(It may therefore seem somewhat ironic that I still know bugger-all about how to fix the blasted things when they go wrong. Which they do with alarming regularity. Hey-ho. I'm learning new things all the time though...)
If I could afford it, I'd have an enormous collection of motorbikes. But not too enormous; one has to have a personal relationship with one's bikes, and it's difficult to maintain any degree of intimacy with a large crowd. I figure that about ten bikes would be a good number. Or maybe fifteen. But not too many more than that. Okay, twenty wouldn't be completely out of the question. Definitely no more than twenty-five.
You can read about My Life on Two Wheels if you want a potted history of my biking experiences over the years. Nothing too detailed.
If you're intending to buy a used bike, check out this useful guide by Bruce Clark which I lifted from the rec.motorcycles archives in a daring dead-of-night heist