Selling a bike is always difficult. In the case of the KLX it happened very quickly. It didn’t cost me anything to own it (what I got for it covers what I paid for it including the safety).
Unlike the Ninja before it, the KLX didn’t get much seat time with me so I don’t have a strong emotional bond with it. I also didn’t modify it at all, though I was tempted to.
In a funk the other week because I couldn’t go for a ride on one of the first ride-able days of the year, my wife suggested I get rid of some bikes and get something dependable. If I have to pivot around a bike, it would be the Concours (I’m emotionally invested). It’s a bit much to ask a 22 year old bike to be a daily rider, but that’s what I was doing. The goal now is to have two bikes: the Concours and something newer and more dependable that can do commuting duties when needed but also offers me a different kind of ride than the big two-up friendly Concours.
I’m still fixated on a Versys. There are a number ranging from just over $3000 for ’07s to up in the 5ks for a 3-4 year old model. If it is the all purpose/dependable machine I’m looking for, then a KLE will soon replace the KLX. Having said that, this is an opportunity to consider a wide range of general purpose machinery, and I should take it.
The calipers are unseized and rebuilt. Now I’m looking for the source of the leak in the master cylinder. With the front brakes sorted I’m going to try and fire up this dinosaur. A running bike sells for way more than a door stop, and I want to hear it running before I let it go.
If next fall I’m putting the Concours and a more modern dependable bike to sleep and wheeling a winter project bike into the garage, I’ll be in my happy place. A winter project like this!
