Longest break from riding with a good bike in the garage?

[jtanman]

I know many of us have gone on motorcycle hiatuses when we sell bikes and life gets busy, etc. But I’ve noticed lots of people seem to have good running bikes sitting in their garage yet ride them maybe once or twice a year (if that).

And here lies my question. What’s the longest break you’ve taken from riding when you’ve HAD a good bike ready to go at any time? And what was the reason?

[RWW enduro]

1 minute ago, jtanman said:

I know many of us have gone on motorcycle hiatuses when we sell bikes and life gets busy, etc. But I’ve noticed lots of people seem to have good running bikes sitting in their garage yet ride them maybe once or twice a year (if that).

And here lies my question. What’s the longest break you’ve taken from riding when you’ve HAD a good bike ready to go at any time? And what was the reason?

2 weeks was enough for me when I traveled to San Fran for vacation. my neighbor though has 2 YZ 250 in his garage. been there for 7 or 8 years since he had kids. been asking him to go ride with me.

[Fore-50]

2 months the longest i went without riding.

kids, life, wife. 

all conspire again me riding!

[William1]

I stopped riding altogether from about age 26 to about 35, I got burnt out. , MX then  road racing. Open wheel Formula fords, Formula Atlantic then GTP Endurance. Sick of 24/7/365, my own fault. Then I bought a Ninja 600, then  bought a Ninja 750, sold it after two years, bought a FZR 1000, balled it up and decided I was done with sport bikes, Bought a dinky XT350 to ride around town, Bought a few more bikes since. Subsequently I sold the bulk of the bikes and now have just four. I ride at least once a week, all year round. Just putting most of the time.

[bodge]

I stopped riding altogether from about age 26 to about 35, I got burnt out. , MX then  road racing. Open wheel Formula fords, Formula Atlantic then GTP Endurance. Sick of 24/7/365, my own fault. Then I bought a Ninja 600, then  bought a Ninja 750, sold it after two years, bought a FZR 1000, balled it up and decided I was done with sport bikes, Bought a dinky XT350 to ride around town, Bought a few more bikes since. Subsequently I sold the bulk of the bikes and now have just four. I ride at least once a week, all year round. Just putting most of the time.

I burnt myself out riding this summer. I didn’t think it was possible. Took a couple weeks off and I’m back at it.

My longest break was 2 or so months while waiting for my health benefits to start. Didn’t want to risk injury and the associated bills while uninsured and we had just bought a house. Bought a new ktm a month after resuming.

[Fitz235]

I got back into riding in 2017. My '01 CR 250 sat on the stand for at least 8-9 years. It may have even been 10. Just started to seem like more of a hassle than it was worth.

Slowly, you find yourself going a little less, then a lot less, then every time I would go, I would be frustrated that I wasn't riding at the level that I knew I could (because I wasn't going regularly enough). And then eventually not at all.

I can't seem to stick with anything with any real consistency. There are 3 sports that I always come back to, and MX is one of them. This is currently my 3rd round with it.

[BOAB]

Other than because of injury not very long.  But, my kids, both of whom own CRF450Rs haven't ridden since the 1st week of June.  My youngest son had a very bad wreck at the track, took a few weeks to recover and him and his brother have been mtn. biking it ever since.  Now that it's fall I'm hoping I can maybe get them back on the bikes.

[texas angler]

My wanna be mx days ended in the mid to late 80s.  Crotch rocket days for a year or 3 in the early 90s during college.  From 96ish to 2008 no bike but I longed for one and the freedom I felt when riding. 2008 I got back on the rode with a "dad cruiser" and when gas prices went through the roof I was thankful.  June 8, 2017 I finally got me a Dyna (FXDLi) and put many, many trouble free miles on her..  Sitting on on some back road way out in the boonies I thought it sure would be nice to share this time with my son.  July 23, 2019 sold the Dyna and dang sure wish I would have just put her away until later...still kicking myself.  A few weeks after that Kawasakis were purchased and here we are.  Now all I think about is getting in better shape so I can rip up the trails with my little dude.  And now I'm getting the 2 stroke bug and longing for a real mx run too...after I get in shape and a better bike that can do both - trails and a little mx.  NOTHING like dirt though.  I try and explain it to some folks and they look at me dazed and ask why?  What so fun about that? My response?  Conquering or being belittled by a tight trail run on 2 wheels gives me complete satisfaction and a thrill every second (well mostly!!).

[Gus p12]

Usually every day, ahahah the longest was 1 week and it was torture....

[dittohead]

Over a year at different times with different bikes. One was a xr350, the other was a yz250. Both were easy to get going again since they were stored correctly

[Donny18]

10 years.  I would prep the bike after winter, then drain the gas out and winterize again.  Did it for 10 years.  Even now, I have a perfectly good 2017 with 12 hours on it.

No kids to deal with, but the list of why I haven't ridden has more issues than National Geographic.

[Motox367]

Raced mx regularly for 20 years.  Didn't race at all in 15'and 16'. Once in 17' once in 18'  . Have raced last 3 weeks in a row and going to race next few weeks.  Feels good to be back out there ?

[redhurricane]

Usually snow is the only real thing keeping me off two wheels. Maybe a month or so worst case? 

[69fastback]

I've got a brand new '20 in the garage and just took a new job that will have me in training on the other side of the country for 2 months, and with no health insurance for three. Mine will be sitting for a bit, but that's life. 

[seer]

Since i started back 15 or so years ago i went 6 months without. It included June,July and August in Florida which made it easier but i struggled being patient. 

[Drop-Bear]

I took about 3 yrs off when I was racing Karts, rode a few times a yr if that. But did have a road bike at that time as well. Yamaha R1. If I have a road bike, I don't have a car, so ridden every day.

And, the past 3 seasons, Including this one have sucked. I don't have a decent crew to ride with atm. Did 2 rides last season, both sucked. Been riding alone this season, but hate it, It's boring. So, going racing next yr in the State off road series. I raced MX for the same reason. No one to ride with at the time.

[Sierra_moto]

Probably this summer, took all of May, June, and part of July off because I injured my hand at a race...still hurts a little. Aside from that, this has been my lightest riding season ever...I kinda plateaued in my speed/abilities and I'm a goal-driven person, so I just wasn't feeling it.

I took up racing xc mtb's, so that's kinda my new "drive" in life. I still ride the moto's, I'm just trying to learn to enjoy the social aspect of riding more and not be so focused on speed/doing gnarly stuff on the bike.

[SS109]

14 weeks. Reason? I broke three vertebrae. As soon as I was cleared I was back on the bike!

[DentonC]

Usually take winter off for harder stuff. December to March. Will ride here and there though to keep the bike fresh. 

[Grimlock]

I was off the bike for a bit over 90 days in 2017. A rotator cuff tear, stress, poor race results, OHV bans due to extremely dry conditions and not ‘feeling it’ when I rode made me consider selling everything and taking a hiatus. 

Finally got back on the Beta in October that year and actually had fun riding for the first time in months. 

Almost happened again this year. Had a bad crash in July and had zero confidence in my riding. My race results tanked to the point where I was actually lapped by all but one person in my division at one event. Took a couple of weeks off of racing and rode for fun and things turned around. Last three races of this season were the most fun I have had. My results weren’t spectacular but I definitely rode with confidence and had a few good battles which I really enjoyed. 

Biggest issue now is the foot of &%$#@!ing snow on the ground! 

Edited October 1, 2019 by Grimlock
Werdz.