FZ1inTX

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I thought that moving to Texas would afford me more riding time. I thought the weather change from NH would entice me to be out on the bike more. I thought, since I'd bought a brand-new home, I'd have nothing but time on my hands with no projects to do. I was wrong in so many ways... on too many counts. Don't get me wrong... I'm not regretting the move at all, in fact, I believe it was still the best move we've ever made but after getting here, our lives changed in ways we hadn't imagined. Sure, the house is huge, beautiful, the neighborhood is awesome, the people are friendly and life here is much more relaxing and a LOT less stressful not having to worry about snow and all the labor that goes with it. The problem is mostly me. The problem IS the new house and its location, not because of the neighbors (I said they are great!) but because it has no space, because there are no projects... I found myself utterly bored and lost without having a space to create and build like I had in NH. So, we set out to fix that.... in a big way.

We decided to look for a space we could spread out and build that retirement home, you know, a place where you always felt like you were on vacation, a space where you can do what you want, when you want. We looked over several parcels in rural areas. We found the one we were looking for but after getting there and walking all 18 acres, Michele looked at the plots and wanted to view the 27 acres next to it. So, we drove and walked that property and put an offer in on the spot... and the owner (we went to the source!) took the offer, on the spot. a couple months later, we are land owners. The plan is to pay it off in 10 years and over the next 5 - 8 years, pay out of pocket to put in the driveway, huge garage and a finished shell of a big ranch house. Once that is ready, we will sell this house and use the proceeds to expedite finishing the whole interior of the new house. Because it is over 5 acres, the property is AG exempt. That means we only pay 10% of the tax value regardless of what that value is so long as we remain AG exempt which will be easy enough. Currently, just the 27 acres is $52.00 a year, or 10% of $520 per year. Liking this! Building here is a ton cheaper. A lot of barns and garages are metal buildings. I can put up a 36'x48' garage with a slab for under $24k if I did nothing, less if I do the site-work myself.

Thus, the reason we have no riding time.... I ended up trading in the 4Runner for a Tundra for towing capacity and the truck bed which a rancher must have. Apparently, the Trail Edition 4Runner isn't common here in Texas so the dealer was drooling over it. I only paid $34k for it two years ago... they gave me $32k trade. Two years use for $2k? Nice.... :D I owed $24k so that gave me $8k to put down on the Tundra. That 5.7 liter is a beast of an engine! But it does have a drinking problem and I'm ok with that... I did not buy it for economical use (Same as any FZ1).

Now, Rancher Randall needs a farm tractor... and he is a bit giddy over it. Who doesn't want to own property with an open license to do what you want while owning a tractor with a loader and a backhoe (TLB)? So, I've been comparing, reading reviews, looking at warranties, watching tons of Youtube from both owners and dealers on models so I'm well informed about use, load capacity, attachment options, maintenance intervals and what dealer will be treating us right not only on the deal but service should it become a 5,000 lb immobile object in the middle of 27 acres in the countryside of Texas. We're close to making a decision and John Deere is already ruled out. JD isn't tough enough in the class tractor I'm looking at and certainly not capable in load capacity. I'm tossing them over the Kubota, Kioti and Mahindra but Branson and Massey Ferguson could still be in the mix. They are all quite pricey for a TLB but I'll admit, I'm anxious to go move earth and dig holes.

For 27 acres, there's not a lot of trees. We have three large ones we intend to keep. EVERYTHING else is what we in New England would call a bush. There's a lot of Honey Mesquite, I mean, I will NEVER have to buy Mesquite to smoke meats with.... ever! We've been clearing the property lines to prepare for fences (In Texas, EVERY property is surrounded with fence by choice). and clearing the area where the driveway will cut through to where we will put up the new home. It was just this past weekend when I had a face-to-face meeting with my first rattlesnake. I'm happy to say that he did not like the chainsaw and left rather than try and fight me. When he turned to leave, I went the other direction.

We've also decided to let the kids each lease 2 acres each from us for $1 annual rent. So far, two of the three intend to build a home out there. The third one would love to but his S.O. doesn't want to be so far from her family so my Son is unable to come for now... maybe later... I understand.

So now you can see why I might throw in the towel, just let the bike become owned by someone who can put the miles on it. On the other hand, I own them all outright and it's only space they occupy, not a financial burden, so it also makes sense to keep them and get that occasional itch scratched and go ride. I will still have a small dirt bike, the grandkids will have a 50cc dirtbike, and we will be getting an ATV with the money from selling the 2007 FZ1. I'll have a lot of options to scratch with. Also, I work almost exclusively from home so I'm no longer using the bike to commute with.

What would ya'll do? Keep? Sell and buy something later? Sell and build a monster track around the property for a 450cc dirtbike? :D
 
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Sounds like you're got a lot going on over there.
Good luck with all your plans Eric.
I'd definitely keep the bike, it's not like it's worth a lot of money and can be great for getting away for a few hours to clear your head if you feel the need.


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I'd build a track on that property and race the FZ around it. Put a dirt track on the inside of it and have some fun!

But in all seriousness Good luck and enjoy that block of land. I know I would never sell my bike, I do have weeks at a time now where I don't get the chance to get out, and then I just ride it to work to scratch that itch and I love it. Getting a morning run into the hills is awesome. I can see both sides, but I personally would find it very difficult to sell my bike.
 
John is right... the bikes aren't worth a ton of money and I'd have to pay more to replace one unless I buy used later. I think I'm going to get the driveway in, get the big new Busted Knuckle Garage erected and move all my workshop and the bikes up there. So, the garage will be the priority. One of the covenants is we cannot put up a garage/barn with a living space in it and we can only RV/Camper on it for 9 months while building a home. Otherwise, I'd build the garage with a basic apartment in it and stay there on weekends to work on the property. When I build, it has to be a minimum 1000 sq ft living space... no problem there as I'm shooting for almost 3 times that. The best thing is being out in the county, once inside my fence, there are no permit requirements, just build whatever I want. While I'd love to put in a race track for the FZ1, I can't imagine what the cost would be to pave it.... good thought though!

This is the property and the three darker spots are my only "trees". To the left of center, you can see a drainage ditch that runs through the property with a depression in the middle. We intend to dig out that depression to about 15' deep and let it naturally fill with water to make a large pond. I'm going to put a cement column in the center with a PVC pipe to create a fountain to keep the water agitated. A few fish to control the bugs... All of this easy to do when you own the right equipment.

The other pic is the gates we had put in and you can see all the small honey mesquite we have back there.
 

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I'd vote for keep! They're already paid for and the FZ has been customized just how you like it. You just never know when the urge to ride will come your way.

Good luck
 
Can you tent camp on the property after the Garage is built?

Nope. But, the covenants don't have any governing body to enforce them. These are honor-based. No HOA at all. So, who's to know if we put a tent inside the garage and "accidentally" fell asleep on any given weekend? Honestly, I doubt anyone would say anything about an occasional stay so long as we didn't keep anything set up there. Once the house shell is up, then there's no issue regardless of the interior finish. If I can cook, use a toilet, shower and sleep, I can finish the interior as fast or slow as I want. We're going with a steel frame for the house so there will be no structural walls inside. That means we can tear them down and change the layout should we ever decide to so long as the room doesn't require plumbing. Ultimate goal is retirement with nothing left for loans. Right now, 100% achievable!
 
Where will you put the Tornado shelter?

LOL! We're not in that alley. Too far south. Lampasas County has had 13 tornadoes since 1951 resulting in zero deaths. Williamson has had 62 with 29 deaths in that same time frame. I moved here from Strafford County, NH. There, the count in the same time frame is 29 tornadoes with one death. So, It appears I'm safer moving to the new property than where I am now or where I moved from in NH. :D

Prior to NH, it was Penobscot County, ME(Where I was born and raised). 12 tornadoes and no deaths in that time frame. This is like moving back to my roots 'cept I don't have to shovel ANY snow. ;)
 
I have to say I don't regret selling my gen1 after I bought my new house over a year ago. I was tired of it, and wanted something different. Take your favorite bits off the bike. Put a rather high price on it. If it sells it sells. You can focus on your new property and down the road buy a new project like I did.


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I have to say I don't regret selling my gen1 after I bought my new house over a year ago. I was tired of it, and wanted something different. Take your favorite bits off the bike. Put a rather high price on it. If it sells it sells. You can focus on your new property and down the road buy a new project like I did.


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If I sold it, I'd sell as-is/modded because I doubt I'd by another FZ1 and I don't have all the OEM parts to put it back to stock. Of course, I could sell bits with an OEM trade included... Those bits would be the Ivan's flashed ECU (with PCV and map) and the Penske 8983 shock. The rest of the stuff I do have OEM... complete exhaust, EXUP cables and servo, AIS, windscreen, signals, fender...

If I was to buy a new bike right now, it is a toss-up between the FZ-10 and the BMW S1000R. But by the time I might buy a bike down the road? Who knows what would be available, what would give me that WOW factor?
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Yeah those are both bikes I would like to eventually own. Sadly student loans and a new truck still required me to buy a used cheaper bike


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We're waiting to hear back on financing for one just like this. 2017 Mahindra 2538 with the loader, backhoe, 6' shredder and pallet forks, all loaded on a 20' Load Trail car/equipment hauler. 4WD, hydro-static drive, 37.4 HP diesel (no DPF) (31 HP PTO), 1,634 lb lift capacity...

We're going to put the bikes up for sale and take a ride once in a while until they sell. I'll be asking fair price but not giving them away and if they don't sell, so be it. But, I think we will have more fun on this beast for quite some time! It's more tractor than I had set out to buy but this one will get all the work done quicker with less effort. The dealer made a good case to spend a little more to get a lot more in return. I have made friends with a new neighbor and he is selling the PTO post auger with 4 bits ranging from 6" to 10".

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Hmm, I see that you have lost interest in riding basically. This can happen to many including new parents who just had a baby or found different passions. You may come back to riding but at your age you may not. Enjoy what you love to do and passions can shift. So in a few years you might find something else more interesting.
 
Hmm, I see that you have lost interest in riding basically. This can happen to many including new parents who just had a baby or found different passions. You may come back to riding but at your age you may not. Enjoy what you love to do and passions can shift. So in a few years you might find something else more interesting.

While I may not ride street, we still have two small dirt bikes and I'll be picking up an ATV to haul stuff around and maintain the fence lines. Later, I may pick up a nice dual-sport that I can use on the ranch but also take out on the road. For now, I'm just not into the street bike any longer. Here, it is either raining, too hot or (most likely) we have other things to do. ;) But I'll always be up on two-wheels, count on it! :D

I just got the call and the tractor is approved and ordered. 2 - 3 weeks and I'll be digging!
 
Any pipeline on the land? It's probably worth a call to 811. It's free after all.

Nice tractor BTW.

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None that we're aware of but we will be calling them regardless of what the seller said. I don't want to be responsible for breaking any sort of lines, pipes, etc... Waiting on a quote for the first 100' of driveway. But, I may just get it done myself. I have to call TX DOT and see if they have a clearer drawing than the one attached to the permit and get a few questions answered.

Been following this company on FB, The Building Store... Here's what they said about this one, "It is 24x40x14 with a 12x12 & (2)10x8's, a walk in door and a window for $12,685.00. That includes installation but does not include concrete or sales tax." I got my AG exempt status so I won't have to pay sales tax... I will be able to do the site work so I'll only need a crew to pour and finish the floor.
 

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