The Almighty N+1 Factor

Because one bike is never enough.

Three shaft-driven oddities.

During my prior life in the bicycle industry, Frank Strack was a contrarian in the best sense. His Velominati blog shook the traditionalists a few years ago, when heightened sensitivity to sarcasm was worming its way into society. Riding a bicycle (and motorcycle) takes serious dedication and repetition to master, `cuz coexisiting with motorists is hard work, despite the laws telling everyone that bicycles belong.

Frank created something called “The Rules”, 95 delightfully exhaustive and applicable tongue-in-cheek edicts based on decades of professional road racing and its tifosi-esque worship. Bottom line: take bicycle ownership and its use seriously, but not yourself. Stand for something versus always bitching against something else. Like motorcycling, bicycling is not for everyone.

So how does this relate to motorcycles? Bear with me.

Frank’s Rule #12 is ‘The correct number of bikes to own is n+1’:

While the minimum number of bikes one should own is three, the correct number is n+1, where n is the number of bikes currently owned. This equation may also be re-written as s-1, where s is the number of bikes owned that would result in separation from your partner.

In other words, the correct number of bicycles (or in this case, motorcycles) to own is always more than one, because — like bicycling — there’s a variety of surfaces and skill levels which dictate how many machines is best to fill the garage. And, what your closest riding buddies own matters so you can be equally yoked and enjoy adventures, because we’ve all been on the wrong machine one time or another.

As a latecomer to motorcycling, choosing the right first bike was difficult, but increasing the stable is harder, usually the result of expanding your riding buddy group. Some machines fit the ‘one bike that does it all’ description, but if you’re like me, it can be hard to say no to that special Craigslist posting.

Three years ago, I bought a 2004 Suzuki DR650SE from the second owner, based in San Mateo. Knowing how bombproof and serviceable they are, it was an easy $3,500 to part with. Plus, the bike was already tweaked and modified with character. The agreement with Jean was to sell my 2004 Moto Guzzi V11 Sport Ballabio streetfighter to make room, which Henri and I shared for a few years. 

How did an Italian unicorn like the V11 find a spot in our garage? It slotted next to my 2004 Moto Guzzi California Stone cruiser, the ‘poor man’s Ducati’ I chose to re-enter the motorcycle world in late December 2013. Henri’s 1982 Suzuki GS650G — his first bike and one he bought a week after I bought the Guzzi California — wasn’t what he hoped for, so we thought having two Guzzis with the same powerplant and gas tank capacity would make sense. The V11 was best at one thing: running ‘hot laps’ on highways 101, 280, 92 and 85 after a MotoGP Sunday. Everything else, not so much. 

Riding two-up on the Guzzi California wasn’t enjoyable for Jean, but the bike has character and always stands out in a sea of American and Japanese V-twins at Alice’s Restaurant. These days Henri rides it the most, and took it to Las Vegas with a bunch of us to watch Travis Pastrana play Evil Knievel on a hot-as-Hades Sunday evening in early July 2018. 

My first n+1 purchase was a 2003 BMW R1150RT, highly recommended by several motorcycle journalist friends and peers. Bought it from Chris at Tin Roof Cycleworks in Livermore for $4,500 with 42,000 miles on January 2, 2016. The bike has carried me to northern and southern California several times, and across the country to Wisconsin and back in May 2017. A war horse, they promised, and I believe it: now at 92,000 miles, I’ve replaced the alternator belt, suspension, clutch and master cylinder, battery, plus tires, rotors and brake shoes on a regular cadence. Bikes are meant to be ridden, not hidden.

My second n+1 purchase was the DR650SE, because I ended up trading the V11 for a red and white 2007 Triumph Thruxton at Tin Roof in early 2019 (that V-11 was a bastard to get rid of on Craigslist); does that make the Thruxton my third n+1? I lost track.

It doesn’t matter, because months later we traded ol’ red in for a 2007 Yamaha V-Star Classic 650 at J&M Motorsports in Mountain View. At the time, it was everything Jean thought she wanted in a second bike (her first being a custom 2007 Triumph Thruxton scrambler). Alas, she missed the classic lines and thrummm! of a Triumph, and found a low mileage 2013 Bonneville T100 in Mountain View this past May. She sold the V-Star to a nice first-time rider in August. Jean is a firm believer in ‘one rider, one bike’, but has allowed me to keep a handful of bikes for different uses, for which I’m eternally grateful. Her reward? A happy, healthy Gary.

I realize that the Boulanger household is somewhat unique, with three riders sharing several machines based on mood, weather, destination and a whim. One thing to remember is that a good used motorcycle is much more affordable than a mid-range carbon fiber bicycle (@$5,000), let alone an e-bike (@$7,500). Justification? Perhaps.

During a recent dinner with our friend Noel, I posited which n+1 he would consider. His wife Sylvie giggled; Noel has owned several bikes over his lifetime, but there’s only a custom Scrambler Ducati 1100 in his garage today (his son Tom’s Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 doesn’t count as an n+1). Noel had a hard time coming up with an answer, but the seed was planted over wine and desert, so at some point a decision will be harvested in the Hocquet household; either I will be welcomed back for dinner by Sylvie, or Noel will remain a one-bike man.

Tell me your n+1 story, or share your n+1 wishlist.