My Motorbikes

and others that I drove for a while…

I always fancied motorbikes over cars.

BMW R75/5 in Los Banos. My second Rubber Cow.
I bought this in what I thought was reasonable condition. It turned out to be become a total restoration project
.
BMW R75/5 during my studies in Hohenheim. My first Rubber Cow.
BMW R80GS with Siebenrock 1,000 ccm Power Kit. Bought in 1993 to take it with me to the Philippines, which did not work out. It is still my roadtrip bike in Germany, last 4-week trip in 2022.
My first Enduro, a Honda XL185. Took it with fiends on a road trip onEaster, it started leaking oil, clutch slipping and making all sorts of noises. Turned out to need total restoration too.
Honda XR200. The second bike I bought brand new, this time in the Philippines in 2004. Sold it to a friend, bought it back when he left. As of October 2022 it is still under total restoration, almost finished.
Lacking horsepower in the XR200, I bought this Yamaha TTR250 with almost twice the power of the XR. Great fun. But three imported bikes in the Philippines just turned out to be too much headaches in terms of spare part supplies.
Steib LS200 Side Car. The BMW R25/2 is featured further down. Got the sidecar from a friend, restored it a bit and drove it for two years, until a friend of mine crashed it.
Yamaha XS650. Supposedly the better English bike. After riding a Triumph Bonneville TR140 I was very disappointed with this bike. Bought at the Uni from a friend, sold it quickly.
Moto Guzzi V7 Speziale. 750ccm and 50 hp. A monster, and a show stealer. One of my lady friends called it the little fat one. Drove it for two years and sold it because of lack of parking spots in Winter.
Vespa Excell PX200 in Makassar, Indonesia. Usually scooters are not my thing, but this one rocked. Powerful 2 stroke motor, hand shift with 3 gears, with a poncho you could get dry to the office even in a tropical rain storm. Miriam loved it.
BMW R25/2. 250ccm, 12 hp. This was a barn find before barn finds were the thing. It did not run but cost only DM 250. My first full restoration project. Rode it for around 3 years after my first motorbike accident.
Honda CB125J. 125 ccm, 14hp, 110km/h top speed. My first motorbike, I bought it new for DM 2,600 when I was 18. All my savings and a DM 1,000 loan went into this. Lots of great “first time” experiences and vacations. Used to be the chick magnet in town.
Hercules Sport Bike. 50ccm, ?? hp, 40km/h max speed. This is what I learned motorcycling on. On a gliders airport that belonged to the father of a friend. No driving license required there.
Honda Dax ST70. 70ccm, around 5hp, 80km/h.
I bought this for sentimental reasons in the Philippines, and for the kids to learn to ride. My brother had one, we, me on my CB125J went to Southern France (3 days) on the first major motorcycle adventure.
Harley Quinn project bike. Based on a RUSI 110ccm bike. Cost new less than 600 US$ in the Philippines, so we thought we convert it into a theme bike for the next Motobuilt Pilipinas. Never had the time to do it seriously.
Not my bike. A Suzuki GS450 ccm twin engine, a good friend lended it to me for two months when I was visiting him in LA in 1986. Great bike to drive around California and visit places .

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