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How many motorcycles is enough? One mans collection

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    #61
    Old thread, but the right one for the moment.

    I've got three currently (much modified Sportster 1200, stock BMW R1100R, and old CB900f in pieces for restoration), but am finally to the point of getting another-and it will be a dual-sport. After much digging, I think I'm going to take Trevor's advice and get a DR650. My brother is really happy with his KLR, but having gone down a DR650 rabbithole, I think that will be a great next obsession.
    "Thought he, it is a wicked world in all meridians; I'll die a pagan."
    ~Herman Melville

    2016 1200 Superlow
    1982 CB900f

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      #62
      I too am looking for a DR650. However the question about how many is enough... I had x7 at one time and rode them all...
      Current:
      1993 ZX11 - 2nd build in progress
      1977 GS750 (710 is getting closer)
      1998 Kawasaki Voyager - selling
      1998 Chevy C2500
      1999 Rav4

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        #63



        Originally posted by gtem View Post
        Have been pondering this for a while now as my motorcycle bay of our three car garage had been on a steady upward trajectory for some time... I'm trying to thin the herd a bit.

        Peter Egan had a column some years back where it was concluded that *5* bikes was the ideal:
        1) Sport bike
        2) Sports Tourer
        3) dirt/gravel road-capable bike
        4)Big Tourer (Harley V twin for Egan)
        5) Old/vintage/nostalgic bike

        I've always had at least 2, oftentimes 3 bikes in the "old" category which dabble a bit in the sports/sport touring/gravel realm as a function of how they were being used at the time. IE I end up riding my UJMs on gravel roads pretty regularly.

        My GOAL is to get myself down to 3 bikes from my current 5, sooner or later. I'm a bit *too* well equipped with big 4cyl bikes at the moment so at least one of them will be sold. I keep almost getting back into dual sports but for whatever reason it's just not been sticking (bought and sold a DR650 last year, currently about to do the same with a KLR650). My XS500 sometimes feels like a bit of an albatross around my neck. It's my first motorcycle and I rode it across the continental US and back, I have a lot of memories wrapped up in it, but I never really ride it. Have sometimes been tempted to sell it but with 57k miles on the clock it's hardly worth anything and I know some kid would ruin it with cafe crap. Have recently started commuting on it again trying to rekindle that "relationship."


        Funny to re-read my own post from a year ago. I'm happy(?) to report that I have indeed downsized the fleet. I currently find that with life's obligations, two bikes is plenty. As someone who typically owns older/used stuff, I find that with two bikes I can minimize the risk of missing out on a ride because I've got the bike torn apart for repairs/maintenance. Technically my current count is 3, I hauled my 76 XS500C out to my brother's place in PA to keep it there for when I visit and we do a nice ride on Central/Northern PA back roads once a year. When it was at my place, ironically enough I rode fewer annual miles than with it over there.

        I do regret selling my '07 DR650, they're great bikes to bomb around on. The stock seat is a miserable unit to ride more than 10-15 minutes IMO, had I ponied up for a Seat Concepts or whatever other aftermarket option I suspect I may have kept the bike. A ton of fun to zip down bumpy twisty back roads that you would normally slow WAY down on on a street bike. I loved the combination of light weight+ torquey and stone-age simple air cooled carbureted big single. But I also know that I'd simply be spread too thin in terms of riding time to justify the hassle of yet another bike to register/maintain etc.

        My biggest surprise is how much I'm enjoying piloting my newly acquired Kawasaki Voyager XII, I've been riding it more than the XS1100.
        Last edited by gtem; 03-08-2024, 09:57 AM.
        Previous GS fleet: '78 1000C, '79 750E, '81 650G, '82 1100G, '81 1100E
        Other rides: '77 XS500C, '78 XS1100E, '00 Voyager XII

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          #64
          Originally posted by trevor View Post
          I have all I need and can handle at the moment....lol

          One dual sport (DR650)
          Four classics (2 gs750s, gs1100e and the Cooley)
          Two Sport Touring bikes (bmw k1300r and my gsxs1000gt)
          I have absolutely no desire to own a "cruiser"

          And one old beat up truck
          Well I have not downsized yet...in fact I just added another bike...lol...I replaced the Suzuki GT with a Honda VFR1200F and last week I bout a 1997 Triumph Daytona t595
          No signature

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            #65
            To answer the question:

            One more than you can afford/have room for.
            1982 GS1100E V&H "SS" exhaust, APE pods, 1150 oil cooler, 140 speedo, 99.3 rear wheel HP, black engine, '83 red

            2016 XL883L sigpic Two-tone blue and white. Almost 42 hp! Status: destroyed, now owned by the insurance company. The hole in my memory starts an hour before the accident and ends 24 hours after.

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              #66
              I have NO IDEA how many is just right. I probably have a few too many - LOL! AND, I'm looking for an E!
              (And I'd like to get an inline 4 550; either a GS550ES or a Honda 550 Four SOHC.) You know, something lighter - that makes sense - doesn't it?
              I should have my head examined...

              That Barber museum is pretty incredible - thanks for that link. Me thinks that a visit there should be on the bucket list.
              I've been to the Ace cafe in Orlando, pretty cool place but NOTHING in comparison to the Barber museum.

              Here goes...
              2018 Goldwing Tour
              2007 FJR
              1983 GS1100ES (and another spare ES)
              1982 GS 1000SZ (and another spare Kat)
              1971 Honda CL450 K4
              1970 SL350 K0 (and 2 parts bikes)
              1971 SL175 (and 1 parts bike)
              1972 CL175

              And technically, there is a 93 GSX1100G in my garage titled in my name, but it is supposed to be my brothers - but he decided he didn't want it... (long story...)
              Anyone looking for one of these? This one is a 2-owner bike with EVERY maintenance record back to '97 and is clean as a whistle (with some hard-to-find factory accessories and some spares.) It'll be on Craigslist soon.

              Except for tires and batteries, they are all in running condition or can be within an hour.
              Scott
              1982 GS1000S #1 bought in 84, #2 gone, #3 in hibernation
              1983 GS1100ES #1 (bought in 03, July 09 BOM, 65k traded in 17), #2 New daily rider, #3 in hibernation
              1982 GS1100E Red #1 - Original owner, sold in 93, #2 (Red) sold in 20 to Andy B
              2018 Gold Wing Tour - new out of the crate 1st non-Suzuki in 38 years
              sigpic

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