Top 5 Motorbikes....

[Waxing_Gibbous]

Top 5 bikes you have either owned or wanted to own.
Owned:
'81 Yamaha XT500 single Enduro - Woooo Hooooo......
'99 Aprilia 250 - More fun than a bagful of Angelina Jolies.
'04 Honda Fireblade - Nobody needs a bike like this. Its pure stupidity! :D
'01 Yamaha 600cc "Thundercat" - Easiest bike ever to ride fast.
'02 Kawasaki ZX6R - Tightest, roadracer ever?

Wanted to own:
Ducati 998 FE - Best bike ever?
Honada SP2 - Another big twin just for racing.
Suzuki 500 GT - 4 Cyl., 2 stroke insanity.
Yamaha R1 - Scared me just looking at it.
MV Agusta 750 - If it was good enough for D'Agostini.....

And yours?

[koputai]

'94 Suzuki GSX-R750, just 'cause it's what I've got! I bought it new in '94 and it has 34,000 k's on it. That's only 2,000 k's a year!

As I get older I'm thinking I'd love an old cafe racer though.

Would like to have a collection of the following:
Suzuki RG Gamma 250
Suzuki RGV 250
Suzuki RG 500
Yamaha RZ 500
Kawasaki ZXR750 (first model, double round headlights)

Cheers,
Jason.

[The Mekon]

Five bikes I have owned:

1968 DS5 250 Yamaha (ridden + crashed to death)
1971 A7E Kawasaki (I want this bike back)
1973 H2 Kawasaki (my 2 stroke goodbye)
1976 Z2 750 Kawasaki (downsize version of the Z1, bought in Japan)
1999 VFR800 Honda (the best bike in the world).


Would like to buy or at least try:

BMW HP2 Sport
Suzuki GSXR750 - the latest model
Triumph 675 street triple

Probabaly will buy soon:

Triumph Tiger 800

[AdrianF]

I have owned
Honda 450 4cyl
Norton 850 Commando with a Dunstall racing kit rear controlled Cafe racer
BSA 650 1965(?)
Suzuki GSX400FWS mono shocked 4 cyl with 4-1 exhaust
Yamaha XVS1100AT Classic.

One I would like to own Benelli 6cyl 750 yes I know they had problems but would still like to own

Adrian

[sheeny]

Only 5?!:eyepop::lol:

There are so many different types of bikes... motocross, trials, enduro, touring, sports, cruisers, etc...

...but who am I kidding... I haven't owned that many:P...

Best road bike I've owned? BMW R80. Runner up? Honda CX500. Runner Up Up? Honda VF750. Oh, not that it was the best, but when I was 14 I bought a Honda 250 Dream for $100. I sold it a couple of years later for $100:)... within 3 months it was wrecked. 5 or so years later I was at the Sydney motorcycle show and a Honda 250 Dream like mine was on display... estimated to be worth $250,000. The shame of it all is that I reckon it wasn't in as good a condition as the one I sold!:sadeyes:

Best Enduro bike I've owned? 1971 MZ 250 (ex ISDT), Honda XR 250 and Honda XR 600 tie. Each completely different beasts:thumbsup: but all excellent in their own right. The XR250 was excellent in the tight stuff. Practically perfect for me in every way except that it didn't have the legs on the road. The XR600 had the legs, and was excellent fun as long as it wasn't too tight and technical. It was a bit weighty and tall for a person with a short stride like me:). The MZ was simply awesome for a first bike on the road! It's blow an IT400 of the same vintage into the weeds! (been there, done it;)).

Best Trials Bike I've owned? My current Montesa 315R:thumbsup: largely because its the only current generation trials bike I've owned. Though I didn't own it, my brother's Montesa 123 Cota was perfect for me when I was 15:D.

I've never owned a motocross, sports bike, ice racer, speedway, drag bike so I can't comment.:P

Oh, nearly forgot... Best scooter I've owned? Hmm, a toss up between my Honda CT90 postie bike I had when I was 10 and my first ever bike (when I was 8): a Honda 50 step through with no front mudguard, no muffler and no second gear! What a machine! What fun I had on that!:D:thumbsup:

What would I like to own? A BMW R1150/1200GS Adventure. I'm looking at buying an 1150 ATM.

Al.

[AdrianF]

I forgot the Honda Dream I bought at auction when I was 15. Motor seized but stripped down and made to work again. Paid $25 at auction sold for $200 a year later

Adrian

[taminga16]

Dream bikes.
Moto Morini 3 1/2.
Brough Superior.

My current bike is a BMW R1150R, comfort, great handling and enough torque to pull stumps.
Greg.

[Allan_L]

Currently I own a Honda Shadow (VT750 cruiser) and i love it. Poor man's Harley. Some day I would love to be able to own a good Harley! :question:

Previously Yamaha Virago (very nice and easy little 250 cruiser)

Before that I did have a Suzuki DR250 Road/Trail for a while that I used to ride trails with, but run out of friends who wanted to ride trails, so now I just cruise country roads. By myself.
BTW:Looking for riding companion if anyone interested (nearby preferable but not essential).:welcome:

[marki]

I have owned many bikes over the years.The RZ500 (a real pig) and the RG500 ( like a laser beam) as well as the GSXR750 (oh hum) and GSXR1100 (boo hah :) ). But I mellowed as I got older and owned a string of Dukes. My current bike is my all time favourite, I have had it since new (1989) and will never sell it :love:.

[kustard]

Bikes I have owned:

1) Honda Postie Bike - Learned on it and used it as my first vehicle in Sydney's late 80's traffic.
2) Honda CB400N - Bought second hand, very heavy and a bit under powered IMHO.
3) Kawasaki ZZR250 - Bought second hand, very light and very nimble.

Am bike-less at the moment :( but would love either one of these:

1) BMW R 1200 GS (Adventurer)
2) Ducati Monster or Multistrada (any one, I'm not fussy ;))

[The Mekon]

Owning both RZ500 and a RG500 must be like having a Takahashi FS152 and an Astro-Physics 155EDT, or a 20" Obsession and a 20" SDM.

What was the real difference betweeen the two. My favour lies towards the RG500 - but only on specs as I have ridden neither.

[scagman]

Some very nice bikes mentioned above.

I have only owned 2 bikes

Triumph Daytona 600 and my current bike
Triumph 675 Street Tripple R

I would like to own a harley 1 day or a Triumph Rocket III.

[mswhin63]

My First Bike - Honda VT250
Second - Suzuki DR250
Third - Yamaha XZ550R
Fourth - 1981 XV1000 TR1 - not the Virago
Never got to my fifth :( would like to now. Have ridden a GSXR750 for a while

My favorite hard to say but something like a DR-Z400SM but larger capacity would be my ideal solution. Although would love to get a Harley.

[marki]

The RZ 500 was horrible. It had a habit of tank slapping and hooking into every uneven groove in the road. Yamaha never really sorted out the 16" wheel geometry and they were pretty unpredictable. The motor would go well when on full throttle but would foul the plugs easily around the city and had absolutely no power down low which meant screaming every where at 10000RPM in first and second gear or just being bogged down fouling the plugs. The worst thing was the linked antidive/braking system. When the system had a few km under its belt it malfunctioned and this was the last straw for me as it threw me over the bars. Basically when you hit a bump in the road and the antidive activated it would also lock the front brakes.

On the other hand the RG 500 was brilliant. It responded well to changes in direction, was far more composed on choppy roads and fast sweeping bends and generally was just a whole lot better mannered and a lot more fun to ride. The square 4 was a gem with better flexibility down low (not four stroke flexibility but useable) and it was pretty potent when in the power band. I could easily keep up with the big bore 4's of the day and when it got tight they would just disappear in the rear view mirrors. Both bikes would be eaten alive by the current crop of 600cc fours but of the two the RG was the clear winner.

Mark

[Louwai]

My current bike is a Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa
Absolutely LOVE this bike:D:D:D
Have had this bike for 6yrs. It just ticked over 100,000 klm on the original, untouched engine & still as strong as ever. Still pushing 168HP on the dyno.

Previous bikes;
Honda XX1100 BlackBird
Honda CBR1000
Suxuki GSXR1000
Kawasaki 1000RX
Honda CX650 Turbo
Honda CX500

[FlashDrive]

Have owned a few over the years as well:
1. Yamaha DT 175 Road/Trail
2. Honda 400 Four Super Sport
3. Yamaha XS 750 ( 3cyl ) shaft drive. ( bought brand new )
4. Yamaha SR 500 Single Cylinder Road Bike ...( loved it ).
5. Yamaha XS 650 Twin ( bit of a dog I thought )

Would like to have owned:
1. Suzuki 750 4 cyl ( 2 stroke ) Water Cooled and Shaft Driven .... what a rocket they were.
2. Moto Guzzi 500 Twin Le Mans .... now there's style.
3. Kawasaki GPZ 900R 4 cyl Water Cooled.
4. Kawasaki KR 250 2 Stroke 2 cyl .... pocket rocket ... very scarce these days.

Bikes I have now ..... NONE .... All Gone. :D

[ballaratdragons]

Hmmmm . . . top 5 favourite bikes I have owned?

In order of favouritism :D

1. 1948 Harley-Davidson ULH 1200 customised California Police Special HERE (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=36957)

2. 1928 Harley-Davidson J model Racer HERE (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=36956)

3. 1999 Yamaha 650 Dragstar Cruiser HERE (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=811)

4. 1957 Triumph 650 Thunderbird HERE (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=37070)

5. 1939 Harley-Davidson WL 750 (I can't find the photos)


Top 5 bikes I wish I owned?

1. 2011 Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe THIS ONE (http://allmotorcyclepictures.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-Harley-Davidson-FLSTN-Softail-Deluxe.jpg)

2. 1995-2011 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail LIKE THIS ONE (http://miami.olx.com/pictures/1995-harley-davidson-heritage-softail-iid-4063193)

3. 1980-1985 Harley-Davidson FLH LIKE THIS ONE (http://www.brandnewoldbike.com/83HDFLH.html)

4. My old 1948 Harley-Davidson ULH 1200 customised California Police Special

5. Yamaha XVS 1100 Cruiser

:thumbsup:

[Waxing_Gibbous]

Wow. I'd forgotten half of these.
Cool that Greg mentions the Moto-Morini 350 as I always thought this was one of the best looking bikes around.
I currently have a '97 Sportster which I'm not crazy about, but my wife loves! Go figure.
The roads around here would tear the shocks off any road-racer, but after having a go on my neighbours new KTM, I'm thinking I might not need one. :O
Bleeding Nora, it was quick for an 'enduro', or whatever they're called these days.

[ballaratdragons]

Send it over to me and I'll do a bit of trickery on it.
You'll never recognise it :D

hmmmm . . cut the frame here . . . those handlebars there . . . that tank . . . custom paint . . :P

[Ric]

My top 5 mistresses. :D

:thumbsup:Montessa Cota 247 - There wasn't any where this bike couldn't go.

:thumbsup:Kawasaki Z1000 MkII - An awesome roadie and bullet proof, I still kick myself for selling it.

:thumbsup:BMW R80RT - an awesome tourer with one of the best designed fairings I have ever seen on a bike.

:thumbsup:BMW K75c - A brilliantly engineered bike, 26 years & 500,000 kilometres and still has 90% of it's engine untouched including pistons and rings. I'll neve part with this baby.

:thumbsup:BMW R1200c - An awesome cruiser and James Bond rode one. ;)

[Louwai]

Last year I was living in Toowong & my neighbour was Dave Detmar. Retired Microwave Engineer. Dave LOVE's old English bikes. He currently has 17. All road registered & ridable.
The latest model bike he has is a 1927 Velocette. This bike will still do it's original advertised top speed of 70mph.

Dave was a friend of Burt Munro (the fastest Indian). Burt also held the world speed record on a Velocette as well as the Indian.
Burt's Velocette world speed record stood until March 2010 when it was beaten by a Brisbane guy who built a velocet specifically for the purpose. This guy, Stuart Hooper, is also a friend of Dave's & the bike which holds the current Velocette World Speed record was often at my neighbour's place being worked on.
What a machine.

Dave is an amazing guy. An absolute perfectionist. If he doesn't have a part for a bike, he'll make it from scratch.

If you like old bikes, he's a fantastic person to know.

(His wife preferred my Hayabusa ;). She said it sounded better than his bikes:D)

[ballaratdragons]

Cool story Bryan :)

Another cool story from the fascinating bike world is that World famous motorcycle designer/engineer Phil Irving worked for me for a few weeks in my Harley shop up until 2 weeks before he died of old age in 1992. He was 89.

Phil Irving designed the Vincent Motorcycle among other bikes and car engines :thumbsup:

[dannat]

Al I had a early 80's MZ etz250 2 stroke..I love the look of the eastern blk engineering, the casting of the engine was terrific - had so much character

Also had an rgv250, so light , bit of a death trap when you power band out of a corner in 2nd

Also had a dr200, yamaha 250 I can't remember the initials of.

[Brian W]

Top 5 is tough...
(5) kawi 900 with a 1000 cc race kit, hard back frame, bucket (indeed) seats, big gas tank, really big back tire and a top speed of 240kph (least that's what the speedo read when I started drifting and backed off the throttle)

(4) 750 4 cylinder Honda. No problems and it just kept running

(3) 6450 BSA Lightning, could pull wheelies at 50kph

(2) 650 Bonneville my first big bike

(1) 650 Suzuki Savage. Just a few mods to make her mine and while not really a fast bike 650 singles have a ton of torque and are a lot of fun.

Honourable mention to my first bike a 90cc Honda that started it all.
Brian

[sheeny]

I know the ETZ well. My brother bought one as a commuter bike. I bought my enduros (I had 2... one for spares) from the same guy... his plan was to replace the mildly tuned 4 speed engine in the ETZ with a 5 speed screamer from one of the enduros.;) Thankfully he never got around to it, so I was able to experience that fantastic bike.:)

Al.

[desler]

As I currently don't own any bike for the first time in my adult life, this is touchy ground. However my favorites.

1981 Suzuki GSX 250, First registered road bike.
1991 Kawasaki ZXR 750 J2
1992 Kawasaki ZZR 600 - Probably the best all round bike I've ever ridden.
1994 Kawasaki ZZR 1100 - Madness, plain and simple. Maybe it was me!
2010 BMW R1200R - Nothing flash, just does everything!

A small selection of my favorites over the years. For me, circumstances have taken the actual enjoyment out of riding, but just writing this post has bought back some great memories of track days and very long days in the saddle, just cause you could!

Darren

[torana68]

any Bultaco.... have had at least one in the shed since the 1970's :)

[ballaratdragons]

Yeah, in the 70's I had a Bultaco TrailBoss.

While out riding at The Rock (NSW) the throttle jammed on and sent me careening into a dry creek bed!
I got badly winded and I never found the front wheel :eyepop:

I left it there and walked home. I never rode a trail bike again!
I'll stick to road bikes.

[torana68]

[QUOTE=ballaratdragons;735437]Yeah, in the 70's I had a Bultaco TrailBoss.

Kawasaki had a trailboss Bultaco didnt but either are colectable, go back and find it ! :)

[ballaratdragons]

It was a Bultaco and had a White & Yellow Longhorn Bull's head Logo on the sidecover and said Trail Boss :shrug:

and I reckon it would've completely rusted away 30 years ago and washed away :lol:

EDIT: I just googled it and found this! It is a Kawasaki Trail Boss with the same side cover as my Bultaco had.
I reckon I must've had a Bultaco with the Kawasaki side-covers, or a Kawasaki with a Bultaco motor and tank :question:
http://beemersandbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_2387TrailBoss.jpg

[sheeny]

Sounds like an interesting mix, Ken. I was wondering about the "Bultaco Trail Boss"... it didn't seem to fit the models I remember (Lobito, Matador, Metralla, Pursang, Sherpa S and Sherpa T, Alpina, ... I can't remember the 360cc enduro model - what was that called?).

Al.

[sheeny]

I found this:

http://cemoto.tripod.com/bultaco.htm

The El Montadero was the one I was trying to remember. 350 apparently...:shrug:

:)

Al.

[DavidU]

A Maico 400 anyone?

[Ric]

I remember a mate had one of them.

They had a unforgiving powerband in them, I sure they were possessed by evil spirits. :lol:

[torana68]

Maico's are good, rode a mates 400 (dont think it was his 440?) went plenty good.......but not sure it was faster than my Pursang

[ballaratdragons]

I've just decided that I want one of these bikes ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wTfQiGFAKE&feature=player_embedded

Pretty cool :thumbsup:

[sheeny]

Very cool, but... how do you do a wheelie?:P It takes the fun out of it doing one all the time.

I suppose its similar technology to a segway:shrug:, so I guess it should go OK over bumps and things, though I notice they didn't show that in the clip...

What a wild bit of gear it'd be if Tim the toolman Taylor got hold of it.:lol:

Al.

[scagman]

You should check out the MTT bikes, worth it just for the sound

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ejRkBimDD8