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

[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.