Looks like it's time to give up the ride - thoughts fm others who've faced this?

[JayBros]

I intend to ride the Spyder until I can no longer swing a leg to mount the machine and work out 5X/wk to ensure that doesn't happen until I reach at least 95. Legs are much too long to fit in a Miata. Were something to happen and I had to go to 4 wheels, I'd consider a convertible but not one that would require a minimalist approach, nor anything of tuna boat dimensions.

[easysuper]

At 71 years young I'm not ready to give up my Spyder and neither is my wife ready to give hers up. I still have several bucket list rides left and this coming summer we are planning on riding to Fairbanks from Portland. We still ride about 20K a year and our 2021 RTLs are our 3rd pair. There will certainly come a time when we give them up but hopeful that I have another 10 years of riding left in me.
IMG_E3960.jpg

[poprivit]

For the best of both worlds, find a Miata that has a small block Chev LS-3 properly installed. Kinda' a poor man's cobra.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

For the best of both worlds, find a Miata that has a small block Chev LS-3 properly installed. Kinda' a poor man's cobra.

Well, a friend of mine thought the same thing ..... However, after doing a cost analysis (using the same engine, trans, wiring, etc.) it was cheaper to just build a replica Shelby 427 Cobra...... Just Sayin' ..... Mike

[ollicat]

Glad I am only 52 and this issue is a long way off.

[JayBros]

Well, a friend of mine thought the same thing ..... However, after doing a cost analysis (using the same engine, trans, wiring, etc.) it was cheaper to just build a replica Shelby 427 Cobra...... Just Sayin' ..... Mike

When I was in grad school I used to visit my mother monthly and at one visit that 70+ little old lady was absolutely fascinated by a TV show in which some guy was building a kit Cobra. She loved every episode from beginning to end and wouldn't know a tie rod from a rolling pin.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Listen and keep an open mind when others start suggesting that it's time to give it up. They may see driving patterns that indicate loss of reflexes or lack of awareness of surroundings or other issues. I asked a driving tester a couple of years how many seniors who really need to give up driving are aware of it for themselves. He said, "None." People simply do not recognize their own limitations.

[MonPaul]

I am at the mindset, if I have the room to store it, and it's not costing me anything, and its mine and not the banks, keep it if I am going to ride it sometime in the year. If you're not going to ride it at all, then dump it and give someone else a chance to enjoy it, and don't look back, because you'll want another one. Good luck and take the money you get from your bike and get a winch for your new ride, you never know where you may end up.

Totally agree with this, just one thing to add. Not sure what a 2014 is worth, but whatever it is, is it worth that much to keep it? It might be a nice change of pace from your newfound passion.

[Little Blue]

... Good Luck on Your Mission. I agree that this decision is yours and I will be quiet. You know how much life story goes. Just keep on keeping on to your dreams.

Hoping for you to enjoy your life and your happiness. Have a Blessed Day My Friend.
Remember to Stay in the Game. ....

[hypurone]

I am not that old but my injuries are slowly getting the better of me... Each ride is a calculated measurement of how much pain I can take and if the limited amount of enjoyment is worth the days of pain that linger after.... FML....

[Pooch]

Saw your Jeep pic album... beautiful! What a new adventure package!!
Dunno... might be like my husband and I when we gave up tent camping and went to a motor home... we never looked back... the time was right..
Only you two can figure out what's best for you two.
Wishing you more miles of smiles whichever way you go!

[grumpyoldretiredcop]

teninospyder, my wife and I have been contemplating the same thing for a while now. I had a hip replacement in January that still isn't doing that well and have the other hip replacement scheduled for this coming January. A lifetime of injury has been catching up with me. We picked up a Jeep Wrangler when we moved to NV as a huge OHV is literally just down the road from us. However, the group that we'd started Jeeping with has pretty much broken up and we have no one to share those trips... and going out solo in our area isn't the best move.

So, for the moment, we are riding our F3T and still enjoying it, just not making any long-distance rides. One of the things we've found to help keep riding new is riding with a group of younger friends, some of whom are new riders. We're watching the "next generation" learn the lessons we learned so long ago and trying to share the benefit of our experience. Hopefully the next hip replacement will go better and we'll be back on the Spyder early in the season this time. Whether or not it'll go well enough for me to ride my Street Glide (purchased strictly for solo riding, can't trust my ability to hold it up when two-up) is another matter.

In the end, I think when riding loses all appeal is when we'll give it up and maybe get another Jeep. It's hard to say as I can't take on another project Jeep at this point and around here they aren't cheap!

[bikerbillone]

I keep following this thread, it's good to find out what others are thinking/doing in similar circumstances. Like most, I/we delay the inevitable for as long as possible. My 20 RTL sits in the garage on the battery monitor far more than it should. So as a follow up on grumpy old cop, I have a hip replacement going south that was done in 1998, not even sure my ortho man will do anything since I'm a grumpy 'old' motorcycle rider. A revision as it's called, is more difficult it seems, so between the rock and the hard place, that's where I am. It ain't the end of the world, but it's not a good place.

[wyliec]

I traded in my 2008 Spyder GS for a new 2018 Jeep Wrangler. I then decided on a new Jeep Cherokee a few years later, but will be going back to a Wrangler. The one thing I do want to mention is what is called the death wobble of the Wrangler. It happened to us, and I see it's still going on. We were doing 65 on a multi lane highway, and all the way to the left and no place to go when it hit. I had to grab that wheel with 2 hands, and yelled to the gf to hit the emergency flashers b/c I couldn't let go of the wheel. It honestly felt like the Jeep was going to shake itself apart. Once we were down to around 35 the wobble stopped. The funny thing is, the Jeep was taken to the dealer 2 weeks earlier b/c they had supposedly came up with a fix for the wobble. So, when I brought it in I reminded them of the previous supposed fix, and they said it was a new fix with a new calibration. But, I read the death wobble is still going on no matter the year. Good luck. I'm sure not everyone gets to experience the death wobble.

[fuzzyspyder]

I have been where you are ... Last April in fact. Anyway, I traded my TriGlide and older truck in on a 2019 F-150 King Ranch ... all the bells and whistles. Did this cause the right shoulder hated the Tri after the repair.

I had a good summer driving the F-150 and even camping. Took the toy hauler out several times and always hated the empty space the Tri used to occupy.

A buddy rode through town early Oct and let me take his Spyder for a ride. Long story short, the shoulder loved the Spyder. I did a search and found a 2019 F3 Limited that I just fell in love with. So, she is mine. She will go with me in the toy hauler and the F-150. I have no plans to take the Spyder on any long trips. At 70 and after 25 surgeries ... the aches and pains really make long rides on anything kind of miserable. The F-150 with the heated seats and massage make them bearable. I do really enjoy the shorter rides around my area.

I live in a valley that 5 miles in any direction and there is nothing but wide open spaces. Couple of the directions the next gas is over 100 miles ... LOL.

Anyway ... guess I am taking the long way around the block ... my point is ... if your Spyder is at a place where you won't get much for it, maybe keep it for short day rides ... and the occasional teeth filling of bugs? I missed being in the wind and feel whole again ... just something to think about.

[oldgoat]

As a result of my reply #10, I went out and viewed a 2011 Miata with an electrically folding steel roof. I liked it very much. I t was lower than I had hoped though.
Went to the salesman's officeto look at its details and Carfax. All ok.
I turnned around and outside the office was a 2010 Lexux IS250C, 2 wheel rear drive, not the AWD one. A lovely (to me) sparckley red with cream leather upholstery and an electrically folding steel roof. I kinda fell for it.
Did not buy it but am giving it a lot of thought. More an old guy's convertible with impeccable credentials (like me haha.) Miatas are out.

[Fat Baxter]

I've come to the same conclusion -- time to give it up -- but for a different reason: abysmal dealer support. A bit over a year ago I took my 2014 RT-S in for some work, and the dealer really effed things up (and, of course, I had to pay $$ for his mistake). In the end, he only kinda/sorta fixed the original issue and introduced another. On top of all that, he also clearly demonstrated that they can't even replace the rear tire correctly (for that, he did eat the cost of the fix).

For the last few years, I've been having shoulder and wrist issues on long rides. I was considering a tri-axis handlebar, but research on-line indicates a lot of front end tupperware has to come off. Given my recent dealer experience, I've decided I can't trust him to go under the tupperware and not screw something up.

So, sadly, I came to the conclusion that, if I can no longer trust the dealer to maintain my machine, there's no point in keeping it. I'm soured on the marque. So it's been up for sale since June (and this morning I just fended off an obscenely low-ball offer from a new poster, obviously fishing for a bargain.)

I too considered a Miata. Back in 2014, I was riding a BMW R1100RT and was having leg issues at stops. I considered a Ural sidecar rig, but my wife nixed that idea. I broached the notion of giving up motorcycling completely and getting a Miata, but her only concern was "where are you going to park it?" I thought she'd jump at the chance to get me off bikes completely! And actually, she was the one who pointed me towards a Spyder.

I only take the Spyder out about once a quarter to make sure it still runs. Otherwise, it's been sitting in the garage for over a year, on a battery tender and with fuel preservative.

If I get another bike, I'd seriously consider a Janus 250 - https://janusmotorcycles.com/ Hand-built, painted to order, weighs a bit over 260 pounds, and styled like something out of the 1920s. I don't see any transcontinental rides in my future, so puttering around on a Janus sounds do-able. But they're pricey because of the hand-building and hand-painting.