Eric Morris has bought his dream motorbike - but he has no intention of riding it. He says it's a work of art and it's staying in his hallway.

The move is more easy chair than Easy Rider and wife Hazel, 52, was rather taken aback when her husband announced his plans for the vast Harley Davidson V-rod.

But she is now so smitten with the idea that the couple plan to buy one for the sitting room and one for their bedroom.

The gleaming machine was installed in the couple's penthouse home on Brighton seafront this week.

It was not an easy job but Mr Morris was determined. He said: "We tried to hire a crane to hoist it up to the balcony but the company let us down."

Instead, it was taken up in pieces in the lift and reassembled by mechanics from the American Motorcycle Works in Hove.

Mr Morris, a retired director of a commercial property company, said: "I saw the bike in a showroom and thought: 'I've got to have it'.

"I just fell in love with it. I think of it as a piece of art. It was like walking into a shop and seeing a painting you like - something clicked.

"Some people put cars in a similar way round swimming pools. There's no way I could get a car in here but I thought I could just about get a bike up.

"I love chrome things. We're going to get an original American jukebox as well. We enjoy collecting things. We've got items from all different periods, modern and antique."

Mrs Morris admits it took her a while to get used to the idea.

She said: "When he first suggested it I thought it might be a bit strange. But then we went back to the showroom and I was hooked. I'm behind him all the way.

"He's always liked to do slightly outrageous and unusual things. There's never a dull moment."

The couple, who are originally from Croydon, moved to Brighton from a farmhouse in Lindfield four years ago.

Mr Morris said: "I had a barn there converted for my pleasure. I filled it with my toys, like classic cars and an original factory clocking-on machine. There was a traditional red phone box in the garden - just a collection of things I liked. I've sold them now. I don't think you get the same buzz from them as you grow older."

Mr Morris has worked hard to buy his playthings. He said: "I grew up in a house with no bathroom and no toilet. I didn't want that. I had goals.

"I had two or three jobs on the go at the start. I've done everything from labouring to sitting behind a desk.

"It took me years to build up my property company."

But despite his success there is one thing he cannot get away with - not doing the dusting.

Mrs Morris said: "It'll be quite a job to keep the bike gleaming. I put my foot down and told Eric the dusting is down to him."

The V-rod costs about £15,000 to buy.