What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

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weeksy
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What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by weeksy »

There's load of 'iconic' bikes out there, but what one did you want and miss out on...

I'm thinking back to some of @Tricky threads and him going back into his memories at the moment and then buying them up.

I guess for me back in the day i bought plenty of them, from the Ducati Sport Classic, to multiple Yamaha R1s and a few Ducati 916s... But one i never got to was the Triumph Speed Triple... the 900cc jobbie.

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I'm not really sure what it was about them, but they deffo ticked a lot of "yeah baby" type boxes for me. Somehow, one never landed up in my ownership.
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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by roadster »

Has to be the original Kawasaki 3 cylinder two-stroke. It looked really fast and beautiful in the showroom but luckily I could never afford one and I'm still alive to prove it!
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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by Count Steer »

It's not iconic I suppose but I was this >< close to buying a Suzuki 'kettle' 750 triple when they launched. I think even paid a deposit, either that or had it ready when I decided that not having a garage made it a bit of a silly think to have parked outside in a city.

Never even got to ride one. :(
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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by Mr. Dazzle »

I really wanted (still kinda do!) a late model Aprilia RS250...pretty much the only 2 stroke I've ever given a shit about.

I was all set up to go and look at one with a view to buying, but the dude sold it the evening before I was meant to go look. I ended up buying a Ducati 996 instead, which was also on my list of iconic bikes to own.

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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by KungFooBob »

I occasionally toy with the idea of a superbike class Ducati, like a 998 or a 1098, etc...

I'd quite like a gen 1 Millie factory and a Honda SP2.

Not that I'd ride any of them much, sports bikes don't really fit me anymore.
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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by Mr. Dazzle »

KungFooBob wrote: Thu Sep 21, 2023 9:25 am Not that I'd ride any of them much, sports bikes don't really fit me anymore.
Well this is the thing...the Venn diagram of "Iconic bikes of my youth" and "Bikes I would realistically actually use" has pretty much no overlap :lol:

Early Yamaha R1, Honda SP1, aforementioned RS250, ZX7 of various flavours...
Last edited by Mr. Dazzle on Thu Sep 21, 2023 9:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by MrLongbeard »

It was the 955 Speed Triples that got me in to biking, never had one, but did the 1050..

Dunno how you're defining 'iconic' but for me these are missing from my bingo card

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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by weeksy »

MrLongbeard wrote: Thu Sep 21, 2023 9:29 am Dunno how you're defining 'iconic'
I'm not :) you/we are :)
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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by KungFooBob »

Don't tell anyone, but I think the V-Max is quite cool.
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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by Noggin »

I was a late starter, so I don't have the history you guys do. I was lucky enough to own both the bikes I lusted after before I got my licence.

I do look back on some bikes and wish I could try some, but I didn't know about them when they were new!!
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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by KungFooBob »

Potter wrote: Thu Sep 21, 2023 9:45 am RC45
FJ1200
900 Superlight

I’m struggling to think really, like most here I could actually buy whatever I want, so I’m not sure how much I really wanted them.
There's a bloke racing an FJ1200 with BHR, it looks mental seeing such a bus on its ear!
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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by Mr. Dazzle »

The bike I really really wanted when I first got into Motorcycling was the first "bug eyed" Speed Triple. And I have one in my garage.

Maybe I peaked too early.
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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by KungFooBob »

Mr. Dazzle wrote: Thu Sep 21, 2023 9:54 am The bike I really really wanted when I first got into Motorcycling was the first "bug eyed" Speed Triple. And I have one in my garage.

Maybe I peaked too early.
As a provisional license holder I had dreams of one day owning a Blandit 600... then I discovered the JDM grey bike scene and became obsessed with CBR400's (I've had three).
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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by Taipan »

916. I was going to buy one and normally i buy bikes and worry about what they're like once I've got them, but I actually got a ride on a mates one. Only got a few hundred yards and did a 56 point turn and rode it back to him. A beautiful and iconic bike for sure but a shit road bike and I was very pleased I didn't make the mistake of buying one!
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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by Count Steer »

Oh yes, one of the yoofs in my local had a Kawasaki Z900 (or it may have been a KZ) that seemed pretty epic at the time (70s).
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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by Yorick »

I listed after these 2 (I still do) but couldn't afford them at the time.
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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by mangocrazy »

In the late '60s I was riding round on a secondhand Honda CD175 when the big H announced the first CB750. I wanted that bike so badly, but it was completely out of my league. It was just as well as I doubt I'd have been ready for something so much faster and heavier, so probably a bullet dodged. After a few years they were absolutely ubiquitous, and by the mid '70s I was more than a bit 'meh' about them.

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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by gremlin »

Having bought vehicles that I've hankered after a number of times, I can only offer the wisdom of the old Chinese proverb, 'Wanting is better than having'.

Namaste.
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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by Ditchfinder »

T300 Speed Triple for me too and when the 1st monster 900 appeared I couldn't stop looking at pictures of it.

I was a student with no garage so made do with shit bikes until cars became a necessary.

Now I've got the Griso I'm not sure I need another Italian twin and the Trident project has meant the lust for a speed triple has waned too.
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Re: What 'iconic' bike did you want but never buy ?

Post by Le_Fromage_Grande »

The original Yamaha R7 - I actually seriously considered blowing £28K on one about 5 years ago but came to the conclusion that having a £28K bike in the garage wasn't sensible.
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