Motorcycles I've Owned

Current bikes: 4
(Updated November 2024)

2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan, 2009 Buell Blast, 2004 Honda Shadow VT750 Aero, 2000 BMW R1200C, and if you count my sisters bike which I helped buy and is stored with my bikes you can count a 1993 Honda Nighthawk 250

2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan 411cc

(17k miles)

2004 Honda Shadow VT750 Aero
(Between 21l-23k miles)

2009 Buell Blast 500cc
(938 original miles)

2000 BMW R1200C

(44k miles)

2004 Suzuki GS500F

First motorcycle, bought fall of my senior year.

Me and my friend Ben out on a ride

Right after I sold it, loaded up on the new owners trailer.

UPDATE! September 2023, I HAVE MY FIRST BIKE BACK!

A few nights ago I couldn't sleep and was browsing FB marketplace for deals and random junk. And I saw a 2004 Suzuki GS500F for sale. I sent the guy a message with a photo of my old title I still have for my first bike, that I bought just 2 weeks shy of exactly 5 years ago, to see if it matched his VIN. It did. I found what was my first bike on marketplace for the 2nd time since I had owned it.

The last time it was titled was to the guy I sold it to in 2019. He sold it to a kid who died on the bike in Hartford in 2021. It's now a salvage title (the title was stamped, but vin still shows clean in record). It was bought from the tow, scrap, or impound yard after the crash and a guy was selling it on marketplace 2 years ago. He ended up being a jerk and not holding it for me for 1 day. Between me and the guy I bought it off of there has been 6 owners. This last guy who I got it from, for $100, had parted it out after getting it to idle and run. All that's left of the yellow body is the gas tank with that same hot fire lady decal on it. And a massive dent most likely from the fatal wreck it had is my guess.

I had only heard it was crashed and someone died on it from when I messaged the reseller 2 years ago about why it was all messed up and how it had been in a wreck back then. He said when he bought it that was the story the yard told him.

It's a junk bike, not interested in eventually restoring it or anything of the sort. I want to make something out of it or parts of it. As well as hang the gas tank in the garage ofc.

Many people can't say they still own their first car or motorcycle. And to me being the junk collecter I am, it's kind of sentimental to have it back even if it's just scrap metal.

2004 Honda Shadow Aero VT750CA
This bike was my uncles and had been outside for years under a tarp as can be seen in the photos below. It had originally only needed a new petcock on the tank but after years of sitting I went through cleaning the carbs, new coolant, brake fluid, final drive gear oil, oil change, and a fresh set of Dunlop tires.

Showing my uncle the bike all cleaned up and back on the road

2004 Aprilia Futura RST1000

This was the bike that started it all, even though it wasn't my first bike. My high school friends dad had a Ducati sport bike as well as this Futura which he had just left outside for years. I wanted to buy it and over the course of a year or so I ended up buying it off him after having already started with my GS500F. I sadly never got it to run right and ended up selling it to a guy from Vermont. It was a cool bike and is what got me into them. Before asking to buy it I never had any interest in motorcycles.

1986 Suzuki Madura (2x)

One was a parts bike, the other was a restoration project. Wasn't able to get it done and sold the project and all the parts to a guy in MA who is almost done with it. Should be on the road this summer (2023) he said. The parts bike he didn't want so I parted it out and after no one wanted the frame I zip-tied a bill of sale to the frame along with the bottom end of the motor still in it and put it on the street corner for free. Bike was sold in 2021.

This is what it looks like now after the new owner has spent the last year or two working on it

1982 Kawasaki KZ550 Spectre

Got it running the day after buying it. Threw a new battery in and cleaned the carbs. I was so eager to ride it I forgot the choke was out, didn't let it warm up, and ripped it down the street. About 1 minute later I blew the engine (lack of oil to the top end) and fishtailed all over the road. This was the first time this has happened to me so I rode it out and didn't even think to hold in the clutch. I left a long tire streak on the road and had to push it back home about a mile. I tore it down that same day to part it out on Facebook and eBay. I cut the neck of the frame off with the VIN and sold it on eBay with a clean title and bill of sale.

RIP KZ550, the bike that could have been :(

1980's Honda Silverwing GL500

I ended up buying my uncles other bike which had sat longer than the Honda Shadow had. It had been like this for about a decade. The stator motor had gone bad and would not recharge the battery. To fix it the motor would have to come out and it's a pretty intensive job all together. Given the condition of the bike the plan was a full restoration project with my dad. We got overwelmed and with too many projects going on we agreed it was time to sell it. We did however get the bike running together and was one of the first projects me and my Dad did together in the garage in a very long time.

1986 Kawasaki Ninja ZX600R

Bought it already hacked up and "modified" to be a cafe style bike. It wasn't running and had a ton of parts missing. Bought it for $300 hoping to part out. It's been 2 years and I still have almost all the parts still in storage with half listed on eBay. I also put this frame on the curb with a bill of sale in a plastic bag zip tied to it. Shipping entire frames is a pain in the butt and doesn't usually bring in much profit. The only way it does is if you cut the neck off with the VIN and have a clean title that you sell on eBay.

1998 Ducati 900SS CR

So there is an interesting story on this bike. My friend in Connecticut was at some guys house buying parts off an old square body and noticed this clean red Ducati in his shed with a bunch of hacked up bikes. He asked the guy how much that day and was told $2,000 if it was that day or the next. He gave me the details and I drove down from New Hampshire to get the bike the next day, he even drove it over in a trailer to the garage. He didn't have a title though, nor a previous registration. The story was that his friend had done some landscaping or construction work in Southern Connecticut for a guy who worked for Sikorsky (the helicopter company). Instead of paying him the guy gave him this bike and was going to mail him the title when he found it. Supposedly the guy had a ton of expensive cars and bikes, this Ducati was just another toy to the guy. Well he never sent the title or something and this guy (who I bought it from) had bought it a few years before from his other buddy (the contractor). Now if I had still been living in Connecticut at this time I could have registered it here no problem since it's over 20 years old Connecticut only needs a bill of sale, as long as it had last been registered in the state. Since I was in New Hampshire I had to get the bike there. I had Rob and the guys at Speed Demon Cycles & Towing in Bloomfield check it over and it needed a lot of work, money I didn't have. It was leaking oil from a few places, and the timing belt was cracking they said. So I listed it for sale on Facebook marketplace. Very soon after listing it a guy offered to pay full asking price and would send the PayPal right then and there, which he did. He had worked in Italy for Ducati in the 90's/2000's and always wanted this cafe racer style 900ss. He was now high up in the electric motorcycle field as director of design for one of the biggest EV bike companies there is, and Vice President of another in Canada. After months of back and forth messaging, and being unable to reach him for most of it, I was stuck with a problem. The bike was sold, I had spent the money, but needed it gone since it took up space. After months of reaching out I called him company and had them forward the message that I needed it gone or would resell it, but could only refund what the next buyer paid which might have been less. I had no intent of keeping his money and would have done a full refund if I could have at this point. Luckily he got back to me a day before a new buyer came. He ended up driving over 9 hours from Canada all the way down to get the bike. He didn't have a truck, nor a trailer. Instead he had a red Honda Element which matched the Ducati perfectly. I don't know how but we got it to fit in the back. He then had the problem of getting a bike with no papers besides a bill of sale across the border into another country. I don't know how that went down if they accepted it without issue with the BOS or if he got it in another way, all I know is it now lives in Canada lol.

I wish I never sold it.

My Friend Maya flicking me off lol. First time sitting on a motorcycle

2004 Moto Guzzi California Stone 1100cc

Bought locally in my town from the original owner. It only had 1k miles on it since new and hadn't been ridden in almost 20 years. He had been having issues with the hoses inside the tank on the fuel pump coming off and after a few times bringing it back to the dealer he gave up and left it under a tarp next to a shed. This bike was supposed to have had the hydraulic lifters fixed as a manufacturing defect and was covered under warranty. Well since it sat, it never had that done. No dealerships would do it, and none even had the tools anymore needed nor the parts that would need to be replaced. I planned on keeping the bike since I had gotten it for such a great deal (under $1k) but due to the amount of time I had and the cost of getting it running wasn't worth it. They aren't super reliable bikes from what I read and didn't have much of a resell value even if the recall was done and it was road worthy. Ended up selling to an engineer from NY who came with his girlfriend since it would be her first bike. About a week later he messaged me with a video of it running and him riding it. Glad to know this bike is back on the road and being enjoyed.

2000 BMW R1200C

It's crazy writing this that I owned this bike at the same time I owned the Ducati, the Guzzi, and my long time running Honda Shadow. I bought the R1200C locally as well around the same time I bought the Guzzi. I had actually posted on my local FB page that I was looking for motorcycles that might have been sitting in the garage for a while and needed a new life. I didn't want another junker, or a partout bike. I wanted something that in theory just needed a battery or carb clean. And I found it with this bike, well kinda. It had been under cover outside a condo complex for a couple years but the previous owner said it ran fine when parked. Bought it for $1,000 with a ton of extra parts in a bin to go along with the deal. After putting a new battery in it I fell in love with how weird it looked and how much more comfortable it felt over the shadow. At the time I was making really good money and didn't really have many expenses so had MAX BMW of Southern Connecticut do a full service job. For about $2,900 they picked it up, changed the tires (new Metzeler's), changed the engine oil, final drive gear oil, adjusted the valves, new air filter, spark plugs, wrapped the exposed parts of the wiring harness (they fall apart on these older BMW's), and installed full stainless steel braided brake lines. It is by far the most comfortable machine I've ever ridden and was my bike of choice when I did a multi day trip in the Adirondacks during the fall of 2022. It was on this bike crossing Lake Champlain from NY to Vermont on a ferry that I met my ex. It was the bike I had at college in Concord, New Hampshire has since been my go to ride until my most recent purchase below.

2001 Harley Davidson Sportster 1200

This was an impulse buy in winter of 2023. The plan was the make it into some kind of cool rat rod bike that I would ride around town on when visiting Connecticut. It grew on me and I've since replaced the damaged brake lever, and installed mirrors that actually work. I've started the process of selling all the extra parts that came with it as well, one of those parts being the original white 883 tank it came with. This had started life as a white 883 but was converted to a 1200 by the dealer in 04, I have all that paperwork and all the paperwork since new. The paint job was done by the previous owner and is a very dark purple that most of the time looks black. It has low mileage too at only 12k. For the time being I'm keeping it but it is on marketplace for sale and if it sells great, if not also great.

2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan

My most recent purchase is a 2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan nicknamed Jimmy or Jim-A-Layan. I bought the bike early May 2023 second hand with a little over 1k miles on it and a bunch of accessories already installed like an aftermarket taller windshield, brush guards, extra fuel storage, LED headlight, hard bags, Euro spec rear turn signals and brake light, and a full exhaust. I bought it for $4,500 which I feel is a fair price given all the extras it came with, the original papers from the dealer, and only 1000 miles on the clock. I have already taken it off-roading a few times up gravel, in fields, through mud, brooks, and sand (where it didn't do too well lol). The bike won't go above 80mph but I don't need it to. This is my first bike newer than 2004 and still has 2 years of manufacturer warranty on it! I plan on taking it to 49 states (not Hawaii), Canada, and Mexico this summer of 2023. After that I see it being my go to commuter and will probably keep it with me during the remainder of college. I absolutely love this motorcycle.

Buying the bike

Tail of the dragon summer 2023

New friends from Georgia, met on a ride in Wyoming during Sturgis 2023. Good memories made

Buffalo Chip Sturgis 2023

My buddy Devon seeing if the Himalayan can wheelie (it can). Didn't get any photos of me on it learning to wheelie but after an hour I was able to get it up. Not as well, but was able to do my first wheelie. Stock gearing (15tf 38tr)

Either Kansas or Nebraska 2023

Sturgis 2023

2004 Yamaha TTR90 Dirt Bike

Bought it cheap being told it needed a new top end. After adjusting the carb a little, adding some additives to the oil, and fresh gas it runs fine. Well, it still does this thing where it has too much pressure in the case to leaks oil from the overflow tube but other than that it's mint lol.

1989 Yamaha Virago 1100cc (One and a half of a bike lol)

I bought this off the same guy I sold the Madura to a few years prior. It had something like 50k miles on it and had "run" but he was going to do a single carb mod to it. I bought the bike and an extra front end that had literally just been cut off the frame of another bike for parts. Technically I did a bill of sale for each VIN so it's 1.5 bikes on the list owned lol. I sold the two bikes a few days after getting them for $100 more than I paid which covered the gas going an hour each way when getting it. I kept the parts and that is what I was really after since each carb goes for about $400 on eBay and it came with 3 sets plus a ton of other parts. If I had the time or the energy I could have milked more parts off this bike but with my big summer bike trip coming up I don't have that time. Will still be a good pay day at the end when all the parts have eventually sold.

This is how we loaded it in the truck. No idea why, we should have just used ramps but the guy told me not to bring them, he'd load it.

Came with 3 extra carbs and a ton of parts. This is what I really wanted, I didn't care about the bike I wanted the parts

1980 Kawasaki KE125 Enduro

I bought this semi sight on scene from a friend who pulled it out of a junkyard in Southern Connecticut. It had 500 original miles on it and even had the break in period sticker still on the speedo from 40 years ago. It has a lot wrong with it and I don't have the expertise to restore it so it's going to be an eBay part out same as the Yamaha above.

1974 Kawasaki KS125

After buying the 1980 KE above I bought this rolling frame 74 KS125 with a few bins of parts, and a spare parts motor. My plan was to make one running bike out of the red KE but after looking at it closer and starting to tinker I realized both where a mistake to have bought for the prices I paid. I stripped both down to their frames and they are getting parted out on eBay.

1980 Suzuki Rm100
Bought for I think like $80. Removed anything of value (clutch basket, head, carb, gas tank, seat, fenders, wiring, stator) to sell on eBay. Then put the bike on the street for free and was gone within an hour. The exhaust had bad rot all over it and was worthless, massive holes on it.

Chinese pit bike (50cc 2-stroke)
Bought for $50, cleaned carb and sold same day for $200 (tag sale buy)

1993 Suzuki DR250 & 2000 DR200
Bought to part out. Needed space ASAP for another project and sold for just barely over what I paid for them both.

1987 Honda Shadow 1100

1993 Honda Shadow 1100

Was half owner (me and a friend went in on it together at auction). Bike has a battery drain and ended up selling it without that issue fixed. In hindsight we shouldn't have done that. Either of us could have bought it and done it all solo but we wanted to give going into business together a try. It strained the friendship which is still not on speaking terms.

2021 Royal Enfield Himalayan

Bought another one in Rhode Island for a good deal. Previous owner did a stage 2 cam by KENT cams. The timing wasn't done right and the job wasn't tested prior to firing it up. Instead of turning the motor over by hand to know the job was done right he fired it up and the piston bent the exhuast valve, damaged the seat/head, and damaged the piston. It had no compression due to the bent valve. I replaced the cylinder, piston, head, timing chain, timing guides, and reinstalled the stage 2 cam and timed it correctly. Kept some aftermarket parts it came with to install on my bike. Had to replace the rear swingarm as well since the spacer was missing and the sprocket hub bolts had cut 1/4th the way through the swingarm. I was unable to solve a sticking rear caliper after replacing it with another one, changing brake fluid, changing rotor, changing pads. No clue why it wasn't retracting the piston after brake pressure was released. Due to that I didn't sell for what I wanted which was $2500-$2800. Instead I let it go for $2000 to make space before snows on the ground, and to fund another project. Still good profit and got a ton of parts that came with it I either installed on my bike already or plan to list on eBay.

Random Mopeds/Scooters Over The Years

I've owned a bunch of random junky mopeds. Most of them being 50cc Tao Tao's but I did have one Piaggio Fly 150cc at a point. Mopeds are easy to flip, easy to work on, cheap to work on, and great on gas. If you have no shame in riding one out of desperation I highly suggest you do if life puts you in a pinch. They don't need to be registered, insured, or titled (at least in Connecticut) as long as they are 50cc or less. I've luckily never had to ride one out of necessity and instead have owned them as a joke or to flip for a quick buck.

Fixing the clerk at the local 24/7 gas stations moped. Become his go to mechanic over the years of going into the gas station in the middle of the night for diet coke, nicotine, and snacks since I was in High School. I don't do mechanical work for anyone else but him. Usually it's just a carb clean or spark plug change.

Bought this heap of junk for $100 as a joke. Ended up covering it in duct tape and riding it around the woods all day during a thunderstorm out of boredom. Sold for way more than it was worth. This is how some of us kept busy during COVID lockdown.

Moped gang lol

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