Its a sickness.too many bikes

[kerryb]

I have 12 (pretty sure), only 6 are registered and riding. I never intended to have so many, but they find me and follow me home. It's a gift! As I was pulling carbs off the '83 interstate last night I was wishing the engineers had left me just a little more room to work! But I do love 'em.

[AZNGW Rider]

Sounds like doubleminded is looking for an enabler for his MBS.

I currently only have one Goldwing (plus a couple that are not). lol

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Okay, Full Disclosure here - I have Nine, currently (I think)...are we counting bikes I/we no longer have...? Although I still have my first bike, a 1985 Yamaha Virago 700N I rebuilt/got going. That's what sucked me into this madness about 20 years ago...and I wouldn't have it any other way. What sux though is I have come to the realization I will have to sell some to make room if I want to keep wrenching. Or get a bigger garage....

That's what even some of my biker friends now ask: 'when are you going to sell some of these?'
'Which one of your kids would you sell first,' I always ask...BUT - I guess they're right....You Can't Ride Them All. (Sigh).

And to be fair, over the years I have collected every bike I've always wanted - well, with the exception of a '70's Honda CB750 SuperSport -I'm still looking for that one...and when I find it my search will be over...and what do I do then? Spend the rest of my days Keeping them running, I suppose...

And with the exception of one of the two Puch DS60's I picked up Cheap just 'cause they looked cute and subsequently found out parts for those are REALLY hard to find, they all run - my wife won't have it any other way.


I love old bikes; they are literally rolling history that you can ride, and fixing them to the point where they turn over and catch and come to life again after not having a voice for so long is, for me, the payoff - the High, if you will...I could go on and on about this, but...Yeah: I love old bikes. Those wire-spoked wheels, man...gets me every time...

[77Gowing]

Yes Liam, I like what you call those fairy lights!
Thats what they are too.
No fairy lights on my 77 gl1000.

[mopehead440]

I ain't touchin' this with a ten foot pole!!!!!

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Except where Liam lives the faeries are 6'4" with a big toothy grin and carry shillelaghs...Big difference between fairies and "faeries"...

Liam, Am I right??

"Unlike the fairies, faeries are considered to be evil, horrid, and mischievous creatures". Often responsible for making dropped sockets, valve keepers or even whole spanners disappear in the Wink of an Eye...! (http://www.differencebetween.net).

Seen it happen...

[Liam]

Well I am 6'4" but I do have all my own teeth but I dont carry a stick. Yet. Indeed in this little country there is a lot of folklore related to fairies and faeries, and yes there are good and bad. I wont go into it all here but there is loads of material available for the Googlin'
What I call fairy lights are like Christmas lights for a tree. On a bike they are my pet hate, followed closely by any form of fake chrome embellishments or other tacky adornments.

[77Gowing]

Well I am 6'4" but I do have all my own teeth but I dont carry a stick. Yet. Indeed in this little country there is a lot of folklore related to fairies and faeries, and yes there are good and bad. I wont go into it all here but there is loads of material available for the Googlin'
What I call fairy lights are like Christmas lights for a tree. On a bike they are my pet hate, followed closely by any form of fake chrome embellishments or other tacky adornments.

Yes, indeed "tacky adornments."

[desertrefugee]

I went through my list, and I have 17. 11 are runners, the rest are projects. I am working on increasing the runners count while reducing the projects. Pretty much every runner I have was a project to some degree. There are a few that I regret buying, these are 1200 Interstates and Aspencades which were adorned with all kinds of chrome rubbish and fairy lights. I cant see myself fixing them up, will probably just sell them off. I have another 5 machines stored for friends.
Do I think I have too many? No. Do other people think I have too many? Maybe.

Going back through this thread, I was struck by Liam's comments. I also pick mainly project machines - some are more needy than others. But, with a runner percentage of 65%, I am envious. With luck, I will reach the 50% plateau this week as the CBX comes back online.

But, folks passing judgement on another man's choice of pastime and vocalizing the "too many" mantra should think a bit: As I'm sure Liam would attest, the value of my 8 motorcycles combined is less than a newfangled Harley Davidson FLXZQRST18! And where's the fun in having only one motorcycle? What if it <gulp> broke down...on a Saturday...wife out of town...24C/75F outside...not a cloud in the sky. What then?

But then there's Dave's comment:

You must have an affordable mechanic to maintain 11 running motorcycles

Keeping them running is only half the battle. Then they've got to be exercised! The worst thing for a running machine (fuel stabilizer or not) is to sit idle.

Uh oh, I gotta go. I have a Honda that needs to be ridden.

[dontwantapickle]

In an attempt to streamline my life a bit (and make more room in the shop),
I have decided to thin the herd.
I have just sold off a 78 gl1000,
and my dirtbike was bought by a collector and is scheduled to be picked up next week.

Buying, fixing, and selling cheap bikes has been a good way to offset my motorcycle addiction,
but that market has pretty much dried up.

Right now I only have 3 gl1000's , 2 gl1100's and a Valkyrie left.
maybe now I'll be able to devote my attention to the gl1000 projects and not spread my resources too thin doing things like old two strokes that I never end up making much $$$ on.

Now........ We'll see how long it lasts before another old junker bike finds it's way into the back of my truck.
It is a sickness.