How long do you keep your motorcycles?

[adri]

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I'll go through at least a couple bikes a season.

Some motorcycles a few months is sufficient. They were something I wanted to try, or to cross off a list, or just to fill up my pokemon motorcycles captured owned over the years.

Every so often I just come into a cheap fixer upper that I take in and rehabilitate (fresh fluids top to bottom, fresh tires, fresh battery and filters) like I'm running a non-profit (or sometimes profit) wellness sanctuary, and then send them back out into the wild.

But also like, one of my bikes I've had for 16 years. Two others I've had for 4 years now.

Some people like having one really nice bike and switch when they're ready for a change... I'd much have a handful of alright ones cause that never gets boring and just sounds way more fun to me.

 

[Jampy00]

I used to change as my interests changed. Now, on my final motorcycle as my interest in this pastime have diminished greatly. To be honest I have not even looked at any new motorcycles in years.

 

[mimico_polak]

For me it varies…

CBR125 - 4 months
CBR250 - 4 years
CB500F - 3 years
Rebel 500 - 6 months
CB500X - 4 years
Scrambler - going on S3

 

[Malks]

I've never bought a new bike in all my years of riding. My 1997 ST1100 was bought in 2007 and I will ride it as long as it keeps running. It is the most comfortable and reliable bike I've ever owned and like the Energizer Bunny it just keep on going. It has a little over 200K km on it now, and at 70 years of age, it will likely be my last bike.

 

[Shaman]

Some people like having one really nice bike and switch when they're ready for a change... I'd much have a handful of alright ones cause that never gets boring and just sounds way more fun to me.

This was me for almost two decades. However, the Super Duke does literally everything well. It's hardcore and practical at the same time. There's good competition for it, but for me, this thing is absolutely the only bike I need on the street.

 

[matthew]

I'm approaching 25 years of ownership with my sv650

 

[Aens]

I would have at least one of every discipline of motorcycling. I try to do enough types of varied riding that there does become the right tool for the job.

Would you have a:
Supermoto for iron butt?
Cruiser for single track?
Supersport for downtown rush hour?

But as to selling, if I could keep as many as I had space for, I'd never sell anything that I bought because I like to research the purchase. Anything else, I'd try to borrow/demo day first before purchase.

That of course does not include 'beginner' bikes of a segment but that's kinda baked in on the purchase decision. Buy something to test the waters of that specific discipline, then if I like it, buy nice.

 

[Lightcycle]

I'm approaching 25 years of ownership with my sv650

You must have gotten one of the very first models when it first came out in 1999!

That motor's basically remained unchanged since then, but if you ever wanted to buy a new SV650 with the same motor, Suzuki has your back:

2026 Suzuki SV-7GX First Look

Suzuki drops the 2026 SV-7GX at EICMA 2025, an unexpected sport-tourer using SV650 underpinnings with new ride-by-wire, ride modes, and traction control.

www.cycleworld.com

Taking a page from their own playbook with the new (old) DRZ4S.

 

[Lightcycle]

Proper dirtbike
Dual sport/supermoto
Street bike
Track bike

Supermoto for iron butt?
Cruiser for single track?
Supersport for downtown rush hour?

Found myself nodding my head at these.

For me, it's not all about the motorcycle.

It's more about the riding experience - performance, handling, weight, comfort... And if you are into different disciplines (on dirt, long distance travel, on the race track), to get the best riding experience, you often need very different, purpose-built machinery.

I like to find the best tool for my personal skill level, experience and preferences. Then I tend to stick with it until something better comes along that makes the riding experience that much better.

 

[TwistedKestrel]

You must have gotten one of the very first models when it first came out in 1999!

That motor's basically remained unchanged since then, but if you ever wanted to buy a new SV650 with the same motor, Suzuki has your back:

(snip)

I completely missed that, I think I just assumed it was a parallel twin. I am honestly shocked they are still keeping the V-twin alive

 

[matt365]

I would have at least one of every discipline of motorcycling. I try to do enough types of varied riding that there does become the right tool for the job.

Would you have a:
Supermoto for iron butt?
Cruiser for single track?
Supersport for downtown rush hour?

But as to selling, if I could keep as many as I had space for, I'd never sell anything that I bought because I like to research the purchase. Anything else, I'd try to borrow/demo day first before purchase.

That of course does not include 'beginner' bikes of a segment but that's kinda baked in on the purchase decision. Buy something to test the waters of that specific discipline, then if I like it, buy nice.

Proper single-track dirtbike? With lots of ground clearance and a high seat?

I kid, I kid...

Sent from my SM-S921W using Tapatalk

 

[Lightcycle]

I completely missed that, I think I just assumed it was a parallel twin. I am honestly shocked they are still keeping the V-twin alive

They must have a warehouse full of unused 645cc V-twin engines. Not to mention all the tooling from decades of pumping out SV650s and Wee-Stroms.

They're marketing this as a budget-friendly sport-tourer, priced below the P-twins.

 

[matt365]

Found myself nodding my head at these.

For me, it's not all about the motorcycle.

It's more about the riding experience. And if you are into different disciplines (on dirt, long distance travel, on the race track), to get the best riding experience, you often need very different, purpose-built machinery.

I like to find the best tool for my personal skill level, experience and preferences. Then I tend to stick with it until something better comes along that makes the riding experience that much better.

Right tool for the job.


If I had the space, I'd keep them all... well, most.

I'm back at 4.
4.5 if I consider the pile of parts in my shed... that used to be a bike.

Always another project.

Sent from my SM-S921W using Tapatalk

 

[Mad Mike]

Found myself nodding my head at these.

For me, it's not all about the motorcycle.

It's more about the riding experience - performance, handling, weight, comfort... And if you are into different disciplines (on dirt, long distance travel, on the race track), to get the best riding experience, you often need very different, purpose-built machinery.

I like to find the best tool for my personal skill level, experience and preferences. Then I tend to stick with it until something better comes along that makes the riding experience that much better.

For me it not about performance, handling, or style.

My wood comes from the raw experience of 2 wheels on the open road. I ride new and old, the old gals are less powerful, and handling can be quirky to dangerous, none the less they provide me a thrill.

I don't need the best, but I do like my bikes to fit the purpose. I'm as smiley touring on my 75 Wing as I am on my late model FJR. Same goes for my vintage DR Big as my Vstrom when travelling gravel highways.

 

[Dirty Frank]

Got into motorcycling in the mid 70's riding MX bikes and the bikes were evolving at a quick rate leading to upgrading every model year to the latest and greatest.
Got into street bikes in 81 with a RD350lc and bang on to the same treadmill of yearly upgrades as the state of the art was changing rapidly.
These days with the market slump a model can go for many years with not much more than bold new graphics so the length of ownership is starting to stretch out some as there is not so much enticement to change for nominal or no improvement in the bike.

 

[Bobo]

1971 Honda Z50- 2 years first bike when I was 9
1980 Suzuki GS750- bought new in high school, owned 1 year rode about 14,000km. , mostly on the back wheel
1973 Honda CB750- bought off my brother cheap. It had a 900 kit, crazy RC Engineering cam and smooth bore carbs. Owned it about a year and sold it to pay for my lawyer for the dangerous driving charge I got on it.
1980 Suzuki GS1100- bought used from an acquaintance in perfect condition. An absolutely beautiful motorcycle that I wished I had kept. It was a first year model and absolutely crushed the competition. I had that for 2 summers and rode it only about 8000km.
1981 Suzuki GS1100- bought used with very low mileage in the late 80’s, sold it when I got married, got a mortgage, demanding job blah,blah,blah.
2001 Honda VFR800 Interceptor- Went out and bought this new shortly after my divorce and what an absolutely fabulous motorcycle, it did everything well and looked great doing it. Honda really got it right with this bike in my opinion. I think I put about 25,000 km. on that bike over 2 years. Lent it to a buddy and he got rear ended at the 401 off ramp at Morningside.
1999 Honda VFR800 Interceptor- Bought this to replace my previous VFR that was rear ended. Looked long and hard to find this rare,stunning bright yellow, one owner bike with only 600km. on it. I think he only rode it 3 or 4 times. Had that for about 5 years and about 64,000km. Sold it just because I needed a change,
2007 ST1300- Got a great deal on this new and it was the last year a non-ABS model was available which is what I wanted and got.Had it for about 10 years and 70,000 trouble free kilometres. Great bike but I never really loved it, it was a little bit like driving your dad’s Buick , not very exciting. I couldn’t sell that thing no matter how hard I tried, it looked like new. I ended up giving it away and occasionally roding my wife’s 2007 Bonneville the next few years.

 

[MacDoc]

My first bikes were in MPH, no helmet laws and the QEW had not been restricted access.-
Still recall riding the 250 Yamaha smoker, barefoot with bathing suit and sunglasses to Fort Erie.
Been quite a 60 year run. Some standouts

Red Honda 305 SuperHawk was a standout...rode it all winter in St.Catherines at Uni...numerous adventures,. many come offs in winter. Bikes built different then.

Put many km on my Yamaha RD400 called "The perfect bike" at the time. by a reviewer Much fun - near miss from a tornado outside Ottawa.

Took a few years off with the RD400 languishing in the garage...."no one wants those" when I went to trade it in.

Stuffed a mint green KLR650 in the back of the mini-van
Then many bikes between the kid and I.

Most comfortable bike...90s ST1100 in Australia. Touring windscreen made a quiet bubble at 150 kph but the heat from the motor and thirst for fuel was untenable.
A string of Vstrom 650s and Burgman 650s in Canada riding all year in Canada some years.

Took the only new bike ever, 2018 CB500x across Canada solo when I was 70 ....sold to Mimico.
Had a unkillable 2004 KLR650 in Australia at the same time....damn that took abuse.
Flipped it and a donated Burgman 650 to a 2015 Honda CB300F.
Thought that might be the the last bike but then someone paid too much for it and had a string of 300s and made enough to move to a 2014 CB500FA and $ ahead ..current ride.
Pretty enough for me but the seat...ugh.

very close in performance to my 305 Superhawk 6 decades back.

 

[BusaBob]

I've had my Hayabusa for 20 years. It's now as much a part of me as anything else.

I'll likely be buried with it.

 

[KenC]

There's no "until you crash it" option ?

 

[Lightcycle]

There's no "until you crash it" option ?

If you had no intentions of ever selling your bike, but the laws of physics and the hungry, hungry tarmac conspired to have other plans for you, let's use 30+ years.

Also... feeling a little personally attacked here...

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