[Misc] How many cars have you owned ?

Mouldy Boots said:

Like your style Maty........the Mrs drives everywhere in her motor

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Mouldy Boots said:

I am impressed........................that you mentioned you owned a Rover Montego.

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WATFORD zero said:

Reading the thread on 2nd hand cars got me thinking about how many cars I've had.

Been driving 37 years and been married 27 years (so including wife's cars) and I've always tended to drive a fair bit.

From memory, I think I have had 29 cars.

You ?

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jakarta said:

Hmm where to start?

My Dad was a Mazda dealer so I bought several cars from him (Minis, Hillman Imps etc.) which were part-ex and had no chance of making their next MOT. Typically £50 back in 1980-1. Did a bit of wheeling & dealing 1982-86 before I got a proper job so must have had dozens of cars through my hands although didn't have my name on the Docs.

Once I started a proper job:

Renault 5
Ford Escort 1.3L
Mazda 323
Fiat 2000 Abarth rot box
Ford Escort 1.6 Ghia
Peugeot 205 GTi 1600 - lovely and still my favourite car to drive
Company car - Escort 1.4GL - horrible
Second Peugot 205GTi - in retrospect I think it was clocked, nowhere near a good as the first one.
Ford Fiesta 1.4 Ghia
Second Company Car - Citroen Xantia bizarre up & down suspension
Third Company Car - Ford Mondeo
Fourth Company Car (New Firm) - Honda Accord - very reliable and comfy
Fifth Company Car - Vauxhall Vectra - a bit shit
BMW 2.0 320DSE Saloon - used allowance from company rather than having another f*cking Vectra
BMW 2.0 320DSE Touring - lovely car low miles 1 owner followed by
BMW 2.0 320DSE Touring - ex company car and couldn't you tell, ran into ground with around 180K on clock before getting
BMW 3.0 330DSE Touring - just about to go back from lease


Bikes is a different matter. From 1981:

Honda CB125S (PFK 70R where are you now?)
Honda CB250N Superdream (KTU 573T) - horrible, overweight & underpowered
Honda CB250RS - single cylinder much lighter than the Superdream, nicked from outside my Student Digs in Coventry
Yamaha DT125 Trail - no front brake hence hello Fiesta hatchback and then over the roof and bouncing off the bonnet with a broken wrist.
Yamaha 250B (utter Rat Bike fitted with a 250E engine, ignition key didn't work so used kill switch to turn it on & off, dropped it loads of times, was quicker than standard 250E's don't ask me why, was used as hack while my Dad and I rebuilt ....
Norton Norvil Commando 750, ex production racer written off at Cadwell Park so came as a new frame and traditional 3 tea chests. Bloody quick but totally unreliable. As I needed something to hack about on and they seemed bit of fun (plus with learners only being able to run 125's not 250's)...
Kawasaki KH250 triple - soon had Allspeeds on it.

For some reason I decided I also wanted a big Trail bike so had a Yamaha DT250 and then XT500, the DT was rubbish, wish I had kept the XT though.

As mentioned was wheeling & dealing cars but also bikes so had a multitude of 250's and 400's through my hands, the most notable being a 12 month old RD250LC retrieved from a Farm Barn. Farmers son had done a couple of hundred miles only, stacked it and decided biking wasn't for him. Aside from an indicator, clutch lever and a big session cleaning chicken shit off it was as showroom. I should never have sold it.

Uprated the KH250 for a KH400, then got an 500 H1, the latter was a money pit and wouldn't go around bends so had to go. Seem to recall a Ducati 250 at some point - was as small as a Jap 125, clattered but was very fast.

Should have kept hold an immaculate and original condition RD400F, white & red. They were discounted to nothing in 1980 as the RD350LC had arrived and I think it cost me less than £150 in 1985. Would it pull wheelies!

Decided to sell the Commando as after 5 years had finally got it reliable and not leaking oil so a bit boring plus polishing all that alloy was getting a bit much but liked Nortons so got:

A tired Norton Dominator 99 (600) but with the legendary Featherbed frame and thankfully someone had put a Commando TLS front brake so it could stop. Wasn't very fast but you simply didn't slow down for bends - never got this one oil tight!

Had some funds by now so thought I would try a Japanese 4 cylinder so got a Z650, a nice bike but a bit bland so then got a GPz750.

Found a 650 BSA A10 Super Rocket and decided to make it into a Rocket Gold Star replica complete with clip ons and rear sets, found a genuine 220mm front brake, RRT2 gearbox and Lyta Tank. Took to the TT Big mistake, about 40 MPH slower than everyone else! In retrospect had I taken the GPz I might well not be typing this.

Briefly had a Laverda 3CL which had been 'Jotarised' - bloody quick but handled worse than the Z650 so no future in that.

Flogged both BSA and GPz as I was buying house but needed a Bike so got a very late RD350F2 Power Valve with the full fairing. Nice bike but didn't have the character of the early LCs. Got a GPz600 instead. By this time was married and not doing anything like the miles I used to so it went to someone in Fittleworth.

Took a break from bikes for 3-4 year but final treat to myself for putting up with going offshore was my latest and possibly last bike a Honda CBR600F2 (my avatar).

140 MPH stops and handles nicely will do for me as I'm a very slow rider these days...

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bn9 bha said:

Sometimes do you wish you didn't ask a question?

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jakarta said:

Oops, well there was nothing decent on the TV and I love thinking through the bikes I have had over the past 37 years...

You will find bikers can spend whole evenings talking about their old bikes. Wonder where my RD250 Rat Bike ended up?

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