What do you call your bike?
 

Hey y'All,

I've noticed that various people on this site seem to have "pet names" for their beloved motorcycles...

So tell me this: whats the etiquette on giving your bike a name? Is it generally the done thing, or is it totally personal choice? Cool, or not really?

I've already caught myself talking to my bike a couple of times (don't ask!)...is this just the slippery slope towards giving it (her?) a name??? :laugh:

Jeanie :mchappy: Owner of as-yet-unnamed Suzuki Marauder...!!

Bully
 

Funny you should ask this for I have thought the same and does anyone think of their bike in the Masculine instead of Feminine?

Mine have been named 'BULLY' in sequencial order, ie, 'Bully' 'Bully II' and now on 'Bully III'. An ex girlfriend said I rode like a bully when in towns and cities, jostling for space etc. Probably not the best nor PC but it certainly suits my riding style. :mchappy:

I suppose it also comes down to whether you see you and the bike on any given adventure or the adventure on any given bike, for me it's the bike that allows me to do the adventure of choice, hence the name and the familiarisation with my 'Steed'!

You mean like "Boanerges" (Lawrence of Arabia's Broughs) or "Armageddon" (Ogri's Norvin)? I really couldn't bring myself to have something like that printed on the side of the tank, never mind something like "Sally" (because we "sally forth" together).

Most of the time it's just "the bike" unless something's gone wrong, in which case I'll make an exception and it can get very personal while I try to see which old "Anglo-Saxon" four letter names suits it best :biggrin3::biggrin3::biggrin3:.

Of the 3 bikes I have so far owned I have named them all (my Wee Strom is called Gloria) not sure why I started naming them but they have all had feminine names,thought I was a bit odd till I discovered some of my friends named theirs too.
Cant see me having Gloria airbrushed across the tank though lol.

My three Yamahas, xt350, xt600 and tt600, were called Lucrecia, Lucre.

The R100GS PD, the Panzer

Ah! my old Nissan Patrol RD28 is called Patrolinho, he came from Portugal

Hmmm, ...bike? :unsure:

The DRZ..

I put a lot of thought into it..

The bumble bee... for obvious reasons.

Apparently ALL Italian cars and bikes need names or they break down a lot. I mean, less than they would if they didn't have names. You can change a name too if the first doesn't seem to be working -7 break downs in two years for a brand new Alfa saw a name change. Since then 'Valentino' has behaved.

It took me three years but I did name my 2007 BMW F650GS "Ellie". Since I'm very practical, she was named this way since she resembled an elephant with the snug fitting cover. Also, both my first and last names end with the letters L, E ...get it?

Not the most sentimental thing but it works for the kind a gal I am ;-)


...Michelle
www.scrabblebiker.com

I'm lucky enough to own about 17 motorbikes, my pension pot Classic Motorcycle Rental, only one has a name, the 1960 Dnepr K72 sidecar is called Boris, well it just had to be! He's famous too, but not unique, 2nd one down when you Google 'boris sidecar', the other one's a Dnepr/Ural too!

Some bikes attract names just like aircraft, tanks, guns etc. It's a long tradition. I just finished a book about First World War tank crews. One of the most famous ones was Fray Bentos, the crew obviously deciding they were like tinned meat. The other F squadron tanks had names like Frobisher and Formidable, named by officers who thought the crews would benfit from thinking they had something like a naval cruiser or battleship.

My Bonneville got christened "Maria" from the Blondie song ( "......moves like silk cooled by air...." and after a series of punctures ".....walking on imported air....."). The K100 project looks to be getting called Evil Edna from the 1980's cartoon Willo the Wisp. It currently sports 2 aerials and a dirty great square windscreen that looks like a telly and is not the nicest handling beast just now. None of this will be staying, but if I'm bored I can see a spot of "nose art" getting added. My wife has an aunt called Edna though....:nono::helpsmilie:

The MZ's, XT, F650's, R-bikes, Enfield etc. never got further than "The Green one" (slight **** take on the Motorcycle Diaries film) etc.

Andy

'Muttley'

It's a KTM 950 with suspension from a 990, so a bit of a mongrel and definitely has a wicked streak.

It's a bloke, not a lady (you can just tell), so no girl names for this bike.

How sad :helpsmilie:

bemers name
 

XT500 1st Betty Boop, 2nd FIAT (Fixe It All the Time)
XLV750 Bigfoot
F650 TT39 Luna
R100GS 43L Scooter
R1200GSA Panzi
take care on tracks

Well this thread is certainly proving to be a fascinating insight into the motorcyclist's mind, I must say! :laugh:

This whole naming-the-bike thing clearly needs more thought... I need to review my Suzuki Marauder's dominant characteristics and physical features and see what I can come up with...!!

Watch this space...

Jeanie:mchappy:

Outlaws
 

As you have a 'Marauder' (def- outlaw/ mercenary) then maybe think of some famous Female Outlaws, here's a link to ponder over............

Old West Female Outlaws - free Suite101 course

Also......... Women outlaws Anne Bonne and Mary Reed were pirates in the 1700's. Anne had her own ship and Mary was a strong second in command. Using clever tactics and swing their swords, they had many adventures on the high seas.

"Aaarr-arr! Shiver me Timb.. ah... I mean Throttle!"

A friend called her BMW R80 'Blackie' 'cos it was a bit of a dog !

Another friend has a Brough that she calls 'Florence' as in Florence of Arabia !!

So it's got nothing to do with Dai then ;) Riding like a bully - yep, when you decided to ride a doughnut in a car park full of gravel, the other bikers weren't so happy :cursing:

Delilah
 

http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...Delilah/10.jpg
I was going to go with Tallulah...
xXx

Me..........? Being as irresponsible as that, Nah mate! You've got the wrong guy! LOL. Got a new bike this year.......... Bigger Donuts! :DAll I can say is everyone else chose a bad parking spot.

Now there's a spooky coincidence! – except I add 'the' (definitive article).

Seems like the perfect name to me, e.g: .. 'Fancy going out for a ride on “the bike” this afternoon?' .. .. 'I've just checked and “the bike's” insurance renewal is due next week' .. ' Does “the bike” need an oil change?'

“the bike” is THE perfect name imho - and just fits into a conversation .. :mchappy:


.

Only downside of that is if you have more than one bike you have to start adding extra adjectives to distinguish one from another ... "Shall we go out on the bike"? .. "Which one"? "The red one" ... "The big red one or the little red one"?... "The big red two stroke Kawasaki". Starts to sound like a toddlers TV programme - "Now children, sing along with the big red Honda - the wheels on the bike go round and round, round and round :mchappy::mchappy::D"

Still can't bring myself to say "Shall we fire up Pegasus or would you prefer Agamemnon, it's a bit more comfortable on a long run". Maybe numbers on the tank would be a way out - "Have you seen the keys to number three"? Easy to do with a marker pen.

I call my KLR650 "katir" in Turkish, which means "mule". In fact I used to call my old XT the same and this one is "Mule the 2nd". BTW I also like listening to Gov't Mule while riding.

Cheers from Izmir, Turkey.

Rhonda
 

All my bikes have had names, even my Bantam was called Billy. No idea why!My current steed, a 650 Transalp, is called Rhonda. She likes nothing better than being taken for a long ride after being tweaked and well lubricated.......

Only two of my bikes have had names. The 650 V-Strom was Dolly after Dolly Parten, both being rather top heavy. My current bike an 09 BMW F650gs is Adiona after the Roman Goddess of Safe Return.
Regards John

Of my two bikes, only the KLR has a name: Shamoo, based on the way Tauregs say the French word for "camel." Traveling with a camel, no matter how weary you are when you arrive in camp you first take care of the camel's needs and provide for it's feeding, security and health. In the morning before getting underway there is always a long, drawn out period of packing the camel, then adjusting the lashing and load distribution. And throughout the day, if the camel decides it has needs for which you have failed to provide, it refuses to go anywhere until it feels adequately cared for.

I can't remember why this reminded me of my KLR.

Mark

(finishing up a 40,000+ mile trip with Shamoo, who is indicating a definite preference for being put out to pasture once we arrive home)

Hmmm...

Right now it's "The Bike", but it really needs a name. Something feminine, something sturdy. Kalinda, maybe, or Nadine. I'll have to think about it. It isn't something to be just decided though, it has to evolve into it.

The Geezer
 

R80 GS Kalahari/Basic just has to be ”the Geezer”. Previous owner preferred ”Rommel”, can’t imagine why, but I see ”Geezer”. Maybe it’s something to do with the sound of relaxed flatulence coming from the exhaust.
Peter, in Oslo

"Geezer"
 

Hey! that could be "Geez" for short.

Like, "My man ..

.. u wanna go to Leeds Geez?"; or

".. u wanna do Giza Geez?"


WELL good! :thumbup:

-----------------------------------

The names...
 

I call my bikes Apache Love and Sioux.

Wait for it...



The "Transalp" or the "bike"
otherwise
The "Ural" or the "sidecar"...

Don't act like you're not impressed....:innocent:

Names depend on whether it's powering nicely out of a corner or trying its best to chuck me down the road, in fact the names are often the same, just said with different feeling

My BMW F800GSpot was given the name "Kaiser".
From being an "Emperor" which is "Kaiser/Kejser in several other languages.
From getting control even in rough conditions, taking command over the track.
From visiting the impressive mountain tip Wilden Kaiser in Austria.
From "The Usual Suspects" and the intelligence behind Keyser Söze (pronounced /ˈkaɪzər ˈsoʊzeɪ/ KYE-zər SOH-zay)

I had many other bikes.
All of them had names.
Many of my Italian bikes were given beautiful girl(s) names.
I find it weird with a beautiful girl(s) name for the BMW F800GSpot.


P.S. This is my first post here.
I'm new on this forum but I am present on some other fora here and there.
I've been motorcycling since late 70's/very early 80s.
Live in Denmark and retired.

Greetings

Niklas

Doesn't kaiser,shar czar..... all come from Caesar? where that comes from, who knows.......

Roman General, you know the bloke, "Veni, Vedi, Inglese"/ "I came, I saw, the food was a bit naff, I went back to France" as he's remembered locally. :rofl:

Andy

Indeed it is and that originates from "Caius Julius Caesar".

Kaiser is a male regent in a monarki/empire.

Niklas

Hi all.
From experience women get all soppy and like to call bikes by male names,:nono: eg my H plate K100lt was Herman and the new GS1150 is Herman II. Where as men either give bikes a girls name or one that comes from it's character. In our case Herman II is definitely 'The BEAST!':taz: The wife doesn't have to ride it. She just sits on the back and enjoys the scenery.:rolleyes:
Mike

Now that gives me a great idea for the name of a Ducati or Guzzi. Infamy.

As in Infamy, Infamy, they've all got it ........ :rofl:

Andy

I had many Italian bikes during the years and they were all much fun to drive, reliable and for sure they deserved poetic names of women beautiful as the bikes.

Niklas

Mine is "Start" as in come on, start you bstd.

I had an Enfield called Evil Bstd, the timing used to slip while it was parked up and come the second prod on the kicker.....:cursing: :rofl:

Andy

My Enfield is called Jasmine, or Jazz when I'm in a good mood with her... Indian import so why not =3

At the second kick on my old Beeza, I would get launched in the air if I didnt set the adv/retard right. :funmeterno:

While I'm not big on naming bikes, my wife named our Ural Patrol "Mouse Express" :biggrin3:

http://trex63.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...62_UrGvE-M.jpg

http://trex63.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...87_LyY7K-M.jpg

I've always named my bikes. The XJ was called 'Joe' for example, taken from Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations" - good ol' faithful Joe. The Tenere was called 'Bettina' thanks to my brother: I was fixing one of the two fuel taps, Benzinhahn in German, and my brother came by, asked, misunderstood what I was doing and returned after a few seconds to ask who the hell 'Bettina' was :) The current GSA is called 'Rusty' because it's started to rust after the first month already.

I think the reason why people name their bikes, at least the reason why I do it, is that it creates some sort of virtual bond between you and the bike that becomes mor of a person to you than a tool.

Vstrom Dl1000 = "My 300 Kg Japanese Girlfriend"

TDM850 with a bizzare paint job from a Greenwich Village Art Student = "Jungle Fever"