Our Long-Term Rides

Check out these letters from readers on their long-term motorcycle ownership stories.

By Motorcycle Classic readers
Updated on June 9, 2021
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Ben English
Ben English and his Norton, which he has owned 41 years.

Long-term Norton

Robert Freeman and his BMW, purchased new in 1963 (MC March/April 2021) won’t be challenged for the record of longest ownership of one motorcycle by me. But maybe I can be a notable also-ran in the competition. I’ve had my 1972 Norton Commando for a bit over 41 years.

In late 1979, a very sorry looking Norton was traded in on a Honda Goldwing at the Honda-Kawasaki dealership where I worked. By January 1980 it was mine, replacing a succession of Suzuki 2-stroke twins (150cc, 250cc and 500cc) that had kept me on two wheels since I started riding in 1966. I got it running right and was entranced by everything about the bike. Aside from a 1974 Triumph T140V/Velorex sidecar combination for about three years in the mid 1980s, this Norton was my only motorcycle for nearly 20 years.

Then when I planned an extensive frame-out rebuild expected to take at least a year beginning in 2000, I needed a back-up bike while the Norton was under construction. That role was first played by a 1982 Honda FT500 Ascot single. Even when the Norton was back in one piece and running better than ever, I found it handy to have another bike. I could keep riding while taking my time for careful work when the Norton needed maintenance, upgrades or occasional crash repair (it had another frame out rebuild after a major crash in 2016).

I also came to enjoy sampling the virtues of more modern machinery, as the Honda was succeeded first by a 2000 Buell M2 Cyclone, then a 2003 Ducati M1000S Monster Senna edition, and finally a 2018 Moto Guzzi V7III Milano. The “back up” isn’t just one way; each of these has had its own downtime, making the Norton my one functioning ride at times.

My Commando had 8,700 miles when it came under my care, and it now has 103,100, so I have ridden it over 94,000 miles, while the back-ups accumulated less than 25,000 in total. Wonderful motorcycles all, but none provide the soul-stirring joy of the Norton.

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