Ever run into a bike you used to own? (Not literally)

[Gone in 60]

On Saturday, I swung by the big Cars and Coffee in Orange County. Digging all of the cars and bikes, I saw a very familiar black and white BMW rolling in. “Huh, used to have one of those” I told my friend.

By the time we ambled over to the bike area and got to where it had parked, sure enough, it was my old ‘07 R1200R I that I sold to buy my CB1100, but the rider wasn’t nearby. My friend immediately pointed out that it wasn’t as clean as I had kept it, but I was just happy to see that it was being ridden and enjoyed. Particularly as it needed some very expensive ABS repairs when I sold it.

Anyone run across an old bike they used to own just by coincidence?

 

[Tev62]

Yes, I have posted this before, my old 1995 Daytona 1200. I was owner one and when I came across it again quite by chance, 24 years later, I had to own it again. So I bought it and became owner number eleven.

 

[peterbaron]

About two years ago, I only “saw” my sold 2013 CB for resale in Auto Trader.

 

[Rocky_imp]

When I came back to bikes in 1992, I bought a leftover Honda NT650 Hawk. It was my first bike in 34 years and I cared for it with a passion.
A fellow I knew quite well always admired the bike and often pestered me to sell it to him. When I decided to move up to a larger bike I sold him the Hawk which was in pristine condition.
A year or so later I saw the bike which was filthy dirty and obviously poorly cared for. Even the clear coat was flaking off the front forks. It certainly wasn't the bike I let go and I wished I hadn't seen it that way.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

A year after selling my high-mileage K1200RS, I saw it on Craigslist. It had only been ridden about 2000 miles and now had a custom seat. I really liked that bike and was disappointed to see it for sale again

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

I saw my ol' '81 Yamaha 550 Seca in a shopping mall parking lot. Was in fine condition, but no regrets. My emotions detach from things (if there are any) once I let go of them. In the mean time, enjoy "those things" as much as possible because one day it and you will go separate ways no matter what.

 

[Gone in 60]

That’s a good philosophy GO. I’m the same. The kid who bought a Mustang I had lovingly kept and modified wrecked it soon after he bought it. My friends figured I’d be devastated, but it wasn’t mine anymore, and I was on to new car and motorcycle projects.

What was interesting about the BMW was that it was just as I had left it. The guy who bought it said he was going to do a full custom brat/cafe treatment on it, and that the wonky ABS was not going to be a concern because he was going to strip it down to the essentials.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

That’s a good philosophy GO. I’m the same. The kid who bought a Mustang I had lovingly kept and modified wrecked it soon after he bought it. My friends figured I’d be devastated, but it wasn’t mine anymore, and I was on to new car and motorcycle projects.

What was interesting about the BMW was that it was just as I had left it. The guy who bought it said he was going to do a full custom brat/cafe treatment on it, and that the wonky ABS was not going to be a concern because he was going to strip it down to the essentials.

Aye, Gone.

 

[Willmarth_imp]

That’s a good philosophy GO. I’m the same. The kid who bought a Mustang I had lovingly kept and modified wrecked it soon after he bought it. My friends figured I’d be devastated, but it wasn’t mine anymore, and I was on to new car and motorcycle projects.

What was interesting about the BMW was that it was just as I had left it. The guy who bought it said he was going to do a full custom brat/cafe treatment on it, and that the wonky ABS was not going to be a concern because he was going to strip it down to the essentials.

Aye, Gone.

Aye, Gone.
I ran across this car I bought new in '99 in a parking lot yesterday...



Oh wait it's still my car 23 years later. I know it's not a bike but interestingly enough it's geared nearly identical to our CB1100s where 4th on the 1100 corresponds to 3rd on the Cobra and 6th corresponds to 4th. The Cobra has a .67 overdrive 5th for the highway. The power bands are similar too. It's probably the only decades old Cobra on the planet with the original exhaust. Since I never intend to get rid of it I'll never be surprised to encounter it somewhere :hello:

 

[Cormanus]

That’s a good philosophy GO. I’m the same. The kid who bought a Mustang I had lovingly kept and modified wrecked it soon after he bought it. My friends figured I’d be devastated, but it wasn’t mine anymore, and I was on to new car and motorcycle projects.

What was interesting about the BMW was that it was just as I had left it. The guy who bought it said he was going to do a full custom brat/cafe treatment on it, and that the wonky ABS was not going to be a concern because he was going to strip it down to the essentials.

Aye, Gone.

Aye, Gone.
I ran across this car I bought new in '99 in a parking lot yesterday...



Oh wait it's still my car 23 years later. I know it's not a bike but interestingly enough it's geared nearly identical to our CB1100s where 4th on the 1100 corresponds to 3rd on the Cobra and 6th corresponds to 4th. The Cobra has a .67 overdrive 5th for the highway. The power bands are similar too. It's probably the only decades old Cobra on the planet with the original exhaust. Since I never intend to get rid of it I'll never be surprised to encounter it somewhere :hello:

Well, let’s hope not.

 

[Willmarth_imp]

That’s a good philosophy GO. I’m the same. The kid who bought a Mustang I had lovingly kept and modified wrecked it soon after he bought it. My friends figured I’d be devastated, but it wasn’t mine anymore, and I was on to new car and motorcycle projects.

What was interesting about the BMW was that it was just as I had left it. The guy who bought it said he was going to do a full custom brat/cafe treatment on it, and that the wonky ABS was not going to be a concern because he was going to strip it down to the essentials.

Aye, Gone.

Aye, Gone.
I ran across this car I bought new in '99 in a parking lot yesterday...



Oh wait it's still my car 23 years later. I know it's not a bike but interestingly enough it's geared nearly identical to our CB1100s where 4th on the 1100 corresponds to 3rd on the Cobra and 6th corresponds to 4th. The Cobra has a .67 overdrive 5th for the highway. The power bands are similar too. It's probably the only decades old Cobra on the planet with the original exhaust. Since I never intend to get rid of it I'll never be surprised to encounter it somewhere :hello:

Well, let’s hope not.

Well, let’s hope not.
Excellent point :worship:

 

[MM300_imp]

Yes, I got the first year BMW R1200C. 1997 I think. Sold it after one year. In 2001 I was at work, car sales. Onto the lot rides a BMW bike that looks just like the one I had. Turns out it was mine. The rider ended up buying two cars from me.

 

[Gone in 60]

Since we touched on cars, I ran into one of my old ones last month. I bought a Ford Five Hundred when they came out in '05. The big, lunchbox of a car that nobody bought west of the Mississippi. When I stopped for gas, people were surprised that Ford made a full-size sedan that wasn't a taxi or a police car. It was a nice compliment to my Mustang, and I kept it for 10 years because it had a huge trunk, was comfy, and didn't ask for anything but an oil change every now and then. Since people didn't know what the heck it was due to its relative rarity in California, I put Galaxie badges on it as a goof. Mrs. Gone started driving it when I began commuting full-time on motorcycles.

In 2015, when Mrs. Gone went into travelling nursing, the Ford had 140k on the clock, and we put her in a newer Honda. I got a phone call from someone within a few hours of listing the Ford - the secretary for the owner of a local company. Seems his 18 year-old daughter had just wrecked her brand new first car, and he wanted to put her in a cheap car that was huge, so that when she inevitably wrecked it, she wouldn't be injured. I coordinated with the secretary to bring the young girl over to look at the Ford. She was so disinterested that she didn't even get out of the lady's car to come look at it, and when I offered to let her test drive it, she just stared at her phone and said "whatever, it's just a stupid car." We exchanged cash and paperwork, and I assumed it would be in a wrecking yard within months.

Lo and behold, just last month, while taking my motorcycle-only shortcut through the park near my house, there it was, still spotless, and still sporting its Galaxie badges, parked near the jogging trail. I couldn't believe it.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

First model year for the R1200C was 1998.