Hoarder versus Enthusiast

After you've spent any stretch of time interested in old motorcycles, you're bound to come across those guys that hoard things. In almost every case, those guys are hoarding parts that they have no use for, no intentions of ever using and no motorcycle that they could ever use them on. This is a phenomenon that I simply don't understand. I get the fact that people like cool stuff, they need to have spares for bikes they have, and in general, just like to be surrounded by these things. But, in reality, what's the point?

I've got a few key spare parts for bikes of mine. They're parts that generally wear out, and will need to be replaced at some point since I ride the thing. I'd personally never give someone a hard time for having spare parts. It's smart to have things like that. I also have a project bike that I'm actively building, and therefore I'm collecting the components I need to complete the project. But these are scenarios that I'm not talking about. I'm talking about the guy that just has stockpiles of parts with no home. Orphan parts piled up and tucked away in a garage, shed or basement. These parts are collecting dust and will never have get to be used. Meanwhile, there are other guys out there actively hunting for those same parts. Needing them to replace worn out originals or simply to complete the rebuild of a machine they're bringing back to life.

There's no photo to go along with this post, and maybe it's just a rant out of frustration. There are parts that I know people have right now, that I need, and they do not. Yet they're somehow not for sale. I'm not saying that people should just give things away. I think they should be sold off at a fair price so they can be used. I think the whole goal for anyone that's an enthusiast, should be to get more old bikes back onto the road.

So be honest with yourself. How many bikes can one man rebuild or restore? How many bikes have you completed over the past five years? How many could you possibly restore if you worked on them everyday for the rest of your life? What's going to happen to this stuff after you're gone? Are you an enthusiast, or a greedy hoarder?