Clouding of your judgement

Not directed at anybody but--
Test rides are okay but with the adrenaline and excitement of a newer bit of kit and different performance levels do you think you make an unbiased judgement of what your new purchase will be.
I am an old cynic and careful with my money so try to way up the pros and cons for the additional expense as in not let your heart rule your mind,especially if the bike you have is running is performing perfectly well and you are only changing like for like,i.e. sports for sports,tourer for tourer, is it a vanity thing?
Obviously there is a big change if you are going from sports to tourer or any other "class" change.which would be an appreciable purpose change
Probably why I have test rides with no intention of buying

[dizzyblonde]

Suppose its different for everyone, most go for a new bike as an upgrade in engine capacity. Young fellas do it more frequently. The likes of you and I, who are comfortable with our steeds(well I was for six years) tend to have a different approach.

I've never gone on a test ride, I do sit on loads of bikes and decide if it feels wrong i won't bother.
I watch how other people with ' my desired bike' get on with it. If the bike I want won't go away from the wish list, I make sure I have the money in the bank, and insurance will cover it. I do a lot of reading up about quirks, problems and issues, and get a collected view from riders. I never take other peoples recommendations first. It was a three year consultation period with myself before I decided that the VRap was definately my next stage bike.

I test ride it afterwards, cause then its my bike, and if I break it, although extremely cross with myself, i won't feel as guilty for breaking someone elses bike.

think i m a bit sad , i go for fun factor ,followed by sound, and then keep it till i get crashed into (speed triple,3 months)sold to get house rendered (zxr 750 h1 5 years and 76000 on clock.)or forever and a day( sv650 pointy.).I ve never test riden a bike as i ve always known what i want ...(i think!!!)

[Balky001]

I don't do test rides unless I'm thinking of buying a bike. I have always ridden bikes before buying though (except the SV!).

I agree if you go in to a test ride looking to see what the bike can do or how good its best bits are it can blur judgement.

I go about the test ride a bit differently, not to find out what's good about the bike (I've already researched the bike to death and spoken to owners about the good and bad points before riding one) but I do try and find fault with the bike and see if I can live with the worse aspects. If it doesn't live up to expectation or doesn't suit me I wont have it. If it surpasses it's strenghts then that's a bonus but not a reason for purchase on is own e.g. it might have better braking than I thought it had but if the throttle is snatchy I put more emphasis on that.

I think changing as often as you an afford it is fine even if your are happy with your current bike. Some people like change and others prefer to stick with what they know, it's just there may be something that suits you better so I think its always worth trying something new. It' only a bike after all, not your wife!