Sometimes I know exactly where I am going. In that case it’s easy, pick a route and go.
More often I have an idea where I’d like to end up, and generally speaking a direction to go.
Once in a while I just follow the front wheel and see where it takes me.
I've had more than a few questions about bikes I've owned. This list covers the last 15 years since I started digital photography.
Even though I ride Connie a lot, she's not the only bike in my life. Connie is the best all round motorcycle I've ever ridden, but I knew others before, and have almost always had at least one other in the stable.
This is certainly the best looking bike I've owned, and might be the most fun. A Ducati multi-strada, it's the only bike I've ever named. Pato Rojo (Red Duck). This bike had been lightened and improved when I got it in trade for a Suzuki B King. Not only was it a beautiful beast, it weighed well under 300 pounds.
When it was made this Suzuki Hayabusa was the fastest production motorcycle on earth. This bike had been reprogrammed, lightened, custom intake and exhaust added. Easily capable of speed in excess of 200 mph. I couldn't ride it, I'm just too big to tuck into the riding position for any amount of time. I did ride it enough to triple the speed limit a time or two.
This is the Suzuki B King that was traded for the Ducati. An incredibly interesting motorcycle that was made for only one year (2008). It was a 'naked' Hayabusa that was slightly detuned but still made 180 HP. I toured this bike a couple of times with Uncle Larry Clark on his Blackbird. It was the only bike that I could make keep up with Larry. It had the capability of making objects that were too close in your mirrors disappear.
Speaking of Suzukis, this is the current other half of my stable, a Suzuki V Strom 1000. It's a wonderful back road bike that can take everything I might want to haul with ease. This picture was taken the day I got the bike home.
This is the V Strom today. I've added 30mm ammo cans as saddle bags, a cargo rack and can carry EVERYTHING. It's just a wonderful multi purpose motorcycle that rides good and goes deep. It's not as good long term as Connie, but it's still a pretty good ride.
Talk about beloved bikes. This is my Honda ST1100. It really did introduce me to incredible traveling possibilities with a motorcycle. Sporty, smooth, comfortable. I put over 130,000 miles on that bike. I bought the Corbin seat shown in this picture and wore it out. The bike had 190,000 miles on the clock when I sold it without any major mechanical problems. Engine and transmission were as smooth and powerful the last mile I put on it as the first.
You could always tell my ST. The previous owner had forgotten to lock the saddle bags on one day and one of them came off and skidded down the highway and scuffed it pretty badly. I painted them flat black immediately with the thought I would have them repainted. I never did, and had the most distinctive ST on the planet.
This is one of 3 Suzuki Bandit 1200s that I owned. They are just a hoot to ride, make a great hooligan bike, fast and furious and pretty darn nice to ride. This particular one was a Canadian bike so I had to translate the MPH on the fly. I did OK cause I never got a ticket on it. This picture is taken in my shop with no walls and a motorcycle lift. It's a tough life.
You are right, I've ridden more Suzukis than anything else over the years but there are three that have the bulk of my milage. Connie (Kawasaki), the Honda ST and a Yamaha Venture Royale. I can't find a single picture of that bike but I put well over 100,000 miles on it.
There are a few others that I bought with the intention of selling, though I managed to put a few hundred miles on them.
All words and photographs in this post are mine. For better or worse
You want some real motorcycle travel? Check out Velimir. That’s some kind of motorcycle writing.
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The Ducati is far and away the most beautiful of your bikes. Mine was far and away the most beautiful of my bikes. I think it was a 750 SS, red of course. Why they made Ducatis in any other colour I'll never know. Way too much bike for me, but I loved showing it off for a few weeks and I never dropped it.
Trust me, I'm a doctor.
You had an SS? I lusted for one for years. A guy I know here in Yuma has a yellow one for sale. It shoulda been red.
I'd love to take a seat on one of the new SSs. They have brought some really cool innovations out on it including an 18,000 mile valve interval. At at 900 CC it should have plenty of 'juice'.
Thanks for a great 'insider' comment!
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Hey @bigtom13!
I am from the city of Ducati! I love those and the latest Multistrada is so beautiful (and fast indeed). My favourite is the Hypermotard!
Thanks for your post ✌️
Wow, that is cool! My husband has a Ducati!
My God!
OK @bigtom, you've shown me what true passion looks like.
Jeez! I could rightly say bikes are your Achilles heel.
So much detailed info on bikes...plus your photos are just too sharp.
This is truly a good post.
They are my Achilles heel indeed, and I've rarely met one that I didn't like :)
Thanks for the kind words.
😁
great and safe travels...check out the Berra post yesterday!! you'll like I think..
Thanks and I will check out the post. I loved Yogi!
be safe!thnx
Too many bikes. Clearly displays your extreme love for bikes. When you talk about speed, where do you drive the bikes. Don't you have speed limits ?
I may have, on scattered rare occasions exceeded the posted speed limit. Southern Arizona is full of roads that are straight and level with good pavement and very light traffic.
The nice thing about motorcycles is there is always room for one more.
I love how these bikes almost tell your life story. I bet each one has tons of trips and stories to tell of
They do each have a story to tell! I've had Connie for 8 years now, and I still park her, walk away then look back. They are definitely more than parts and pieces to me.
so romantic :)
Pretty cool collection! I hope sometime to get one of such bikes. It gives much more freedom of movement than a bicycle I have now
I remember my first bike and how it expanded my world. It's just amazing how it changed.
Go for it. There are lots of really cool bikes to start on, and who knows? You might get to spend the rest of your life like I have.
Wow, Nice bike's !
Thanks. I've loved every one of them :)
Wow,good job bigTom☺
One word - Amazing! You've had an amazing collection... I've only ever sat on a bike, once or twice... lol, as a passenger of course! :D Beautiful collection of machines, I must say... mostly black, red and silver... niceeee! ;)
I'm just a motorcycle geek and have been all my life. I have almost never met one I didn't like.
Hmmm, don't know if you know @woodywood143 - he's the fractals expert and does a lot of 3D modelling of fantasy bikes (and others)... Something just clicked in my mind that you might like to look at his work... :D and would be great to see what you think of them!
I don't know him, but I soon will :) Thanks for the heads up!
Those bandits are looking really good, definitely one of my all-time favorite bikes. Nice to see content like this on Steemit! Thanks for sharing ;-)
I think the Bandit is one of the best bikes that's ever been built. I've got 0 miles on the 1250 version but have heard good reports on that one, too.
Wow, You really do get around with those motorcycles. Do they know about each other? That Ducati looks like a pretty sweet ride as does the Suzuki Hayabusa. I'm guessing there was a speedster in you at one point. I can imagine the thrill of hitting top speed on one of those bad boys.
Every time I looked at that Duc it was like seeing Sophia Loren standing in my kitchen. Surreal. I owned it for most of 2 years and that never went away.
The Hayabusa was built for speed. Every bit of it just begged to go fast. But I can tell you there is a point where the enjoyment goes completely away and all you are doing is concentrating on the line you are riding because everything is going by so fast. There actually is such a thing as too much horsepower which I'd have not said as a young man.
They all look "too plastic" to me hihi, well, maybe not the last black one. I prefer old school choppers but I can see why these are nice too.
Choppers look good, no way around it. But the better they look, the worse they ride. I like to go long and so love the bikes with plastic protecting me (at least most of me. I have to have wind on my face.) from wind and rain. It's all about function and not so much about form for me. The last black one is a true hooligan bike and I've owned 3. Not that I'm a hooligan :) But that Bandit is just pure motorcycle. Everything you need and nothing you don't.
all motorcycle looking so good.i like motorcycle. all are high speed motorcycle.so this motorcycle drive safelly and carefully.thanks for share motorcycle reviwe and photo.
It's funny, but the older I get the less I need to see what the motorcycle will do. The motorcycles have gotten faster over the years and I have gotten slower.
Nice bikes. Wish I saw more of the great US. keep telling us about your journeys.
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More pics of the Duc! My husband has a Ducati that we brought to Panama when we moved. He wrote a post about it here a few months ago. Those are some nice looking bikes! Thanks for sharing!
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STOPnice pictures 🏍 greetings!