bummers

So I've been told but apparently the Suburban would make more sense to keep and get a trailer, my biggest issue with trailers is I'm renting, and all rental houses seem to come with HOAs. WHY did Americans allow HOAs to become a thing? It's pure insanity. Small bed would be ok once it could carry a bike with the tail gate down, I'd use one of those cage things. Oh really? I take your word over most people on these things tbh as you actually use your hands. I love Toaster's Impala but my god that V6 is crammed in there. The thing is the Suburban is great, and I like it, and it's easy to work on, so I have to really want whatever I swap to to make it make sense, which is probably why I'll end up riding 95% of the time. The problem is my new route is a deer haunt in the fabled rut. Which again, I am well warned about by you. Having a beater is also impacted by the aforementioned HOAs, may they be cursed for eternity. Oh really? That's badass. A charger Ute would be cool. Yeah, if I could have a truck AND a car I would, again, HOA and space and also lack of desire for 4 wheeled things. The V-Strom isn't bad at all in rain protection wise, wind catches it pretty hard due to the tallness, but overall it offers good protection. I might be absolutely fine with the Strom once I ride it for a few weeks. Nav is over rated. Phone mount and away I go. Especially if I have charging. Us plebs will rule the world when things need fixing :P They are beautiful. Reliability I feel is often a mixed bag with anything new, once it was warrantied for a good length of time I wouldn't be massively concerned, other than having the wait time of a down bike. Which is why you need 2 :P Yeah definitely keep an eye, I personally love the look of the sport chief. Yeah f that. No interest in anything that has absolutely stupid placement of things that WILL go bad. The impala again springs to mind, the water pump went on that early on. Soooo easy to get to. Maintenance is often top 2-3 on my list of things when looking at a new vehicle.

There is an option of a fold up trailer but it's 4,500!!! Which I mean is actually a fair price considering the work that has gone in to it, but it's a lot of money. It would, talking to Toaster on it last night it might be the way I go, a nice Golf GTI would be doable then :P Yeah I mean if I end up using the car 1-2 days per week, which is likely, then honestly the mpg doesn't really matter and sticking with what I have works well. We'll see! Haha glad you think so :) Oh nice!! Congrats! Send me some photos on fb or something when it's all set up, I love a good garage :D

Haha honestly with the good weather even the boring, flat, straight roads are still pleasant, that said if your Van was available over here I'd be going sorting out some finance for one. Yeeeeeeeeeeep no traffic in the direction I work thankfully, I'll take boring roads over traffic any day of the week :) Yeah....bikes and straight roads don't match up in my brain. I want your Van :'( That would be a great solution, sadly the transit custom isn't available here for some stupid reason.

@@TheGorillaBiker they want you to all have pickup trucks with big lift kits! 😀

Hahaha probably :P But a van is so much more practical for those of us who don't need all the seats :D

Yeah a lot of it is similar once you hit highways etc, I just try to avoid them as I don't enjoy them really and they're full of people mesmerised by their phone screens. I have considered the trailer, I'll explain that one in another video, and honestly it's the most likely thing to come from this whole thing as I don't like spending money I don't have, which is what a new car would be. Toaster has a trusty old 2004 Impala that I have revived that could easily tow a bike too. I don't need a big truck really, larger vehicles like vans tend to be the only one I fit in, cars tend to really hurt my back. Maybe they will! Time will tell :) Oh the Vstrom will 100% be the daily, currently still haven't had time to do the valve check and get a new front tyre so it's waiting on me, and I miss it :D Absolutely, I know you know this, but worth mentioning for others reading this, I talk about decisions decades before I make them :D I like being sure haha.

It is but not that much longer than my current one really so it made sense...sadly! I'd love to be 20 minutes from work, that's my ideal situation, maybe one day! Yeah, mpg wise they're not great but hauling bikes, especially track bikes, is a big goal of mine, plus I like trucks and I fit in them, I'd also like to do a roof tent at some point so something too small that's good on fuel wouldn't do enough of the rest of what I want if that makes sense. The comfort may be overstated, I couldn't say either way until I try one, I'd definitely need a back rest though with the way they set you up, my Magna wasn't bad. Oh I love the V-Strom, with the tall seat it's honestly the perfect bike for me and I think I'll have it a long time.

That's honestly why I don't mind the highways for my commute, they're effectively empty. Toaster has to deal with a heap of traffic as she drives in to Raleigh for work. Secondary roads are the best :) That's honestly how I was mostly leaning, with the Suburban for like unsafe weather(which is rare thankfully), it's also nice to hear of the miles your buddy racked up on them :) Poor Stromboli will look at me with sadness as I baby the Z900RS :D That's very true, I've always found with any bagger I've felt like I needed a back rest!! They are now, finally, thank you :)

I TOLD YOU!!! It's extremely flat in the Coastal plains part of NC. The happy part is I'm very near actual nice roads now :) Haha yes, you weren't in my head for that but you definitely need one!

That where I'm at, if I go for a new 4 wheeled creature it has to be something I like. Otherwise I won't use it and sell it in 9 months for a loss, as I've done to every car I've ever owned I didn't like :D

Noooooooo you should definitely come back east. Like 100%. There's magic here I promise, and winning lottery tickets etc. Arkansas is on my list due to you and Hatter I think also recommended it. Ah I honestly don't mind it, I don't have traffic, Toaster does so it seemed fair to give here the shorter one. We HAD to find jobs in opposite directions of course :D Hahaha I would but it would exceed the GVWR with my fat buttocks :D It was working, the NEW sd card I bought was a dud. Thankfully they did actually exchange it for me. It wouldn't format or anything. Yeah it makes sense for us of long biking enjoyment with partners who are more sane.

The tyres on the Vstrom are holding up so far anyway. The issue is the bad bikes over here people are still looking for silly money for, so it wouldn't make any sense. I also don't fit on the Pan :'( It'll be the Strom for a while anyway, Tacoma would be the goal but I dunno how people buy new things, my brain won't let me so far :D

I've been making plenty so youtube must not have been showing them to you :) I would do that forever in Ireland however over here if I break down I have no real way to get the car back to my house to fix it, which is why I'd rather go for something newer. 2000s Toyotas for the pickup trucks are insanely expensive, and I don't enjoy working on 4 wheeled vehicles so anything that old with bigger mileage I don't really have any interest in. I don't really like cars anymore. Haha I'd have already happily bought a house, but the same as a lot of things I won't pay what I think is overpriced. And houses here are way overpriced. Yeah exactly, bikes made for cruising just feel right at home on those roads!

@@TheGorillaBiker, Yes, indeed, long time because of myself being kind of out of social media. Good points, pretty logic. I got a 2001 bmw 318 and when I have to work on it, I wish it was one of the bikes.

Ah that's fair enough. I barely use anything that isn't youtube. Haha I understand that having worked on a few bmws of that era!!! PITA!!

Oh it's hot, but I've definitely adapted to it pretty well, I think riding bike outdoors helps.

I miss my van, I used to have a clapped out, rusty, transit custom and I miss it. I thought it was actually really comfortable, had lots of spots for drinks and stuff and was bombproof. The custom doesn't exist here though sadly. The V-Strom will have 200k miles first, then I might go with a bagger :P

Haha a bagger will likely eventually happen. Who knows :P I can't anymore, must message the guys actually. The not planned for house move has kind of not been kind to the bank account. Especially as we moved less rural. If I can get time off though I'd shoot across to Mt Airy for a night :)

Yeah and I would appreciate being able to bring bikes places with myself and herself when we're going off places, I dunno I've just always been allergic to spending money on 4 wheeled vehicles. Well that and loans. I hate loans. It would, but wouldn't avoid the rain etc, and the rain here gets insanely heavy. Thanks Stu :)

@@TheGorillaBiker totally agree, Loans = bad. It would all be easier with a nice big lottery win.

@@stu.l we'll get there man! Then everyone is getting a nice bike 😂😂

Even if it means a large loan? I've never done a big loan. They make me nervous.

@@TheGorillaBiker Can you afford the repayments? I personally won’t get a loan for a depreciating asset.

Oh yeah I could, but I'm in the same boat, for me it's an expense, not even a depreciating asset, so I don't like to pay a % on that on top of everything else.

Hahaha no I should be ok :) Where I'm moving to is actually closer to better roads.

36 US mpg is 43.2 uk mpg so really solid I think!! Yeah but I don't think I'd be 1/10th as comfortable at 70mph on a super cub either :P

It's improving, but yes they're currently still far too expensive. Truck or van, if I have a 4 wheeled thing I want it to do everything and I have to fit and like it. The fit thing is the biggest issue. Most cars hurt my back a lot. I also don't really want a trailer as I don't have space for one. Haha I've loaded in to truck beds before, thankfully being very tall and hefty helps a lot. Thankfully that's just the commute, I'm only 1-1.5 hours now from some VERY nice roads :)

Honestly if they had them in stock literally anywhere I'd buy a base model hybrid maverick tomorrow, but Ford only seem to want to stock Trucks that cost the equivalent of half a house here so that's a solid nope from me. If one popped up tho that'd be it. Could still haul a bike to the track and act as a commuter. Honestly tho the likely thing is just use Stromboli 90% of the time with the Suburban as backup. I have my rain gear, the only thing I really need is a set of panniers and I'm good. Not even not wanting to in bad weather, I don't mind it, but there is nowhere to hang wet gear in work and when it rains here badly it's not particularly safe for a bike as people are wild fans of crashing. Indeed, hard but good to ponder, keeps the brain cogs spinning :D

@@TheGorillaBiker Someone on my street has the base model hybrid Mavrick. It's not going to be good for carrying a bike I feel, the bed it too short. I think you’re in the right direction on that thinking though. The give and take, it can wear you out.

Yeah it definitely wouldn't be spacious back there, but I've seen guys on the Maverick forum carry a Z900RS back there :P With the gate down of course. It certainly can. I think I'll park it a while anyway, a lot of good points to ponder from people after this video :)

That is honestly my dream at this point. I literally hate moving house. If I could just find somewhere that fit me and toaster well I'd do anything to stay in one place. The insane price of buying a house doesn't help of course.

@@TheGorillaBiker I was lucky. Bought at a perfect time.

@@hachewie hopefully it'll come back to sensiblish at some point and I can get something. For now I'm only on a visa anyway so wouldn't make sense

@@TheGorillaBiker Very true. You seem pretty well set up at the moment.

@@hachewie Ah just spending a fair whack on rent which I hate, but hopefully I get to stay in this house for a few years at least or buy somewhere.

Yep! With the tail gate down, I think that's the term anyway, they fit on there no hassle. Ideally I'd love another Van, but vans in the US are insanely expensive.

Because she's easy to suplex out of the way.

@@TheGorillaBiker Hahahaha. I'll watch it a bit later.

I think it is because you love that bike more than you care to admit @@TheGorillaBiker

Haha I freely admit I love it! If Toaster gets a different bike at any point I'd put new suspension for me on there, new bars and ride the wheels off it!

@@TheGorillaBiker so cool. I want a second bike. Something nimble and narrow for city riding. Must be fast and comfortable too. MT09 or something like that. Your Kawasaki would do nicely b