So anyway...

[Sir_Osis_of_Liver]

It's been a while. Hope everyone is doing well.

[RRocket]

It's been a while. Hope everyone is doing well.

The King had returned!

Long live The King!!

[Sir_Osis_of_Liver]

 

[Firm]

Welcome back! Good to see another familiar name in here.

[GreatBigAbyss]

All Hail SOoL!!!

Welcome back.  We need a fleet update? Still have the GLI and the Duke?  Or has that all changed?

Also, it looks like your profile now says 'Moncton', and not 'Winnipeg'.  Or perhaps I'm thinking of someone else. 

[Sir_Osis_of_Liver]

Hey GBA. I'm the same guy.

Lots of changes the last few years.

GLI is gone, so is the Duke. I went carless for a few years because I just wasn't using it enough to justify keeping it. Good car though.

The Duke was replaced with a Moto Guzzi V85 Adventure. It's mellow and comfortable and I like it a lot more than I frankly expected.

Mum and Dad have had health challenges, so I sold the condo in Winnipeg and moved back to Moncton to look after them. I still work remotely on Winnipeg stuff.

Since I was going to need wheels again, I got a used Touareg TDI. It's in great shape, works well and gets decent mileage. I wasn't planning on keeping it though, because I wanted an EV.

And I ended up with a Lightning. Haven't had a pickup since my '86 F150 work truck. It's crazy roomy inside and  Way quicker than a pickup needs to be. I like it. It takes a bit of thought when crossing the province, but there are sufficient chargers, it's not a big deal. The app helps with route planning.

My intention was to get an Ioniq5, ID4 or Mach-E. But Ford was blowing out the Lightning and the lease ended up far less than for those three.

But I can't bring myself to sell the Touareg, so for now I have both.

I'm glad Rrocket got in touch. I've been wondering how you guys are doing.

[GreatBigAbyss]

Thanks for the update. 

Far, far better riding roads out in NB than in Manitoba, eh?  My family still all live near Saint John, and everytime I visit I enjoy driving out there.  The B-Roads out by the coast and through the river valleys are fantastic.

[Sir_Osis_of_Liver]

Yeah, there's a route that I've settled on for Saturday morning rides that goes down to the Hopewell rocks then back through to Salisbury before looping back along Lutz Mountain and home.

Lots of nice views and a dirt section just to spice it up. No traffic either.

I used to ride up to Gimli from Winnipeg on secondary roads on Saturdays. Along the lake was quite nice.

[Bridgecity]

Welcome back Sir O, great to see you here.

[dkazzed]

Welcome back Sir O! Congrats on the rides. If you have the room the hold on to it, why not?

I don't know about Ioniq 5 or ID.4 but some of the Mach-E deals I've been seeing lately have been so tempting if we needed a second car, or I want a RWD fun car. The Lightning is a great truck though, a shame they've pulled the plug. Given that buyout value = market value, are you leaning towards returning it or buying it out at the end of the lease?

[Sir_Osis_of_Liver]

Thanks fellas

I leased it because the tech is changing fast enough that I wasn't sure how quickly it would be obsoleted. The subvented lease didn't hurt either.

I like it and have done some trips across the province a few times, even in cold weather. It's worked out pretty well.
It gets the equivalent of 3L/100ms, at least in decent weather.

I might buy it out or keep it. Not sure, really.

[Johnnymac]

Hey welcome back fine sir and welcome to NB.  Wish it was under better circumstances but good to have a fellow car nut close by.

May I ask why you desired an EV, just because of curiosity or was there another motivator?

So the switch from a naked sport bike in the Duke to an adventure bike seems like another pretty big change, were you craving some rides off the beaten path?

[Sir_Osis_of_Liver]

Hey Johnny. Glad to be here.

Oh, I wanted to try something different, mainly. I had my doubts, and didn't really need anything that large, but only a couple blocks into the test drive I was fairly sold. So quiet, quick and comfortable. I didn't expect it at all. 

The Duke was a lot of fun for tossing around, but out on the Prairies it wasn't in its element.

I've done a lot of riding around on the V85 between Regina and Winnipeg, and up into the Interlake. The 23L tank, cruise control, decent wind protection and supportive seat made it a lot nicer without feeling beat up afterwards.

   

[RRocket]

The Duke was a lot of fun for tossing around,
.

   

Tossing around or being tossed aground? LOL 😆