Reminds me of a time when bikes had real seats. The seat on that 250 Honda looks like a Chaise Longue compared to some modern offerings.
What a fun thread, @Judd Dredd! I've been enjoying all the lists and stories and photos from forum members. I do have to say that I'll never again think that owning three bikes or having had ten bikes is a lot after seeing how many some members have had--and how many some still have! And I can use that info to tell friends and family that, relative to some, my motorcycle "addiction" and purchase patterns are small potatoes compared to some. So here are the non-Triumphs I have owned. They are all Harley-Davidsons so if you're a "hater" (or to put it nicely, "not a fan") you'd best avert your eyes now. •An additional "warning". This is a l-o-n-g post (2 actually). I had such fun looking back at pics of my bikes and wandering down memory lane that I just wanted to share some of that here. 2010 Dyna Street Bob 2012 Dyna Switchback 2017 Dyna Low Rider S 2014 Road King CVO 2017 Road Glide Special 2020 Street Glide Special (currently own) 2010 Street Bob This was my very first motorcycle. Yeah, not the best choice as a first bike but fortunately it worked out ok. I had lots of "firsts" on this bike, of course, since it was my first bike! First night ride, first group ride, first rain ride, first trip, first rally, even first motorcycle toy run. A funny story about this bike. Mr. Sandi and I rode to Laughlin Nevada for the Annual River Run, which was my first ever motorcycle rally. We found what we thought was a great parking spot in a parking structure near our hotel. We wondered why no one else had thought to park there but found out when we were ready to hit the road and head home. Both of our bikes were completely enveloped in aerosolized grease! We looked over the edge of the parking structure to see, lo and behold, food vendors selling all manner of fried foods. We joked that our bikes smelled like french fries (chips, right?) all the way home. Mr. Sandi took this (somehow!) aboard his Fat Boy at the first motorcycle toy run where I rode my own bike. I'd been to my first toy run the year before but riding pillion with him. Riding the Red Rock Canyon loop just west of Las Vegas 2012 Switchback This was the first year that Harley produced this model and it was designed to be a light touring bike in the Dyna line. Mr. Sandi and I had started doing some trips so I was intrigued by its features. I did a test ride on it during Demo Days then rented one for a 200+ mile day trip. That sold me. I have many great memories made on this motorcycle and put about 20K on it before moving up to a "true" touring model for travel. The reason the Switchback was name that is because it was super easy to put on and take off the windshield and the saddlebags. I often rode it locally including up and down Lemmon in the stripped down version. This was snapped on the the Red Rock Canyon loop west of Vegas as in the previous Street Bob pic. The next three photos were all taken on my first big trip with Mr. Sandi and two of our best riding buddies. We rode about 2K miles through Colorado, Utah, and northern Arizona and hit temps from 30ºF to 115ºF during that time! This first photo was taken in Buena Vista Colorado with a view of the Ivy League Peaks in the background. This is the highest elevation that I've ridden (so far) and was on the way from Buena Vista to Aspen Colorado. My bike was a total trooper! It handled the cold better than I did. Monument Valley in Utah 2014 Road King CVO This bike was the first of my three Harley touring models. Mr. Sandi had just recently bought a Road King Classic for which he traded his 2001 H-D Fat Boy. He and I did a 2K trip to Santa Fe New Mexico and did big day rides out of there over several days. The whole trip was about 2K miles long. He just kept singing the praises of being on a touring bike and that I should get one....and on and on and on. Initially I had no interest and resisted. But, hey, I'm susceptible to influence. So shortly after he and I returned to Tucson I succumbed and bought this beauty. I loved this bike! I put about 20K miles on this bike before trading it for a Road Glide that had H-D's new M8 engine. One of the very best memories I made with my Road King was riding to Santa Fe with Mr. Sandi and a small group to get married at the Loretto Chapel! The photographer for our wedding asked if there was anything particularly unique or special about our ceremony that she should know about. I said no, it was very simple and traditional (and only 23 people). But when I told her we were riding to Santa Fe from Tucson she went nuts. She totally wanted to photograph us on the bikes after the ceremony so we pulled the bikes in front of the chapel for photo ops. Mr. Sandi is on his Road King Classic which is the bike that led me to my Road King CVO. Over the years I've organized women's motorcycle rides. Here I am with a small group that rode to Patagonia (Arizona not South America) for lunch and a little shopping. The shopping part is not typically (or ever!) part of the usual rides I do which are usually all men--and me. (the group includes two Harleys, an Indian Scout, and a Honda Rebel) Continued in my next post...
Sandi T.'s non-Triumphs continued..... 2017 Low Rider S The next bike to join the garage was my 2017 Dyna Low Rider S. I traded my Switchback for this one. I referred to this bike my "little Sons of Anarchy hotrod". 2017 was the last year for the Dyna family (it started in 1991) and the 2nd of only two years of production for this particular model which had Harley's 110 twin cam engine in it. This bike, along with my (traded) 2016 Thruxton R are the two bikes I most wish I still had in my stable. Many of you may know this about this style, but this bike was built and I additionally modified it to be in the "West Coast Club-Style" style of bike. My club-style Low Rider S on Mt. Lemmon And my final toy ride on a Dyna. Each year I always rode my Dyna's to these events. Now I don't have one and they aren't made any more. Though I guess I could always find a nice used one in the future. Maybe this one? My touring bikes have all been orange and the paint clashes with my red Christmas motorcycle jacket. My Dyna's have all been black or silver both of which compliment red nicely. 2017 Road Glide Special This is the only bike I've bought used. But it was barely that as it had only 820 miles on the odometer when I bought it and was completely stock and in perfect condition. I traded my Road King CVO for it and only paid about $7K for it out the door. Here I am picking up my Road Glide after doing a "little" modification to it. Suffice it to say I added a bit to the financial hit. But I loved everything I did and I truly enjoyed this bike for the relatively short time I had it. I only owned it for about a year and a half and that last half year it stood idle in the garage because couldn't ride it thanks to a bicycle crash. I did put about 12K miles on it and it is truly a wonderful touring model. That "shark nose" fairing is awesome when you're tooling along at 80mph. The biggest trip and one of my fondest memories connected to this bike is our trip to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August of 2019. These next two photos are in Spearfish Canyon, a fantastically beautiful place in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This photo was taken on our ride home from Sturgis in New Mexico at the VLA (Very Large Array). About an hour or so later we got pummeled with rain, really the only rain we had in 3K miles of riding! And just one more time for good measure, a photo of my Road Glide Special in Red Rock Canyon Park west of Las Vegas 2020 Street Glide Special (currently in the garage) I traded my Road Glide Special AND my Low Rider S for this Street Glide Special this past May. After writing this post, I'm thinking I need to get up to Las Vegas to ride that Red Rock Canyon Loop with this bike, too! I feel a road trip coming on....
@Pegscraper Like the Magnum. If I get chance I will dig out some photos this weekend of my Harris which I did as streetfighter style
Here are my last two bikes, I only started riding in October 2018. Mike 2019 Honda Fireblade SP1 (2nd Bike) 2018 Suzuki SV650X (1st Bike)
Great pictures and stories @Sandi T. I do like the Road King Classic, it keeps popping up in the back of my mind as the Next Adventure
Thanks, Nick. Yes, the Road King Classic is--classic. Mr. Sandi traded his 2013 Road King Classic for a 2017 Street Glide. He really did enjoy that Road King even though he now appreciates having the fairing for the longer trips that we do.
My 1981 GPz1100 during its 'white' period Before it became this Ahhhh them werr't days Pardon the quality, photos of photos!
A few Kawasaki Gpz750r1,Gpx 750,Zrx1100,Ke100,Suzuki Gs750,Gs425,Yz250,Ypvs350,Rd250 air Cooled,Dt250,Dt125lc,YzfR1,Honda Cbr1000f,Cbr600f,Cr250 crosser,Vfr800 a few others probs
Thirteen BMWs; three Suzuki 500s; three 250 MZs; one 750 Honda; one James 250 Superswift; one self-built Triton (photo); one 250 Yamaha enduro; one Norton International and one Manx Norton. Loved them all for a time then wore them out or had them stolen from me and now loving my new Triumph Tiger.
Honda SS50 (Black) - Learner bike, great fun but my mates on fizzies and AP50s left me for dust. Honda CB200 (Green) - Had 2 of them. First one was written off as I got knocked off. 2nd one was shite! Honda CBR600 (Red and black) - Got a dodgy photo somewhere of me in matching racing leathers and a moustache somewhere (luckily I can't find the photo). Great bike and somehow I managed to avoid getting any speeding tickets (no idea how!) ....then a big gap as got married and kids, etc, then... Triumph 800 XRX (White) - Very comfortable, but I had to change it when my next door neighbour said it sounded like a hairdryer - how rude! Ducati Multistrada 950 (White) - This replaced the XRX and I always wanted a Ducati at some stage in my life. Fabulously underrated bike and sounded great on full gas. Triumph Thruxton R (Matt Black) - Fabulous bike. Every time I parked up I got so many strangers wanting to chat with me about it. In the end it had to go as it was just getting too uncomfortable on the wrists and back. I'm getting old! Triumph Speed Twin (Grey and Black) - A more comfortable Thruxton alternative! Still got this bike. Love it! Ducati Multistrada 950S (Red) - Upgraded to the 950S. Loads of tech and rides beautifully. If you can only have 1 bike in your garage this could be it as it does everything well and has great touring storage capability. You don't need the bigger 1260 Multistrada IMO, the 950S handles better as its lighter, still has all the toys you could ever want and is perfect for real world riding.