10 Excuses You Tell Yourself For Not Getting a Motorcycle, and Why You’re Wrong

Is your dream to own a motorcycle, hit the open road on a beautiful day, and have the experiences and adventures of a lifetime? BUT, instead of following through and taking steps towards your living your best life, an inner voice muffles your dream with a terrible excuse? If this is you, we’d like to encourage you to reconsider these 10 familiar excuses.

Excuse #1 – Zero Motorcycle Knowledge… and I Mean ZERO!

This is completely understandable – most people don’t grow up around motorcycles in the same way that they grew up around cars. High Desert Harley-Davidson offers both private and group motorcycle courses. And, as part of the cost of the course, can provide a motorcycle for you to learn on.

https://learntorideidaho.com/our-courses/

If you’d prefer to be better informed before taking a class or speaking to one of our professionals – we consider the Idaho Motorcycle Operator’s Manual a superb reference.

https://itd.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/motorcycle_manual.pdf

Excuse #2 – Safety… or I’m a Little Afraid

Consider this quote: “Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears”. Before you begin buying any equipment or taking classes let us know that safety is a priority to you and we’ll make sure to address your concerns. When it comes to equipment safety, we’re obviously big fans of our Personal Fit Specialists – Matt and TJ – they can advise and fit you with the safest gear and motorcycle options.

https://learntorideidaho.com/get-ready/

After investing a little time and effort into proper preparation your fears will likely subside.

And while we’re on the topic of investments…

Excuse #3 – Financial

Compared to cars – a little research will show you that many motorcycles are less expensive to purchase, require less maintenance, offer better gas mileage and many motorcycles retain their value when you’re ready to sell… (so that you can upgrade)! Motorcycle insurance varies quite a bit but is typically less than a car and we’re sure you can find a motorcycle and gear in your price range.

We offer a lot of great, low mileage, pre-owned motorcycles for under $10,000.

https://highdeserthd.com/inventory-preowned

However….you may still be unsure if you’re really ready to “own” a motorcycle – which brings us to:

Excuse #4 – Commitment

So – you’ve taken the classes, purchased the right gear BUT maybe you don’t have the financing, or maybe you’re not sure if you’re going to enjoy riding as much or as often as you dreamed you would.

You can scratch this excuse out as well, because we offer rentals.

https://highdeserthd.com/rentals

You can affordably live the open road lifestyle until you’re ready to commit to a steel horse of your own– another excuse bites the dust.

Excuse #5 – Storage

At this point you feel knowledgeable, safe, financially secure….and you’ve confirmed that you love riding even more than you could have imagined!

But… you don’t own a garage and need some storage options. Before purchasing a motorcycle, definitely check in with a High Desert Harley-Davidson professional about what is the current, best option for storage for the motorcycle you’re about to purchase.

A number of very affordable options can be found online to both protect and shield your bike when it’s not in use. While this may seem like a concern now, you will quickly realize that you’re going to want to ride every day, so storage becomes a moot point. Either way, proper storage and maintenance is important so ask us about the right way to do it and we’ll make sure that your newfound love stays on the road and rumbling!

Excuse #6 – You’re not the “Motorcycle Type”

So what if you don’t look like Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy?

Well, a recent study was done and it may surprise you that:

• 20% of motorcycle owners are female – and this number is growing
• 68% of motorcyclists are married
• 24% are college educated
• 24% of American riders are retired

In other words, enjoying the freedom and fun of owning a motorcycle belongs to anyone who wants to make their dream a reality. The only “type” of motorcycle rider is the person sitting on the bike.

Excuse #7 – Maintaining My Reputation

Another excuse you may have is owning a motorcycle will give me a negative image/reputation – perhaps concerns over how the boss, co-workers, friends, family members will react.

A lot of people feel a social need to seek permission to enjoy their life or shake things up! Remember, it’s your life and not your neighbor’s. Historic media has fantasized motorcycle owners as rough outlaws who participate in unsavory behavior. We’re here to tell you this simply isn’t the case. If you know anything about the modern rider you know that they do it for the love of riding, for adventure, for freedom. The old stereotype is dying and a new generation of passionate riders is paving the way for motorcyclists everywhere.

Harley-Davidson has social and charitable events year round – there are plenty of great people, doing great things in the community of motorcyclists. And we’ve already pointed out the diverse group of Americans who currently own and enjoy motorcycles.

More importantly – if these people can’t appreciate the steps you’ve taken to achieve this accomplishment and the confidence and happiness that ownership has given you… let that be their excuse for not being happy… not yours.

As a side note – this new passion of yours may bring with it new friends who appreciate your interests! It could also open up your dating life – as there are sites specifically for single motorcyclists… it may open up a whole new lifestyle.

Excuse #8 – Is there a Motorcycle for my lifestyle?

Then again… you may love your current lifestyle and just want to add a motorcycle to it! And if that’s the case, you’ll need to imagine how you’re going to enjoy your new motorcycle most.

At this point hopefully you’ve spoken to a few of our professionals, taken some classes and are ready to add the right bike to your life – consider this simple breakdown of motorcycles before expanding.

https://highdeserthd.com/fit-and-function

Make a checklist of how you want to use your new motorcycle and then chat with a professional. Harley-Davidson has been making motorcycles since 1903… trust us when we say we have a motorcycle for everyone!

Excuse #9 – Procrastination

We’ll keep this one simple:

If not now — when?

Why not look at your calendar, right now – find a few dates to begin taking your classes and book them? If riding a motorcycle or owning a motorcycle is a dream of yours – there’s no reason to deny yourself of that pleasure any longer than you have too. All of your excuses up until now have been eliminated…..well, except THE BIG ONE.

Excuse #10 – My Spouse Says… NO WAY!

Everything we’ve written was to prepare you for Excuse #10 (aka The Big One) – which is your loving, beautiful, (usually supportive) spouse simply will not allow it!

** If you’re single – you may want to read this for future reference.

If they strongly disapprove they’re definitely going to hit you with any number of the excuses we’ve already covered – and before you approach your spouse (or discuss this awesome article) – you will already be well prepared to answer questions regarding safety, finances, storage, social and lifestyle.

However the best ways to approach Excuse #10 (aka The Big One) – are as follows:

Make sure to include your spouse. Your loved one’s biggest fear may be that you’ll be off riding around hours at a time while they’re at home taking care of the chores or simply being alone.

Offer to take the classes together – it will show them that you’re serious about making safety a priority, and it will be something you both can learn together.

Support and compliment them if they begin to express interest in riding.

We’re not trying to be mischievous or manipulative here – but the goal is for your spouse to like this new adventure. If they look at some gear and you can tell that they’re hoping they look badass and sexy ……remember to tell them they look as good as they feel!

And if they’re struggling to learn about Motorcycles – remember they are trying something they aren’t necessarily comfortable with, because they love you!

What better way to express how you feel than by doing? Consider planning a motorcycle adventure (that they would LOVE) as part of your preparation.

They might enjoy the idea of riding through the wine regions of the Northwest. Or showing up like a FEARLESS BOSS to their upcoming class reunion. At the very least you both can get away from it all one weekend by renting a motorcycle and getting lost on the road.

So, is your dream to own a motorcycle? To hit the open road on a beautiful day and have the experiences and adventures of a lifetime?

Because now, you are out of excuses.

You’ve got this!