My wife and I just found out we are going to be having our first child this spring. This news has caused me to start thinking about everything I do. I am new to motorcycle riding and purchased my first bike a year ago this fall. My wife is fine with me owning a bike and fine with me continuing to ride after the kid is born. My issue is when I laid out the money for the bike I had no real responsibility or concerns. Now we are looking at possibly moving as well. I'm considering putting the bike up for sale and maybe purchasing something used and smaller like an Iron. This way I can still go on fun rides around town and the rural back roads but won't feel bad if the bike sits from time to time.

My current bike is a 2013 Dyna, with a stage 1. If I do sell I would probably remove the parts and sell it as a stock bike. The used bike market doesn't seem to have much on it in NJ right now, so I'm not sure what I could even ask. I actually previously listed the bike but got no real offers, so that makes me hesitant to try again. I keep going back and forth between selling.

 

Having a family and the responsibility is a big deal and can be a bit scary at first. Sounds like you are a responsible person to start this conversation ! Sit down with pencil and paper and go over your needs, budget and your priorities ! Don't run scared and start unloading stuff, sit down and use some sense and don't loose your butt on stuff it isn't the end of your youth or having fun ! Its just beginning !!

 

Balancing risk against obligation is a pretty tough run.......my only real input would be if you are concerned about safety.........your safer on the highway then you are around town and on rural roads.........keep your Dyna.

Congratulations on the child..........good luck on the move.

 

Is your current bike paid for? If so, keep it. If you're making payments, you might want to go through with your plan.

If you do go through with your plan, you should consider saving some real money by looking for a used older Sportster or even a cheap metric.

I'd like to add that when our first one was born, I was freaking out a bit about the financial aspect myself, but the expenses weren't as great as I had feared.

Good Luck.

 

I appreciate the responses, a lot of the opinions I get around me are from people who don't ride and never would. The bike is paid for so the sale of it would go right back into the bank. I guess I need to evaluate it more because I think I would be taking a huge loss by selling irrationally.

 

I had my baby girl about a year and a half ago, i was a single dude with a cool little kawasaki and no car. The bike was already paid for, but I sold it in order to put a down payment on a car which I didn't have. The baby came, and our expenses were not as bad as we thought, you get a lot of help from family and friends, and with a nice baby shower, we didn't have much to worry about, me and my wife are 27 and 24, young couple, but we pulled through. But this whole year and a half, it felt a little crappy not to own a motorcycle so we looked into our finances and now I have my Dyna.

If you make enough, and you can plan accordingly, it shouldn't be a problem even if you are financing the bike, we have to make some sacrifices and such, but having a baby is not a reason to go bankrupt, you just have to make sure about your priorities, remember once you have the baby, i dk if you do a lot but, you will go out less and spend less money with things you used to when you didn't have one. Your life changes a lot.

and congratulations man!!!! having a kid is the best thing a guy could ask for!

 

There you go. Don't sell it until you absolutely know that you need to. You can sell it at any time.

Like I said before, having the baby come into our lives wasn't as financially scary as I thought it would be.

My guess is that if you're financially stable enough to already own a new, paid for Harley at this point in you life, you're going to do fine with the kid.

Good Luck.

 

If your making payments and can't afford it then down size bikes paid for don't, you can always sell it later if you fall out of love with it. It's a full on bitch trying to get something going again once rug rats start coming along, you'll find the moneys tight and wifey's supportive attitude will change once she's see's how much of her life is going to be wrapped up in the kid(s)

 

I see you are facing the end of your youth and having fun.

Ride safe Dad!

aw, let the good times roll!

 

What worked for ME. Had bikes all my life. Kids came along and I sold it due to responsibility, not money. It was paid for. I went along about 20 years,no bike, no issues. Kids grown, still responsibilities but not so much pressure and I am riding again.
Worked for me, maybe not for you.
Do whats right for you.
Congrats on the new family.