Wow, thanks for the kind thought of the offer. Seriously, I know you mean it and I do appreciate it!
I am really having a hard time plunking down cash for an item unseen and untried, at least in the very cursory sense of hearing it run. No need to ride a new bike but I would like to see it to check for shipping damage as well as start it just for the quick check that 1) it starts- the odds are a million to one but I am just wary 2) It has all the obvious thing such as fobs, saddlebags, etc. and 3) really is what it is supposed to be. It is about $700 to ship a bike basically cross- country and if I was confident of NOT being surprised in some way, that is what I would do- buy it long distance and have it shipped. Of course I could travel (train or airplane) to the dealer, verify the bike and cement the deal and then fly back while shipping the bike but honestly by that time, I would have spent so much money on..... er, saving money that it would be pointless and foolish.
I plan on stopping by my local dealer one more time to see if I can nudge something loose: both the used '16 and new '20 are in contention with price being the last issue in the way. I doubt we can reach a deal but it is worth the shot, besides I absolutely despise hearing 'you should have said something, we could have worked on the price' after the deal has been cut somewhere else. In act, I always tell vendors to sharpen their pencil and make a 'best effort' now because we are moving forward on this and the only thing left in an open state is the choice of vendor.
At that point, I have several things I can choose from and they all come down to value vs. cost. There is a '19, new, about 300 miles from me that I can have for $12,500. Ted's deal in the best one in price at $11,800 for a '19 and is about 2,200 miles away. Also a new '18 for the same $12,500 about 800 miles away and I like the color better than the '19 and '20's. 2021 models are now on dealer's floors and of course they can be had at any time, they simply cost more. But those I can buy locally without any hassle, and the color is OK though not great- I really do like the color the '16's have.
If the 2022 is a beautiful color, Mr. Elkhoof is going to kick me all over the place- somehow, we have identical taste in colors. Well, actually everything if I am honest.
How's that gonna work?
Andrea hooks up the trailer and comes to rescue him?
If my legs weren't so short I'd pick up the bike for him and ride it to his son's house and he could trailer there
to pick it up and buy me a ticket on Spirit to get me home. But I'm not risking someone else's brand new bike without tip over protection
to my skinny stumpy legs.
Sometimes these first world problems are as tough to figure out as the third world problems.
Maybe if the dealer has one still in a crate it might be best to just ship it and let Brian do his own dealer prep. He is certainly qualified and would probably enjoy it.