Previous Bikes

Bikes That I’ve Had in the Past…

I don’t go through bikes like some people I know, but I guess I’ve had my share of them. I can’t imagine what my next bike might be. Of the ones I’ve had, I really don’t regret selling any of them – too much.

19?? Honda Express (49cc) – the one that started it all. You can read about how I learned to ride on this page
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1976 Yamaha 500 – I’m not even sure if this is what I said it is. I didn’t know anything about bikes, but I did know that it was cheap and it ran. I had it for less than a year and it was totaled shortly after I sold it.
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1978 Yamaha 500 – Again, I’m not sure if this description is accurate. I bought it from a dealership in Boulder, CO, rode it around for a year and then decided to “upgrade” to something prettier. This bike was also the transport for my first ever long distance trip!
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1985 Kawasaki 454LTD – custom paint job! It matched the VW Bug I had at the time. Belt drive meant that I still didn’t have to learn about chain maintenance.
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1974 Honda CB750 – Another “For a song!” bike. This thing was a beast. In fact, that’s what I called it. Drum brakes that barely worked, top-heavy, heavy overall… but it was still fun to ride around, and was in surprisingly good shape. It was totaled shortly after I sold it.
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1991 VFR 750 – My baby. This was the bike that opened my eyes to the joy of motorcycling. I put over 50,000 miles on this bike, with untold smiles that it gave me. I had a hard time selling this bike. In fact, I stored it in my living room for a couple of years, not ready to ride it, but not ready to sell it.
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1995 Kawasaki KLR650 – I bought this so I could go to Alaska, but an electrical gremlin made me nervous. While a very expert friend of mine thought that she had fixed it, I had no confidence in the bike. In a fit of irrationality, I sold it to a friend and bought a different used bike, one with no known history.
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2000 Kawasaki KLR650 – This is the KLR that I traded the Barbie bike in for. It went through a serious paint revision a few years into ownership, but it never let me down in the almost 80K I put on her. Here is an homage to my KLR.

2002 Bandit 1200 – A fit of impulsiveness hit me when I low-sided my VFR. I knew that the Bandit had a great reputation, so when I saw this one for sale, I jumped on it. Fastest bike I’ve ever owned and still never hit top speed. Probably best for my wallet that I didn’t keep it more than a year.
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2001 BMW R1150GS – I traded the Bandit in on a BMW. I’d wanted one for a while but never thought I would be able to afford it. Technically I still couldn’t, but with the trade-in amount for the Bandit, I told myself that it would be ok. I put over 60K on the 1150 and only sold it when I moved out of the country.

2001 Kawasaki KLR650 – I figured that eventually the 2000 KLR would fail me and when it did, I’d be lost without a KLR in the garage. I found this one with very low mileage at an even lower price and picked it up. It was green when I bought it, but felt that it could use with a more custom look.

2009 Honda Transalp – Upon moving to Switzerland I needed to replace my bike. There are no KLRs here and while I considered another BMW I wanted to try something different. How about a Honda Transalp? They have a great following in the US (only imported in 1989) and Honda is reliable. A year later I realized that I was not in love with this bike and decided to trade it in.

2014 BMW F800GSA – I dropped off the Honda and picked up this delightful BMW F800 GSA. I love this bike. It makes me smile. What else do I need? I currently have over 54,000 kilometers on it and it is going strong!

2 comments

  1. see above says:

    Who disfigured the lovely VFR with such a hideous exhaust? What happened to the useful center stand and the “sweet-Honda-like-detail”, the little fairing on the side stand? I hope that wasn’t you.

    • DantesDame says:

      Seriously? I loved that exhaust. It exposed the SSS and it sounded fantastic. I got a LOT of compliments on it and many other VFR owners were jealous, as a full Two Bros system is hard to come by.

      All that being said, I didn’t make the changes you commented on. The bike came with the exhaust added and the center stand removed. The little side stand fairing that you love so much was there, but as some point it came off (I don’t recall the circumstances). It was really hard to sell this one 🙁

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