The Backup Bike

[tazio]

Most of us seem to have one, that "not a guzzi" ride that still stirs emotions within us for one reason or several.
Mine is this 1982 CB900c, you know, the one with the 10 speed transmission..
This big cat was a gift from a father-in-law who had purchased it new.
She purrs like a kitten and pulls like a big electric motor in any gear you happen to be in at the moment. Had her out today for 135 miles.
Always brings a smile to my face and I'm left wondering why I don't  take her out more often.
Any of you mugs care to share your backup bike story?

[Scout63]

My 1978 SR500. It has the Minton mods, a Supertrapp and dual front disks.  It gets kicked to the side for months, but always starts and is a total blast to ride. I will never sell it and hence will always have a bike to knock around on.

[Scout63]

And a very pretty CB900C by the way.

[guzzimatic]

Got to Love the 4 pipers!!!!

[Ncdan]

Most of us seem to have one, that "not a guzzi" ride that still stirs emotions within us for one reason or several.
Mine is this 1982 CB900c, you know, the one with the 10 speed transmission..
This big cat was a gift from a father-in-law who had purchased it new.
She purrs like a kitten and pulls like a big electric motor in any gear you happen to be in at the moment. Had her out today for 135 miles.
Always brings a smile to my face and I'm left wondering why I don't  take her out more often.
Any of you mugs care to share your backup bike story?


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Great motorcycle, I’ve spent a lot of time on them.

[Tom]

Back-up bikes are a bunch of other Moto Guzzis.  No small blocks.  🤪

[coast range rider]

Ride that still stirs emotions?
I don't know about that, but my backup bike is my 2005 V-Strom 650 with 110,000 miles. Can't sell it. Can't kill it.

A second bike that stirs emotions doesn't necessarily seem to be a backup bike. A backup bike should be ready to go at a moments notice. And also able to sit at the ready and not go. Fuel injection sure helps for this.

[Scout63]

Back-up bikes are a bunch of other Moto Guzzis.  No small blocks.  🤪

A small-block would make a great back-up bike Tom. I finished doing a few things in the garage tonight and fired up the v50 just to hear it run.

[Tom]

I have a V50III with a V65 engine in it.  Technically not a small block.     I consider the 850 the smaller of the big blocks.  I'm covered.  I'd like to get a Piaggio MP3.

[9fingers]

Two backups, a V Strom 650, very good bike but no emotion, and a Royal Enfield Classic Chrome 500, loads of fun. I don't know how to insert and image............
Scott

[Huzo]

Just lately I’ve formed an attachment to this little beastie

[Tusayan]

I have a bunch of bikes so don’t really have a single back up in the conventional sense, they are all back ups for the others.  However my little carbureted Suzuki SV650 serves as something similar, it’s the bike I ride when I don’t want to think about the bike, on a rainy day, just tired, safe to be ridden by a house guest of unknown skill level etc.  It’s a good tool in the tool box.

A guy I rode with for years coined the phrase “rainy day bike” and generally had one, for example a rough-ish R80GS when he also had a new R100GS.  He rode in all weather, rarely drove a car, choosing the right bike for the day.

[tazio]

Makes sense, we certainly had our "winter beater" cars up in Niagara Falls back in the day. Most of those were "bondo war wagons" ! Lol
The poor Backup Bike doesn't seem to get showered with affection as our main rides do, but most elicit that certain something that gave us reason to let them hang in there as other bikes have come and gone.
I say, let's celebrate the Backup Bike!
Pull yours out today and go ride!

[Tom]

It's like having an ugly dog in a pack of dogs but it tugs at your heart strings just because... 

[Scout63]

As much as I restore and polish most of my bikes my ‘71 /5 doesn’t get prettied up.  It’s my winter bike.  I call it the station wagon.  The Krausers will swallow a lot of groceries.

[Tom]

 

[Testarossa]

I like the question. For some decades the T was my only bike -- backup was the car. After the 2013 flood, when the T was AFU, I first bought a 50cc scooter, then the VX800, which served dependably but I didn't like the way it handled, so I sold it and bought the F650. That's the rainy-day bike, the dependable appliance. The TR6R doesn't count as a go-someplace bike, except to local rallies.

Even as I tore into the bearings of the T, I really lusted for a Tonti, which is how I acquired the Mille. So all the bikes back each other up, more or less in rotation. Only the Mille goes on long road trips but the T and the Funduro could do so if needed. And now an XT250 is joining the flock. I'm sure it will become my tootle-around-running-errands bike.

[Moparnut72]

My main ride is my Audace. I decided in the event that something broke in August it might be wise to have a backup. I also have begun to realize that the Audace is getting hard to handle at slow speeds, so a smaller backup wouldn't be a bad idea. Also something that could become my main ride further down the road. So I glombed onto a V7lll  Special. It is serving me very well as runaround local errand bike but could be pressed into loftier duties if required. In the meantime I have figured out what has made the Audace a bear to ride and have corrected that problem. I am using that bike more often for local stuff. I love that bike more than ever.

It is fun having two bikes and having to decide which one to ride. Not taking anything away from the V7, if I had known I would be harboring two bikes of these two types I probably would have hung on to my Sportster.
kk

[guzzista]

My backup bike is a Guzzi, at least for the last  or so 10 years. My Cali 1100 was purchased with that function in mind. I doesn't get rode hard and put away wet, however. Maintenance is kept up regularly so it can be ridden at a moment's notice.
Over the years it  has acquired Polizia Stradale metal bags and various  other years Cali items for a custom look as well  as  a bit of hop up with  a V11 Sport top end.
For the backroads around here , a smaller bike would do nicely, but as I use  the freeways frequently , the Cali is hard to beat.

[Scud]

I don't really have a backup bike, but I confess to thinking about my Stelvio that way when I bought it new. I wanted something that would be rock-solid reliable, as I was doing a bit too much wrenching on a small stable of V11s at the time. Somebody asked me how I decided which one to ride... and I said "whichever one is giving me the least amount of shit at the time." That's when I knew my wrench/ride ratio was out of whack.

Fast forward a few years and I ride the Stelvio the most, it's become my primary ride.

I suppose the Yamaha TW200 is sort of a backup bike, but it's also for my daughters to ride on the trails with me. Probably like Huzo, I find it Surprising how fun a small, pedestrian motorcycle can be. Since you can't go fast, you end up seeing more things along the way.