a Beemer with shaft drive and their legendary (?) reliability is pretty strong. Not rushing out to get one any time soon but it is always in the back of my mind.

I am still a gear head at heart - I have been wrenching on motorcycles and cars since I was a teenager. My father used to do his own maintenance and when he passed, I got his ancient red (now rusty) socket set that I remember him using when I was little and watched him do brakes on our 66 Buick Electra. I just need to get off my duff sometime and work on things; I forget how much fun it is sometimes. Trouble is nowadays there isn't much to do: change cabin air filter, check tire pressure, unless you have a fancy-schmancy car like my wife's Explorer which tells her everything...so she can tell me...