For the price of a single Harley Davidson...

[Brian Harris]

I had this revelation in traffic. I see this guy on his Harley. Conservatively it's a $20k bike. I start thinking of my hobby... music. I don't hunt, fish, golf, drink, gamble, fix cars, ride motorcycles... I'm boring. SUPER boring.

And then I think, "For the price of that one bike I'd literally never have to buy another musical instrument or any gear. "

I'd get my 1 decent mando, my 1 solid wood guitar, replace my 15 year old Roland stage piano, a set of QSC K10.2 speakers, some K8s for monitors, a digital mixer, a few microphones, and I'd truly and sincerely be done forever.

Heck, that's probably under $15k right there. Keep $2000 under the mattress and that's strings and set-ups for life.

Could someone call my wife and let her know how cheap I am? And let her know I'm at the bank getting a $15k loan?

Much obliged.

[Mandoplumb]

Wouldn't work in a year MAS, GAS, or IAS would rear its ugly head and you'd have to spend some more money. Same thing happens to the guy on the bike in time he either has to have something else or do some customizing on that one.

[Tobin]

Selling my old shovelhead Harley is how I funded my Ellis F5. So, yeah...

[JeffD]

So get the strategy down. You are getting a $20,000.00 loan, for a motor cycle. That is what you tell everyone. And then, oh you decided its too dangerous and better to spend less and get some musical instruments.

[Cornfield]

Harley owners know that “HD” stands for “hundred dollars “ . Every time they stop in a bike shop they have to buy more gear. You will need special boots and jackets as well as a few tattoos..
Maybe someone with graphic skills could show us a dedicated “Mandorider “ outfit.

[Em Tee]

Thinking of selling my honda to get an ellis, actually.

[George R. Lane]

20K won't get a full dresser, but will get a Road King with no extras. A full dresser will set you back about 33K.

[Trav'linmando]

Folks, the HD guys have the same advice as we do. Buy it used with the extras already installed. I bought my most recent Harley used. Paid 15K for the bike. The builder only made 450 in that particular color scheme. I saved approximately 10K on a new bike. Used the extra to fund the Pava.

[mtucker]

Selling my old shovelhead Harley is how I funded my Ellis F5. So, yeah...

Shovels are actually doing quite well these days and have risen in value.

My '39 knuck (motor) is rarer than hen's teeth...

[dhergert]

Harleys are fun. I had a shovelhead and enjoyed it.

I never hunted but I did target shoot. That was fun too.

Both of these together left my hearing compromised and my lower back blown out.

I'm much happier playing music and I'm saving what's left of my hearing and my back for doing that.

[Denny Gies]

Tobin has the right idea.

[Ronnie.]

All I have to say is, I love my Road Glide [smile]

[FLATROCK HILL]

My fondness for Harleys and for mandolins does take a toll on my bank account.
I've found though, that if I strap my mandolin case securely enough to the luggage rack on my old Panhead, I can save the expense of a ToneRite.

[Stephen Perry]

Hey, we have 4 motorcycles AND a music shop AND a grand piano. It's sort of sick. Anyone want to buy a motorcycle cheap?

[Al Trujillo]

My wife gave a pretty good fight when I asked to buy my first Harley...now she loves to ride with me and she insisted we buy a full dresser so now we have 2 Harleys.

If she loved my playing as much as she loves riding around our state, I might be able to buy another mandolin - No luck yet with that though.

I am trying to sell my Road King Classic...and I wish it was to fund a Weber Diamondback, but more than likely to pay for something she has her eyes on.

She's a great woman though and worth all the chrome I've bought for her in 34 years.

[Mandobart]

Harley owners know that “HD” stands for “hundred dollars “ . Every time they stop in a bike shop they have to buy more gear. You will need special boots and jackets as well as a few tattoos..
Maybe someone with graphic skills could show us a dedicated “Mandorider “ outfit.

I bought my '85 FXRS new over 30 years ago. Paid about $8k. For the first 15 years I owned her I could still sell her for equal to or more than I paid. HD's cost way too much new, but they hold their value and the aftermarket for parts is YUGE. No reason to ever go to a stealership. I did over 8 years active duty in the USN with no tattoos - even after I got my Harley. So now I'm about the only navy vet/Harley rider with no ink that I know. Done my own work on the bike all these years, so its probably the least expensive vehicle I have based on $/year.

[Mandobart]

Shovels are actually doing quite well these days and have risen in value.

My '39 knuck (motor) is rarer than hen's teeth...

I sure love them knuckleheads.....

[Ivan Kelsall]

From SixPants - "...and I'd truly and sincerely be done forever" Oh yeah !!!. I told myself that after i traded / bought my umpteenth electric guitar - ''this is the one''. It never was & i went on to trade / buy others. It was only after i started playing mandolin,that my desire for such instruments was replaced by a desire to 'actually play' the mandolin,instead of simply 'owning' elec.guitars = a massive difference. After all the elecs. i've had,my cat can play guitar better than me !.(not really,but you'll get my drift).

However - as in so much,we're all different. Some folks will settle on one instrument for life,other will want a dozen or more - so be it !.

I've often wondered if i could be satisfied with one single mandolin after having had 2 for around 7 years, & 3 for the last 3 years. I strongly suspect not. If i just owned my 'ultimate' mandolin,an Ellis F5,i'd really miss the sound of my Lebeda & Weber. I'm very lucky to own an Ellis "A" style,so
i'll settle for that + the other 2 (so i tell myself !). It is however,only my age which stops me from buying an Ellis F5. If i was 20 years younger,i'd be playing one,not talking about one !!,

Ivan

[Ron McMillan]

For the price of a single Monteleone or Gilchrist.....

[William Smith]

Could be worse and you could have a muscle/antique car fetish! I love old cars but sure love old mandolins more!

[Frankdolin]

WOW!!! I knew this site was great but so many bike people is bonus. I've got 4 HDs and a Triumph, all bought used except the Triumph, in my little garage which is one more than I have in mandolins. I need another mandolin. How much have I spent? Don't care. You only get one chance to live so enjoy what you can when you can and be happy.

[T.D.Nydn]

I have had friends that ain't coming back because of bike accidents,,so far,no tragic mandolin accidents yet...

[T.D.Nydn]

News update: " were sorry,but T.D. will not be performing tonight,as he lost 3 fingers in a bizarre and tragic mandolin accident"..

[Marc Berman]

20K won't get a full dresser, but will get a Road King with no extras. A full dresser will set you back about 33K.

Back in 1982 I paid $8,500 for my (new) FLH Classic

[Tobin]

Harleys are fun. I had a shovelhead and enjoyed it.

I never hunted but I did target shoot. That was fun too.

Both of these together left my hearing compromised and my lower back blown out.

I'm much happier playing music and I'm saving what's left of my hearing and my back for doing that.

Yeah, I wish I could go back in time about 20 years, smack myself upside the head, and give myself a serious speech about hearing protection. All those years of riding my shovelhead with drag pipes (no baffles), and shooting with minimal hearing protection (or no protection at all whilst hog hunting in the brush), have left me with reduced hearing and tinnitus. Now I take it seriously, and wear ear plugs for anything louder than normal conversation volume levels. I even wear ear plugs when playing my fiddle. Hearing loss sucks!

Selling both my Harleys (one was my wife's, actually) was not as difficult a choice as I thought it would be. Considering the number of deer I hit per year in my car while driving to work, I figured it was only a matter of time before I hit one on my scooter. And that's not the way I plan on dying. That, along with a number of other factors, gradually reduced my interest in riding to the point where I started to look at my bike as a potential mandolin.

I still have a rather large collection of vintage and antique firearms, though I don't shoot or hunt as often as I used to. It just seems like more trouble than it's worth, with all the cleaning and maintenance required. So now I'm starting to look at my gun collection as another source of future instrument investments. Hmmm.

Maybe once a year I get a little twinge of missing my motorcycle, and wanting to jump on it for a quick ride. Then I remember all the messy oil drips on the floor, ringing of the ears when I get off, the pain of catching a grasshopper to the face at 70 miles an hour, numbness from the vibration, and all the cost of owning and maintaining it. And it seems much more satisfying to go upstairs and play my Ellis mandolin.