The five bike theory

[StarWolve]

1. Touring
2. Cruiser
3. Sport Touring / Dual Sport/ Adventurer
4. Performance
5. Vintage

1&2 are somewhat interchangeable, in my mind. At least for a young buck like me. My Fatboy handles both those roles with a bag on the back, but I would like to find a Uly or something similar that might be able to handle 1&3 together. Or a road king designated for long hauls. I've love to find a used one, and keep it at my parent's house when I don't need it so my mom would have a bike to ride.

4. Performance... well, since lately I've been having more and more fun with this category, I'm not sure you need just one. I have my Buell Firebolt for mountain riding, but I want a different bike, more "street-fighter" for commuting/urban riding. I'm looking at the Triumph Street Triple R for this role... maybe. We'll see.

5. Vintage - this can fall into a lot of categories... basically anything old and cool, that may require more maintenance than others. For me, that's my collection of CB750's and XS650's. But I still want a panhead...

I would add another category... learner/borrow bike. Everyone who can afford to should have a bike for a friend to borrow, and/or to teach someone how to ride on. Mine right now is a Virago 250, but it's too slow on the highway to be an effective "borrow" bike, so I'm looking to upgrade that to a Buell Lightning, or maybe a Sporty 883. There are very few friends I would let borrow my Fatboy, mainly because apehangers aren't for everyone, and it's my baby. Reaver is one of the few I'd let take it without hesitation, but he and I have literally logged thousands of miles together. Same for the Firebolt - it's just too much bike for someone not used to riding sport bikes.

Bottom line - I don't think there's a magic number, because it really depends on what you want to do and what type of riding you're into. But I'll have as many bikes as I can, as long as I can afford to buy them outright, have the space to keep them, and have the time to work on them. It's not a hobby - it's an addiction!