I feel the same. I used to chop and change bikes every year or so as there was always something that wasn't quite right, too small and cramped, misses didn't like the pillion perch, not enough power, too much power.....But the Gen1 it seems to tick all the boxes and I've never found a valid reason to change it over the past 7 years. The only criticism I can level at it is it lacks a bit of character but that's subjective and once I'm cranked over with the needle heading towards the red line it's forgotten.
If I had to choose an alternative I honestly don't know what I would end up with. New bikes seem to be getting physically smaller whilst people are getting physically larger, so they aren't as practical and people of larger builds look silly on them, so that kind of leaves me with a 'tall-rounder'. But then we get into the willy waving which has seen manufacturers having to come up with bikes that have stupid amounts of power that then have to be coupled with rider safety aids to make them rideable. No doubt these bikes are fun to ride but it's an extra level of technology to go wrong and I honestly prefer the simplicity of the Gen1, if something goes wrong I can generally diagnose and fix it myself which can be satisfying, with one of these new techno laden bikes I wouldn't know where to start. I also think these safety aids are deskilling riders, I imagine that it could prove dangerous for someone brought up with ABS, Traction Control, Low Power Modes etc. to ride a 130bhp+ bike that didn't have these, and frankly I'd rather put my faith in my own riding abilities than someone else's programming abilities and computer hardware. Not sure where that leaves me to be honest, I think I'll go and pat my Gen1 - she's not going anywhere soon.
If I had to choose an alternative I honestly don't know what I would end up with. New bikes seem to be getting physically smaller whilst people are getting physically larger, so they aren't as practical and people of larger builds look silly on them, so that kind of leaves me with a 'tall-rounder'. But then we get into the willy waving which has seen manufacturers having to come up with bikes that have stupid amounts of power that then have to be coupled with rider safety aids to make them rideable. No doubt these bikes are fun to ride but it's an extra level of technology to go wrong and I honestly prefer the simplicity of the Gen1, if something goes wrong I can generally diagnose and fix it myself which can be satisfying, with one of these new techno laden bikes I wouldn't know where to start. I also think these safety aids are deskilling riders, I imagine that it could prove dangerous for someone brought up with ABS, Traction Control, Low Power Modes etc. to ride a 130bhp+ bike that didn't have these, and frankly I'd rather put my faith in my own riding abilities than someone else's programming abilities and computer hardware. Not sure where that leaves me to be honest, I think I'll go and pat my Gen1 - she's not going anywhere soon.