The short answer is 35 years. My first was a Honda CB-100 that I bought when I was 21. I was married, broke, and my job required me to drive about 30 miles round trip. That Honda got much better gas mileage than the 1970 Mustang I owned. Among the stranger things I did on the bike was ride from Austin to Gonzales, Texas with my very pregnant wife on the back. And I do mean back. My unborn daughter occupied most of the seat. My wife was sitting on the tail light and I was on the gas tank. We got there.
The CB-100 eventually became a CB-450. That one went for a Honda Elsinore 125 street/dirt bike. Then I really hit the big time when I bought a 1975 Moto Guzzi El Dorado Police Model. The decal said that it was a 750. The previous owner had swapped out the jugs and pistons to make it a 1000. That bike would flat move. I put over 100,000 miles on it before I sold it. Other than standard maintenance things like tires, etc the only things I ever had to replace were a broken clutch cable and the ignition coil. Last I heard the bike was still running.
I went from absolute reliability to the extreme opposite when I bought a Russian Ural. For those who doen't know, it is a knock-off of the BMW. Don't buy one. Next was a Royal Enfield Bullet 500. These are 1960's classics that are still made in India today. One heck of a fun ride. Be prepared to learn about things like valve adjustment. It's a hands-on kind of bike. You will also get used to getting a lot of attention when riding it. It does draw a crowd.
The Bullet got traded in when my wife (different one) decided she liked riding with me enough that she wanted to make road trips. The idea of spending entire days in the saddle of a 500 cc single wasn't real appealing to me for some reason. I traded the Enfield in on a Yamaha V-Star 1100 Classic.
The V-Star got a lot of miles put on it. Then came a single month when it seemed that every cage driver on the road was out to get me. I had three extremely near misses. Up until then I had been lucky. I'd gotten a few scrapes and bruises on the dirt bikes but never injured on pavement. It looked like it was only a matter of time. I was in my 50's and figured I was too old to get busted up. I sold the bike and quit riding.
One year after selling the V-Star I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Kind of ironic, don't you think? I was a paramedic for 26 years with stints as a firefighter and deputy sheriff thrown in for good measure. I had ridden bikes, horses and one bull, flown planes, skydived, and generally tried my hand at anything that looked interesting. Then at fifty-something I decided to grow up and be safe only to be blind-sided by cancer. Well, the dance ain't over yet thanks to a couple of great doctors. I've been cancer-free for about a year now. The experience did make me realise that I'm going to go eventually so why not enjoy life while I can? I bought another bike.
This one was a Kawasaki Nomad 1200. Had I been able to ride one before I signed on the dotted line I would have kept looking. Unfortunately the dealer didn't have demo bike I could try. Almost from the minute I rode away from the dealership I started to think I had made a mistake in trying to go back to riding. I felt like I was fighting the bike when starting off, stopping, or at low speeds in general. Add my wife behind me and the top-heavy feel was worse. I blamed myself, thinking that my balance wasn't as good as it used to be, my legs were probably weaker, and so on. I was fairly sure that eventually the bike would get away from me and I'd drop it. I just hoped my wife wasn't aboard when it happened.
Then on a whim we stopped one day at Cowboy HD here in Austin. I sat on an Electra Glide and it sure seemed like it was easier to hold up. My wife sat on back (and fell in love with the seat and the back rest provided by the tour pak) and the bike still felt good to me. I left the HD place wondering if it was me being old and decrepit or the Nomad being really top-heavy. A week or so later I went and did a test ride on a EG at Gruene HD. Man, talk about a revelation. I could do U-turns, tight circles, and ride at a walking pace without feeling like the bike was going to go down. In other words, I could ride like I knew I was supposed to be able to. I told Chris Baumbach of Gruene HD that I wanted the bike but needed to let my wife try riding with me to seal the deal. He sent me home on the EG. Home was 55 miles away. It was a good move on his part. By the time I got home I knew I really wanted the bike. By the time I rode back with my wife aboard she was in agreement.
So that's it. Kind of a long tale but it's done. I've got what may well be the last motorcycle I'll ever need. I'll ride it until I can't ride anymore.
Storm
