The Disease

[Tim754]

Bumper your life story mirrors mine Cheers mate Tim754

[pokey]

I think i have wasted a hell of a lot of time.

It all started with 1 rider. Then I found that bike was so much fun i bought another. A guy cant  let a good bargain go by so I bought a few more. All those bikes would surely need a few spares so maybe add a few more just to be on the safe side.

 Seems that scenario may have happened a few times. 23 TS185s later  i figured i cant ride them all and passed most of them along to people who could use them and maybe discover just what i seen in those old heaps of crap.. Still got a few but I could have saved a lot of time if i stopped a lot sooner. I did try and curb my interest with a few different brands but once bitten twice infected.

 perhaps when Ive got nothing left to do apart from watch the grass grow i may start collecting/hoarding once again.

[80-85 husky]

25 ts 185's?!!  :oyou need to see "Suzuki's anonymous"

[jimson]

I'm a little confused to what you would class me as. A lot of you blokes wouldn't get out of bed for my wages. Most of my bikes are from the tip or crap left down the side of houses. I do the best to get them running & enjoy the shed time. If I die before there done my son can do what he wants with what's left. It's not about getting things finished it's about doing shit while your above the ground.jimson

[GMC]

I tend to only hoard things I think I will use one day, unfortunately lots of things fall into that category.
My project list crept up to 15 a while back and when doing the maths for the dollars & time needed to have them all running I calculated that I don’t have enough years left in me.
Not all that interested in garage queens, I just want them neat & reliable but that in self can be 2 3 grand a bike.
Sold off my KX 500 project earlier in the year and will sell off some more later on, just want to focus on getting certain models ready for certain events and then focus on getting to more events.

I do enjoy working on my own bikes but only when I don’t have other pressures biting at my heels.

I am just amazed the actual cost when you add up all the NOS goodies.
Maybe I should delete the spreadsheet ... I'm not even finished yet... but close! Geoff... where's my pipe! .... 

Nearly done

[Hardo]

 

So cool.... cant wait to see it fitted !! 

[firko]

There is a different way of looking at a shed full of unfinished bikes.

Check out the old farts on the retirement village adverts on tele and be glad that you have 2 lifetimes of projects in front of you.
If the highlight of your week is Thursdays lunch special at the RSL then you may as well be dead I rekon.

I've been involved in the VMX scene for 29 years, pretty much longer than anybody else. In that time I've restored or built from parts over 40 bikes. I've also been retired from work for nearly 10 years and retired from racing for 15 years so I've have finally realised that there is far more to life than motorcycles, old or new. For twenty years the bloody things dominated my life, I still loved to manhandle a sidchrome on a bike project but the heart pumping passion has faded. There comes a time when Thursday lunch at the pub with my mates, walking my little dog in the park or a cruise in my classic Ford Ranchero bring me me contentment and happiness. I genuinely love seeing you guys being so dedicated to your bike hobby and really hope you all keep at it for a long time yet but eventually a time will come when it doesn't seem as important as it once was, that's when it's time to move on to other stuff. I still love old dirt bikes and will still build them but it won't have the priority it once had. There is too much travel to experience and new things to try before I die.

[yamaico]

I like to build budget bikes, with the challenge being the primary motivator. Obviously this pretty much precludes nut and bolt restorations, with frankenbikes being the end result. I am getting close to retirement and, as mentioned by Mike, don't want to have to look forward to the lunch specials at the local.
I have a lot of bikes, but not many of them are of any real significance to anyone other than myself. It's hard to resist a junker that has a good set of alloy rims or clean forks, just begging to be used on a special.

[William Doe]

It's not about getting things finished it's about doing shit while your above the ground.jimson

Ill second that Garry 

[FourstrokeForever]

So many blokes I can relate to here. Good stuff.

I don't know if I'm a hoarder or collector. I don't think I'm a collector as a lot of the bikes I have restored or rebuilt have long been sold. IT's, PE's and CR's were my obsession. It was getting out of control for a while there with 32 bikes in various states of quality and I was spending every spare few hours in the shed building bikes. The house was getting neglected.....(so was my relationship) and even the dogs were growling at me when I came inside and I was even dreaming about the next project and how I would do it. And when it came to actually getting to a race meeting, something would always go wrong with one of my race bike as they too were being short changed. Sure, oils were changed, filters cleaned etc but little thing like loose bolts, frayed cables and loose spokes/sprockets meant I was even working on bikes when I was supposed to be riding them!
Now that I've wound the restorations back a lot, my race bikes don't miss a beat, the mrs actually talks to me, the dogs let me pat them and the house is well maintained.
Don't get me wrong, there are still bikes being built and others waiting patiently, but without the pressure I was putting on myself to get them all done. The bikes I have left are all bikes I wanted/owned in an earlier life. There are only 2 shed queens. Well, the XR75 and B44 special are in the house but my CR/RC replica that cost a small fortune to build has now got my race numbers on it. I think I will take it out to play this year.
I don't think I can be labelled a collector. Maybe a hoarder.......
I don't know where or what I'd do If I didn't have something to work on, but now I share the love around. And I enjoy building bikes. It's very gratifying to get praise for the machines I have built.
In between doing bits and pieces on my latest 2 wheeled project, even my car projects have had some time and money spent on them instead of sitting quietly collecting spiders and dust. Hell, I might even join a car club to go and do some cruising with the Mrs when I'm not riding.
Now I take my time. I don't have to do everything at once. And when I am retired full time, I will still have something to twirl the spanners on.......

[80-85 husky]

I understand what firko is saying...we go through phases in life and no one knows what lights the fire but when it burns its hot. (25 ts 185's....incandescent!) but doesn't take much to alter the perspective and ive hit it now. working hard on a project after two years of idle time I have a box of parts for the husky sitting on my desk and it will be there in a weeks time or more if I can just get enthused to start work.
the Hopetoun Vinduro is coming up and that's bound to get enthusiasm levels up!

[firko]

I'm hoping CD11 sparks my drive.

[Nathan S]

I had a lot of fun taking complete shitheaps and turning them into reasonable race bikes.
I had fun chasing/owning stuff that I'd always wanted to own.
I enjoy building bikes.
I can't imagine a time where I don't have an active project - I reckon my head would explode about 3-nano-seconds later.

So yeah, there was a time when I had 45-50 bikes at once.

But a few things have changed my thinking, and now I reckon 15 is the right number for me. I've also happily sold a few that I had said I'd never sell - and not regretted any of them.

1. There's a limit to the number of bikes you can ride in a year. Most of them will be lucky to be dragged out twice/year.

2. If you have a mortgage, you are effectively paying interest on every asset. A bike that sits there unused is effectively costing you money.

3. I needed the head-space. My brain was far too crowded with inventories of old bike bits.

4. The KDX I built up for the Four Day has ruined me a bit. I'm not overly impressed by shiny things, but it is great walking up to a vintage bike and knowing it is right - not wondering how many more hours you'll get out of that unknown big end, whether the shock would work better with new oil,  or any of that - a 26 year old bike that's as tight, reliable and "nice" as a brand new bike.
This has meant that I'm not happy with my old style $1500 rebuilds anymore - and therefore I can afford to do a lot less of them!

5.  I literally got sick of moving bikes and bits around.

So yeah, less is more.
The hope and optimism of dragging home a new toy is great, but it comes at a cost beyond the dollar value.

[Nathan S]

Some random philosophy:

Bikes are a tool for turning money into fun. They do a great job of it, too.
The challenge is finding the balance between how much money vs how much fun vs what sort of fun.

For most people reading this, the fun isn't just about riding, it's also about shed time, making friends, learning skills, the thrill of the hunt, and a stack of other things.

There's no wrong answer to this, but I think it's easy to forget about the big picture when it's late a night, and a bike you lusted over 30 years ago pops up on eBay - if you already own 28 KV75s, is another one really going to make you life better? Or is it just more shit to clutter your shed and (more importantly) your brain?

[Digga]

"an idle mind is the devils playground"

If it keeps you busy, happy & healthy, then its got to be good for you