Any audiophiles into motorcycles


As its just getting into motorcycle season here in the great lakes region, motorcycling is beginning to supplant audio as my primary preoccupation. I recall there being threads as to car ownership, don't recall a motorcycle thread. And so, lets hear from the audiophile motorcycle enthusiasts out there; tell everyone about bikes you own, or have owned, and lets hear some motorcycle tales.

As for myself, I started riding around 12 years of age, little Suzuki 50cc trail bike, purchased Sears Allstate (Puch) 250cc street bike at 15 so I'd be ready for street legal riding at 16. Over the next 25 years too many bikes to list, mostly 650cc bikes and larger, migrated to super sports over those years, I was doing a lot of sports touring in those years, strap a tent and sleeping bag on bike and go for up to three or four weeks, mostly around great lakes region. I did great lakes circle tour: southern Ohio and West Virginia was a yearly tour, up into Adirondacks, northern New York, Vermont was always nice. Ontario, Canada was also a pretty common destination as was upper peninsula of Michigan. These days I  find myself pretty much sticking to weekend rides with my nephew, a budding audiophile with his Aprilia RSV4. I've been riding my little pocket rocket KTM RC390 the past few years, fun bike but lacking the thrill of bigger bore bikes such that I've now purchased 2021 Ducati Supersport S in silk white, expecting delivery next Wednesday. So, at this point my ownership of bikes includes the KTM, Ducati, Suzuki DRZ400S and 1973 Yamaha TX500 I'm in process of making into cafe racer.

My passion for motorcycles (and cars, but that's a different story) has certainly impacted my audiophile life. I don't have as much disposable income for audio, and bikes replace audio as my primary preoccupation in summer, but having passion for both sure makes for a richer life!
sns
I have a KTM Duke, Ducati 1098, Aprilia RSV4, Honda RC51 and VFR400 I bought in Canada. 
I love classic Brit bikes and have had a few but Diabetes and Peripheral Neuropathy have put an end to my riding because with having no feeling in my feet it was difficult to know when your feet were on the ground. The last bike I had was Suzuki SV1000 and pulled up at a crossing one day and the bike fell over and trapped my leg under it. Two guys came over and helped me up and that was the last of my bike riding ( most embarrassing it was ).
My first bike was an AJS 350
BSA 350 Gold Star
Velocette 500 Venom Thruxton
BSA 500 Gold Star
Norton Commando 850 Dunstall converted.
Vincent Black Shadow
Those were my weekend bikes at one time or another and I had some AJS and Matchless 350s for daily riding to my work.
I still gaze at bikes with loving looks and my wife and daughter chime in with a resounding no !!
1988 VFR750FJ; believe you call it the Interceptor; used to use it a lot with my alto strapped to the back blatting to Cambridge or London, hardly use it at all now with all the cameras everywhere and even the motorbike bays are full- chuck my pushbike in the car and park outside of town nowadays as everywhere is so busy.

Friend has a supercharged Busa I've had a play on- lovely machine/ weapon and sooo fast and famously rubbish brakes for such a rapid machine.

Would love another TZR250 or a simple aircooled middleweight twin- like listening to music (got a TechnicsSL1210GR and getting the Thorens TD160/ 3009/V15 and Quad II going again) am getting simpler and more basic over the years listening to Harry James, Bix, Frank S etc
I started riding in 1965.
Honda 50 sport
Yamaha 180
Yamaha 250 enduro
Honda 500
Yamaha 650
Kawasaki 750
Yamaha 1600 bought in 2000, still own. 

Across country rides on the 650, 750, and several on the 1600. Put 50K on it the 1st 4 years, not riding so much any more. 
Family history of motorcycles, grandfather rode Indian's and Harleys, father rode (everything street and dirt) in his day, step dad rode Harleys, uncle rode dirt bikes. Received a helmet and Baja minibike on my 6th birthday and never looked back. I've had many bikes over the years. As a husband and father, motorcycles weren't the top focus through the years, but there was always one in the garage. As our sons became more independent, wife and I would take weekend trips 2-up. My wife was a beast in the twisties (as a pillion), and we frequently rode all around the Smokey Mts. including Tail of the Dragon. Then on a motorcycle ride to California (we live in Southern Indiana), she suddenly decided she should be able to ride - for safety, if anything were to happen to me. That was in 2010, and the next year, after riding my BMW R1150RT for the first time - from the seat, she claimed the bike saying, "I don't know what you're ggoing to ride, because this is mine." My response was a BMW K1200GT, and we proceeded to ride, typically 10-15k miles a year since then. We've been through many bikes during that time, trading and upgrading, and once my wife totalled a beautiful 1200RT. We've been all across the US, all 48-states most of them multiple times. Iron Butt SS1000 (St. Louis to Bowman ND in 24hrs documented), Cali multiple times, Down to San Antonio, all along the Lake Superior coastline from Ste. Marie to Ironwood, along the Atlantic coast to Bar Harbor Maine, the highes paved road (summit of Mt. Evans), full-lenght of the BRP and Skyline (several times), full-length of Natchez Trace, all over the Ozarks (multiple times), through the heart of the Navajo Nation, the entirety of US129, all over N.GA Mts., Mt. Washington (VT), Glacier NP, Grandfather Mt., Mt. Rainier, and every named road we could find; Snake, Beartooth Pass, Rattler, Moonshine 28, SixGap, Diamondback, Devil's Triangle, Ohio's TripleNickel, Back of the Dragon, and our tipical (few times a year) Tail of the Dragon & Charohala Skyway. Wife has been on (her favorite) BMW R1200R (90th anniversary model, and equipped for touring) for a few years now, while I usually ride the R1200GS (Triple-black and equipped like a GSA) and also have a K1200GT - which I consider to be one of the best bikes ever made.
On the skills side, we've done Abate basic and advanced (multiple x), Total Control (with Lee Parks), California Superbike (at Barber on S1000RR's), and try to keep our bikes and ourselves in good condition, all-the-gear-all-the-time.
We're headed back to Montana again this year (BMW MOA national rally) with a Colorado mountains pre-party! Other than that, likely the typical Smokey Mts., and maybe another Ozarks this year. The various sections of the Mark Twain Forrest have spectacular roads cut through them - especially around Casper. We usually stay in Eureka Springs.
For motorcycle audio, I use Shure SE315 (IEMs) connected to the Starcom1 wired systems installed in all our bikes. Wife prefers the helmet speakers (IEMs hurt small ears apparently). I prefer the Starcom1 for many reasons, one of the biggies is the push-to-tallk 5-mile GRMS radios we use to communicate. The range is necessary, as we typically get separated on twisty roads we frequent. Starcom1 doesn't seem viable now (no US distributor), so we are trying BT again (previous times failed). I see hope with the new Garmin Tread (GPS) that has 5-mile comms built-in. Once Garmin works-through the bugs, I'm hoping that or the Zumo XT (with comm base accessory) becomes a viable replacement.