FROM THE FRONT
Life is – still – full of surprises. Some great, some good, and some less so. Here’s one now.
You may be aware that this magazine has its own Facebook group – a special private group open only to subscribers, this being mostly a subscription magazine. It’s an interesting and entertaining group too, with frequent contributions from familiar faces from the magazine. Rowena, RC regular Ian and I do the admin, which is hardly onerous, although we can have our moments of controversy! Not too often, happily, and the whole thing is pretty much as we intended it to be; an informal opportunity for a bunch of like-minded souls to chat, share bike stuff and generally have a relaxing time.
There’s also a very good assistance theme to a lot of the comments and threads. People ask a question and other people answer them. Many of the answers are actually useful and if folk spout obvious nonsense we remove it. Just like that – and just like the magazine itself, in fact.
I post too much, I think, but it’s a place I enjoy visiting and I feel comfortable among friends. Mostly. However…
Picture this. I’ve long been a fan of a particular model of a particular motorcycle. Back when they were current – a decade or more ago – I borrowed a couple of examples so that I could write them up in these semi-glossy pages. Two in particular stand out in my memory, one of them because I borrowed it when there was snow on the ground, and enjoyed a whole day (maybe two; memory can be vague) sploshing my way around the wild’n’woolly lanes, roads and pretty towns of the Cotswolds. I was impressed.
The only reason I failed to buy one at the time was that we already had a very similar machine – same manufacturer, different trim – and didn’t feel like parting with it as it had sentimental value and was also great as our wintry wheels. And every so often, as whimsy takes me, I would look around at the various ad sources to see whether this particular model ever came up for sale – and they do. One did, inevitably. And I posted a photo of it on our Facebook group, remarked that I was seriously considering buying it and wondered what other readers thought. The verdict was unanimous – go for it, they said.
So I sorted out the finance, contacted the trader to confirm the deal details… the trader revealed that it had just been sold. Rats, I thought, or even worse than that!
Imagine my surprise when one of the occasional contributors to the magazine’s group got in touch to tell me that he’d bought the bike after seeing my post, but that he was unlikely to keep it for long. I was very polite. I tend to regard the Facebook group as a bit like a bike clubroom in a pub, where if a chap reveals that he’s chasing a bike no one would dream of stepping in and buying it. The kind way would be to say that they were interested and if I wasn’t they’d buy it. It’s happened lots. But it’s only a motorcycle, and there are plenty of others.
Imagine my delight when the same chap got in touch a few weeks later to say he was getting rid of the bike and asking whether I wanted it. Same price as he’d paid. Which might sound fair, no? Except that the trader offered a new MOT, a full warranty and delivery. What are these benefits worth, collectively? Certainly several hundred pounds. I suggested this and was told I was unreasonable.
This, gentle reader, is the main reason I tend to deal with dealers. It’s not always more expensive, not in the long run.
Ride safely