The Bike That Got Away or I Should Have Kept Thread

Bumblebee

Bumblebee

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A little different thread...

I have a list of these....

A pristine 1100 Katana sitting on the showroom floor in 1983...I got deployed before I could get it and it was gone when I got back.

Later at the same dealership I was working on a deal for an RG500 Walter Wolf edition and the deal was going good until the dealership burnt down....that was a sad day.....

Years later I was lusting after a beautiful red Ducati 916-the seller changed his mind at the last minute (I was there with a pick up truck and cash), he wrecked it two weeks later.

A similar thing happened with a white '06 LE Hayabusa I was chasing after, it was a year old with 1000kms on it....the owner wrecked it when I was on my way to pick it up...he decided to take one last ride on it and did a cat-walk wheelie to impress his brother in law past his house....the sad part is he took the insurance off it because it was sold to me.

Bikes I regret selling:

My RD 400 Daytona...bought it from a farmer's field with 1200kms on it and spent a lot of time and money to make it a psycho bike.
My '85 GSXR 750 race bike.....came from the factory with light deletes, rear seat delete and a second set of fairings-I'm told they are rare in this form as very few of them survived.

I sold many others but they didn't carry the same nostalgia as these two bikes did.

I think my current Hayabusa fits into the category of a nostalgia bike.
 
This isn't just my thread....others must have experienced something similiar...

I started this so we didn't fill up the "Old Bikes You Have Owned" thread...
 
In between my Rz350 and Kz1000 I was lusting after an Eddie Lawson Z1R that was green. You might remember them. Vaguely remember it was one of the first bikes with a small fairing on front? Never made the deal on it. But my brothers friend wound up getting one and put a 4 into 1 Kerker on it. Man I can still remember her song. That thing screamed beautifully…
 
Blanca BusaLess said:
In between my Rz350 and Kz1000 I was lusting after an Eddie Lawson Z1R that was green. You might remember them. Vaguely remember it was one of the first bikes with a small fairing on front? Never made the deal on it. But my brothers friend wound up getting one and put a 4 into 1 Kerker on it. Man I can still remember her song. That thing screamed beautifully…
Click to expand...
Yes, the original ELR...they came in green, red and a white if I remember...

Loved them too.

ELR.jpg
 
Bumblebee said:
Yes, the original ELR...they came in green, red and a white if I remember...

Loved them too.

View attachment 1657709
Click to expand...
That’s it! Man I wanted one of those so bad! I was only like 15-16 when they came out and had a Kz1000. But it was so much more timid looking than these. I think they even had same motor in them but the Eddie Lawson bike just screamed COOOOOLLLL.
 
Blanca BusaLess said:
Him, Kenny Roberts and Joey Dunlop were my idols growing up as far as bikes go.
Click to expand...
I enjoyed the races of yesterday where there were no computers or rider aids....due to the schedules much of the testing was done during racing.

As I was factory sponsored, I had the luxury of getting the inside on some of the tech and testing of that tech....tires, brakes, chains and suspension were the biggest testing platforms.

Crazily enough, the Suzuki guys did a lot of testing on my bike....at the time I felt special but realized later that they thought my bike was more expendable and if they screwed up, the factory guys were safe chasing points....

The good part of it all is around 99% of the time, what they did made my lap times faster...there was a short time I was on par with the factory leaders....then they added what they learned to their bikes and I was left in the dust.
 
Bumblebee said:
A little different thread...

I have a list of these....

A pristine 1100 Katana sitting on the showroom floor in 1983...I got deployed before I could get it and it was gone when I got back.

Later at the same dealership I was working on a deal for an RG500 Walter Wolf edition and the deal was going good until the dealership burnt down....that was a sad day.....

Years later I was lusting after a beautiful red Ducati 916-the seller changed his mind at the last minute (I was there with a pick up truck and cash), he wrecked it two weeks later.

A similar thing happened with a white '06 LE Hayabusa I was chasing after, it was a year old with 1000kms on it....the owner wrecked it when I was on my way to pick it up...he decided to take one last ride on it and did a cat-walk wheelie to impress his brother in law past his house....the sad part is he took the insurance off it because it was sold to me.

Bikes I regret selling:

My RD 400 Daytona...bought it from a farmer's field with 1200kms on it and spent a lot of time and money to make it a psycho bike.
My '85 GSXR 750 race bike.....came from the factory with light deletes, rear seat delete and a second set of fairings-I'm told they are rare in this form as very few of them survived.

I sold many others but they didn't carry the same nostalgia as these two bikes did.

I think my current Hayabusa fits into the category of a nostalgia bike.
Click to expand...
It's strange how someone can suddenly become so nostalgic, I think it has to do with age. But what a story. It seems like you haven't been very lucky yet.
And yet you have to keep believing in it. One day it will come your way. But you have to be patient, search the internet every day, because exceptional motorcycles are sold in no time.
I allso have been looking for the Hayabusa copper/silver for years, together with my first great love a kawa ZZR 1100 in candy orange/purple. And this year, as if they came out of heaven, both bikes came my way and I didn't hesitate for a second. And fortunately both in mint condition. So call me a lucky bastard.
 
Bert. said:
It's strange how someone can suddenly become so nostalgic, I think it has to do with age. But what a story. It seems like you haven't been very lucky yet.
And yet you have to keep believing in it. One day it will come your way. But you have to be patient, search the internet every day, because exceptional motorcycles are sold in no time.
I allso have been looking for the Hayabusa copper/silver for years, together with my first great love a kawa ZZR 1100 in candy orange/purple. And this year, as if they came out of heaven, both bikes came my way and I didn't hesitate for a second. And fortunately both in mint condition. So call me a lucky bastard.
Click to expand...
I went from a fleet of 6 bikes at any given time down to one and am loving having only one to maintain.

It was starting to bother me to have my bikes sitting around and not being ridden.

This yellow beastie is my last and final bike, once I'm done riding it, I will hang up my gear and call it a day.

Your fleet is outstanding....
 
Bert. said:
Yeah but when you come across something like this… that RD must have been a special one... wow

1979 Yamaha RD400F Daytona Special Custom – Iconic Motorbike Auctions

Agua Dulce, California - a wild custom RD built by Pasha Racing with a Terry Varner engine.
iconicmotorbikeauctions.com iconicmotorbikeauctions.com
Click to expand...
Wow, that's a price tag right there.....

At the end my Daytona had completely stock paint but had DG pipes, Boydsen reeds, ported, polished, blue-printed, rear sets, Clubman bars, Ohlins shocks out back, Race Tech shocks out front and it was professionally tuned (which in those days was rare).

It was a blast to ride.
 
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