Bike you wanted but never bought...

[MikeP996]

I thought I'd start this following on the "1984" best bike thread.

So what's the "best" (in your mind) bike you wanted at the time but never bought?  For me it is the 1978 Honda CBX!  I actually got close to owning one around 1986.  I lived in Alaska and a friend had a '78 CBX and was considering trading me the CBX for my Honda V45 Sabre and some cash.  We went out one day and exchanged bikes back/forth and he sadly decided to keep the CBX.  I had an opportunity then to buy a later model CBX but Honda had turned it into more of a tourer and I was not interested.  I could find/buy a '78 now but I think it's too heavy for my much older self!  I figure 225kg/500lbs to be my current "limit" (and prefer much lighter).  The '78 CBX is 272kg/600lbs :(

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

'83 Laverda RGA Jota w/Slater Brothers fairing and three-into-one exhaust. Wanted it so bad, but the weight and height were an issue.



 

[MikeP996]

Yeah, I forgot, I wanted a Jota 1000 too... ;)

[Tusayan]

Lots of Laverda ambitions….

Mine was a Laverda SFC 1000, almost impossible to find it the US which is part of the appeal, but I bought one this year 

[yrunvs]

1972 Norton.

[PeteS]

Honda RC30. Dealer up the road had one for about 5 years before it was sold.





Pete

[larrys]

A Lemans 1. I saw new one in Mike Swider's shop in 1976 when I went there to buy some parts for the '73 Commando that I had brought back from England. At $3500 it was out of my price range... I owned a hopped up LM 4 in the '90's that was frightfully fast...
Larry

[MarcoSolo]

Bimota V-Due, 500cc two-stroke.  Had a chance to buy one at a rare time when I was both single and solvent but I just couldn't pull the trigger because of all of the problems with getting them to run.  Of course, if they hadn't been so flawed, I couldn't have come close to buying one. 

I raced RD400s on a shoe-string in the late '70s, including once at Daytona during Speed Week, hanging out in the pits with pros riding TZ700/750s, getting such a buzz from the sounds and thought a V-Due would thrill in the same way.

Mad in pursuit, and in possession so;
Had, having, and in quest to have, extreme;
A bliss in proof, and proved, a very woe

[Moparnut72]

See fav bike of 1984.
kk

[jcctx]

One of the many "spyder" profile Montessa street bikes. Just from the pics, never did encounter one in the flesh????

[Motormike]

Man, the list would be pretty long, but off the top of my head:

Mid-70's Suzuki 750 Water Buffalo
Norton 750
Moto Guzzi 1000S
Ducati 999R
Ducati 1049S
Ducati 900ss FE  (still pissed about the salesman in Atlanta selling one out from under me while I was still at work! )
BMW R100S
BMW R100RS
Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans II
Honda GB500
If only I had won that lottery ticket I bought 20 years ago!

[DoubleGuzzi]

So very nearly bought a used one from a dealer, after taking it for about a 25 mile test ride. There was just something about that particular one that rang alarm bells. I couldn't pin what is was but it was not to be. Loved the rush though! 

(At 5`7" and 142lbs, I was virtually unnoticeable to its performance.)

[Michael_A]

Oh wow.. this got me reminiscing!
Had the hots for a lot of stuff, especially in the late 80's or so.
In no particular order...
Yamaha SRX-600; the big kick start single street bike. Had the chance, didn't do it. Been kicking myself!
BMW R90S; A real classic in my eyes, becoming prohibitively expensive proposition today.
Kawasaki GPZ-500; Always were sweet running little bikes.
Moto Guzzi Le Mans from the late 80's; Always thought those were classy, sexy, bikes. Still do.
Last of the airhead BMWW RS's; Still a super sport touring bike.
Hesketh V1000; Cuz I like weird, off the wall V-twins.
MZ-1000ST; Cuz I didn't get the Hesketh. How many did they make? Like around 5 before they went bust, again?

[michaell32]

The first one that comes to mind is a buell xb12.  I still might buy one but I already have 3 bikes so there's no need to get another one.

[aklawok]

 The ONLY bike on my all time bucket list is a street legal Harley XR750 (or 650) but even as rare Harleys go, these are not common as most were sold as factory racers for flat track and chopped and modded.
https://silodrome.com/street-legal-harley-davidson-xr750/
This one went for $17,050 at mecum.

[faffi]

There are tons of bikes I have lusted after at some stage, but stepped away from due availability, cost, complexity or fragility. Or a combination of those.

Hence I will limit this to the bike I was actually going to buy, money in hand, but ended up not buying due to an engine damage. The damage had likely taken place during the last ride by the owner, because it would not start when I arrived to pick it up. After trying for a long time, I suggested looking at the spark plugs. One plug, when we finally manage to force it out, stripping the threads in the process, had its tip totally smashed, indicated a dropped valve. The price reduction he suggested would not even buy for parts, so I left.

The bike in question, that I really wanted for its 24 liter fuel tank, triple disc brakes and shaft drive was an early XS750 with the 7500 rpm redline. Like with every negative outcome in life, I automatically began thinking about all the good reasons NOT to buy it; known to have a fragile engine, very heavy, massive shaft drive reactions. I arrived at the scene really pumped about the purchase, and left happy that I escaped a potentially bad buy.

[DoubleGuzzi]

shorty is short-sighted and screwed up the thread with BIG pics! 

[Guzzidad]

   Aprilia Futura
   MG Griso

[Kev m]

This list could be endless but I'll limit it to ones I seriously considered buying new at one point but then didn't for some reason:

* BMW R100 Mystic
* BMW R1100R
* BMW R9T
* Guzzi Griso 1100
* Guzzi V9 Bobber Sport
* Harley XR1200X
* Harley 1200 CX Roadster
* Kawasaki W650
* Triumph T100 Bonnie
* Triumph T120 Bonnie

Honestly this list was pretty cathartic. I thought it would be bigger and certainly there were plenty more I considered (Buell, Ural, the occasional JAPanInc. product other than above), but most of them were more of a casual thought than a real infatuation.

And honestly, I'm pretty happy with what I've had and what I've got.

[Turin]

Caviar taste on a corn dog budget, it was never going to happen. I still think it's one of the prettiest motorcycles ever made, and what a superbike should look like.

I got to sit on one recently, and I'm now I'm too old and fat to fit. ( and it's still too expensive)

[ridingron]

shorty is short-sighted and screwed up the thread with BIG pics! 

yep JAFA 
 

[davethewelder]

Motus.  Was offered a test ride, no intention of buying, crashed in a Round O bout (oil in road).   Wife had a cow that I would consider a $36000 bike in 2017.[/url]
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[Dr. Enzo Toma]

Both the Honda Cub EZ90 and Motocompo. I've ridden each and they're awesome little scoots, but they tend to be priced as collectibles rather than riders so anytime I start to get serious about buying one I usually end up buying a more practical bike for less money.

[redrider90]

I bought a new 1972 Ducati 750 GT in 1973.  The bike I lusted over was the 750 Desmo SS.  I managed to stop and see it a few times when I was in St.Louis. I never had the money. I don't remember what the asking price for it was back then.

[Shorty]

shorty is short-sighted and screwed up the thread with BIG pics! 

Would you like a little cheese with your whine? 

[DoubleGuzzi]

Would you like a little cheese with your whine? 

Cracking cheese, Gromit

[Tusayan]

I bought a new 1972 Ducati 750 GT in 1973.  The bike I lusted over was the 750 Desmo SS.  I managed to stop and see it a few times when I was in St.Louis. I never had the money. I don't remember what the asking price for it was back then.

The 750GT is really a nice bike, really a gentleman’s motorcycle in its smoothness and power spread, but with the handling of a race bike.  I had a Darmah, which I decided was not as good and sold.  I bought a bevel 900SS to replace it at the low point in the SS’s depreciation curve.  I wonder how I justified the expense, you could buy a nice new bike for the amount it cost but apparently I wanted the SS badly enough in my late 20s. 

[azccj]

1998 Ducati 900SS FE. Local dealer had one sitting on the floor for over a year. If I remember right it was about $10,000, which was a lot back then. It was a bit impractical for the type touring riding I was doing at the time and I could only afford one bike back then. But now I would add one to the garage if Ducati still made them.

[DoubleGuzzi]

1998 Ducati 900SS FE

My friend had one. It had been over-painted in the factory: using up the parts bins - sound familiar?

[drdwb]

In 1974 I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath in the UK, a friend reenlisted and used the reenlisting bonus to pay for  a brand new Norton I think for less than $1000 US$. I wanted one bad, but I also wanted a Vincent which you could still find new and used.  I didn’t have the money, and I already knew I wasn’t going to reup for 4 years for a bike. Also insurance for a non married 20 year old was crazy. I would have loved either, and probably killed myself on ether also, my younger days were a little crazy at times.