I know that some people have one bike for five years or longer, and it's all they ever wanted or needed. I like to try lots of different things! Anyway, enough of the preamble, let’s get to it.
2003 GSXR 600 K1
Bought for £4250 in Oct 04
Sold for £3150 in Mar 06
Story: Where it all began for me. Got back from Iraq on the Thursday, CBT on the Sunday, direct access Mon-Tue, test on Wed, bought this on the Thu! Lovely learner bike that I cut my teeth on, but with enough power to really scare yourself once experienced. It had a lovely custom high level titanium exhaust on it.
1999 Honda Firestorm
Bought for £3000 in Apr 05
PX’d in Nov 05
Story: My first Storm! Originally bought for my wife to get into biking, but after throwing £500 at her direct access she decided it was not for her…. So I had to use it Originally bought with Remus high level carbon cans but they weren’t loud enough so ended up with Microns on it.
2000 Honda SP-1
Bought for £4250 in Nov 05
Sold for, wait for it, £2500 in Jun 07
Story: Truth be told, this is one of the best bikes I have ever owned, even taking into account all the other stuff I’ve had. There have been faster, prettier and better handling, but this was a very special bike.
2007 GSXR 1000 K6
Bought new (tax free) for £6500 in Jun 07
Sold for £4350 in Nov 08
Story: To this day I don’t know why I sold this bike. It was such a massive step change over the previous bikes it was completely overwhelming. I loved everything about it, it was epic. I dropped it in the garage once and replaced a bar end, the operative word being one bar end… As a result (unbeknownst to me at the time) this created a vibration in the bars that led me, and the Suzuki mechanic in Germany, that there was a problem with the balancing gear inside the engine. I now realise it was just having odd bar end weights…. Snapped.
1999 Suzuki TL1000R
Bought for £2200 in Dec 08
Sold for £2000 in Mar 09
Story: Bought on a whim and in the hope it would be a halfway house between a GSXR and an SP-1, errrr not quite. It was an engaging ride, great noise but a gearbox made of chocolate. It threw second gear and for the money garage repair was uneconomical. So, I downloaded a manual, removed the engine, split it down to basic parts, replaced the gearbox, put it back together, left a washer out from the output shaft, tore it all apart again (after a test ride revealed the fault and the washer was found in a fold on the curtain I was using to work on), put it back together, realised I had left a cable holder over one of the head bolts (after it started pissing oil out), tore the front head off, then put it back together and got bloody rid of it. Learnt a lot about patience, impact wrenches and curtains……
2005 GSXR 1000 K5
Bought for £5250 in Jun 09
Sold for £4250 in Jul 10
Story: Decided to bite the bullet and go back to what I loved. Bought from a dealer blind and it was stunning. While I owned it though, the did lots of mods, my first daughter was born and I lost the biking bug for fear of killing myself. Another K5 I should have kept…
2002 Honda SP-1
Bought for £4000 in Oct 10
Sold for £4000 in Jan 11
Story: Tried to recreate the halcyon days of my first SP. Hated it. It felt slow, poorly sprung and lifeless. Got rid as fast as I could bizarrely.
2003 GSXR 1000 K3
Bought for £3000 in Jan 11
Sold for £3000 in Jul 11
Story: The whole ‘hanging up my leathers’ thing lasted for a Summer, then the bug bit again. This was a cheap return to GSXR land and was awesome, a great wheelie machine and very comfy, but…. It was no K5, soooooo…………
2005 GSXR 1000 K5
Bought for £3000 in Mar 11
Sold for £4000 in Aug 12
Story: This was the big one for me. Modded the hell out of it with no expense spared. Magnesium wheels, carbon everything, Brembo HPK brakes, traction control, anti-wheelie, the lot. Took it around the Nurburgring which was one of the best days of my life. A family debt came calling however so off she went.
1998 Ducati 996BP
Bought for £2000 in Dec 12
Sold for £4000 in Jun 13
Story: Bought as an unloved and hideously chintzy wreck. Applied about a grand of cash and produced the most beautiful bike I have ever owned. It was always going to be a project to make a few quid so was not that attached to her. No better bike to be on on a sunny Sunday morning in Northern Germany.
2004 Aprilia RSV Factory
Bought for £2000 in Jun 14
Px’d in Oct 14
Story: Bought on the German forces net at a great price. Nightmare electricals spoiled what was a stunning bike to look at and ride. Very similar to the SP-1 in many ways, but a slightly softer ride. Amazing brakes!
2005 GSXR 1000 K5
Bought for £4000 in Oct 14
Sold for £4000 in May 15
Story: Another beautiful K5, you’re getting the picture by now…. Was intending to really make this a keeper. Got caught doing 111 on the M3 and decided my time on litre 4s was over for then. Mrs Ellis was less than impressed so all in all she had to go. Pocketed a grand to pay the fine, and had £3k to spend on a naked…
2005 KTM Superduke 990
Bought for £3000 in May 15
Sold for £3700 in Aug 15
Story: As above really. By now working in London meant having a good commuter was the need. Spent a few quid making the fuelling superb and loud. Great bike that I only sold to pay off our car (S-Max…)
2003 Honda Firestorm F-2
The current squeeze, I might try and keep this for good as my commuter. When the K5 itch comes around again I hope to retain this as a winter hack and generally offensively loud commuter!
Phew, that’s a lot of bikes!!! Hope you enjoyed the journey!
.. great read and good to see im not the only one that loses money on bikes lol
