Are Motorcycles Toys?

[squirrel_hunter]

So yesterday I found myself wondering around a rather large dealership. Forgetting the time of year and the fact it was a Monday I was quite taken aback by the salesman who openly engaged me in conversation, usually I find they have nothing but contempt for their customers, but it must have been a slow day or a new member of staff. Anyway, his opening gambit was to ask if I was "looking for a new toy?". The shock of being approached resulted in me not contemplating this question fully until much later where I am left wondering about the status of a motorbike.

I would not call any of my bikes a toy. But using the definition toy as a base, I don’t know how to describe them.

So my question to you, complete with poll, is; are motorcycles toys? Discuss.

[atassiedevil]

Definitely not a toy.
While i have fun with both of mine, they both do the commute to work, take me to see family, and are my primary mode of transport, even though i have a car.

[dizzyblonde]

They used to be workhorses. Now they are toys.

[Spank86]

Everything is a toy if you're in the right frame of mind.

Some of my toys include ladders, drills, and a van. Those ones I get paid to play with.

My motorbike toy I just enjoy playing with even when it's working for me taking me places I NEED to go.

[jambo]

I don't know.

The track bike is definitely a toy. It serves no purpose other than fun.
The road bike is transport. Not really a toy as much as a tool (the bike, not just me).

I suppose for many people it's an extra vehicle to use for social and pleasure, an indulgence, not necessary. I suppose that a toy is a slightly childish way of referring to an indulgent purchase.

Jambo

[dkid]

They used to be workhorses. Now they are toys.


+1. Kinda the same here.

[Niall_farley]

Yeah I'd call mine a toy. I don't need it I just want it. I use it to go to work sometimes but only if I want to go to work in a fun way rather than in the car.

So yes my bike I suppose is a toy :)

[missyburd]

Mine is transport, with a bit of fun thrown in for good measure. A toy is something you bring out when you feel like it, only to put it away again to accumulate dust and makeshift homes for spiders. Bikes are wasted sat in garages. If they're not to be used for the function they were designed for then living in your front room as an ornament or coffee table will suffice ;)

[SIII]

Is that not the point in life ??? To collect toys and have fun playing with them. I go to work to earn money to live comfortably and buy toys. It also gives me a reason to drag myself to work every morning - need pennies to buy new toys or maintain those i already have. If your toy can be used for a purpose (like commuting on the bike) win - win. Bought a chainsaw and a GSXR750 this last week. Both toys, bloody fun to use and can be very useful when needed. And if that toy has an IC Engine - even better.

My bike is my biggest toy and long may I still feel the need to go out and play with it.:smt026

[dizzyblonde]

Is that not the point in life ??? To collect toys and have fun playing with them. I go to work to earn money to live comfortably and buy toys. It also gives me a reason to drag myself to work every morning - need pennies to buy new toys or maintain those i already have. If your toy can be used for a purpose (like commuting on the bike) win - win. Bought a chainsaw and a GSXR750 this last week. Both toys, bloody fun to use and can be very useful when needed. And if that toy has an IC Engine - even better.

My bike is my biggest toy and long may I still feel the need to go out and play with it.:smt026

Exactly. When you go to work and spend most of your waking life there, the rest with your kids then if one chooses to have toys for a means of enjoyment so be it.

Both of us have used our motorcycles for work. Now neither of us have to. We don't have them as our only mode of transport
When you get to such point in life where you have earned the right to have baubles sitting around, and can afford to do so, it is of no concern to others.
The fact that some days my other half is in too much pain to move around the house let alone get a bike out, does not give anybody the right to tell him he should give up biking because he doesn't use it often enough.

Given that, he may or may not to choose to use one of our three toys to commute to work in the summer, to give him a bit of a buzz. He prefers the warmth of the car at the moment. Rods get cold when its raining or winter.

[andrewsmith]

Nope only transport, and working in a major city centre means its no fun in a car

[DJ123]

For me it is a toy.

[wyrdness]

My bike is almost exclusively used for commuting these days. I could get to work by car or public transport, but the bike is much quicker. But the kinds of bikes that I've used for commuting are partly toys, as I could easily commute on a 125 scooter, rather than Speed or Street triples.

[littleoldman2]

Toy. Only used for fun fun and more fun. Also very lucky to meet really good friends whilst having fun and to go to some lovely places.

[littleoldman2]

Nice to see KD getting a few votes!!

[ClunkintheUK]

Toys. Yes I commute on mine, but its the only way I am allowed to play with myself on the way to work.

[Nutsinatin]

Toy! I look forward to riding to work, then riding home (even when it's cold and raining), sometimes when I get back I don't want to get off and I'll have to go out again! I don't think I could stand a 45 minute drive to and from work every day any other way. Riding my bike makes my day and it's just a bonus that it has some practical benefits too!

[ZER0]

Mine is purely a toy.
An object to enjoy, to waste time, to relax and unwind with.

I have a family car and a work van I take home.
I do not NEED my bike, I only have it because I WANT it! I'll use it as much as I can, but a lot of the time I'll be going on a ride purely to enjoy the ride. Not going anywhere in particular or for a reason; other than to have fun.

[Mrs DJ Fridge]

If a toy is something that you enjoy to use then my bike is a toy, it doesn't matter what I use it for, just getting on and riding is a joy that makes my life better.

[DJFridge]

Is it a toy? Sort of, I suppose. I didn't need a bike, I learnt because I had always wanted to and bought the bike for fun. But a vehicle isn't a toy just because you enjoy using it. Our runabout car is a Fiesta, which is great fun to drive. If that had been a purely logical choice it would have been something dull like a Micra, but life is too short.

[Dicky Ticker]

Does size come into this question?

[BanannaMan]

Depends on the owner.
What anyone else thinks or does is irrelevant.
What your motorcycle is to you is all that matters.


(but yes mine's a toy) ;)

[missyburd]

Toy! I look forward to riding to work, then riding home (even when it's cold and raining), sometimes when I get back I don't want to get off and I'll have to go out again! I don't think I could stand a 45 minute drive to and from work every day any other way. Riding my bike makes my day and it's just a bonus that it has some practical benefits too!
When you put it like that then toy definitely fits the bill but then if I hated riding it I would have got my driving licence already! With the right gear it's fun to ride whatever the weather :)

[ClunkintheUK]

There's no such thing as bad weather, just bad kit.

[carelesschucca]

My bike is a toy I commute 30 miles maybe once a month on her the rest of the 8,000 miles I do a year are fun miles. so she's expensive toy that being rational I should probably give up playing with, but I ain't rational and she's everything to me and so are the friends I've made through riding.

Is it bad that I worry for people that only see their bikes as workhorses. Wheres the love in that?

[missyburd]

Is it bad that I worry for people that only see their bikes as workhorses. Wheres the love in that?
If a car can be a workhorse, why can't a bike? They are....and you may need to grip the sides of your chair for this bit...






..vehickles!!! :D

[carelesschucca]

But solely a workhorse? It would be the end for me. You can't say your baby is solely a workhorse how many miles have you done on that bike purely for pleasure?

I still worry for people that see bikes mearly as a tool to be used and gain no pleasure from them. Why put yourself at the risk levels involved if you dont get any joy from it?

[ClunkintheUK]

The bikes used in the MotoGP are workhorses, in that some people use them solely for their work. Bet they are a lot of fun though.

[Cymraeg_Atodeg]

When I got my first bike I did see it as a sort of "toy." I had a car, so, that was my commuter vehicle and I only really went out on the bike in the evenings or on weekends.

But, when I got my SV1000S I used the bike every day of the week for commuting, weekend rides and a holiday in Germany, over 18 months. (I covered 18k miles in the 18 months as such)

There was two days I didn't ride the bike, one involved falling off on snow and the other was falling off on ice. After both incidents I repaired to cosmetic damage and carried on.

Since getting a company car and pretty much being told I "cannot" use the bike for commuting, they have kind of become a toy again, but, I do occasionally use my R6 and SV1000S to commute on when I can.

There are some people I see every morning around Great Yarmouth who are on their bike for commuting, so, they're not really toys to them I don't imagine.

All depends on what you use them for.

[dizzyblonde]

There's no such thing as bad weather, just bad kit.

Much as there is truth in that(we both wear Rukka, and an array of good quality brands) unfortunately there is no amount of good kit in this land that can protect against deteriorating scaffolding and old fractures that hurt.

They're like water divining rods that switch on when there is a whiff of damp in the air, or a slight temperature drop.

That aside(and generally speaking), even with fabulous kit, I prefer to CHOOSE to stay indoors in weather that dilutes the fun. There's no medals to be won proving you are great because you ride your bike all year whilst others don't.

[Spank86]

That aside(and generally speaking), even with fabulous kit, I prefer to CHOOSE to stay indoors in weather that dilutes the fun. There's no medals to be won proving you are great because you ride your bike all year whilst others don't.
I think perhaps there should be.

A campaign medal perhaps for lasting a whole winter but only if it snows.


The world needs more medals for things.

[dizzyblonde]

The world needs more medals for things.

I've plenty of medals here as it happens. Dinner medals, three year olds aren't choosy what they stick them to! :king:

[atassiedevil]

*makes muttely noise*
"Medal medal medal!"

[missyburd]

But solely a workhorse? It would be the end for me. You can't say your baby is solely a workhorse how many miles have you done on that bike purely for pleasure?

I still worry for people that see bikes mearly as a tool to be used and gain no pleasure from them. Why put yourself at the risk levels involved if you dont get any joy from it?

As you say, I don't think anyone would ride a bike through choice if they didn't like it just a little bit. Yeah, mine's done plenty of pleasure miles and that's the beauty of the SV, it's at home in the land of twisty tiny lanes and almost vertical hill climbs but it's even happier doing long trips in stunning scenery - FACT :-P

But when it comes to riding a bike through a puddle then spending crazy time erasing every speck of muck only to ride it through another, it's not going to happen for me personally. Some people appear to have all the time in the world to spend spitting and polishing, others prefer to spend that time doing other hobbies. The usual, if we were all the same the world would be a much more boring place.

[yorkie_chris]

Snow and winter, ugh. P*ssed it down this morning, lovely!
Simple trade off between risk of personal injury due to lack of traction versus an extra hour in bed from going in the van instead.

Although I did wimp out the other month, normally I love a wet and wild ride (fnarr) but I'd left a 25l drum of diesel in the yard and it had blown about 10m across the way, I thought sod this.

Best time of year is usually october to december, nice and grim but not slippy so no powerrangering incompetent wazzocks getting in the way!