Enjoying semi-retirement, my 17-year-old Triumph Speed Triple mostly makes short, local runs, like a ride to a nearby park on Labor Day.
A colleague had a couple of bikes for sale, and had recently bought another used one, so I was asking him if this was part of a strategic master plan to realign his fleet of (mostly old) motorcycles, or just typical buying and selling activity for him. It turned out to be the latter, but after I put down the phone, I started counting months and came to a realization not about his buying habits, but about my own. I have not bought or sold a motorcycle for more than four years and three months, and that’s the longest period of time in my motorcycle-owning life that I have not made a change in my lineup.
Some people spend 20 years with the same motorcycle, while others switch more often than an ego-addled hostess at the Grammys changes dresses. Among motorcycle owners, there are the loyal and the promiscuous. I used to be middle of the road. Somehow, I have edged toward the loyal side of the spectrum.
Could it be I’ve finally assembled the perfect combination of motorcycles, the ideal lineup that meets all my needs? Nah, that kind of perfection will never happen.
But I have to admit I’m pretty close, even if I got here without much long-term planning.
The Kawasaki Versys gets to go on the fun trips, but also has the mundane chores of getting the groceries.
The slice of our 1.5-car garage devoted to my motorcycles holds my 17-year-old Triumph Speed Triple, my 2006 Triumph Daytona 675 and my 2009 Kawasaki Versys outfitted for traveling with Givi locking panniers and heated hand grips. Together, they have about 149,500 miles on the odometers, though the Speed Triple accounts for most of that. Most importantly, they complement each other and cover a wide enough spectrum to enable every kind of riding I do these days. The Versys is practical and inexpensive to operate and equipped for one-up touring, so I’m always on it when I leave town. The Daytona is such an incredibly competent bike, I’ll never need more performance than it can provide. It’s ridden on sunny summer sport rides and track days, because riding it in stop-and-go city traffic is torture, both emotional and physical. It’s kind of like asking Secretariat to plow the cornfield. And the Speed Triple enjoys semi-retirement. It’s rougher than ever, and always did spit and grumble and rattle, but on a certain level it’s still my favorite and may forever be.
Some people look for the perfect bike, the one that will do everything. I spent less than $13,000 to buy the Versys and the Daytona, but I can think of no single bike I could buy for $13,000 (or any price, really) that I would rather take on both a 2,000-mile trip and a day at the track than the two I have, using each one for its strength. Unless you’re a one-dimensional rider, two complementary motorcycles are always better than one.
The Daytona 675 gets the flashy assignments, like a track day recently at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The riders on the promiscuous side of the motorcycle ownership spectrum want to experience everything. A few maximize the cost of motorcycle ownership by buying the hot new bike every year. My Speed Triple was originally owned by such a guy. Every year, he’d buy the new motorcycle the magazines were raving about and trade in last year’s hot model. In 1997, the Speed Triple was the new thing. He owned it the first year, and I’ve owned it for the next 16. He took the first 20 percent of the depreciation hit, and I’ve taken the rest, but I feel I’ve gotten my money’s worth.
So, with my current lineup, am I set for years to come? Well, possibly, for a while. Of course a guy can still dream, even a guy who’s ever more toward the loyal side than the promiscuous side. For example, I wanted a lightweight touring bike that nobody makes, so I massaged the Versys into a near facsimile, but I can imagine better options, if I get more ambitious with modifications. My story on Mark Morel’s highly modified Kawasaki ZX-10R got me thinking about what could be done with a 600-class sportbike. Plus, I really, really, really want an electric motorcycle. I love them for their simplicity, as much as for any fuel savings or “greenness.” But I also have to admit that I really, really, really don’t have any legitimate need for one, since I work at home and don’t have a daily commute.
Eventually, circumstances will force a change in this, my longest-lived motorcycle lineup. But as long as they keep getting me where I want to go, whether across the country or around the track, I’ll stay loyal.
