I LOVE the pic G-benz, I have a motorcycle forum that would dig it too...
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www.twowheeltouring.net if you need another forum =)
Thats what kills me. I enjoy working on the bike as much as I enjoy riding it. Same would be the case with a convertible I'd imagine (Father in law has a '68 MGB-GT 5-speed thats waiting for love in his garage...okay, the GT isnt a convertible but...)
if I gave up on bike for a convertible, I'd just put the same time into the convertible - clean up things, small modifications (more time than money...) they are both machines which do roughtly the same function (but I can commute year round in a Miata)
Softtops fit into a cateogry of other things I'd like to get into - RC cars/airplanes, making electronic music, PLC's/small uP projects, RF junk/Ham radio... - all of these could conume all my free time/money if I wanted, but I forgo them so that I dont have mountains of crap around my house- right now the interests are a 240D and 2 bikes.
Found a '73 450SL on craigslist (phialdelphia - where my brother lives) for $6700 the otherday. and got me thinking... I wouldnt give up any of my fun machines for my family, but if I can shift some around...(swap a 5cyl into the 240D and still have something to commute with...
-John