Bike Nicknames

[wpc57]

I have been sitting here the past several nights reading the various postings and noticed the Nicknames several of you have for your bikes. I have called mine several things over the years, but never connected with it in a way to give it a name. Would someone enlighten me on this. Why or give me some guidelines to use.

[Madness]

Most of us who are XS owners can be pretty attatched to out beloved bikes, hence the nicknames. My XS is a '80 Midnight Special. After joining the group and seeing all the nicknames like you have I decided mine needed one. So I decided on "Midnight Madness". Then last June I had an encounter with a Left Turn Idiot. Twisted up the front end of the bike XSively which I have since rebuilt. So last summer I rechristened my XS: "Twisted Madness"
Whatever the name, it's up to you. Some of the names have some pretty good stories behind them if you can get the owners to fess up.

[Dennyz]

I don't have a creative name for my '79 Special, I call it "The Special".

My '79 Standard is my baby. I call it "Vyger". My own version (and spelling) of the StarTrek episode. The bike left the dealer as a full dress cruiser, became lost in a trade-in lot, and then collided with me. The impact sent the two of us on a Retro-Sport Cruiser course that continues today.

Don't rush into a nick name. Try different names out, eventually one will stick (and hope nobody else has it). The nickname "Vyger" came to me on a long trip across Wyoming.

For a short time I had a second '79 Standard that came from a different dealer. It was a Franken-bike of all years. At first we called it "Butt-Ugly", which evolved into "Bugly". The new owner still calls it “Bugly”.

[Snow]

This may seem a bit on the mushy side to many of you, but I named my bike after my beloved boy cat, Maya.
Maya was this sweet little, timid furball ball that was suffering from flea anemia when we got him...well...at the time, both we and the pound that he was a she because the anemia was so bad.
My fiance (I don't know how to make the proper accents) and I decided to get a female cat as boy cats seem to always have a tendency to "mark" their territory and this was to be an indoor animal. After we got our little kitten her first shots and gotten her home, we made a nice big kitten food dinner for her. She was so hungry that she ate every little savory bite we had measured out for and her belly swelled up. Unfortunately, something wasn't right with the holes made by the shots given her earlier in the day. She started bleeding and we had to stay up all night to make sure she was alright.
As time went on, about two weeks, something mysterious happened, my little girl cat sprouted..well...male parts!

Please bear with me, I'm almost done.

After another month or two, we picked up another kitten to keep our first entertained and we named her Nina. About a year and a half passed and my little Maya turned into a huge, fluffy Maine Coon. That cat loved me almost as much as I loved him - he would let me cradle him like a baby and if anyone else tried, he would immediately go ballastic on them, even my fiance.

Not too long after that, things went sour in our relationship, mostly due to me losing my job and her getting used to not having to work (big mistake on my part), so she got rid of me. The only problem was that I had no money and would soon have no place to live, so I had to move back in with my parents...who wouldn't allow me to keep even my sweet, adoring boy cat Maya.

I visited my cats a couple times, but the realization that my ex had moved on even before she had let me know we were no longer a couple stung too much for me to continue visiting my "kids". The last time I went over there, my "little" maya ran up to meet me at the door when he heard my voice, wanting to be held.

Finally, about to the point...

My brother and I picked up this broken down hunk of crap at the local salvage yard when we noticed that it was an XS11. We toted her up to his house in Michigan and began tearing her apart. I was thinking about names for her as we disassembled, and I had thought about calling her "MyYa" for "My Yamaha". And as we had her completley apart and I placed the frame in my lap to sand, I immediately thought of how my little boy cat always wanted me to hold him like I was now holding this bike...so I had no other choice, you see - this was definately a Maya.


Sorry that I tend to ramble when I talk about this, I still have a soft spot left in me :/

[captjerry]

I think Ive told this story before however..
The XS dont have a name yet. To me a name just evolves.
My GoldWing is named "minivan"
I smoked a friend of mines Harley pretty bad. In fact down right embarrassing. As he was being ribbed in his parts store by others that seen it, I just said...... "Its kinda like getting blown away by a mini van...."
The name has stuck.
The SilverWing is named "littlebike"
after riding 900 lb motorcycles for so long and getting
on something that is 400lbs lighter and a foot shorter wheelbase
it fits.

[Wayne]

Mine is an '81 tourer.

I originally called my bike "Daddy's Favorite" because it was the last bike my dad ever restored before his passing. (He had always wanted an XS ever since they came out) He restored the bike in '93. He got the bike in buckets, and the lower end was still in the frame. He sold it to me during his battle with cancer since he couldn't ride any longer.

The nickname, "The Mule" came from the fact that I can pack an incredible amount of stuff on her and she carries it with no problems just like a pack mule. So she was christened "The Mule" over 4 years ago.

[Jerry]

so-journ (verb)
To stay for a time in a place; live temporarily: To sojurn on the Riviera for two months.

(Condesnsed from Webster's New Universal Unabriged Dictionary)

Having ridden bikes on and off for 28 years (a break when the kids were young) I've owned several bikes. Never named one until after I had the XJ for a year or so. Then, on a long bike trip to New York in 2001, the name came to me while listening to the Moody Blues 7th Sojourn album. Name seemed appropriate. Most of my miles are put on during longer road trips to rallies, weekend camping trips, or long day trips, so I named the bike Sojurn.

Add the fact that I have lived in 5 states (California, Wisconsin, Colorado, Oregon, and Arizona) and have had 20 plus addresses in 28 years, the "live temporarily" component is appropriate. Plan to move back to Colorado (my favorite state) in the next few months.

A bike nickname can be humorous, related to a bike's particular characteristics or personality, or a statement about your outlook on life. You can't really make a mistake, and the name may change over time. Guidelines? None. Just choose something that seems appropriate to you.

[Robert Haller]

Originally posted by Snow
That cat loved me almost as much as I loved him - he would let me cradle him like a baby and if anyone else tried, he would immediately go ballastic on them, even my fiance.

I can relate. I had a tomcat, Dante, that I was very close with. On several occasions when I was snuggling up with a girlfriend, he would get jealous and bite them (not real hard, just enough to let them know he came first). Sorry that you weren't able to keep Maya.

[xssiveone]

Mine came about when I bought my XS after almost a 20 year hiatus from motorcycling. Kids came along, mortgage payments had to be made, etc. My sister-in-law told me I was having a mid-life crisis. I told her she was probably right, but it was MY crisis and I was going to enjoy it. Mind you, I don't feel quite mid-life yet, but when I realized my youngest is 16, I guess I'm close enough. The Kawasaki actually beongs to SWMBO. She hasn't named it yet, but I imagine she will someday.

[Dragonrider]

Well Oiled Machine earned her name. That story is here:
http://cuagain.manilasites.com/stories/storyReader$56

She confirmed it in spades on a later trip. That story is here:
http://cuagain.manilasites.com/stories/storyReader$105

[sixtysix]

My old signature had all the bikes names in it....but I will just show you the ones I ride on a regular basis:

1980 XS1100G - 'Cinder Block' Since it is big, square, gray and hurts like hell if I drop it on my foot!

1997 Suzuki Bandit 1200 - 'Blue, Balls!' Bike is blue and has more balls than any bike I've ever owned. Other meanings are a bonus.

2000 Triumph Trophy 1200 - 'The Green Hornet' ...Umm tell me this don't look like a green hornet.......

[deo]

Started riding on a Kawasaki 500. I met my wife and I was introduced to her parents, very conservative parents, with motorcycle helmits under our arms. Didn't make a good impression but I got their daughter 27 years ago. Got a good deal on my wife but had to sell the bike.

At our house at the beach this summer our next door neighbor said that if I wanted his old bike, XJ1100, I could have it. He swore up and down it ran and was vey dependable. Only has 17,000 miles on it. Since then and $1200.00 later I am still working on getting it resurrected. Now my wife doesn't know how much I have spent but when it is resurrected we will hopeflully ride together.

deo

[Bill]

You can come at a name from many directions for many reasons. One of my all-time favorites was Steve Pratel's "Visitation". Steve is a minister. If someone asked where he'd been, he'd reply, "Out on visitation" (making a home visit to a church member). Don't think that fooled anyone, though!

My current XS is XSerendipity, because it came to me unexpectedly. Another one of those remarkable $100 deals that can't be XSplained. It isn't in my signature because this spring I'm passing it on to my GF's 20-year-old. Big kid needs a big bike...

Another favorite pair are the bikes of Nova Scotia XSives Bruce Doucette and Mark Robertson. Bruce's bike is a '78E and Mark's is an "84" XJ1100. First and last models of the line. The bikes are appropriately named "Alpha" and "Omega".

My first XS11 was an '81 Special. I'm a registered nurse and was looking for something work related, so I called it "Tachycardia". That one never stuck.

My GSX-R is named "Stark" because it's nekkid!

Lots of ways to come up with a name. When the right one comes along, you'll know it. If a better one comes later, you can always change it.

FWIW, YMMV, etc...

[Falcon]

My XS wears the moniker Vampire. That bike has caused me to lose some blood every time I work on it. So it got it's name. The Venture wears Love Seat. It is the first bike my wife really likes to fall asleep on.

[jasonwatkins]

I think after reading all these I'm gonna call mine "hemorrhoid". (had to look the word up to spell it). Because, every time I hit one of the 15 speed bumps from the corner of my street to my house it causes a pain in my...
You get the feeling,
Jason.