If you were going to ride one motorcycle forever...

I had an old BSA royal star that I took the pistons and heads of a 650 motor and bolted on, eazy peazy and the giddyup was crazy!
 
I had an old BSA royal star that I took the pistons and heads of a 650 motor and bolted on, eazy peazy and the giddyup was crazy!

These old Thumpers were a lot of fun. No battery, just a big blue can. I had a few others before my 75 Norton
Norton.JPG

And my last bike was a new Intruder I had for 6 days before being run down. Sadly that was my last time on 2 wheels.
Intruder.JPG
 
Easy...my 5th Gen Honda VFR800.

The 5th Gen has an 800cc V-Four engine with 360 degree crank in perfect primary balance with gear-driven cams and shim-under-bucket valve adjustment. This bike was the result Honda's Endurance Roadracing (think Suzuka 8-hour, Bol d'Or 24, 24 Hrs of Le Mans, etc) program. This motor runs and runs and runs and....NEVER breaks.

Mine has an Ohlins shock and the front forks re-valved for my weight. With fuel injection, a superb suspension, and 100 HP at the rear wheel on tap.

Rode (and roadraced) bikes for many years, as well as many, many trackdays...mostly on Honda CBR600s. Here's a shot from a track day at Miller on my 600RR...
CBR_Miller_Scharf.jpg


And...my VFR is the BEST motorcycle I've ever owned, or, ridden. I wanted one for 20 years before I bought one. When I finally did, I was asking myself, "Why did you wait 20 years to buy one of these?"

VFR-R-Side-Close-up.jpg


VFR-Parked-R-side.jpg


VFR-Yountville-Left-Side.jpg


Out during peak mustard...
Ride-2.jpg


Evening ride Wooden Valley Road, between Napa and Suisun valleys... end of day, beautiful light, beautiful countryside, beautiful road, beautiful bike...👍

VFR-Wooden-Valley-Rd.jpg


Best damn bike I've ever ridden....
 
Easy...my 5th Gen Honda VFR800.

The 5th Gen has an 800cc V-Four engine with 360 degree crank in perfect primary balance with gear-driven cams and shim-under-bucket valve adjustment. This bike was the result Honda's Endurance Roadracing (think Suzuka 8-hour, Bol d'Or 24, 24 Hrs of Le Mans, etc) program. This motor runs and runs and runs and....NEVER breaks.

Mine has an Ohlins shock and the front forks re-valved for my weight. With fuel injection, a superb suspension, and 100 HP at the rear wheel on tap.

Rode (and roadraced) bikes for many years, as well as many, many trackdays...mostly on Honda CBR600s. Here's a shot from a track day at Miller on my 600RR...
CBR_Miller_Scharf.jpg


And...my VFR is the BEST motorcycle I've ever owned, or, ridden. I wanted one for 20 years before I bought one. When I finally did, I was asking myself, "Why did you wait 20 years to buy one of these?"

VFR-R-Side-Close-up.jpg


VFR-Parked-R-side.jpg


VFR-Yountville-Left-Side.jpg


Out during peak mustard...
Ride-2.jpg


Evening ride Wooden Valley Road, between Napa and Suisun valleys... end of day, beautiful light, beautiful countryside, beautiful road, beautiful bike...👍

VFR-Wooden-Valley-Rd.jpg


Best damn bike I've ever ridden....

Brother had a VFR1000 , torque beast ..!
 
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The gen 1 SDR had a (more) standard riding position that allowed for hwy mile munching and light off road. My replacement gen 3 SDR is more aggressive and gave me the excuse to add a more versatile ride to the garage.
 
I have sold my BMW GS1250 and am not planning on buying another motorcycle. After more than 50 years of motorcycling, it was time to call it quits. The parts of motorcycling I miss the most are the racetrack and riding friends. Oddly, I don't miss riding on the street much at all. In my many years of motorcycling I've owned quite a few stellar machines and have had some epic journeys, with the longest one from DC to the West coast and back. I've ridden thousands of miles in the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachians, the Blue Ridge, etc. I've been on racetracks from Ohio to Birmingham. I've gone through multiple riding schools at VIR and have even ridden for a couple of years in Okinawa! I have many tales, some great, others not so much. I only hope that for those that are still riding, that you amass as many great experiences as I have and keep the rubber side down! One of the side benefits of not riding anymore is that I now have more cash for stereo upgrades. I also have more time to enjoy other activities!
 
Steve, glad to hear you've had a long and enjoyable time with your bikes. I gave up riding 8 years ago myself after almost getting rear ended by a moron on their cell phone.
 
I have sold my BMW GS1250 and am not planning on buying another motorcycle. After more than 50 years of motorcycling, it was time to call it quits. The parts of motorcycling I miss the most are the racetrack and riding friends. Oddly, I don't miss riding on the street much at all. In my many years of motorcycling I've owned quite a few stellar machines and have had some epic journeys, with the longest one from DC to the West coast and back. I've ridden thousands of miles in the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachians, the Blue Ridge, etc. I've been on racetracks from Ohio to Birmingham. I've gone through multiple riding schools at VIR and have even ridden for a couple of years in Okinawa! I have many tales, some great, others not so much. I only hope that for those that are still riding, that you amass as many great experiences as I have and keep the rubber side down! One of the side benefits of not riding anymore is that I now have more cash for stereo upgrades. I also have more time to enjoy other activities!
So you were the fastgeezr Before :)
 
not sure I can whittle it down to a single bike. If I had to it would be my 2022 KTM 1290 SAS. Comfortable enough for touring, fast enough to hang with the SB guys and with proper tires really good on gravel and trails.
 
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