I wish I knew how many motorcycles I’ve ridden in my lifetime. Alas, I don’t.
Getting to try a variety of motorcycles is the best perk of the job. Photo by Kevin Wing.
As the son of a math teacher, I inherited some gene that makes me enjoy keeping track of useless numbers. The last two years, I started keeping a mileage log, recording the beginning and ending mileage on every motorcycle I ride. Usually, that’s my own, but I also get the chance to ride several RevZilla test bikes a year. This year, the bike I’ve ridden the most miles, by far, is the Kawasaki Versys 1000 SE LT+ loaner I brought back to RevZilla from Arizona.
My motorcycle sampling got off to a slow start. I rode what I could afford to buy, and that wasn’t much, when I was a young guy. For a few desperate years, I went without a motorcycle at all.
It wasn’t until I passed 40 that I first got a job in the industry, working at the American Motorcyclist Association. Then I started having access to loaner test bikes and began attending press introductions of new models. Over the years since, I’ve ridden maybe a couple of hundred bikes. But it’s impossible now for me to reconstruct that record based on memory alone.
I am fairly certain, however, of how many brands of motorcycles I’ve ridden. So I was unusually interested in riding the Benelli TNT 300 during my recent visit to RevZilla HQ.
What’s so special about a 300 cc Chinese bike with an Italian name? It added a 20th brand to my list. I’d never ridden a Benelli.
So even though I have no idea how many motorcycles I’ve ridden, here’s a current list of the brands:
| United States | Harley-Davidson |
| Indian | |
| Victory | |
| Buell | |
| Zero | |
| Japan | Kawasaki |
| Honda | |
| Yamaha | |
| Suzuki | |
| Italy | Ducati |
| Moto Guzzi | |
| Aprilia | |
| Motobi | |
| Britain | Triumph |
| Germany | BMW |
| MZ | |
| Austria | KTM |
| India | Royal Enfield |
| China | Benelli |
| CSC |
There are some obvious omissions, such as any of the Korean brands, a Ural, an electric other than Zero. I wish I’d had the chance to ride an Alta and a Motus before those companies closed shop last year. Maybe I’ll still get a chance. I’ve never been on an MV Agusta.
The number of bikes I’ve ridden is a fraction of what the full-time testers at the magazines and web sites of just a decade ago got to ride. But still, I expect the average casual U.S. motorcyclist probably couldn’t even name 20 brands without a bit of a struggle. So it’s still a perk of the work that I’m happy to enjoy.
