Multiple bike owners---tell me bout it

[Old Ryder]

A lot of you guys have more than one bike like I do. I have owned more than one a couple of times and eventually the least favorite had to go---mostly because of financial reasons. Well the B is a keeper--It ain't going nowhere--so I have decided to add one while they are cheap during the winter months and maybe sell it during the high demand time in the summer and repeat the process next winter. Problem is that I am liking this bike more and more. I will tell more later, but I want to hear from a few of you guys first.

What else do you have?
Why do you like it?
How is it different than the B?
Why do you choose to have both bikes---or more than two if that is the case?

Pictures are required. That generally is not a problem since most guys love showing off their ride.

[Jimmytee]

Actually. since buying the F6B, this is the first time I have ever owned more than one bike. My other bike is a Valkyrie. My wife would not let me sell it..For real. Sentimental attachment.

I really didn't want to sell it either. The reality is the Valkyrie has a lot of accessories and such plus love put in to her that I just wouldn't hope to recoup unless I parted her out and that would just be plain wrong.

It's my loud bike with Cobra 6 into 6 exhaust. Sounds mean.Attachment 19219Attachment 19220Valk woody.jpgAttachment 19222

[Tbone56]

I have a 1942 Harley WLAAttachment 19225

[Cool Hand Luke]

I've had 2 bikes for years. Usually a cruiser and a sportier touring bike. They ride differently and I enjoy both experiences. Currently I have a Victory Cross Country in addition to F6B.

Attachment 19224

Also this always lets me have at least one bike to ride if one needs new tires or I'm putting accessories on it etc.

I like F6B but sometimes I want something different. On Victory, I have more legroom, comfortable riding position, higher handlebar, real cruise and abs brakes. I also love that vtwin sound which I can never have on F6B. I also like the feeling of an engine with just the right amount of big vtwin rumble and vibration.

On F6B I enjoy the turbine smoothness and handling. On both bikes I enjoy the stereo while riding.

But most of all, it's nice to have choice of rides on any given day.

[lurking luddite]

I have quite a few bikes (17) right now and I like them all. In Canada insurance is the draw back to multiple bikes. My B costs $1000.00 and that is a good price here with 40 years experience and never a claim car truck or bike. I try to exercise as many as possible and keep two insured. My antique bikes do a lot of sitting. I have a couple of Harley,s but have hardly ridden them since getting the B.
Some people think I need to go to the Betty Ford clinic, the more the merrier.

I just tell the wife there is just more stuff for the estate sale.
I tell my friends my estate sale is going to be so good I wish I could go myself.

[53driver]

Well, it's an evolving process....

My first bike was an '81 GL1100
16613_543773462319225_1253307776_n.jpg
She was my first and she stayed for a very long time.


Next was a '73 HD Sportster, right foot shift.
Attachment 19223
This was the first Harley I ever rode, and my wife procured it from its owner as a "coming home in one piece from my last deployment" present.


After two years, the '73 was just unreliable for anything other than local rides, and after (I admit) begging to get a "real" Harley to ride with the "big boys" in the squadron, I got my '98 Heritage FLSTN.
Heritage.jpg


One of my squadron mates was PCSing and he had a non-functional '78 CB750 - no paperwork - and just dropped it in my driveway one day while I was out.
(no pic)


All 4 of these bikes moved with me from SoCal to Philadelphia in 2002.


The CB750 was the first to leave - I gave it to a fellow Marine who was going to bob it. Never saw the end state.

So down to 3....

I then came across a '98 Valk for an incredible deal - too incredible to pass up.
6 into 6 exhaust - sounded like a properly tuned 1970 Mach 1 Mustang.
Red Valk.jpg


Back to 4....

4 bikes in the stable for a few years, it became quickly apparent that I could not maintain and ride all 4.
If I learned nothing else from the movie Toy Story - "toys are meant to be played with" and I was not doing right by the amount of iron in the garage.

The "letting go" process began.....

I sold the GL1800 to one of my former crewchiefs. It was my first bike and I hated to sell it, but I knew he would give her a good home and it was to be his first bike also.
She is still running strong to this day.

Down to 3....

I sold the '73 Ironhead to a collector for a wad of cash and the removal of 4 trees (his company) on my property. She had become a certified "cranky bitch" and I was basically done with her.
Even the nostalgia of being "my first Harley" was gone, although that my wife had purchased it for me was a really cool concept.

Down to 2......

I had heard about this "F6B" and finally saw one at the dealer where I taught the MSF course.
F6B with Smuggler left side.jpg

Back up to 3...

Sold the Valkyrie back to her original owner.

Down to 2 again...

That's where we be.
One Honda. One Harley.
Equal opportunity.
Two different missions.
Love 'em both.

[VStarRider]

I've had 2 bikes for years. Usually a cruiser and a sportier touring bike. They ride differently and I enjoy both experiences. Currently I have a Victory Cross Country in addition to F6B.

Attachment 19224

Also this always lets me have at least one bike to ride if one needs new tires or I'm putting accessories on it etc.

I like F6B but sometimes I want something different. On Victory, I have more legroom, comfortable riding position, higher handlebar, real cruise and abs brakes. I also love that vtwin sound which I can never have on F6B. I also like the feeling of an engine with just the right amount of big vtwin rumble and vibration.

On F6B I enjoy the turbine smoothness and handling. On both bikes I enjoy the stereo while riding.

But most of all, it's nice to have choice of rides on any given day.

Interesting. I am surprised that you like the riding position more on the Vic. Yes, far more legroom and you can stretch out, but I have found that reclined, true "cruiser" position is not comfortable, regardless of seat, for more than about an hour. Even with the stock seat, the F6B is comfortable for about double that time, then my butt gets numb. A BMW rider told me that the semi-cruiser position of the F6B will be far more comfortable on a long ride than the cruiser position. I didn't believe him. Turns out, he was correct.

I currently have two bikes. I plan on selling one in the Spring to help pay the tuition for my wife's Master's Degree program. However, the more I think about it, the more I want to keep it ('04 Star 1100). I love the Vtwin sound and classic cruiser style. I have it decked out for touring with an AirHawk, geriatric windshield and lowers, hard bags, bars, etc. I am thinking that money can come from somewhere else...and I pull the 21" Memphis Shades shield and ride it naked (not personally...the windshield...you would rather see the bike, trust me).

Of course, this means the car stays outside as two bikes requires garage space. Currently can fit two cars and the F6B in the garage, but not two bikes. Of course, the Yamaha could stay in the shed....just not as convenient.

[willtill]

This was my Harem until last year:



Still have the DR650 and now the F6B

[leroysch]

'88 FLST. Had a '81 Suzuki 1100 (ugly as sin with that square headlight), V&H 4 into 1's.....but had been eyeing this one on the floor of the Tucson HD dealership. Mentioned it to the wife, who proceeded to drive me down to the dealership just as they were closing and demanded.."What's your best price on that bike...."



'95 Ducati 916 Needs no explanation!



'06 Street Glide. Road trips on the '88 were getting....tiring. Thought I deserved hard luggage and a motor isolated from the frame.



'04 Moto Guzzi V11 LeMans The most recent acquisition, found this low mileage example on Cycle Trader. Another V-twin (turnabout is fair play), shaft driven, and more appealing styling to me than the angular appearance of current sport bikes. Classic styling, a blast to ride...and mechanically straightforward.



'09 Buell 1125R-heck..they were giving them away when Buell was shutting down.....



Ummm...what was the question????

[3Chief]

Started with a Honda 500xl dual sport...I think that's what it was, not sure where it ended up.

Second was a 1973 CB360T my uncle gave me. Barely ran and couldn't get a clear title. I moved to MN and my mother got rid of it.

Didn't ride for awhile and ended up with a 1974 Honda CB750four as payback for a debt. Loved that bike, road it four 4 seasons. Sold it to a buddy when I got number four.

#4 was a 1998 Yamaha VStar 650. Good bike, road it for years. Moved it back to WA with me and it was my ride when I transitioned to a year round rider. Sold it when I got #5. The sailor I sold it to grenaded it within four months.

#5 and still my favorite is my 2005 VTX1800F, she and I have been thru to much together to part with. Saved my soul on many occasions and has been my stalwart companion thru many of life's ups and downs. She just started to show her age and I put her in semi retirement so I could take my time and properly restore her to glory.

#6 is my 2014 Kawasaki Concours, wonderful bike however we don't get along. She and I just don't click, I wanted a sport tour for the type of riding I want to do. #5 I can ride thru hell and high water and she doesn't flinch...a single pebble in the rode will cause #6 to slide...let alone water...She being sold either my buddy will buy her or she'll be traded in for the GF's new car.

#7 is the B, not quite the same as my VTX but she's definitely won her spot in the garage.

To each their own, I've enjoyed all of my bikes and learned from them all. #6 was a disappointment but a good learning experience. Wonderful machine just couldn't get comfortable. Had no trust with her. My VTX is/was like and extension of me, the B is getting there.

Nothing wrong with multiple rides either. It's nice to change up once in awhile.