To buy or not to buy? AC or LC? New or second-hand?

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krister

Race Dog
Joined
Sep 14, 2009
Messages
2,027
Reaction score
2
Location
Johannesburg
Bike
BMW R1200GS
Hi Dogs

I have an itch...

I currently ride a 2005 BMW R1200GS and has fairly low mileage (around 75 000 km) so nothing is wrong with it.  I bought it from here almost two years ago when getting back into biking and wanted to buy a budget bike for weekend fun at the time. 

However, I am now again biking on a daily basis and currently I commute from JHB to PTA and back most days of the week.  Yesterday I returned from a Karoo outride of almost 2 000 km and I must say that I am totally set on biking for the rest of my life.  8) :ricky:

Now, as I said, I have developed an itch that needs some scratching.  I am considering upgrading but not sure to which.  I previously had a 2007 GSA and I loved the bike, and there are some nice 2011/2012 examples for sale.  Then there is the LC...  Also some good ones from 2013 and 2014.  :thumleft:

Then I made the mistake to go to www.bmwmotorrad.co.za and start designing my own (new) one - after being prompted by their prime -2% finance teaser.  Well... the itch got worse and worse!  ;)

So, advice please:

1)  Should I upgrade or not?  My current bike is lovely and I enjoy it a lot.  I'm not one for image and the decision is definitely not based on "what other people think about my bike".
2)  If I do upgrade, what is the best to get between AC and LC?  I have heard that some LC riders miss their AC bikes - saying things like that the new bikes are less "bulletproof"
3)  If I do decide on LC - new or second-hand?  Like with cars I believe that the first real and significant drop in value happens during the first three years.  On the other hand, when designing "my bike" on the website - I realised that buying new has the added advantage of speccing the bike exactly to your unique needs.

Any advice will be appreciated!  :thumleft:
 
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