Diff'rent Strokers

[DSBBadmin]

Don't just say "one more than I already have".

We know plenty of people who are lucky enough to own at least a dozen bikes, some have 2 or 3 times that number. And why not, if you have the money to buy them, the space to keep them, and the time to look after them properly ? But we also know people who 'only' have one, which does everything they need or want and which they are totally devoted to. And of course, plenty of people who would love to own just one, but can't for whatever reason.

We're all diff'rent, we all have lots of other stuff going on in our lives, we all have varying amounts of free time, garage space/skills and disposable income. Some of us are riders, some racers, some builders, some tinkerers, some collectors, some - let's face it - hoarders of junk. There are no right or wrong answers, we're just curious - how many do you think is the perfect number for you, and why ? Be honest - the number might be smaller than you think...

And yes, this is a desperate attempt to breathe bit of life into this forum...

[StrokerBoy]

As usual, I'll start by answering my own question.

I think you need :

a) one bike that's totally dependable, that you can go to at any time knowing it will start and manage a 300 mile day out without any worries. Could be something modern, but not necessarily.

b) something exotic/rare/special/unusual/classic - maybe you take it to shows, perhaps it's been featured in a magazine, something that draws a bit of interest if you parked it up at a bike meet.

c) a two-stroke.

d) a long-term project. Might be a concours restoration, might be a custom/hybrid/restomod - it gives you a reason to spend time in the garage (or just looking for inspiration and parts on the internet). Ideally, it will never be quite finished.

e) an indulgence. Maybe a racer, track-bike or off-roader, but maybe just your old Fizzy restored to new and parked up in your lounge as an ornament.

So 5 bikes then ? No, not necessarily. There's a lot of potential for crossover there, you could tick all those boxes with 3 or even 2 bikes if you wanted.

My GSX-R covers a) and b), except that it's single-seat so I've got nothing that I can do a decent trip on with the missus. My KR covers b) and c), and the LC arguably does the same. My long-stalled KR project covers d), and I've got 2 other KR's that we'll generously call test mules or parts-donors for that. My RB50 covers e) - it does parades at trackdays but is otherwise a cute garage ornament.

That leaves Edna (my KS-II) which I can't really justify at all and ought to sell.

My missus also has 4 bikes of her own, but she's never going to ride any of them again and I'd like her to sell at least 2 of those (and maybe get a Grom that she might actually use).

[andy]

For me If I have got the space I will keep buying more, I have 13 at the moment but have run out of space. The last 2 I sold I bought back. but at least they are all worth more than I paid and spent on them because I have owned them for so long. 4 would be my minimum, a commuter, a tourer, a track bike, and a classic, the last 2 being 2 strokes.

[Top-shaggy]

I have stopped counting because the wife ready my posts.... she may not pick this one up

I keep a big 4 stroke for long journeys and taking the wifey pilly

I like the odd exotic.. but don't really use them enough

I keep a off road / trials bike as a winter hack and for when im brave enough taking one down the fields

I prefer 2 strokes especially kawasaki 80/90s rather than the 60/70s era so I like to use these and ride them when I can

I keep bikes that harness memories or family connections

Did I say I like rebuilding Kawasaki ARs too? Hmmm so that will be quite a few then

And my lawn mower is a H*nda... and the dam thing keeps going no matter how poorly I treat it. Typical

So that's erm.... I really don't know. Well apart from 7 or 8 with current mots..but this is likely to reduce as I really only use half that in a typical year.

Sometimes I think I should sell some. Then I give myself a slap and tell myself not to do it again.

One of these days I need to get my old minis back on the road and that may just be the time half the bikes will have to go.

Im sure my addiction is nothing diffrent to many others on here
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We are where we are...

[SP_BOTT]

After having several new two strokes from my early youth (yes a long time ago) I started off wanting 'just' 4 bikes, a race rep from each manufacturer.

Then a couple of LC's and Powervalves entered the garage. That ended up being a full set of Yamahas, with that unintentionally completed, I then started looking at a few 'rare' japanese imports.

It sort of got out of hand really. Don't have them all anymore, but do have a plan in my head to sell most of them, to leave a nice manageable group that I plan to ride and tinker with, rather than restore.