My beast (haha!): I restored this '83 CT110 I found in a local garage last year, hadn't been driven since '84. Done with the big bikes for now...

 

My bog standard Gixxer 1000 K4. And one from my younger days, hooning around Donington Park on my beloved Fireblade.

 

30 bikes. 350000km and counting. oh the junk we've had...

 

Intrigued by those Piaggio MP3's (almost pulled the trigger several times this past year) and that Beemer 3rd from top is spectacular

 

The 500 MP3 is fun to have but cost about as much to run as a small aircraft. 10,000km services running close to $500 at the dealer with the 20,000km service about $700... its cheaper to put tires on my Ford than this thing.

lucky I can do my own work.

the "steering head" bearings.... there's about a zillion of 'em, routinely last 25,000km I'm told. Mine have gone 40 and are due for work. but the damn things cost almost 2 grand to service if you let the dealer do it!

not a good buy.

oh... and its called "Donkey" because of the way it handles.

 

It's been years since I got on a bike. Here's what I owned when I was still going to uni. First one was my very first bike. The second followed soon after. Any Aprilia fans on here?

 

At least that one’s not a scooter.

 

It’s funny, on that day we stopped at a place with an outdoor patio for lunch. I pulled up and parked next to a 1200R touring BMW and as I was taking off my helmet the owner asked if my bike was a 600? Nope. 800? I told him it was a K1300. He looked very skeptical. I guess some folks have never seen a BMW that’s not a tall top heavy adventure or touring bike.

 

I also have a Burgman 650 in the shop at the moment, long story short I got it recently from a friend who left it sitting in his garage for the last decade. Did a full fluid change, new battery, tires and brake pads. Getting ready to ship it to my cousin who is about to graduate from college and needs transportation. It is a lot of fun to ride, faster than I expected and has a great under seat storage area.

Other one is my first bike, a Yamaha YSR 50, needs work but nothing major. One of these days I will get it back on the road.

 

What kind of bike is the one with the missus in the back?

 

The one with the missus on the back? 1953 Triumph TRW, their military bike... it was blessed with a 500cc side valve twin which poured forth a blistering 16.5hp! Good wedding bike.

or the one with the missus behind it? 1962 BMW R27. made till '67 it was the last of BMW's traditional singles, it put out 18hp I think... so more than the Triumph! Good camping bike.

like I said: oh the junk!

 

One question, 2 answers, I think I've come out ahead on this one!

On a serious note, you have an excellent taste in (European) motorcycles!! When I was in uni, I used to own an Aprilia. One of my co-workers (had a warehouse job for a while) was this middle-aged guy who looked like he had just a little bit more than his share of fun in the 70s. During breaks, he would look at my bike and said it was all plastic and not a real bike. I never quite understood it. Fast forward 5 years and a change of continent, I met this (also middle-aged) guy who inherited a metal factory and bunch of money from his dad from way back when. Over the years he (and his brother) spent his fortune on the most frivolous and ridiculous things (a giant Hooters sign for instance, I just happened to see it the day it was delivered). When I met him he had nothing left but this old warehouse where he stored close to 20 classic bikes in various conditions, some in pretty dire shape. I spotted a Norton Commando 750 as he gave me the "tour" and promptly thought "this is what my former co-worker meant by a real bike!!". She wouldn't start though. I literally stood on the kick starter and tried to crank it with all my weight but the engine wouldn't turn. Seeing that this man had little interest in maintaining his collection, I offered to buy it off him. The sale never happened for various reasons but I've always had a soft spot for the Commandos ever since.

Oh, maybe one day...

 

a friend who spent about two years building a perfect Commando café racer once told me they were a good bike "if put together correctly", by which I think he meant "if completely torn apart and all the stupid errors in the design and quality departments put right"... I offered to whip it down our local twisty road with my Kawasaki 250. He declined.

it didn't want to start anyway.

then he had to go home early because it had split its gas tank.

best avoided... if you want a classic to enjoy get the lower tunes bikes. the Norton 500 dominator, the Triumph 500 Speed Twin, the BSA 500 Star twin.. lower compression means an easier life for everybody. And the original design hasn't been stretched beyond its safe limits.

better yet, find an R50 BMW.... those just don't die.

 

My 1936 Matchless. Originally belonged to my wife's grandfather which is cool. I also have a 1925 Indian Scout but it's all in boxes

 

I had a 90, got it through the vintage club, a 1979 model with only 300km from new on it, it had spent a lot of years in storage, I kept it in the front room during the off season...





and the Russian pig bike... my wife had a Ford LTD sedan that weighed about two tons, it got better gas mileage than this thing.

 

My Royal Enfield , Bullet 300 in red..

 

Sold this RSV last week and bought a Honda CB650 from 82 back

 

Interesting...thanks for the heads up! Being garage-less (for the time being, thinking of building one) I am limited to one bike for now, the CT110 urban warrior. There are usually a few used MP3's for sale but often with fairly high kms so I will heed your warnings even though I do my own work...

 

Project "Speedmaster"