How good does it have to be

[jimson]

I have a few bikes but not anything great.
Do I sell off most and spend all the money on one or carry on with a few bikes
Its all great ideas to have lots but the chance of having nice bikes or just lots of bikes all the what ifs hay.    jimson

[David Lahey]

I love the variety of having many different ride bikes and as far as looks go, my favourite look is a bike with serious patina and a coating of terrain.

[Nathan S]

Whatever makes you happy.
There is no right answer, and your opinion will probably change over time.

Having done the "own a million bikes thing", my attention is back to a handful of older bikes that are mechanically sound, reasonably reliable and raceable.
On the cost vs stress vs enjoyment vs ego scale, this is the winner for me.

[firko]

my favourite look is a bike with serious patina and a coating of terrain. 

I'm covering both ends of the string. The Cheney and Hindall builds are both shiny bling bikes with the slight variation in that they're also being built as serious racers. The third bike I'm currently working on is based on Nathan's old DT1 that is carrying a fair bit of patina, some introduced by fitting tank and fenders with original paint and the patina of 40 years of use, the rest being the scrapes and scratches the bike earned in its own race life. I want it to look like it's just finished the Mint 400 desert race circa 1970.

While I personally like well finished and constructed bikes, I think it's largely up to each individual owner as to what he does with his bike. What I don't like though is complete dungers masquerading as 'vintage racers'. I saw some bikes at Classic Dirt that were just plain pieces of shit that I'd be ashamed to put on my trailer. It's taken us years to rid VMX of the perception that our sport is "shitbox racing", to quote a snickering former editor of mine (who was at CD9). I'd hate the image of the dungers to take precedence over the bikes that have been lovingly restored and constructed.

[Iain Cameron]

The trouble is that a lot of the punters out there do think that vmx is about racing old dungers , When you tell them the amount of work and cash put into getting a race ready bike they almost always ask why don't you just buy a new bike . sometimes I just wonder about them . Back to your question Jimson , I have both show queens and race bikes some of the race bikes are lovely lookers but one of my favourites is made up from left over parts from the shed . Iain

Apart fron the GMC pipe the rest was from my scrap pile .

[maico police]

I'm all for a bike having battle scars. My bikes are all riders with the suspension set up, the motors fresh, kick-starters that stay in and nothing flogged out. They may look daggy to some because they don't have sign-written numbers or tank stickers (I peel a set off in a couple of laps) but I believe they look like the majority of race bikes did back in their day.
They all do the 70'er at Parwan and get around a motocross track at a fair clip. It's nice to have guys young and old come up during the day who can't believe an old 'shitter' can go so well.

They'd be none the wiser if these bikes were all on stands in my lounge room.....



* Garage Queens are easy. You just have to do it the once. Riders need money tossed at them all the time.

[TM BILL]

I'm all for a bike having battle scars. My bikes are all riders with the suspension set up, the motors fresh, kick-starters that stay in and nothing flogged out. They may look daggy to some because they don't have sign-written numbers or tank stickers (I peel a set off in a couple of laps) but I believe they look like the majority of race bikes did back in their day.[/font]They all do the 70'er at Parwan and get around a motocross track at a fair clip. It's nice to have guys young and old come up during the day who can't believe an old 'shitter' can go so well.

They'd be none the wiser if these bikes were all on stands in my lounge room.....



* Garage Queens are easy. You just have to do it the once. Riders need money tossed at them all the time.

That is a very true statement  very few bikes at events these days actually look like what the average clubmans bike looked like in the day .

[shortshifter]

For me,having a couple of race ready reliable bikes ready to jump on and go is the best alternative.I am mechanically illiterate,and bloody impatient so the less time spent fitting up,painting,polishing the better.If it works good lets go.I like the patina of a well used bike but can appreciate the amount of work and dollars that go into a "show bike".

[Tim754]

 Someone wants only "well finished and constructed bikes"!!!! Shit Firko I'm rooted at the start gate already by that !!!!  Tim754
Wonder where John Boags National Championship winning bikes might fit in the scheme ?

Me? I just enjoy the ones I like, immaculate or sewage, and well pass by the ones that have little interest in .Cheers

[firko]

Someone wants only "well finished and constructed bikes"!!!! Shit Firko I'm rooted at the start gate already by that !!!!  Tim754

Come on Tim, I think you may have misread my quote....."While I personally like well finished and constructed bikes, I think it's largely up to each individual owner as to what he does with his bike"
I like well built bikes but that doesn't mean I don't like a bike with a bit of patina and soul....like your old sidecar. What I don't like is shitboxes masquerading as vintage racers and that includes some of Boagys bikes. I've been fighting the perception, mainly by younger members of the off-road fraternity that vintage racing = shitbox racing for over 20 years. My case isn't helped when I see a well known moto journo from the modern side of the sport at CD9 taking pictures of some of the ratty old dungers that I know he'll use in his piece on the event....it's the way his mindset is on old bikes.

[Tim754]

 Apologies Firko Yes I did stuff up in my syntax and I most certainly was not demeaning you , I was having a go at the 'former editor ' you mentioned on the subject of old dungers V showroom restos.  I must need new glasses and a revamped brain...Tim754

[09.0]

I have done a few garage queens but they are all gone now. They were just dust collectors. I keep trying to get the level of finish better on my bikes with each resto I do. Then I ride shit out of them until they start looking ratty, then I do it all again. So personally I like to have my bikes looking as good as I can. But that's me. And I must say completely opposite to the way I was with my bikes back in the day...

[jimson]

Thanks for the input I think I have to raise my standed  put a bit more cash and hours into my bikes. Jimson

[VMX247]

my standed 

everyones standards are different,thats what makes vmx so interesting and worth coming back too see who's got what at each event    
Where as modern bikes are all same same.
We have the best mx years on the plate 

[IT490K1983]

For me personally, it's about athenticity, originality and preserving the manufacturers creation. After all I am not an inventor or a motorcycle designer. I just love trying to keep something that's getting a little old in good tidy shape so that it can continue to be enjoyed. Dollars and sense don't come into it, or you wouldn't bother at all.