Post Purchase: Personalization or Education?

One of the most controversial topics among new bike owners is the decision of either taking a personalization approach to make their bike unique to them, or, a more educational angle and learn about how their new bike responds and wants to be ridden.

For some, it is all about exploiting the absolute performance potential right out of the box and the first thing they do after parking it in the garage the first time, tire nubs still intact, is to start shopping for that light weight exhaust system. On top of that of course comes some sort of fuel management system whether it be a programmer, chip or full dyno tune.

Others will argue that performance is secondary and that setting the suspension up to suit their weight and particular riding style is priority #1. To them, the idea of the bike responding to their body demographics as well as it can makes the most logic so a suspension specialist is the first who they call.

Maybe you haven’t ridden in several years and feel as though the tired looking black leathers, now brown that you used to wear with your mid ‘90’s Concours, aren’t going to cut it with the modern lines of your new Trophy. To increase that new bike feeling even more, it is hard to beat the feeling of unbroken-in riding gear. For the stylish minded rider, it also gives them the chance to color match the gear to their bikes style.

Another common decision for new owners is to enter into a class that assists them on how to best handle their bike and really get a feel for it before they enter into mayhem. There is nothing like riding your motorcycle with the confidence of knowing how it's going to respond to different situations and how you the rider should react to them.

For one who really wants to personalize the appearance of their bike, it may involve changing the graphics, paint color, mirror style to rim choice. This is often a decision that is best left to some valuable consideration as the said changes may or may not affect the resale value or desirability of the bike.

These are a few examples of the commonly found decisions that new owners will make after purchasing their bike. 

What decisions do you make after you get your new bike home?