Congrats and ENJOY!! We haven't had the pleasure of having an "OLD" tandem as of yet so any tandem for us will be either "new" or new to us!
We are hoping to be able to save enough over a couple of years to get a "Bike Friday Family Tandem", (non-custom version) as it will add a whole new dimension to our riding. We can't afford a car and car insurance, all of our rides have to "start" from homebase, which with Jo's little vacation time, means we spend, a lot of time, doing the SAME roads. With a "Bike Friday" tandem we could pack them, put the cases on a Greyhound, (I really miss Continental Trailways!!), then pick up the "Amtrack" in Denver and get to a "new" starting point" for our unsupported mini-tours, that would be SO AWESOME!!
We did however buy, "beta bikes", backups, in the USED market this year so we could continue to ride, utility, etc. when the "alpha bikes" are in shop for service and my beta bike will now do all the "towing" of our utility trailer so my alpha bike get's a break! Take care, ride Safe, have FUN!