Which is/was your favorite bike? [Archive]

PGlaves

01-28-2007, 09:49 PM

So I've read the threads on who owns or has owned what bikes, but now the question is; which bike was or is your favorite and why? One bike only, and it must be one you have owned. Curious to see the answers....:bikes

1986 K75T - owned it 19 years, 369,346 miles when it got hit and demolished by a minivan.

Hotspice

01-29-2007, 02:11 AM

For me it was my K1100RS . This bike and I just seemed to gel on so many levels. Sold it because of carpel problems thinking I could find something better.

Man was I wrong :cry . Still miss it to this day.

http://hotspice.smugmug.com/photos/39322964-S.jpg

hondarider

01-29-2007, 04:48 AM

Picking your favorite bike is like picking your favorite woman...any one of them can bring a smile to your face...or break your heart. How could any one be expected to choose a favorite? I love my little 200cc Scrambler when I'm crusing around town...but I'd absolutely hate it if I had to ride cross country. My Harley Springer is a thing of beauty and splendor until you decide to take it trail riding (true story). My GS promises to be fun in all terrains but I don't think it'll ever make an 18 year old girl weak in the knees. My favorite bike changes based on the needs of any given day.

Oldhway

01-29-2007, 06:00 AM

Now there you go. But there has to be a favorite. One bike that stands out. It may not have been the best, but there's always one that because of the machine, or the time, or the ride, or the circumstances that has a special place in your heart.

For me it was my first "79 Suzuki GS1000E. Was everything from a long distance touring bike to one of the hottest sportbikes of it's time. I saw the Southwest on that one, everything from Texas dirt roads to New Mexico canyons, mountains and desert, to Oklahoma flat lands and I learned more about riding and bikes than on anything before or after. I'd buy another one in a heart beat if I could find one clean, stock, and complete. :heart

Jamming

01-29-2007, 07:02 AM

That's a tuff one.

Montesa 348 trials, it would go anywhere and climb anything.

Yammie YZ490..brutal hit...screws in shoulder to prove it.

GSRX1000...grin machine....cop magnet

77 R100RS....first BMW...still love it

03 R1150R...best all arounder I've EVER owned.

05 R1200ST....Current love...BMW I've waited almost 30 years for.

I guess my favorite bike is the one thats lit at the time.

Rog

26667

01-29-2007, 07:19 AM

as much as i've loved the three airheads we've had in the garage over the years, and my memories of my first long distance/time ride thru the rockies and the southwest on a honda 500, I have to say the blue '97 oilhead RT that i only owned for a couple years. I bought it used after the dealer i was using in L.A. told me my 20 yr old airhead wasn't worth the valve job and hall's sensor and that i should get rid of it. .....! But I loved the power, the handling!, the brakes!!, the heated grips, the heated seat. i loved adjusting the windshield perfectly to suit the moment. I loved riding thru los angeles w NPR blasting on the radio, or some jazz as I wound thru benedict cyn. I loved the styling, the color. i loved my 1 hour, 90 mi sunday am ride up the 134 to the 118 and back to the 101, home, and nat's for breakfast ride. i loved trying to keep up w the chps lane splitting at 35 mph up the 405 when it was slammed. (they walked away from me). I loved the ride from LA to Chi in the cold and rain at the end of October w my jacket plugged in, my grips turned up and my seat turned down, just feeling a little bigger, a little safer ....oh, let's be honest, a little cooler than anyone else on the road.

Bigrider

01-29-2007, 08:06 AM

The one I'm riding! Makes life oh so much easier.

Dave H
San Antonio, TX

lenrt1200st

01-29-2007, 08:08 AM

SRX-600, Single, Yamaha:bolt
Dual Keihin Roller-Slides w/Fram Filters
605cc Weisco
Ported heads
Super-Trap = loud!:D
ME-880's
kick-start only.

Twisty magic:heart , light and stable in the tight stuff. Traded her on a VFR 750 F.
I wish I still had her.
Len

Voni

01-29-2007, 08:22 AM

No question.

Big Red - her more formal name Ruby B. Goinya - my 94 R11RS.

Voni
sMiling

Braddog

01-29-2007, 09:11 AM

My favorite is currently my '77 R100RS. It was my first BMW. I've owned her for almost 6 years now.

I like it because it suits my needs very well. The ergonomics fit my frame exactly. Even with bad knees, and a previous back surgery, I can ride this thing for days. The old cavernous sidebags are perfect for commuting. She still has enough snap to satisfy my very modest need for speed.

However, I also go along with those that say, "the bike I'm riding at the time." How could I NOT say that my favorite motorcycle was my '71 Honda CB100, the little bike that took me everywhere as a 13-14 year old?

Rasbutan

01-29-2007, 10:22 AM

hondarider

01-29-2007, 10:48 AM

I would if I could :thumb

...but my wife won't let me

godzilla

01-29-2007, 10:55 AM

Too easy! My '85 K100. Why? Only bike I ever owned, that's why! Ask me in a few years when I get my next bike!

stewby

01-29-2007, 11:20 AM

My favorite was my 1972 R75/5 which I rode roundtrip from Texas to Connecticut. I like my K75 but the R75 was more fun.

TheSlashFiveTourer

01-29-2007, 01:01 PM

. . .One bike that stands out. It may not have been the best, but there's always one that because of the machine, or the time, or the ride, or the circumstances. . . For me it was my first "79 Suzuki GS1000E. Was everything from a long distance touring bike to one of the hottest sportbikes of it's time. . . I learned more about riding and bikes than on anything before or after.
I'd buy another one in a heart beat if I could find one clean, stock, and complete. :heart

Well, here ya go, Oldhway! Check out # 160077766623 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&viewitem=&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fse arch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26satitle%3D160077766623%26f vi%3D1&item=160077766623).

“THESE VINTAGE ADS LOOK GREAT FRAMED HANGING IN AN OFFICE, LOBBY, KITCHEN, BAR OR GARAGE. A GREAT ACCENT TO THE DECOR THAT HIGHLIGHTS YOUR PROFESSION OR HOBBY. UNIQUE MEMORABILIA THAT SPARKS CONVERSATION AND RECALLS FOND MEMORIES.”

It ain't the real thing but, as the blurb says, "it sparks conversation and recalls fond memories." With a pocketful of change, what more can we ask for in life, eh?

And all for only $3.99. ` ENJOY! ` :thumb
`

Oldhway

01-29-2007, 01:47 PM

[
It ain't the real thing but, as the blurb says, "it sparks conversation and recalls fond memories." With a pocketful of change, what more can we ask for in life, eh?

And all for only $3.99. ` ENJOY! ` :thumb
`[/QUOTE]

Already my heart is beating faster. Ah to be young again....

Visian

01-29-2007, 04:39 PM

So I've read the threads on who owns or has owned what bikes, but now the question is; which bike was or is your favorite and why?

My R80 G/SPD+

It's a sleeper... :evil

http://www.visian.nu/images/muddy_gspd.jpg

BMWDEAN

01-29-2007, 05:27 PM

Two favorites: One modern and one oldie.

Modern: <a href=http://bmwdean.home.att.net/r1200rt.htm>R1200RT</a> because of its performance:

<img border=1 src=http://bmwdean.home.att.net/blue-rt.jpg>

Vintage: <a href=http://jeff.dean.home.att.net/slash2.htm>R60/2</a> because it transports me to yesteryear and because it is so damn pretty:

<img border=1 width=433 src=http://jeff.dean.home.att.net/r60-red.jpg>

hondarider

01-29-2007, 06:07 PM

Those R60s make me all week in the knees :heart

osbornk

01-29-2007, 07:27 PM

Black 86 R80RT and 84 Honda Magna 45

DocZ

01-30-2007, 01:13 PM

Between my old R100RT and my almost as old ST1100 and my long lost DT-1 and my almost as long lost KZ1300 (laugh all you want - I had one and you didn't!) and my Maico 250WR (on the rare occasions when it actually ran) and my 80,000 mile '75 Z-1B and my .....

You get the drift.

Besides, I'd rather have a bottle in ft of me than to... :bottle

rinty

01-30-2007, 07:01 PM

I'm with Voni; my '02 1150 RS.

Rinty

EXR911

01-31-2007, 05:52 PM

After 20 bikes of a dozen different makes - over 49 years of riding?

Although I like my '78 R100/7, the bike in my avatar now restored after 25 years of trail-riding abuse has to be one of those "keepers" - a '67 Triumph T100C Trophy.

PT9766

rgvilla

01-31-2007, 06:54 PM

man, that's a hard question to answer, for me no one bike has been my absolute favorite, except maybe the one I happen to be riding at the moment. I loved my cushman scooter. It was the first time I got the rush and freedom of riding. I put over 100,000 miles on my 750-4 honda, loved it. A couple hundred K on the r90/6. For absolute rush the zx-11 was great. Nothing beat the xr-750 for the dirt track.. you get the picture for me as well.:bikes

Right now my favorite bike is my R1100R.:bikes

28796

02-01-2007, 09:23 PM

While I have several bikes that I've owned for many years & would never consider selling my current favorite would be my 87 R100/S project. It started out as a plain black R80 but a Siebenrock 1000cc kit, Mikunis and lots of time/$$$ transformed it into THE bike I want to ride when I go into the garage. It's a hoot on the backroads around here & the custom Epco exhaust makes wonderful music when I run it through the gears.

I'd post a pic but since there is already one in another thread it won't let it through. Any way around that?

BlackHoof

02-02-2007, 09:23 AM

I used to keep a stable of at lease 5-8 bikes & they were all my favorites.
Now I'm down to one & it's my best one. If I name them, they break. :doh

Long live the blurple LT! :clap

pj1150r

02-20-2007, 07:52 AM

1981 kawasaki kz550a2-not the ltd but the standard -ujm.rode it back and forth from charleston ,sc,to pittsburgh pa almost every weekend when i was stationed there.rode it all over sc,loved that bike! seems too small now,but that didnt keep me back then!

kbasa

02-20-2007, 12:45 PM

I'm pretty nuts about my VFR, but I think my GS is my favorite. It is, by far, the easiest to ride and most capable bike I've ever owned.

The looks are sort of growing on me too.

jwhite518

02-20-2007, 12:54 PM

Without a doubt, the current one: 96 R1100RS.

It's the bike I've owned the longest, and it's my first "real bike," though I've owned bikes continuously since 1981. I love it because of the experiences I've had on it, and the memories made. On this bike I've done all my long tours, my endurance rallies, my Iron Butt rides. On this bike I got comfortable riding in high, gusty winds, in rain, in light snow, in the dark. On this bike I've ridden track days, and scraped my boots on public roads in many states. She's my baby and I love her.

RevWillie

02-20-2007, 01:10 PM

1986 K75T --I owned two of them (made in the same week, delivered to NC in the same tractor-trailer, 47 off in VIN numbers). I put about 150K on those 2 bikes. They were bulletproof and completely reliable. Can't say as much for the bike that replaced the K75T (a 96 R1100RT):banghead

Motor31

02-20-2007, 01:30 PM

Of the bikes I have had or used in the 35+ years I have been riding it always comes down the one that I am currently riding. That's not to say I don't miss some feature of a predecessor, but I changed bikes for a reason and after a lot of thought first.

Right now my favorite bike is the one on my sig. It's also my only bike. I suppose you might say I liked the last one a little bit. I only had it for 14 years.

MechanicSavant

02-23-2007, 12:42 AM

My current scoot is my fav-rave , o4 R1150ra w/touring screen ,hand guards & a few other farkles.. heck I've even found it to be quite serviceable..If there's a better all-rounder out there I ain't found it yet ..(I have been warned by knowledgable people to not rd.test a 1200r till I'm ready to buy ,perhaps next yr.):deal

dlearl476

02-23-2007, 11:20 AM

IMHO, that's like asking you to choose between your children. They're ALL my favorites, for different reasons.

'68 Ducati 250 Monza awaiting restoration
'69 Ducati Scrambler mid-resto
'72 R60/5
'74 Bultaco Alpina
2 X '79 RD 400 Daytona Specials
'79 Bultaco Sherpa T
'81 Moto Guzzi V-50 Monza
'94 K75RTA Gone but not forgotten
'99 Triumph Sprint ST
'99 BMW F650 I've often said if I had to get down to only one bike, this would be it and that is still true.
'06 CR&S Vun

petepeterson

02-23-2007, 05:05 PM

This is easy,,, The most comfortable and favorite motorcycle in my 40 year history of riding was the 1989 Harley FLHTC I bought in Sept. of '88...I could sit on it all day in the garage drinking beer, or ride it all day from 6 am to 9 or 10 pm with only stops for gas and a small soda or snack every second stop... Then get off and drink beer for 2 or 3 hours then leave at 6 in the morning and drive back home,,did this at least once a month, sometimes more...

Only tires fluids and plugs,, and the plugs was cause I just like keeping them clean..

Second best was a 1985 Harley wide glide....................Pete

Brownie

02-23-2007, 05:59 PM

Len.................I feel about the same re: my 1979 SR-500E I had for 4 years....lots of goodies, Super Trapp, etc. Great Thumper, kick only!!!

meisco

02-23-2007, 06:41 PM

. . . for me it is a tie between the 88 K75S and the 96 Ducati 916.

I took the K75s on a solo trip around the country and have a lifetime of memories. It was nimble and reliable and beautiful.

The Ducati was raw power and handling. It stopped people in their tracks. It took my breath away each time I rode it.

Unfortunately, the K75s is in pieces all over Angeles Crest Highway and the Ducati has been decommissioned and (hopefully) will reside in my living room.

Pete