What do you own/ride and why?

[Ian]

Just thought this may get a few involved and also can make interesting reading. I'm sure it has probably been done before but an update is always good.
I now own a 2018 Triumph Street Twin 900 which I love the torque of that engine and the noise it makes with standard cans on!
( I have also owned several thumpers mostly SRXs. And some other makes of dubious heritage or reliability 😳😡.

[spooky]

For thirty years I had Sportsters, both Ironhead and evo and loved them. Now with dodgy hips I have a variety of smaller stuff. RE Classic , almost new, CB350s-g, currently for sale for £1000, 1970 Gilera 150, 1996 Honda c90 and my 1951 Terrot. All used frequently except the Terrot. The 500 Classic is one of the nicest bikes I have had, I enjoy riding it as much as I did my sportys...

[CrazyFrog]

I've spent most of my life ring-a-dining around on east European 2 strokes, but I also love 4T singles and have owned more of them than any other kind of bike apart from East European 2T's. I've become disillusioned with mainstream bikes again after my low mileage 10 year old F650 let me down on the road twice in the year I owned it, which is the reason I'm ring-a-dining round on two Jawa's at the moment.

The Jawa's offer all the same virtues as a traditional 4T single, ie. simplicity, the ability to pull away from tick over in any gear and decent economy of about 75mpg on a run. The soundtrack is somewhat different however...

[iansoady]

I've had a wide variety over the 50+ years. Started with a Francis-Barnett Plover 150 - hence (partly) my new acquisition. My earliest memories are of being tucked up in a sidecar beside a Norton single Model 19 piloted by my dad so I think the sound must have penetrated the layers of woolly hats etc and stuck with me.

First "proper" bike ws another Norton - a 16H with (initially) a Watsonian Avon. Then a hotchpotch - Norton featherbed twins and singles, a couple of MZs, two Commandos one of which I kept for 20 years and toured France, Italy and Greece on, two Guzzi V50s, B31, C15, Bantam, Ariel Arrow, Matchless G80, Velo Venom etc etc. Note that many are singles.....

 My newest (and biggest) was a Triumph Tiger 955i which was a year old when I got it. Lovely machine in all respects except its height and weight which gradually became too much.

The current Norton ES2 does most of what I need hence parting with the Guzzi as they're really too similar.

[xbally]

Well-see at the foot of this post as to what I'm riding now...and my tiddler 1983 Honda H100A. Over 47 years I've owned over 100 bikes and loved most it not all of them. I started at 14 or 15 with a Tiger Cub field bike and a Fizzie at 15 but took to the road when i was 16 on it. A GT250 Suzuki at 17, a Kawasaki Z750 twin at 18 and a GS1000 at 20-...phew. I'm now 62 and in the last few years as others have said have had to return to smaller lighter and older bikes -except for my Interceptor 650 which is truly a great value modern bike if a bit heavy for me now.I've enjoyed the few Guzzis I've owned but they are too heavy for me now (except for a V50 which I still would like to own-but no room presently) .I've had a load of Kawa triples of all sizes except the H2750 -when they were still great value back in the 90's.On the whole I don't like modern bikes but loved my Bandit 1200 ,VFR800i and Thundercat and LC 250 and RD400. Yes most of mine have been Jappers and I think they are mostly great bikes (Like the XBR500 and CB250Rs of which I've owned a few).I even like MZs and can see the attractions of British and Italian bikes as well.I just like riding-not too far these days but each bike is totally different with its own attractions

[Smithy]

Hi

I too am 62 and began riding in 1974 and can't honestly remember every bike I've owned or ridden. There were a dozen or so JAWA/CZs, ten or eleven BMWs, a couple each of Triumphs, BSAs and Enfields, one or two of each of the big four Japs and I've ridden Harleys from Shovelheads through EVO and twin cams to the latest Milwaukee eights.

Whatever I've ridden I have enjoyed and every one had to have the same purpose; to get me somewhere no matter how far away or what the weather was doing.

My current Honda CBF500 fulfils the role admirably as it will do hundreds of miles in a day and is happy also to potter along in pouring rain just to get me to work.

Ian

[Moto63]

Well I’m clearly a spring chicken 😉.. so haven’t had quite as many years to accumulate the amount of bikes you fellows have but I’ve had my fair share over the years. Approximately 30 I think. Started with a Honda ss50 ped in 1979, xl125, cb250rs, xbr500 x4 (not all at the same time🤪) cb77, benelli 350/4, vf500, laverda jota, Suzuki tl1000s, yam xj900, triumph speed triples x3 ... plus more. Like Ian I’ve enjoyed all of them all for different reasons, probably with the exception of the cb77, tried going the “classic “ route but tried it a bit to early really, just wasn’t ready to ride that slowly and sedately at the time. What do I own at present, moto guzzi v7 stone, ktm390 duke, cb250rs / tuned XBR engined project hillclimber.. and last but not least my XBR tracker project (almost finished 🤣🤣🤣)
Cheers, Michael

[mthee]

SS50 (pup) CB125TDC (new) CB250 (deluxe, doncha know!) VF500FII (new, slid off running it in, in snow) CX500 Eurosport (big surprise how good it was) Z1000J2 (over the bars I went) CB400/4 (stolen) XS750 (tripletastic!)  GT750 (Kawa for courier job) GPZ600R (new, vandalised, then stolen) T140V (tickle the carbs?) GS750 (cool) GSX750ES (bland) CBX550FII (effin' inboard discs, sweet handling) CB900F (metmatchex, CBR1000 front end, TZR bodywork, Triumph tank, clip ons) CB250RS (cute commuter) GPZ550 (belly pan) GS500E (ridden to limit) VX800 (big torque and XBR500 (most character, being modded)

[Moto63]

SS50 (pup)  CB250 (deluxe, doncha know!) VF500FII (new, slid off running it in, in snow) CX500 Eurosport (big surprise how good it was) Z1000J2 (over the bars I went) CB400/4 (stolen) CB250RS (cute commuter) XBR500 (most character, being modded)

SS50... fizzie beaters🤪😉. Wet dream deluxe. (In other words it had reversed comstars 😉) VF500, found mine bland but quick (in its day) you then seem to have crashed a lot Matt 🤪... then you clearly went on the wrong side of the tracks as you stole a 400/4. Cb250rs “CUTE, CUTE” commuter, used to blow them wet dreams off for fun on mine , even the deluxe models🤣🤣.... XBR “most character “ I’ll defo agree with you on that one.
Decent variation of bikes tho Matt. 👍👍..... cheers Michael

[mthee]

Cb250rs “CUTE, CUTE” commuter, used to blow them wet dreams off for fun on mine , even the deluxe models🤣

I just knew those REVERSE comstars would work against me....
IIRC, that was no ordinary ped you started out on, was it?

[Moto63]

IIRC, that was no ordinary ped you started out on, was it?

No Matt it wasn’t, well it was totally standard to begin with but then I broke something inside the engine. Can’t remember exactly what I did now, but our cousin used to work for a Honda dealership at the time and he sorted me out an engine rebuild complete with a 70cc barrel (or there abouts).. used to fly after that. Or at least it felt like it did as a sixteen year old. Hee Hee, happy daze 🤘

[JOOLZ]

I love my XBR and have used all my skill and knowledge I have learnt in the last 35 of building cafe racers, streetfighters and drag bikes, I have owned and built well over 200 bikes in this time 2 and 4 stroke and from most corners of the world. I have had bikes that were given to me, plenty I have bought for under £50 one or two have cost thousands, but I have always liked building and repairing, saving some old dog from the scrap heap with just a bit of work, for me riding and reparing are as much fun