That other motorbike thread got me thinking about some of the motorbikes that I've had over the years, and what ones I wish I had of kept, mostly all of them now I reckon. I had quite a few large ish old British bikes but also lots of hacks that I tended to buy for next to nothing. Among those were Honda 90s absolutely mint for what they were for and really abused by me on a regular basis. Had some rare stuff too, I had a Venus scooter with a Sachs engine and box and it weighed an absolute ton, had a 175 Bridgestone for a bit and that was very innovative with its two stroke and a rotary gearbox, had a Lambretta for ten quid just to get to work on but would love it now. More BSAs than you could shake a stick at, unit and pre unit mostly 650s and AJS had quite a few of them twins and singles plus a host of Japanese stuff from Honda, Suzuki, and lots more. So which ones do you wish you could have back now ? Ozziedog,,,,,, All Of Them!!!
My bikes in the past I am now bike less Ossa 250 trails bike Fantic 175 trails bike Honda mbx50 Honda cb 250 1973 one Kawasaki gpz 305 Mz 250 (winter hack) Kawasaki gpz 500 Honda c90 (winter hack) Suzuki rf900 Honda cb250 super dream (winter hack) Kawasaki gpz 900 ninja Suzuki gsx 1100 Honda xr600 The one I liked the most was the 1973 cb250 but for shear fun the c90 was a great laugh especially in the snow
Just thought of another one I had and it was a CZ two stroke thing I think it was. You had to push the huge gearshift in on its shaft and rotate it backwards to be the kick start. That thing was just so fast (not really) possibly the slowest bike i ever had, reckon the C90s would have seen it off. My mate had a Ural bike and sidecar that he bought brand new in Oz but un assembled and you had to put it together yourself, I don't think he ever finished putting it together
Of all the bikes I've had the one I wish I'd still got is the XT500, early twin shock version, classic all rounder.
I'd have my Mk 3 Norton Commando back. I know it wasn't the best bike ever but I loved it. Had to sell it when we bought our first house because I couldn't afford the £40 a month HP
The One that Really Gets to me is my Brough Superior SS80. Its now in a museum in Germany and I wasnt the one who sold it! Fortunately I have another SS80 coming and My Great grandfathers 1929 AJS. He won it at the earls court bike show and rode home on it to witlshire where its stayed with my grandmothers 15 bikes (I'll probably end up with all of them).
So far I can remember these that I've owned. Capri 80 Honda PC50 Gilera 50 FS1E x 3 Suzuki TS125ER Suzuki TS100ER Suzuki RG250x3 Kawasaki KH250x2 Kawasaki KH400 Suzuki GT500 BSA B50 Honda CD185 Honda CD200 Honda C50 Honda C70 Honda C90 Honda C100 Suzuki GSX400 Suzuki GS425 Suzuki XN85 Yamaha RD125LC Yamaha RD125DX Yamaha RD250DX Yamaha RD400E Suzuki GSXR750G Suzuki GSXR1100H BSA A65R BSA A65T BSA Bantam Suzuki PE175 Suzuki RM125 Honda Transalp Suzuki DR650 Harley 1200 Sportster Harris Magnum Kawasaki Z900 Kawasaki Z1000x5 Kawasaki Z1100 Kawasaki GPz1100x3 Kawasaki Z750x3 Kawasaki GPz750x2 Kawasaki GPz305 Kawasaki KX80 Kawasaki KMX125 Yamaha YB100 Honda Chaly Lifan 110x3 Yamaha TZ350x2 Yamaha RD350LC Suzuki SV650 Suzuki Bandit BSA B40 Suzuki GSX1100ET Suzuki GSX1135EFE Suzuki GSXR750 Suzuki GSXR1100 Yamaha TDM850 Kawasaki ZXR750 Triumph Trophy To be fair there's probably more I've forgotten. Treble the list for stuff I've ridden over the years, in fact the list I haven't ridden would be shorter. I did work in a bike shop and was an mot tester as well as racer.
Have had a few.....but my favourite for ease of living with was a 2000 CBR 600 fx..... stopped riding now after more than a few negative experiences.
I was kinda hoping that someone would also have owned or at least heard of a Venus scooter. I sometimes think I dreamt it. It was a cross between a scooter and a tiger tank. Ozziedog,,,,,,,, any one had one ???
No KTM's? I had a crosser when I was a kid, hilarious! A friend of mine had a road legal Honda CR 500 (THE most dangerous electrics known to man, Austin Maxi speedo wedged into the top yolk etc)...that thing was an excercise in powerband wheelies and two stroke fog. How none of us died is a miracle.
Nope, it was a Honda dealership I worked in. Their bikes are like their cars, excellent for the everyday user but expensive to tune and race.
Had a few motocross bikes way back that I don't miss as such, they were old 125s that you can pick up on ebay for pretty cheap. Did have a BSA C11G (4 gears, woo!) that I do miss though. Hoping to get a project C15 or similar next year to potter about on.
Not many as I nearly killed myself on all of the below bikes. Villier's excelsior 197. Villiers 250 trial bike - non road legal, but that never stopped me at 14 Motobecane variator. 50cc Yammie fizzer. I wrote them all off except the excelsior. I also wrote off a mates Desmo when I was 15 and spent two weeks in hospital after going through the back of a zephyr rear window. My mate wasn't pleased.
My old man had a Triumph Bonnie that he used to commute between Rugby and Coventry before I was born. Across two winters, before heated anything was invented... He crashed it that badly he snapped the front end off clean, never rode again, banned us all from owning bikes too. You have to philosophical with them I find...do your best to de risk other driver...but ride like a dick and sometimes that's all she wrote.
