Just one more

There’s a supposed formula that suggests the ideal number of motorcycles anyone can own is n+1, where n is the current number of two-wheelers you have, but you always aspire to ‘just one more’ machine... and so it’s been with me recently.

I’m Steve Cooper and I write for CMM and – it’s fair to say – over the last 40 and more years many a machine has gone through my hands, but now it’s time for something different.

Thing is, I’ve got a fair few already and there’s only a finite capacity within a garage, and once you’ve opted to re-arrange your burgeoning collection into ‘top and tail’ format, things tend to get a bit tight. So, I’ve run out of room and something has to go. It might well be my modern Yamaha XSR700. It’s a great bike and one that never fails to impress, but I’m not sure yet if it’s a keeper.

But what to replace it with? Perhaps a Ducati single, a Laverda, or maybe a Morini V-twin? Race replicas aren’t my thing any more (I once had a rev-happy Yamaha FZR250), and I’ve done the air-cooled four, UJM, uber-reliable, Japanese panacea with my old RC42 Honda CB750 F2N. What about a single? Hmmm… Yamaha’s SZR660? Honda FT500?

My dalliance with an XT500 during a CMM road test the other year made a huge impression, but once again a really tidy example is now going to cost more than I want to pay, but perhaps a trail-iron was the way to go? Eventually it boiled down to the Suzuki TS250 or TS400… Yes, very soon I might well be risking some hardearned cash on Suzuki’s TS400 Apache. Cue music by The Shadows and begin the hunt for a rare-ish 400cc two-stroke trail-iron! Don’t you just love deciding on your next project?