I used to be on UT Austin's Collegiate Archery Team- a long time ago. I never shoot Target Archery anymore. Recurve Bows. I was a competitive Swimmer. I never compete anymore, but I swim workouts 3 morning a week before I go to work. Every now and then, I still Sail, and sail Catamarns- that I was a very avid sailor/racer for many years. Every now and then, I still Scuba dive. I still ride motorcycles- now street, Superbikes. I started riding track on a dedicated Track bike 6 yrs ago- and still do. I'm now 66 y/o.
Remote control cars and planes are the two that have really gripped me and then slipped away at different points in my life. I also grew up spending weekends at a hunting camp and was crazy about deer hunting as a kid. We usually had at least 30 doe tags left at the end of the year anyway, so I could shoot just about as many as I wanted and we'd donate them. I had so much practice that I can still gut a dear in 10 minutes without getting a drop of blood on me. I haven't had any joy in taking a life or shooting a gun in a decade and now that I live there full-time, I just enjoy seeing them while walking around the property.
Stuff is way more enjoyable when you have some solid guys around you that are into the same thing. We all went all in for 3 years, fr endurance, sprints, and Moto A. Then slowly just got burned out. That's the suck when it comes to hobbies. Now watching my kids perform. I can do that all day, everyday. Pride in your kids is a hobby that never dies.
A recurve it was got me into targets and hunting decades ago. I quickly shifted to a compound, however. I chuckle when I think of how primitive my first compound was, a PSE Phaser back in the 80s. After a brief stint with that bow, I upgraded to a Hoyt. I continued to only shoot Hoyts until I eventually stopped hunting and shooting targets. I had many Hoyts over the years, and loved them.
So if they do sit as an unused toy? So what? Maybe you eventually decide it just doesn't do it anymore and you resell the kart for, at worst, a small loss? Or maybe you love it all over again and it's what scratches that itch when bikes are no longer practical? All I see is win/win. Best case it works out exactly as you hoped. Worst case, it doesn't, you only lose a few dollars but now you can move on knowing the answer, which to me is still worth it. Just my 2 cents.
Sadly for me it’s shooting guns. Growing up in TX I was shooting from damn near the time I could walk, had my first rifle at 12. I’d pack a lunch and canteen of water and spend all day hunting rabbits on the vast expanse of the Panhandle prairie behind my house. As a young adult I was paid to shoot at things, and after that continued to enjoy shooting all types of guns recreationally for many years. I still own lots of guns and I’m an ardent supporter of the Second Amendment, but I just don’t get excited about sending rounds downrange anymore.
Grew up hunting with my dad. We still go out sometimes but I enjoy the time with him and my brother. The thrill of the hunt just isn't there. Sitting in a tree and waiting. No thanks. Kinda the same for fishing.
As a youngin' I chased a professional driving career. I got as far as being eligible to apply for a FIA license and try out for a junior formula team. Karts and cars were intertwined in this pursuit. In the end it fell through; couldn't get all the money together. In retrospect it was the right thing to happen. The other "kids" I'd be racing against were virtuosos. They were groomed, or came from, racing dynasties. In comparison I was a dude playing drums on Home Depot buckets on a New York street corner. I would have learned an expensive and (more) disappointing lesson had I continued, but it deflated my enthusiasm for both. As for your dilemma, if you want my suggestion, I'd say buy a lightly used DD2 kart. They're easier to set up, the rotax engine is reliable, and they can be raced. And if you buy used, like @redtailracing said, you could always sell it if you don't use it.
This describes it to me rather well. I miss the days of hunting with my Dad (RIP), but he mostly just went along and helped me carry my stuff, drove to the spots, etc. He hunted a lot as a kid & young adult himself, so his fun was watching his son do the same. Neither of my boys showed any interest in hunting, and that's just fine by me. Even when I was really into hunting, there were times when I simply enjoyed sitting in my treestand and watching the birds, squirrels, etc. Now, if I'm watching wildlife, I'll do so from the comfort of my patio chair with an Old Fashioned in one hand and a snack in the other.
I'm not joking when I say I've never seen another group of athletes flop like soccer players. That flick of the ear is a perfect example. And there are thousands more; just search soccer flops on the YouTubes and you'll be watching for a long time.
Growing up with Salvadoran stepbrothers, I am astounded at the overall pussification of the foot game of the colonized, compared to how we played down there.
Something I learned early in adulthood/late in childhood: Too many hobbies = no hobbies. Too few hobbies = no hobbies. My older brother has a hobby scale: A) What I love to do the most. B) What I love to do when I'm not doing "A". C) What I only do if I can't do "A" or "B". D) What I never do. Then there is doing hobbies hard enough to turn them into life sucking careers, yeah, that never happens...
Pretty much the same for me, I only like racing. I agree I agree with these guys, however I am a bad example, since mine sat. I have sprint raced karts two different times. Once with KT100 pipe class and the second time with the KT100 3 hole/4 hole class. Each time lasted around 3 years. Then I quit racing and went through all of Tyler's racing with him and he moved on to college. I decided I wanted to try something fast before I died and bought a 250 superkart. Then some big changes at work, I couldn't get away as easy as before. Plus both kids were in college. So we were spending around $20-30K per kid, per year, after scholarships and grants, which hurt the disposable income, bla bla bla. So it has sat on a shelf in my warehouse.....kinda like a certain KX65 right @SuddenBraking Anyway I went to try a couple years ago and there is very little participation on the 250 Superkarts around here. The last 2-3 races that were proposed for Laguna Seca and Sears Point have been cancelled, since they can't get the participation to afford track rental. As a novice, I'm not willing to haul to the midwest or east coast to try it out. I need to try, fail, adjust, learn, and make changes closer to home, without the extra hassle of driving all across the county, like I was a pro chasing nationals. Hence buying a Ninja 400 last fall. I believe I'm about ready to go buy some suspension for the Ninja. At least there are 3 organizations I can race with in California.
