I was born in the early 60's, so you do the math. If you want to call be a boomer, I truly do not care. Please forgive me if I get a date wrong, I'm going from memory.I learned to ride when I was 10, on a uncle's 1968-ish Honda 125 while spending some of the summer at my grandparent's farm. A year later, we moved to the suburbs, and there was a good place for me to ride close by. So my dad stepped up!1973: 1973 Yamaha 125 Enduro (an AT3 for you experts). It was a nice bike, but got stolen about 60 days after we got it.1974: 1974 Yamaha DT100. I rode the piss out of this little bike for almost four years, and it was a real trooper. Big hills, big jumps, and a few big wipeouts. It eventually got ignition problems and was sold (cheaply) to an acquaintance that wanted to try to fix it.1978: 1973 Husqvarna 125CR. Just because I was a teenager that read Dirt Bike and Motocross Action all the time, and thought that Husky's were just too cool! Had a couple of years of fun with it, but I sorta got too big for a 125. It was noisy.1979: 1976 Kawasaki KZ400. A street bike, with my own money! It was my personal transportation for my senior year of high school, including my after-school job. Rode it all winter, too. Took it to my first duty station in the service in 1981. It was a great motorcycle; simple and reliable. Had a few small drops on the street over the years, and once got clobbered at an intersection by another motorcycle. Rode it constantly until I had steady work and the means to finance my first car. Traded it in when I bought...1984: 1984 Honda XL350. A fine dual sporter, heavy. Taught me how to kickstart a big thumper. Sold in 1989.1984 Husqvarna 400 Enduro. At the time, Huskies owned the woods (think Dick Burleson!). A very capable bike, I rode it in one national enduro, which was very effective for teaching me the value of BenGay. After less than a year of ownership, it spun out it's water pump while out on a trail ride, causing the motor to overheat horrendously. It was almost given away to a riding buddy who did eventually fix it.1995: 1990 Kawasaki KLR650. Yes, I was bikeless for a few years; life intervenes. This bike was a beater that was acquired cheaply; I spent some time fixing it up and had more fun doing that than riding it. I commuted with it during the warmer months. Sold in 1999 to make room in the garage for...1999: 1999 Kawasaki ZXR1100. The Universal Japanese motorcycle (UJM). A fine steed, although heavy and it vibrated too much. Commuted with it a bunch. Traded in 2001 for bike number 10 below.2000: 1998 Kawasaki ZX7R. Bought with the sole intention of turning it into a race/trackday bike. I followed through and put a bunch of Muzzy parts on it and a full set of Sharkskinz. I went to the Keith Code school and started racing with no success whatsoever! I did dozens of trackdays with this bike over the next 5 years and had some really good times. One nasty crash, but no damage to me besides a sore shoulder and a headache. Parted out in 2007.2001: Aprilia RSV Mille. Flat Black and neon red. It was sexy! I commuted on it and learned that superbikes make crappy commuters. I posed with it quite a bit at local motorcycle get-togethers, which it was very good at. Sold in 2003.2003: 2003 BMW R1100S Boxer Cup Replica. A real hoot just to look at it. I added the smaller bags and commuted on quite a bit, which it was quite good at. But... the BMW styling went sort of smooth after awhile, and the bike gave me no fizz. Sold in 2004.2004: Honda CRF450F. Bought to convert it to a Supermoto, which I did. Raced it once and got a third place trophy! Then the supermoto craze quickly faded, and that was that. I converted it back to a motocross bike, and took it to the track a couple of times. I have it to this day, still ride it, and hope to be able to keep doing so!2004: Ducati Supersport 1000. If you're not familiar with these, they were the 900SS bored out and given a slightly upgraded dashboard. This is/was a truly great motorcycle. Didn't have much top speed (135ish), but handled beautifully. Commuted on it some, did one trackday with it when the ZX7 was laid up for some reason. Dual exhaust, so I put a pair of Arrow cans on it (Termis were much too expensive!) and no motorcycle ever sounded better. Let me say again, no motorcycle ever sounded better. Sold in 2006, because life intervened again, and I needed the money for a new furnance. Really. Also, trackdays took away the enthusiasm I once had for street riding.2005: 2004 Ducati 749S. My next trackday bike. Converted with full bodywork, full Akrapovic exhaust, and a slipper clutch. The bike was tremendous fun to ride fast, and I did trackdays on it regularly. One day, on the front straight at VIR, the motor disintegrated (the bike had only 2400 miles on it). It took awhile and a substantial sum of money to reengine the beast, but the bloom was off the rose and life was intervening again anyway. After one more trackday, I parked it and eventually sold it in 2008.2019: 2014 Beta Evo 300. Life intervened in a good way: I retired! Plus, I always wanted a trials bike anyway. I ride it everyday in my backyard obstacle course; I abuse it quite badly, but it takes it and comes back for more! I've done a couple of events, and had great fun. Two years ago, I had never heard of Beta motorcycles; now, I'd recommend them to anybody.2020: 2018 Kawasaki KLX140. Recently acquired to help the teenagers in the family cope with quarantine boredom. And I figured it was time I gave something back by teaching some people to ride!I've been blessed with good health and being able to have these nice things in my life! I wish as much for all my motorcycling friends. via /r/motorcycles https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/comments/gkm7ty/motorcycles_i_have_owned_long/?utm_source=ifttt
