Topic: Length of time of ownership.

[nickjtc]

I was trolling through old 'anything goes' posts and saw the one of Richard with the same bike, in the same place, after many years.

http://www.sohc4.us/forums/index.php?topic=1921.0

It got me to thinking how long we have owned any particular motorcycle.

The longest I have owned any of my bikes was from March 2001 to September 2005; my '00 VFR800. Great bike, bought brand new and sold with almost 90,000km on it.

Over to you.....

[ofreen]

I bought my '75 750F on the Fourth of July, 1977.  It had 3500 miles on it.  The guy I bought it from didn't have a garage, so he kept it in his living room.  He had a ramp he would set up to get it up and down the front steps.  I've joked before that it was the cleanest thing in his house.  And that is no reflection on his housekeeping, because the bike was spotless.  I had just sold my '64 DuoGlide dresser(wish I had it now), and after 3 years with that Harley, the 750 was a revelation.  I remember my test ride on the 750 like it was last week.

I could tell a lot of stories about that bike, but I'll spare you all.  As I've mentioned in other posts, it is still going strong with a fair amount of miles on it, and doesn't act like it is going to wear out.  I've had a lot of good bikes that have come and gone over the years (I still have 3 others), but I still have the 750 and ride it almost every day.

[Gordon]

I hope I ride the 750 long enough to make it into the 26+ years category!  Of course that's 23 years away, so I'll check back with you after I've had kids and they've grown up and moved out. 

It will be 58 years old at that point...  do you think I'll still be able to get parts?

[ic455]

Just got my 750 a couple weeks ago, been trying to get this bike for 3 years and things finally worked out!  My buddy was sad to part with her but he needed the $$$, and I promised him she'd be well treated!

[nickjtc]

It will be 58 years old at that point...  do you think I'll still be able to get parts?

The 750's are popular enough that you've got to assume that there will be a supply of parts for the future. If you can still get every single part for a Commando, brand new, 29 years after the last one rolled off the line, there has to be hope for any high profile bike.

[kghost]

What is the longest time you have owned a particular motorcycle?

Dude which one? I have 8. Does it have to be a running bike? 

Or did you mean whats the longest you've owned any single motorcycle?

[nickjtc]

What is the longest time you have owned a particular motorcycle?

Dude which one? I have 8. Does it have to be a running bike? 

Or did you mean whats the longest you've owned any single motorcycle?

Running or not. From the time you bought it until now, or until the time you sold it....

[loonymoon]

I've had the 350 since 1999. Was advertising to sell it in 2004, but didn't really want to. I'm very glad it didn't go. I don't think I could part with it now, it's very special!!

However I think that unlike Gordon, in 23 years time I will be having problems finding parts for it - with only a 3 year production run that finished 32 years ago, it's inevitable really! Already you can't get some parts - like OEM number 2 exhaust silencer    It's especially bad here inthe UK where this model was never officially imported - you can't easily get used parts unless you get them from Europe or the US.

Thankfully though i haven't needed many parts at all so far - and the pattern silencers are dead good.

Lets hope more clever people start making pattern parts for the littlest SOHC4.