Some bikes leading to here

In the 1990's I had a VX800. My friend gave it to me when he became to ill to ride.

After he passed away I stayed off bikes from 1996 to 2003. But the bug bit me again and in 2003 and I bought an old Diversion and hated it. A few months later I traded it in for a Yamaha Bulldog. A solid bike but all bark and no bite. There then followed a couple of TMax scooters. No photos of these remain due to PC blow up and no back up (ugh)  
Then in 2009 I bought a 1250 Bandit


In 2010 I felt I need something lower that would be easier to get on and off. So here is my 2010 M800


I liked the M800 so much that in 2011 I got greedy for more oomph and so I traded the Bandit and the M800 for an M1500

Not wanting to ride it in the winter I bought this K9 V-Strom:

and six months later  in March 2012 I traded the V-Strom for a 750 GSR:


An hour after this photo was taken I was knocked off it and it was written off and I was in hospital.

In June 2012 as soon a I recovered enough I went back to the shop and bought the same bike again. Here is Zebedee:

After 4000 miles I found it was too painful leaning forward on my damaged hand so I traded it in for another V-Strom. This time I bought the 1000 cc model:

I Liked the bike but yet again I realised it was a bit too big and heavy for me as so in August 2013 I traded it in for the new 650 V-Strom:

The 1500 was still sitting in the garage. It was fast with bags of torque but although similar to the M800 if was painful to ride any distance. With my feet out on the pegs and the flattish handlebars I was bent into a "U" shape. (turn the "U" through 90 degrees clockwise). In May 2014 and the roads seeming to get lumpier these days I found it too uncomfortable to ride.  I got some compensation for my injuries in late 2013 and this came in handy to pay off what I owed on the V-Strom and with some left over cash I traded the M1500 in for this 2014 Kawaskai 1000SX : 


So I have the V-Strom sitting in the garage next to the Kawasaki SX  and my mind wandered off to the Cruiser style to give me three different bikes to ride as the mood takes me.  I looked into and emptied the compensation pot and bought this 2014 C800 L4:

Is it greedy to have three bikes? I've been riding bikes since 1965 and most of them have been commuters and rat bikes.
I have no money left, but hey ! there are no pockets in a shroud.

That was a very interesting read Tom & great to see the pictures along with them. 

great read and love your bikes you ended up with enjoy

Great story...just shows how many and varied types of bike there are.

Thanks Tom, a very interesting collection of bikes over the last 10 years , I'd like to see your 3 bikes in my mancave m8,

Nice list of bikes there Tom, You've still got a nice selection now! 

10 bikes in 5 years ! That's more than I've had in my entire lifetime 

Good on ya mate, as you say ... When you finally depart, you can't take it with you !

I sat on one of these at J&S the other week, lovely machine! does it have an electric screen? only it looked as though it moved but I couldn't figure out how? 

Big selection Tom but as for 3 bikes & being greedy etc then I have 3 myself.
My 2010 VL800 C800LO for cruising around & long distance touring with Rosie. 
My 1980 DR400S Suzuki trail bike for nipping to the shops & green lanes,
Finally my 1959 Velocette Venom 500cc classic bike for club runs & just enjoying. I've had the Velo since 1968 when dad bought it for £5- & am at the moment trying to rebuild it back to near what it was when it left the factory.

No one size fits all! Having a lovely selection like yours means you can ride the best bike to suit your mood and the weather. Sometimes I want to be practical and sometimes a blast, hence my two different machines. Mrs. Bluesman always prefers cruisers. I might look at another Intruder next season for a third bike or even an HD if I can justify the dosh. That 1000SX is a great bike by the way. I'm glad I'm not the only one who spends all my money on bikes . If I die with no money in the bank and a garage full of metal - that will be the perfect epitaph.

Thank you all for your kind words. 
Peardrop3: Venom 500 eh! nice bike in it's day and classier than my 500 BSA.
Simbo. The SX Screen has three positions adjusted using a knob on the lower dash although requiring two hands it's not designed to be changed 'on the move'. The screen is the worst bit of the bike. I am on my third screen and all have shoved the wind at my chest in any position and my crash hat fills with dust and whole or bits of insects. I am looking for a nice "flip screen" but as yet no one does one.

Even on the Cruiser I find the new screen I have fitted is about 6 inches too low and I get a lot of head bouncing wind blast.

Very nice collection of bikes there.

Bloody hell what a great 10 years you have had, smashing bikes 

Excellent collection of bikes you have, and have had,well done