Group therapy Obsessive Compulsive M/C Hoarding disorder. (And anything else)

[firko]

A) Even if I lived to 150 years old, I was never going to finish all o the projects I had;
B) Despite my best efforts, stuff was deteriorating;
C) I was sick and tired of tripping over stuff;
D) The effort of keeping track of it all was really quite draining;
E) There was a hell of a lot of money tied up in all of these unfinished projects;
F) These unfinished projects were draining a lot of my income, which stopped me doing stuff that I wanted to do;
G) There was no way I could use all of them anyhow (I owned seven Pre-75 250s and five Pre-78 125s at once, for example...).
H) I was basically turning into my mother-in-law...

I can readily identify with all of these except H . 'B' really came to my attention when I took the cover off my perfectly restored DT1 that had been on the cover of OBA and had done the full show circuit on the Yamaha Australia stand to help celebrate Yamaha's 50th birthday back in 2005. I've never ridden the bike and it was in ship shape nick when I covered it with a proper bike cover a few years ago. When I recently uncovered it I couldn't believe how much it had deteriorated, the chrome has gone dull, alloy had oxidised, paint has lost its lustre and the bike in general looked a bit ordinary. When my beloved 350 Maico was parked under a similar cover in the garden shed after it shit a big end at HBBB a couple of years ago it was in nice 'as raced' shape. However, after two years in hibernation much of the rubber has deteriorated, surface rust has started growing where paint had been chipped/scraped and the engine outer cases had oxidised to the point that my favourite bike now looks like a real piece of shit. The downfall of these bikes has prompted me to reassess just what I want to do with my bike stash. I have a mate wanting the DT1 so he may just get it in the near future and I think its time to get the Maico up and race ready again. I really don't want to have any more Garage Queens that self destruct without even moving. The Boyd and Stellings TM400 has been sold and the  Hindall Ducati, which was fast turning to crap as well, its nickel frame is looking pretty dull and the engine is sitting in pieces in a recycle bin will now be prepared for next years Nats and the pre 65 250 class. Engine builder to the stars, Frank Stanborough will get the motor sometime this week.

From here on in a bike has to earn its keep. That doesn't mean I'm having a fire sale to get rid of the unridden, it means that more of them will see race track action than in the past. Even my dear old Jag which hasn't been driven in months will get a new exhaust system and seriously overdue brake overhaul and will be used more regularly. 

[TM BILL]

After a while, I realised that:
A) Even if I lived to 150 years old, I was never going to finish all o the projects I had;
B) Despite my best efforts, stuff was deteriorating;
C) I was sick and tired of tripping over stuff;
D) The effort of keeping track of it all was really quite draining;
E) There was a hell of a lot of money tied up in all of these unfinished projects;
F) These unfinished projects were draining a lot of my income, which stopped me doing stuff that I wanted to do;
G) There was no way I could use all of them anyhow (I owned seven Pre-75 250s and five Pre-78 125s at once, for example...).
H) I was basically turning into my mother-in-law...

I had all of the excuses, of course: "If I sell this, I'll never find another one", "I bought it to save it", "I always wanted one of these", "The old stuff is cooler", etc etc, but something had to give - so I started selling stuff - some of it was just junk, some of it definitely wasn't...
My wife even objected: "You will never find another one", and stuff like that.

But you know what? Having less "stuff" is a huge relief, and I haven't regretted a single sale.
There's still a long way to go, and the juiciest fruit has already gone, so progress is slower and more difficult, but I can live with that.
We're ahead on the mortgage, I've been able to afford two brand new bikes since 2011, I have more time to spend with the family, the Wife is happier, the kids have more space, I've got a lot more financial flexibility, the neighbours are happier, and because of all of this, I get to ride more often.

I never considered myself mentally ill, but my mental health has definitely improved since I have recognised that my collection was simply cluttering up my life.

Nathan has summed up how i feel ATM 

A absolutely

B Definetly

C Not an issue ATM (but im always moving stuff around and i have enough plastic stacka bin to build a temporary shelter )

D Yep

E Probably but i dont want to think about it

F Used to but ATM its all on hold

G Multiples of my favorites in different stages of broken

H I am turning into Nathan 

Other people visit and although i have way less than i used to they still think its really cool  they don't know the reality of it 

A mate who is currently going through the purging process (albeit on a smaller scale ) said to me " Our problem is we have been collecting for years and so the volume creeps up on you . If someone brought all this around on a couple of trucks in one day , you would say fork off thats way too much"

The same bloke reiterated what Nathan said that as hes reducing the clutter he is enjoying what he has a lot more .

As with most things it comes down to coin , 5 yrs ago i had a lot more expendable income so buying parts and paying for outwork was easy , but now i have to think about what im spending more .

 

 



 

[YZ250H]

H I am turning into Nathan 

You should start to REALLY worry at this point Bill 

[jimson]

G,day viewers just like to add my 10 cents. I,m a hoarder of everything. I have built my own furniture from scrap wood I also have my eyes out all the time for anything. I put it down to not having a good cash flow most of everything I have is from a situation of someone not wanting it or a tip find. My wages are pathetic and I work three different jobs. But I live in a real nice coastal area so I take the good with the bad. All of my bikes were non runners when I,ve picked them up and some take a longe time to see the light of day. Who cares if I finish them or not before I die my son will deal with it then. Jimson

[crash n bern]

I spent a short time living in a trendy inner city suburb. The council collection week nearly drove me out of my mind. I couldn't believe the amount of what looked to be good lawnmowers on the nature strip. Probably nothing wrong with them that a new plug wouldn't fix. Being a well to do area it was probably easier for them to just buy a new mower. I saw three in one street alone, took every bit of control not to go into the used mower hoarding business.

[Mick D]

Yes a few years ago I couldn't believe it when I saw a top end, high capacity "Made in Germany" "Weed Eater" whipper-sipper on the nature strip. Took it home, cleaned the tank and carby out, put a new plug in it. Years later, still hasn't missed a beat, leaves my six previous anti-Christs for dead. Thank fug the world is full of useless Dumb C***s I reckon.

Even found a 84 600 Yammie out there with its engine in a basket once, stuck it straight on ebay, pulled $375.

I have mixed feelings about them cancelling the clean-ups in our area :'(

[Ted]

They stopped them to get you off the street Mick

[Mick D]

They stopped them to get you off the street Mick

Hey Ted, got something to keep you of the streets, Pete(Yamaico) could do with some Tenacious help in regards his B40.
You de Man, no doubting that

I heard a whisper once,,,doesn't matter till you on the podium

[Rookie#1]

Oh, and...
If it really is about "saving" something, then drag it home and advertise it straight away. Most of us will know someone who could actually use it - a quick phone call or an ad on OzVMX will usually find it a deserving home without you needing to drag more shit home.
Alternatively, saving it can mean that you fix it and then fork it off to a new home.

A lot of the time, I found that owning it scratched my itch. Surprisingly often, what I was really buying was just the opportunity to ride a particular bike. The ownership is important, but only in regard to being able to take full responsibility for it - to set it up how you want, to not have to worry about damaging someone else's bike, etc. This doesn't mean that you need to own it forever.

Projects are important for most of us. I can't imagine a time when I don't have a project in the shed - I'm not advocating that sterile shed where every bike is under a sheet, ready to go. But having twenty five unstarted/half finished projects messes with your head. I've one active bike project, two "waiting in the wings" projects and another two or three "could become a project bike if I want to" projects ATM - and if I'm honest, that's too many.

And here pretty much exactly sums up Dave Alsop, so why is it that he's persecuted to almost a criminal level when does so?? 

[mainline]

Oh, and...
If it really is about "saving" something, then drag it home and advertise it straight away. Most of us will know someone who could actually use it - a quick phone call or an ad on OzVMX will usually find it a deserving home without you needing to drag more shit home.
Alternatively, saving it can mean that you fix it and then fork it off to a new home.

A lot of the time, I found that owning it scratched my itch. Surprisingly often, what I was really buying was just the opportunity to ride a particular bike. The ownership is important, but only in regard to being able to take full responsibility for it - to set it up how you want, to not have to worry about damaging someone else's bike, etc. This doesn't mean that you need to own it forever.

Projects are important for most of us. I can't imagine a time when I don't have a project in the shed - I'm not advocating that sterile shed where every bike is under a sheet, ready to go. But having twenty five unstarted/half finished projects messes with your head. I've one active bike project, two "waiting in the wings" projects and another two or three "could become a project bike if I want to" projects ATM - and if I'm honest, that's too many.

And here pretty much exactly sums up Dave Alsop, so why is it that he's persecuted to almost a criminal level when does so?? 

I don't bloody think so.

I recently sold a project for which I've been collecting parts for about 4yrs. Due to other circumstances it had to go, but I'm not happy about it. Your mate buys and sells stuff on a weekly basis. I've mentioned why his behaviour gives me the shits on another thread. If he hasn't already deleted it you can read it there.

[09.0]

Oh, and...
If it really is about "saving" something, then drag it home and advertise it straight away. Most of us will know someone who could actually use it - a quick phone call or an ad on OzVMX will usually find it a deserving home without you needing to drag more shit home.
Alternatively, saving it can mean that you fix it and then fork it off to a new home.

A lot of the time, I found that owning it scratched my itch. Surprisingly often, what I was really buying was just the opportunity to ride a particular bike. The ownership is important, but only in regard to being able to take full responsibility for it - to set it up how you want, to not have to worry about damaging someone else's bike, etc. This doesn't mean that you need to own it forever.

Projects are important for most of us. I can't imagine a time when I don't have a project in the shed - I'm not advocating that sterile shed where every bike is under a sheet, ready to go. But having twenty five unstarted/half finished projects messes with your head. I've one active bike project, two "waiting in the wings" projects and another two or three "could become a project bike if I want to" projects ATM - and if I'm honest, that's too many.

And here pretty much exactly sums up Dave Alsop, so why is it that he's persecuted to almost a criminal level when does so?? 

Well since you made the mistake of asking,its because he is a liar and a thief to start with. His low intelligence gets him caught out at every corner.
Specifically, in here, he insults our intelligence with his next keeper ( his words). Puts it up here, gets valuable info from other forum members then promptly sells the " keeper" and deletes the thread along with all info.
He uses low tactics to purchase bikes that would not normally have been sold except for his buying techniques. For eg, my dead brother used to race one back in the day, I want to buy it for my poor son who has certain issues or other forms of pulling on a guys heart strings to which the bike is sold to him and promptly sold on for a profit.
Even more specifically I have had a bike he wanted from me that he always wanted, with a big spiel as to why he wanted it and how he was going to race it blah blah. Then promptly sold the bike. Don't care that he on sold it but why the fuc k would he tell me a load of bull shit in the lead up. An insult to my intelligence.
Even more specifically, a rare frame was accidentally sent to him instead of me and rather than telling the sender whom he also did dealings with hence the mix up, he promptly sold the frame on eBay to a friend and fellow queensland vmxer. This had the potential to blow up in all our faces, but luckily the people that were sold the frame gave it back to me and they were reimbursed by Dave... After the fact of being busted. Kinda like robbing a bank and when caught saying ' no harm, no foul'. Doesn't quite wash.
So I hope this answers your question.

[Ted]

They stopped them to get you off the street Mick

Hey Ted, got something to keep you of the streets, Pete(Yamaico) could do with some Tenacious help in regards his B40.
You de Man, no doubting that

I heard a whisper once,,,doesn't matter till you on the podium

If Pete believes he is right, pursue it relentlessly. Read, read and read more about it. In the end he will know more about it than the rule makers and so called experts. Avoid opinions on here at all costs. When he has sufficient knowledge on it use the forum to whip up a frenzy of " not you again "
" not this same shit again "  " cheating bastard ". " this has been discussed 1000 times " Present it at a meet and force their hand to act on it.

[Mick D]

They stopped them to get you off the street Mick

Hey Ted, got something to keep you of the streets, Pete(Yamaico) could do with some Tenacious help in regards his B40.
You de Man, no doubting that

I heard a whisper once,,,doesn't matter till you on the podium

If Pete believes he is right, pursue it relentlessly. Read, read and read more about it. In the end he will know more about it than the rule makers and so called experts. Avoid opinions on here at all costs. When he has sufficient knowledge on it use the forum to whip up a frenzy of " not you again "
" not this same shit again "  " cheating bastard ". " this has been discussed 1000 times " Present it at a meet and force their hand to act on it.

Hey Ted, don't get me wrong about the snipe, "you said you were not going to mention this again Ted" it was a joke

I am proud of you, I will always be chinning glasses and grinning about that historical moment, even if I get oltimmers memory disease. I don't want to rob Liam of his recognition. He delivered the icing to a great lead up

[Mick D]

Actually I am loving this hoarding thing(as long as no one calls that hoarders show).
A few months ago I bought a new container.
The fit-out was then delayed by a new job. Then forfeited job, and unable to finish fit-out because of busted shoulder.
Upside, OK enough now, whilst the weather is fine I am back working on the Hoardanizzer.
Hope to have it finished in a few days(week ).
With heavy Gal angles inside purlins to stiffen them.


They will latter support a tropical roof to protect against daily heat and nightly condensation.
Vents sealed, and de-humidifier fitted.
Load rated to support internal 12mm all thread droppers to suspend gal 50mm angle. That will support the  front edge of internal upper side shelving.




The idea is that it will use upper suspended space down each side that would be other wise lost.
My project roller dungers will go underneath. They will have their handlebars and their foot pegs removed. That will allow them to be packed in like sardines under the suspended shelves, with lounge cushions of the council clean up between them, to protect them from each other. A short piece of 22mm pipe through their bar mounts to provide steering maneuverability.
An upper suspended wheel and tyre rack is part of the right hand shelving arrangement.

I have so far purchased $600 worth of these type of nylon fish boxes, more to come.

The fish boxes fit in the upper shelves for project sorting etc.
 

[Ted]

They stopped them to get you off the street Mick

Hey Ted, got something to keep you of the streets, Pete(Yamaico) could do with some Tenacious help in regards his B40.
You de Man, no doubting that

I heard a whisper once,,,doesn't matter till you on the podium

If Pete believes he is right, pursue it relentlessly. Read, read and read more about it. In the end he will know more about it than the rule makers and so called experts. Avoid opinions on here at all costs. When he has sufficient knowledge on it use the forum to whip up a frenzy of " not you again "
" not this same shit again "  " cheating bastard ". " this has been discussed 1000 times " Present it at a meet and force their hand to act on it.

Hey Ted, don't get me wrong about the snipe, "you said you were not going to mention this again Ted" it was a joke

I am proud of you, I will always be chinning glasses and grinning about that historical moment, even if I get oltimmers memory disease. I don't want to rob Liam of his recognition. He delivered the icing to a great lead up

I didn't mention it Mick, but I believe there is a world wide hunt for wider gape chain adjusters for a certain model It would be a savvy bloke that decided to hoard them