Finally had some time do my own bike history:
First bike - a 2005 Ducati Monster 620 i.e.
Owned 2005-2008
Great bike to start on (it was fitted with a power restriction kit in accordance with local laws that applied back then in the Netherlands), had to ride around with 25kw for two years until it could come off. Luckily it's a twin, so with all that torque I never really noticed much of the restriction. It was a mechanical limiter on throttle (couldn't go any further than like 5 or 6000 rpm), no messing around with air intake or shit like that. Loved it, and did about 13.000km on it (in four years) before I traded it in for the next bike.
Second bike - a 2003 Ducati 998
Owned 2008-2010
Ever since the introduction of the 916 in 1993 of 1994 - this, to me, always seemed like the most beautiful bike ever made and I'm glad to have owned a version of it, even if only for a short time. I bought this one used and it had run for about 23000km when I got it, I think. When I traded it for the next bike (the 1100s) I had only done about 5000 more. This bike just wasn't suited for road use. That thing absolutely needed to go fast or it was massively uncomfortable. When you did go fast though... fucking amazing bike. Razor sharp really. This one time I even managed to do this awesome thing you sometimes see people do on the racetrack where they sort of 'lift' the wheel over the corner (like in this video, though way less extreme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bbRn2R_w8U )
Had a bit of bad luck with as the previous owner hadn't really kept up with the maintenance while I was told all the necessary work was done. It wasn't... and it never ran quite as good as it should have. The dealer where I ended up trading it in later told me I had dodged a bullet getting rid of it when I did, since some massively important bearing had apparently been just about to give. They had quite a lot of work getting it ready for the showroom again.
Third bike - 1995 Yamaha YZF 750 R
Owned 2010-2013
During ownership of the 998 I lived in Amsterdam and didn't have access to a garage, so in early 2010 I bought something to supplement the Duc with (which could be parked on the street relatively safe), the Yamaha YZF 750 R. When I think about it, it was almost as incredible a bike as the 998, but much more comfortable. It used massive amounts of oil, but as long as you kept pouring it in it was all good. Useful issue too. When someone would tailgate me, I'd let them get really close and then fully open the taps, smothering them in massive plumes of smoke. Excellent fun.
Other than the oil issue, it was a brilliant bike with almost telepathic handling and the smoothest 4 cylinder I've ever driven.
Fourth bike - 2010 Ducati Monster 1100s ABS
Currently own 2010-
Bought this one new in 2010 (trading in the 998) hoping to avoid all the issues that (for me) came with buying used Ducati's and it seems to have worked thusfar. No issues at all. very reliable.
It's an air cooled, 2 valve per cylinder, 1100cc L-twin. Not as much horsepower as the 998 and it doesn't rev as high, but it's got torque for days. Which means it's more fun to use at lower speeds. I also think this model of monster looks much better than the latest water cooled one. Too heavy, and it shows as well imho.
Fifth bike - 1999 Buell X1 Lightning
Currently own 2013-
You know, I thought I couldn't possibly be any more in love with motorcycles... until I rode one of these. What a fucking machine man, I utterly adore it. I still can't quite figure out what it is this thing does so well and it could be that I'm just more susceptible to the Buell's offerings than others (because my friends don't seem to be grabbed by it quite as much). But yeah, for me, this is the absolute pinnacle.
In spring of 2012 I was looking at a Buell XB9 Firebolt, but the price wasn't right as the bike had been out in the rain for a few seasons. My dad and I lowballed the guy a little bit too much and the whole thing fell through, but it was all for the best. After riding the Lightning a year later I figured out I much preferred the tube-frame models. Which led to purchasing the next bike.
Sixth bike - 2002 Buell M2 Cyclone
Currently own 2014-
Alright, I will admit this one may have been a bit stupid, being the third bike and all that (and the second one that needs quite a lot of TLC to keep it going). But as I explained in the previous paragraph, I love this brand to bits and I wanted to have another one. This particular example isn't quite standard - it has an expensive dual disc brake setup up front, a more powerful nissin brake caliper at the rear wheel, custom aftermarket rear suspension, an open air filter and a very pricey tail/seat modification - but the guy wasn't asking the world for it (very low mileage as well), this was probably due to it being set up like total shit, but we managed to fix all that. And now I feel like I got a pretty good deal, if you add up the price of all the modifications you can get pretty close that what I paid for the entire bike... of course, I'm going to end up eating some of that paying the bill for the work the local Buell specialist did to iron out the last transmission related kinks. Hopefully I can ride around the remainder of the summer relatively problem-free. Fingers crossed, hehe.
