advertisement


Time for a motorbike list

I always wanted one of those and I remember at the time £10,000 was the price of two and a half GSXR750s, so it was for gawping at only. I have a friend whose dad used to have one, and the lucky bugger borrowed it for a few years. He was a good rider though and won the VMCC championship a few years ago.
The thing with those Honda V4s is that the seals harden and perish if the bike is laid up for any time, so that engine will need a rebuild before its usable. Lovely bike. I never understood the 17" 18" wheel size difference between front & rear. Seemed odd.

As a compromise I had one of these - identical to this one. Black wheels are essential.
1003.Honda-VFR400-nc30.-Excellent-c.jpg


Running with the guys they'd get me on the straight bits and I'd leave them at the corners.
 
Rasher said:
The thing with those Honda V4s is that the seals harden and perish if the bike is laid up for any time, so that engine will need a rebuild before its usable.
Click to expand...

And when you use it it becomes a,good condition, secondhand bike with a value of a third of what you bought it for. Better off buying a secondhand one in the first place?
 
I know someone who spends money on a new bike every time they want a change, and that was three times last year. Not everyone thinks this is a great deal of money and needs to consider it an investment. I would - I couldn't even afford it in the first place, but some people can.
For a museum piece you might as well have a knackered one that has been restored cosmetically only.
I have a bottle of red wine at home from 1934. It is completely pointless. Same thing.
 
I tend to keep bikes for quite a few years, so not many on my list:

Yamaha SR125
Yamaha TRX850
Aprilia RSV-R Mille
Aprilia RSV 1000 R Factory
Ducati 748R

Never more than two cylinders which are quite enough for mere mortals. The best all rounder was the Mille. The Duke cannot be ridden in town and the Factory was physically a handful. Mind you the Duke doesn't get out much these days; when you get to my age folding yourself in half to climb aboard gets tricky!

7459548108_3e4e2ba1cc_c.jpg
 
Good thread. Got the brain cells working!

In order (I think):
Piaggio Ciao moped
Kawasaki KH100
Honda 550F1
Suzuki GS750
Husqvarna 240WR
Sunbeam S7
Triumph Sprint ST

Currently:
Norton Commando 750 Fastback
Buell Firebolt 1200
Triumph Tiger 955i
 
There are way too many posh car threads here...bumping a 4 year old bike thread in protest!

Malaguti Cavalcone Cross
Yamaha DT80
Honda MBX 125
Honda CBR600
Honda NS400R
Honda C90
Suzuki RG150 (Thai bike)
Suzuki GSXR400RR
Suzuki RGV250 1993
Yamaha TZR 250 RS 3XV
Yamaha R6
Suzuki DR250
Honda CRM250AR
Gas Gas EC400
KTM EXC 300
Honda CRF250X
Husqvarna TE310
Husqvarna TE310 Red Top
Gas Gas EC200
Gas Gas EC300
Ducati 900 SS IE
Honda VFR400 NC24
Husqvarna WR125

My favourite was my TZR. Currently still got the 900 SS and the Husky 125. Aged 30, I started off-roading much more.
 
Some nice stuff there Rich. By the look of that list We must be/have been biking contemporaries :)

Ok Im in..

Villiers 210cc 2T fieldbike - 1/2 share aged 14. Bought with a mate for £17 and seized 2 hours later because we didn't know it needed 2 stroke oil. Also got caught by a cop pushing it home, and got my first ever booking :(
RD250 - L plated 90mph+ madness
Honda 400/4 - Dixon gas flowed head/Yoshimura pipe eventually - sounded fantastic, until it was stolen
Honda CR250 - 2 stroke MotoX
Yamaha IT425 - 2 stroke enduro (motoXer with lights) quite mad. Too noisy to use before 8am, or arrive anywhere at night on. Used to have to freewheel the last 1/4 mile home. One of the best wheelie machines ever tho :)
Yamaha DT250 - one of the few I wish I'd kept
GPZ600 Kwack - 16" front wheel. most terrifying tank-slapper I've ever experienced, 2 weeks later, it was gone
Ducati 750 Paso - sensible
Early Cagiva era Ducati 900SS - not so sensible. Only worked well between 30 and 90mph, awful ergo, turning circle like an arctic.lorry
BMW R45 - no idea, must have bee non a V-twin kick (180 V that is..)
MotoGuzzi V50 - slow but lovely thing to ride
Harley 1000cc ironhead Sportster - more fun than you would think
Harley 1340 DynaGlide - cool looking thing, but resonance at c 2800rpm/60 mph so bad I couldn't bear to keep it any longer
Harley VRod - watercooled Harley - despised by 'trad' Harley riders and al those who hate Harleys in equal measure. Took it to Southern Europe last year. Great touring bike. Still got it
Honda '72 CB450 (the one after the Black Bomber) - used last Summer, but now in bits for badly needed engine rebuild

That's the ones I can remember, there may be more :)

Current holdings:

The 450



The Vrod

 
I rented a moped when on holiday in Phuket, which resulted in a dislocated shoulder and two broken ribs from crashing while turning at about 5 mph.

Does that count ��
 
muzzer said:
No one had a FS1E then :eek:
Click to expand...

FS1E-DX ('proper' hydraulic front disc!)
Triumph TR25W (Trophy 250, basically a BSA B25 with a Triumph badge on)
Kawasaki Z400 (twin) - rattly camchain version, but saw me through 5 years of student days.
Then got married / car / mortgage.
I quite fancy a bike again, but the roads appear much more dangerours than the late 70's / early 80's when I had bikes. And I have an 8 year old to consider.
 
Colin L said:
I rented a moped when on holiday in Phuket, which resulted in a dislocated shoulder and two broken ribs from crashing while turning at about 5 mph.

Does that count ��
Click to expand...

Counts you out..... but the story about how the motorcycle rental company reacted regarding any necessary repairs might be interesting.
 
-alan- said:
Some nice stuff there Rich. By the look of that list We must be/have been biking contemporaries :)

Ok Im in..

Villiers 210cc 2T fieldbike - 1/2 share aged 14. Bought with a mate for £17 and seized 2 hours later because we didn't know it needed 2 stroke oil. Also got caught by a cop pushing it home, and got my first ever booking :(
RD250 - L plated 90mph+ madness
Honda 400/4 - Dixon gas flowed head/Yoshimura pipe eventually - sounded fantastic, until it was stolen
Honda CR250 - 2 stroke MotoX
Yamaha IT425 - 2 stroke enduro (motoXer with lights) quite mad. Too noisy to use before 8am, or arrive anywhere at night on. Used to have to freewheel the last 1/4 mile home. One of the best wheelie machines ever tho :)
Yamaha DT250 - one of the few I wish I'd kept
GPZ600 Kwack - 16" front wheel. most terrifying tank-slapper I've ever experienced, 2 weeks later, it was gone
Ducati 750 Paso - sensible
Early Cagiva era Ducati 900SS - not so sensible. Only worked well between 30 and 90mph, awful ergo, turning circle like an arctic.lorry
BMW R45 - no idea, must have bee non a V-twin kick (180 V that is..)
MotoGuzzi V50 - slow but lovely thing to ride
Harley 1000cc ironhead Sportster - more fun than you would think
Harley 1340 DynaGlide - cool looking thing, but resonance at c 2800rpm/60 mph so bad I couldn't bear to keep it any longer
Harley VRod - watercooled Harley - despised by 'trad' Harley riders and al those who hate Harleys in equal measure. Took it to Southern Europe last year. Great touring bike. Still got it
Honda '72 CB450 (the one after the Black Bomber) - used last Summer, but now in bits for badly needed engine rebuild

That's the ones I can remember, there may be more :)

Current holdings:

The 450



The Vrod

Click to expand...


Up for all that except the Harleys!
 
Ah you know what they say about trying everything in life once..
The water-cooled one is a bit different - decent engine technology (Porsche helped them with it) 120bhp, big flat torque curve and a reliable 9000rpm. I liked the drag-bike styling too.

Can't see me back on a trad Harley anytime soon though - there's far too many more interesting things out there to be tried. A very distinct lack of triples (2 and 4-stroke) in that list probably needs to be rectified sooner rather than later :)
 
Oh god. This is one of those lists that really should not be made...

Honda CB125 Super Dream
Kawasaki LTD550
Suzuki GSF600 (teapot)
Honda VFR750 (first of the decent ones, twin sided swingarm)
BMW R100GS
Honda VFR750 (first of the single-sided swingarm versions)
BMW R1100GS
Suzuki Bandit 1200S (only new bike ever owned)
Moto Guzzi V11 Sport
Honda VFR750 (later version)
Moto Guzzi California 850T3 (with LeMans 1100 Engine)
Honda XBR500 (heap o'shite)
BMW R1150GS (can you see a pattern emerging here?)
Suzuki Bandit 1200S (another one)
BMW K1100LT
Ducati 1000 Multistrada
BMW R1100S (should have never sold it)
BMW R1150 GSA (ridiculous)
Harley Davidson Road King (Evo model)

*sighs*

All that money....
 
This is small fry compared to what I see when a Porsche thread comes up, which is often.

Should I spend £110k on an Aston or save a bit and get the latest 911 etc blah blah envy blah not fair blah blah?
 
graham-r said:
Can you imagine what the 500/750 versions were like, Karl was a total nutter but even he wouldn't consider one of those.....
Click to expand...
My brother had an H1 then a KH500, then H2 but fortunately never got it running or I'm sure he'd be dead now. The KH500 was absolutely terrifying.
 
andrewhockley said:
My brother had an H1 then a KH500, then H2 but fortunately never got it running or I'm sure he'd be dead now. The KH500 was absolutely terrifying.
Click to expand...

A good friend had a Kawasaki Mach III (H1) back in the early 70's. It was a strange bike to ride in many ways. It had a reasonably smooth engine although a slightly lumpy tick over. I can testify to its gutless performance below about 6000 rpm (almost like a 125) and then it all happened very quickly. The frame seemed to flex when cornering with any verve but woe betide you if you baked off in a bend. Having said that, it looked wonderful.
 
richgilb said:
This is small fry compared to what I see when a Porsche thread comes up, which is often.

Should I spend £110k on an Aston or save a bit and get the latest 911 etc blah blah envy blah not fair blah blah?
Click to expand...

Friend of mine who has worked on rigs and in and around the oil industry since leaving college currently has a collection of desirable stuff from the 70s comprising:

Honda CB750K1
Hond CB1100R
Suzuki GT380
Laverda Jota (the original one)
Kwack H2750 (Red, even better than the purple-people-eater colours)

All are in (truly) mint condition. He also has a couple of more modern runarounds including a Bayliss Rep Ducati, an MV 750 F4, and a VFR800 Hailwood beater :) Lucky bugger lives in the South of France, so no road tax to worry about, and a single multi-bike user policy covers the lot.

Tends like so many of us to go a bit vague when the topic turns to what he paid for them, but I suspect he acquired the lot for well under what you'd pay for a high spec 911 these days.
 
Some nice looking machines in this thread!

Always talked myself out of one because I wouldn't be able to ride it sensibly.
 
Here's my lot - sadly lacking in exotica! The ones with an * are the ones I still have.

Suzuki X1
Honda CB125TB
Kawasaki AR125LC
Honda Deauville
Honda CRM250R
*Gas Gas Pampera 250
Suzuki Bandit 600
Suzuki DR350E
Yamaha XT600E
*Honda CBR600F
Suzuki Bandit 400 (UK model)
Suzuki Bandit 400 (Import)
*Honda XBR500
*Honda CBF1000GT
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top