This is a list of the motorcycles I have owned, then a few pictures of the motorcycles in various 'posses' where they are the centre of attention in various locations on my travels.

The first bike I owned was a circa 1968 Yamaha 250 cc. I bought it to just play around with it in the area around Bowmanville Ontario. I had it for a summer and then sold it as it developed some mechanical problems that I was not interested in doing anything about.

circa 1968 Yamaha 250

I was then out of motorcycles for about 15 years or more as our family grew.

Looking for a hobby after the kids were in their late teens, I wanted to try sailing with a fairly large sail boat, but this was not a hobby that my wife was interested in, and with a large sailboat, you have to have a "working" crew. Gave up on that idea and bought another motorcycle.

circa 1982 Honda V45 Magna (750 cc)

This bike I rode around home with a few little 200 mile trips thrown in here and there. The bike ran well and I basically learned how to ride on this bike.  The only problem with it was such a small gas tank.  You had to start looking for a gas station within 75 miles!  I sold it when a friend was getting out of motorcycling and had a bigger touring bike for sale. Thought I may be interested in that so onto a new adventure.

circa 1990's BMW K100RT

This was my first 'real' bike and I started using it to go places. I met up with a couple of local BMW riders, whom are now my closest friends, and we have been going on adventure motorcycle trips now for 20 years or so. The bike was great and performed exceedingly well, but it was too large for me. At a stop sign, I could not get both feet on the ground. I eventually traded up to a more modern BMW.

circa 1995 BMW 1100RT

This was a fantastic bike overall. It had gobs of power, smooth, fast, anti lock brakes (that saved my ass a couple of times). The biggest problem with it was that you tended to drive way too fast.  In addition, the riding position did not agree with my back and on long trips, I would suffer greatly with a sharp pain between my shoulder blades. My riding buddy had a similar problem and was cutting back on biking and bought a Kawasaki Drifter, an 800 cc bike, that was pretty rudimentary compared with the BMW.  Eventually we went riding again and the slower pace was actually more fun. Less 'white knuckling' and more sight seeing. I decided to go to a cruiser as well, just to take it more at a comfortable pace.

2004 Kawasaki 1500 Nomad

This was a nicely decked out bike and had a fair amount of power and was smooth, but very heavy.  It was easy on the back and it just said to you "don't go too fast on windy roads!"  In the end, I felt the bike was too heavy for me and decided to try a similar, but smaller bike.

2006 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 LT

This bike was a good fit for me. It looked big, but was light weight compared to the Nomad. I decked it out a bit with a Mustang seat and larger saddlebags and some additional shinny pieces. I went on some long trips with it but it did let me down in Wyoming with a burnt out stator. I was riding with a couple of guys that liked riding fast on the freeway. Should not have tried to keep up as I think the bike overheated and caused the problem. This bike, and even me anymore, are not meant to ride at 80+ mph all day! I ended up trading it in for a newer one as there was an issue with the output shaft that would have kept me off my bike half the summer.

2009 Kawasaki Vulcan 900LT

This bike has been very good to me so far. I saved quite a bit of money by transferring all the accessories from the 2006 onto this bike. Some of the things I have on this bike are:-

1. Zumo 550 with mount
2. Mustang Seat
3. 12 Volt outlet for eclectic vest and charging cellphones etc.
4. Outlet for heated 'velco-on' grips
5. Hand grip shields for cold weather riding
6. Engine guards
7. Engine guard chaps
8. Quick remove trunk
9. Larger 'Saddleman' saddlebags reinforced inside with aluminum plate
10. Air horn
11. Solid rear wheel rim from a 900 custom
12. Cut down windshield. Have spare original windshield in storage
13. Headlight and signal light visors all around
14. Spotlights
15. Handlebar mounted spot light switch

My only other fantasy is to buy an older Yamaha V-Star 650 and convert it to a bobber.  Cost is a major preventer of living out this fantasy.

My fantasy bike for just doing local rides.


A few select pics on my travels.

Heading down Mount Lemon just outside Tucson AZ.

Top of Rocky Mountain State Park in Colorado. Above the clouds! Went through rain and fog to get there.

End of a 10 mile run on the Ozelo Trail at the gulf near Crystal River FLA. Who said Florida had boring roads!

On the Cherohola Skyway in Tennessee. Great riding, great friends.

The Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia, one of my favourite rides. Been back there many times.

The North West shore of Newfoundland. A long ride to the end, but worth it.

Near St. Johns Newfoundland. Plenty of fog to make you feel small and insignificant.

More to come.....