Many of the blogs on this site have been about the people I have met attending motorcycle meetups. And guess what? This is another one. I met Greg Baugher in Poolesville at a Bikes and Breakfast on 19 Sep 2021. Greg is a proud Baltimoreon, a retired banker and avid collector of fine art, furniture, literature, cars and just recently, motorcycles. Greg didn’t get into motorcycles until later in life and now he is playing serious catch up. He started riding back in 2004 with his Husqvarna WXC 250 which is proudly perched in the left-hand corner of the level 2 shelf of his self-designed mancave. A prime location which seems to overlook everything else that is on display. You immediately feel at home in this museum of motors and could lose yourself for hours just reading the walls, admiring the bikes, looking at all the unusual memorabilia (like oil bottles from the war, a Buck Rogers laser gun and Flash Gordon spaceship) and flicking through the hundreds and hundreds of books and magazines in his library. It not only houses 17 of his 18 bikes but two of his 16 muscle cars - one of which is an immaculate 505HP 2006 black Corvette. The cars are complimentary to the two-wheel collection they adorn. To make the internals of the mancave equally as impressive, Greg decided to deck out the walls and ceiling of the triple roller door garage with wooden panels. On entering it feels like you are walking into a massive Swedish sauna. However, Greg has done a terrific job in making it a home for his treasured collection. When he retired, Greg realised that his portfolio of investments needed more diversification. So, in 2009 he made a start and bought himself a new DL1000 Suzuki V-Strom. And because Suzuki also made a DL650 V-Strom he bought one of them too. Greg loves the V-Strom and has travelled extensively over the lower 48 as the map shows, clocking up some 33K miles on the larger Suzuki twin. His 2012 Kawasaki KLR650 is the 'goto' bike for short journeys whilst his 2013 Honda CB1100 resides in Florida and serves the same purpose as the KLR in Greg's winter homeland. The most recent addition to his two wheeled family is a 2020 Bud Ekins, Triumph Bonneville T120. Greg has numerous books and is well informed on Ekins and his real-life actor double, Steve McQueen. The other memorable bike is the 100-year celebratory Harley Davidson Road King Custom. The other bikes on Greg's inventory are an eclectic mix of Japanese workhorses of the 1970's. A 1971 Honda CB175; 1969 Honda 350 Scrambler; 1978 Kawasaki KZ200; 1975 Honda CB400/4 SuperSport; 1977 Honda CB750K; 1978 Honda CB750K (red one); 1975 Honda CB500T; 1973 Honda CB450; 1975 Yamaha DT175; 1972 Honda CT70 Trail; 1971 Honda CT70 Trail. Most of the Hondas and the Yamaha were acquired in the last three years and most of them are runners! Thank you, Greg for sharing your story and showing off your collection. We know you are not done yet! Plenty of room for the two-wheel family to grow even more.
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