When is enough farkle enough?

For most riders the farkle (motorcycle accessories and bling) starts to appear the day you buy your new motorcycle and doesn’t stop until it’s sold or crashed.

So the answer to the question in this article’s heading is “never”!

Diminishing returns

However, there is a law of diminishing returns on any motorcycle accessories.

So it makes sense to stop “investing” in your bike before the cost of the accessories outweighs the return in increased value.

Unfortunately, if you take that practical financial view, you would never add anything to your bike.

Accessories simply don’t add any value to your bike, or at least, not the equivalent value you paid for the accessories.

At best, accessories only make your bike a little easier to sell when it comes time to part with it.

Although, if the accessories or modifications are “quirky” – like flame paint or a girlie pinup on the tank – then it could actually reduce the value of your bike or reduce its potential market and make it more difficult to sell.

Intrinsic value

Instead of viewing farkle as adding value to your motorcycle, you should simply view it as increasing your pleasure.

It may make you more comfortable, increase your pleasure of the bike or just provide you with some status.

In which case, it’s an intrinsic value and not a monetary value.

So you can go on adding farkle until you burst, if you like.

Reaching the limits

However, I recently reached the farkling limits on my 2006 Ducati GT1000.

I changed the gearing, suspension, tyres, mirrors and steel spoked wheels for carbon fibre models, plus added a few other carbon fibre bits and pieces.

Now it rides well, looks great and I simply don’t need nor want to change anything else.

Even the ageing brake and clutch controls and reservoirs have a nice patina about them I want to keep rather than replacing with shiny new farkling.

You would think that would be a very happy place to be.

However, it means I have no reason to go into motorcycle shops or browse online.

And that’s a bit sad.

So when I “happened upon” the Houston Superbike website again, it was only a few minutes later that I was receiving a confirmation email to say that my carbon fibre rear hugger was on its way …