My family thinks (knows?) I am insane, having purchased 4 new bikes in less than 12 months, but I had my reasons!
http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread....#pid189867
THE CB1100 came after checking out Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Triumph, BMW, Moto Guzzi and Ducati.
(12-20-2017, 05:22 AM)SportsterDoc_imp Wrote: [ -> ]My family thinks (knows?) I am insane, having purchased 4 new bikes in less than 12 months, but I had my reasons!
http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread....#pid189867
THE CB1100 came after checking out Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Triumph, BMW, Moto Guzzi and Ducati.
You get to be our age group, you have the resources (time, money, health) can anyone give me a good reason NOT to buy four new bikes in twelve months? No, they can't. I don't go for austerity, posterity, or any of that. I go for the now. Don't have to explain jack.
In 40+ years of riding I’ve enyoyed approx 50+ assorted motorcycles including dual-sport enduros, several dozen early CB750’s that I restored, a CBX, several Suzuki XN85 Turbos, a couple Wes Cooley GS1000 replicas, a few pit bikes, V45 Sabre, DOHC CB750’s, 2 Yamaha 700 Fazers, a BMW, and a few more Honda’s than I can count including my 2013 CB1100.
The way I look at it, I figured the ONLY way I could play with all these toys and somehow pay the monthly bills was to buy low, restore them smartly, and sell them at a modest profit. Repeat as often as possible.
Out of 50 or so restorations, only a couple lost money, I enjoyed the process from the initial purchase, the scoring of nice parts online, the packages arriving in mail every week was like an endless xmas, then riding the restos for a season before selling them to a happy buyer.
I do wish I could get a few back, of course.
“It’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.”
Sandcasts
Rare candy gold sandcast
(12-20-2017, 07:42 AM)736cc_imp Wrote: [ -> ]In 40+ years of riding I’ve enyoyed approx 50+ assorted motorcycles including dual-sport enduros, several dozen early CB750’s that I restored, a CBX, several Suzuki XN85 Turbos, a couple Wes Cooley GS1000 replicas, a few pit bikes, V45 Sabre, DOHC CB750’s, 2 Yamaha 700 Fazers, a BMW, and a few more Honda’s than I can count including my 2013 CB1100.
The way I look at it, I figured the ONLY way I could play with all these toys and somehow pay the monthly bills was to buy low, restore them smartly, and sell them at a modest profit. Repeat as often as possible.
Out of 50 or so restorations, only a couple lost money, I enjoyed the process from the initial purchase, the scoring of nice parts online, the packages arriving in mail every week was like an endless xmas, then riding the restos for a season before selling them to a happy buyer.
I do wish I could get a few back, of course.
“It’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.”
Sandcasts
Rare candy gold sandcast
Very well said, 736. Imagine if this were Soviet Russia and you could only have a Ural! Good heavens!
(12-20-2017, 07:42 AM)736cc_imp Wrote: [ -> ]In 40+ years of riding I’ve enyoyed approx 50+ assorted motorcycles including dual-sport enduros, several dozen early CB750’s that I restored, a CBX, several Suzuki XN85 Turbos, a couple Wes Cooley GS1000 replicas, a few pit bikes, V45 Sabre, DOHC CB750’s, 2 Yamaha 700 Fazers, a BMW, and a few more Honda’s than I can count including my 2013 CB1100.
The way I look at it, I figured the ONLY way I could play with all these toys and somehow pay the monthly bills was to buy low, restore them smartly, and sell them at a modest profit. Repeat as often as possible.
Out of 50 or so restorations, only a couple lost money, I enjoyed the process from the initial purchase, the scoring of nice parts online, the packages arriving in mail every week was like an endless xmas, then riding the restos for a season before selling them to a happy buyer.
I do wish I could get a few back, of course.
“It’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.”
Sandcasts
Rare candy gold sandcast
Some losses are likely.
Never had a loss with M/C or auto repairs, but I was not paid for two electrical projects.
One was a real log cabin at Pine Mountain Club in the late seventies.
Tis a lot of work wiring a real log...a two day job instead of one.
The contractor was the son of a neighbor and went broke.
All materials were direct bill, so I was only out my time and that of a helper.
The other was completely rewiring a boat (eighties)
Out a spool of 16 gauge THHN and a lot of connectors, plus my time.
Such is life.
I definitely fall in the camp of people who keep things forever.
I bought my first street bike in 1987 and since then I have had 7 street bikes - '83 Honda CM450 (1 year), '82 CB900C (2 years), '84 Virago 1000 (11 years, although that was mostly because I couldn't afford anything else), '00 Shadow Sabre 1100 (1 year, the tank was far too small) and '03 HD Night Train (bought new, still have).
It wasn't until this year that I ever owned more than one motorcycle (not counting dirt bikes) and now have my '14 CB1100 and '09 Buell Ulysses in the garage. I honestly don't plan on selling any of them or getting any others, what I have now fits my needs.
But I'm like that with everything. Since buying my first car in 1988 at 16 years of age I have had 4 primary vehicles (I don't count collector cars of which I have had 3) - '77 Malibu (2 years), '84 Cavalier (5 years), '96 Ranger (15 years) and my '07 Tacoma that I got when my Ranger died in 2011.
I'm still on my 2nd TV ever, I have the same cellphone that I bought in 2008 (and only because the Army forced me to get one).
I've been married for 25 years, so yeah - when I find something I like I tend to keep it forever.
It's easier to satisfy the "wantsies" when you can sell/trade your current bike and get another for "only" a couple of thousand dollars, and even easier when you wait a bit to look around and find someone suffering from buyers remorse.
I've gotten rid of two motorcycles after less than 5 years ownership - an early 80's Honda Sabre 700cc that I just didn't bond with (traded in for an ST1100, still my favorite ex bike) and my recently departed Ural that was just too mechanically inferior though it lasted me 5 years and 3 months. Did immediately build another sidecar rig though.
First bike, crashed, half heartedly did a rebuild, Dad gave it away.
Second bike traded in.
Thrid(
) totalled.
Forth bike, sold it (guy wanted it, did't offer it up)
Fifth bike; still have, will probably sell. Iffy
Sixth bike, Still have.
Seventh bike, Still have.
Eighth bike, sold it. Too much of a head ache.
I'm looking for bike number nine but frankly I'm all over the place and have no idea what I want so I'll probably just keep what I have.
Love to know what that eighth bike was!
I spent the last three days getting up early and hot-footing it to the local watering hole, where, naturally, I found communion with mostly a bunch of old guys. Some end up with just one bike for years and years, often due to career and life choices, unforeseen events, finances, and very rarely, personal choice. Not many riders I've encountered over the years wouldn't own a few bikes at once if they could do it. Growing up destitute as I did, having a few nice bikes now doesn't bother my conscience at all. So there's that.
The other thing was, during the course of a few of these deeply philosophical maunderings over decent coffee, I shared with a couple of guys that my cutoff point for deciding whether or not to hang onto a machine was 10,000 miles. If by that milestone I just couldn't get the thing to work for me, it was gone.
That's been the benchmark for three bikes in the last year that have been traded away. I tried everything logical: tires, suspension, setup, ergonomics and so on, and if by then they weren't working for me, they were replaced.
The machine must work for me mechanically, imparting high levels of confidence whilst riding and being reasonably straightforward to maintain and move around in the garage or trailer.
I really don't concern myself at all with the looks of the bike because styles change with the times and technology.