Bikes you wanted when you didn't have the money

[canuguzzi]

What bikes did you want badly when you didn't have the money but now that you have the money no longer want the bike?

For me it was the Honda Turbo, the 650. There is one for sale close to me and I could have it but now there isn't much interest. I settled for the CX500 Darth Vader at the time. I wanted the CX650TC until about 2 years ago, now, nothing.

[Lannis]

What bikes did you want badly when you didn't have the money but now that you have the money no longer want the bike?

For me it was the Honda Turbo, the 650. There is one for sale close to me and I could have it but now there isn't much interest. I settled for the CX500 Darth Vader at the time. I wanted the CX650TC until about 2 years ago, now, nothing.

That's an interesting question.   What did I USED to want, but now that I can have one, don't want any more?

A Kawasaki H1 or H2 would qualify.    Use to dream about having one.    But no longer on my list today; probably because the limitations are more important to me now than they were when I were a lad.

An Ariel Square Four.   Used to drool over them, but my sense of aesthetics and function both shifted.

That's about it.   

Lannis

[aschem]

78 Kaw Z1000R and 84 Kaw KZ750 turbo and almost every Moto Guzzi I saw when I was in the Navy while stationed in San Diego 81-83. I was a junior enlisted, and I rode my bicycle past the Sonny Angel Moto Guzzi dealership just about every day on my way to the ship (USS Anchorage LSD-36).  Stopped at the shop from time to time to talk about the bikes at his shop. 

[dilligaf]

With the exception of the TW200, R100GS and the K75C I now own, with the exception of a R100S, the motorcycles I wish I could have owned earlier.  However, owning is one thing, riding is yet another.  The TW200 was a gift, the GS was just to good a deal and I wanted the saddle bags that came with the K75C. 
Matt

PS:  I did own a CX500 Turbo.  Quite a bit of engineering. 

[yogidozer]

Norton

[redrider90]

How about bike that I wanted and didn't have the money then and I am now much better off financially and still cannot afford this bike.
1973 Ducati 750 SS Desmo green and silver.

[huub]

lots of bikes are still not affordable 30 years later,
like the Kawasaki H1 or H2 or the xr1000 or xlcr,

I loved the ducati 916 when it was new, now they are cheap, and i cant see the point of owning one.

[rocker59]

How did all you Jap Bike d00ds end up on Guzzi ??

Guzzi seems so diametrically opposed to the Asian ethos...

 

[Triple Jim]

A Kawasaki H1 or H2 would qualify.    Use to dream about having one.    But no longer on my list today; probably because the limitations are more important to me now than they were when I were a lad.

Limitations?  I didn't know they have any.   

How did all you Jap Bike d00ds end up on Guzzi ??

Guzzi seems so diametrically opposed to the Asian ethos...

 

For me, that's exactly the reason.  My only motorcycle up until a couple years ago was my '72 Kawasaki H2 that I bought in '78 when I was 20.  I decided it would be fun to have something very different, so I bought the '89 Mille.  I enjoy the Mille more than I expected to, and I think I enjoy the H2 more now than I used to.

[rocker59]

For me, that's exactly the reason.  My only motorcycle up until a couple years ago was my '72 Kawasaki H2 that I bought in '78 when I was 20.  I decided it would be fun to have something very different, so I bought the '89 Mille.  I enjoy the Mille more than I expected to, and I think I enjoy the H2 more now than I used to.

That kind of makes my head spin.  I don't get it, but there are lots of things about Guzzisti that I don't get.

Another one is the attraction of the piddly little Honda CX bikes. 

[Dilliw]

[Chuck in Indiana]

Ducati Dianna and a Velo, although I'd still like to have either.. just not enough to make it happen. Gimme a Guzzi..

[Triple Jim]

That kind of makes my head spin.  I don't get it, but there are lots of things about Guzzisti that I don't get.

I appreciate the things about the Guzzi that are different from the H2, like flat torque curve, high gas mileage and 6 gallon tank that give a 300 mile range, very neutral handling, shaft drive, and the sound of the 4-stroke V-twin, for example.  Now when I get on the H2, I'm reminded of the visceral experience of riding a motorcycle that was designed to be the fastest thing on the road in 1972, that to some extent I took for granted during the 40,000 miles that it was the only motorcycle I had.

[AJ Huff]

When I didn't have the money? I've never had the money!!!!

-AJ

[tiger_one]

Harley XR something Sportster in 1967.  Much later got to ride one, and it was nothing like I expected.

Ulysses

Stelvio

[Lannis]

When I didn't have the money? I've never had the money!!!!

-AJ

Sort of a matter of priorities.   When I was 20, I really didn't have any money or stuff, just one bike - I'd buy a bike, ride the wheels off it, buy another, lather, rinse, repeat for years.

So out in the shop now, after years of "gathering" and building and swapping, I've got a BSA A10, BSA M21, BSA A65, Matchless Model X, Guzzi 1000SP, Norton MkIII Commando, a Stelvio, and a Morgan 4/4.   Many people here have similar collections, unless their signature speaks with forked tongue.   

That's my "play money" in metallic form.  IF I WANTED TO, I could cash all that stuff in, maybe add a few bucks that I'd been saving for my old age because it's here now, and buy almost any motorcycle I wanted to - round case Ducati, Vincent Rapide, Indian Four, MV Agusta America, Munch Mammoth, whatever.   

That would have been a dream at one time, to be able to own one of those bikes, and I could do it now.   But my priorities have changed a bit, and given the bikes I own, I really don't want a fancy collector bike bad enough any more .....

Lannis

[tiger_one]

My first MC (dad would not let me have one while under his roof) I returned from Viet Nam with a pocket full of money, and spent all in one place at the local BSA dealer for a nice pretty A65.

The owner and his friends were into offroading the 441 in local competitions, I thought they were all nuts!

[PeteS]

BMW R100RS. Never rode one until 30 years later. Glad I never bought one. I wanted a Honda RC30. 10K seemed like a ton of money then. Would still like to get one now though.

Pete

[neverquit]

Back in the early sixties a new dealer opened in my home town, he carried Ducati, BMW and two or three lesser European brands.  He had a Ducati 250 and a BMW r60/2 in the showroom, I wanted them both.  But a couple years later and I was buying British twins.

[MotoGoosy]

Snortin' Norton, and Vincent Black Shadow....

[Testarossa]

When I arrived in Manhattan back in 1972 any new bike was out of reach -- I yearned for a Norton Commando or any BMW, and the absolute pinnacle of ambition would have been the new Ducati 750SS. I settled for used (abused) machinery needing on-the-cheap rebuilds.

Today I consider both bikes too temptingly sporty for a gentleman of my age. I would ride them faster than my reaction times can justify. Beside, I wouldn't want to adjust the Ducati's desmo valves.

I'm still sort of in that rebuild-the-clunker mode (third time around on the T) but could actually now afford a new 750 -- V7 or FZ07 or ??? or better yet a well-sorted and fully functional used Stelvio. What I really need, for the back of the van, is a 400-lb bike capable of two-up riding on mountain roads -- maybe a KLR.

[lucian]

Wanted this sucker bad.

[Rough Edge racing]

 Brough Superior SS100....Crocker

[rocker59]

Remember , these are bikes we DON'T want anymore  Who doesn't want a Brough or Crocker ? And a Vincent , come on now 

  Dusty

Oh.  I didn't read the first line thoroughly.  I've deleted my post.

If I wanted it then, but couldn't afford it, I probably still want it...

[LongRanger]

Wanted this sucker bad.

You and me both! These things are worth big bucks now.

Orange Krate
Lemon Peeler
Apple Krate
Pea Picker
Cotton Picker
Grey Ghost

[bad Chad]

R65LS,  LeMans III, GS1000S, Hesketh v1000

[cloudbase]

Two Yamahas.

GTS1000
TDM850

[Muzz]

Ducati Dianna and a Velo, although I'd still like to have either.. just not enough to make it happen. Gimme a Guzzi..

Oh my,  me too. I must add though that the Velo would be the clubman rather than the Thruxton.

I still think the Dianna Mk111 to be one of the prettiest bikes ever made, and it went like stink (sometimes )  too.


OOPS  I didn't read the heading properly.    I would still like those two.

[Sasquatch Jim]

  Condor 580 with sidecar, in mint condition.

[bpreynolds]

This thread is so funny and great.  We all maybe have that bike.  Maybe.

Easy question for me to answer, a KTM 950 Supermoto or the R version as pictured here.  Literally for years and years I wanted one.  My wife laughed at me about it, called it the Pumpkin - because of it's halloween colors and such.  I demo tested 2 or 3 and I swear even to this day I dunno if a bigger grin I have ever worn.  Over and over and over again I'd watch this video and imagine how I wanted to be on one so badly it would hurt.  Money just never there to get it.  Then later when money was there it seemed so unpractical I just couldn't justify getting it.  I think I still want the thing but my Striple does more things better and would run circles around it mostly. 


http://youtu.be/X-hSR5ZbuLQ