Motorcycles I have known

michigander · Post by **michigander** » 19 Aug 2023, 03:24

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My first motorcycle. A 1981 (I think) Honda CM200T.

michigander · Post by **michigander** » 19 Aug 2023, 03:28

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My second motorcycle.

1976 Yamaha RD400. This was a 2-stroke street bike. Kick start. It had oil injection to eliminate needing to pre-mix. It also had aftermarket expansion chambers. My wife could hear me coming from a half-mile away.

michigander · Post by **michigander** » 19 Aug 2023, 03:34

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1981 Honda CB750K

Probably the most boring motorcycle I have owned, but I do love the 4 into 4 exhaust.

michigander · Post by **michigander** » 19 Aug 2023, 03:40

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1995 Triumph Speed Triple.

This was the most beautiful bike I've owned.

885 cc 3 cylinder engine.

It was heavy and uncomfortable, but I loved this bike.

michigander · Post by **michigander** » 19 Aug 2023, 03:45

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2011 Kawasaki Concour

With 1400 cc, 153 HP and "only" 615 lb dry weight, this was VERY fast.

I put 45,000 miles on this bike. It was, overall, the best bike I've owned.

michigander · Post by **michigander** » 19 Aug 2023, 03:49

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This shot is in front of the EEE building I referenced in the Old Pictures Thread. It was Henry Ford's Engineering lab built in the 1930s. I worked there off and on during my career at FoMoCo.

2015 HD Road Glide.

This bike was slow, heavy and handled poorly with horribly restrictive lean angles, but I felt on top of the world cruising down the road on this.

I put about 25,000 on this before selling it, planning to never ride again. Until...

michigander · Post by **michigander** » 19 Aug 2023, 03:58

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2019 BMW R1250RT (my present bike).

Easily the most refined well-equipped motorcycle I've owned.

This has been in the shop for a few weeks and it's killing me to miss out on riding. If/when I get it back I'll share the details in the gearhead thread (which may or may not be a hint to explain its extended downtime).

I would say that it's my favorite motorcycle, but it's probably similar to what they used to say about a friend of mine: Dave's favorite beer is the one he has in his hand.

sweetandsour · Post by **sweetandsour** » 19 Aug 2023, 10:41

You're way above my paygrade, and very fortunate to have photos. I may have some old photos somewhere but to put my hands on them is questionable.

Before my riding years I rode on the back of my older brother's Cushman, helping to deliver newspapers. He then got a Harley, maybe a '50s model 165.
This was in the early 1960s. I wasn't on it at the time, but the Harley had a fuel leak, which dripped onto the exhaust and onto the back tire and caught fire. Someone called the fire dept but the bike was burned up by the time they got there.

In high school, ~'69 or '70 timeframe, I rode a Honda 350 Super Sport to high school, and rode it to my girlfriend's (now my wife) house the first time I went there, and we went for a short ride on it.

In college I rode a '73 Yamaha 650 until I graduated in '75, then sold it, and that was my last motorcycle. I may be able to find a photo of that one; it was red, and was a pretty bike, and was great around town, but horrible for any lengthy road trip.

coco · Post by **coco** » 19 Aug 2023, 11:05

Jocose wrote:

Good one, Jo!

JimVH · Post by **JimVH** » 19 Aug 2023, 11:34

Nice. The first three gave me a nostalgic tingle.