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[Indenial]

Interesting to see the "first bikes" relative to age. Crotch rockets for younger members and Kawasaki's for the older ones. Remember all the Kawasakis": Trail Boss, 350 Bighorn, 500, 750, 900---all fast for their size.

[DOWNTOWN DON]

Not a good pic, but neither were the cameras in 1973. This is me doubling my brother on my late 60's honda 55 trail. It was all about safety back then. lol

[jc15025]

1972 Yamaha 350 2 stroke street bike while I was station in Hilo HI  which I sold for a 1974 Yamaha 500 DOHC street bike.

[67sprint]

Chalk up another '66 Bridgestone 50 Sport as a first bike.   The bike was a straight up gift and rite of passage for 15 year old me.   But, I didn't get to have the Honda C110 I really wanted.  My dad was buying ($254) and he didn't believe those little 4 stroke engine's valves would "hold up."  We picked the Bridgestone over the equivalent Suzuki because the dealer was closer.   I rode the trouble free little machine for a year before moving up to a "big bike" with my own money - the 67 HD Sprint SS.   Wish I still had them both, if only to look at. 

[68 XLCH]

In 1963, junior in high school, i bought a late 50's 500cc Triumph, that had been around the block many times.

It was stuck in 2nd gear, so i paid 100 dollars for it.  Drove it around the block, kept trying to shift it and it popped out of 2nd and never gave me a problem again.

Road it on the street, power lines, jumped it, climbed hills, a fun machine that you didn't have to be concerned about bruising.

Two years later when i got drafted i sold it for 200 dollars.

Four months before going over to Nam i bought a new '68 sportster for 1500 dollars.

[WTF Chuck]

72 Suzuki GT550 3 cylinder

[fenderbunny]

That little blue Suzuki was Chuck's only way to pick me up when we were dating....YES Cold Rain and Snow!
That was probably why I married him-LOL

[HUBBARD]

16 years old, working at the Hometown Texaco Station.  1967 XLH Sportster.  Purple & White, with 2Man white seat, white saddle bags, white grips, and a windshield.  All Factory.  What a blast!  Later--HUBBARD 

[RonandJanet]

18 in the USMC and I got a 1970 Yamaha 250 ($400).  That is a story in itself. Rode that bike everywhere (roads, fields, etc.).  Then got a new Honda 400 hawk!  Loved that bike too. Took many 2 up trips loaded down with camping gear.  took many trips to Daytona and always saw the Harleys on the side of the road. I wanted one so bad but they weren't reliable. Finally years later I got my first Harley and have been through five since then.     

[Rooster]

KZ900, Boy was that thing fast and I had no ideas of the fundamentals of riding. Don't know how I survived.

Lots of my friends wanted one of those. I bought a 83 1000LTD new and still can't believe I made it through those days. My wife sold it and I bought my first HD. That was the deal. Lucky me.

[RonandJanet]

I had a friend that a green one. It was a great bike.

[n8schmitz]

The first bike I owned...and I mowed a lot of lawns for it.  Yamaha MX 100. I rode that thing every day, and most days in the winter in MN! 




But this is the bike that really started it all. My dad owned this when I was 5, and finally tall enough to touch the rear foot pegs and got to go for a ride.  I'll never forget that feeling of going around a round-about and leaning into the corner, and then the acceleration as we straightened out onto the highway!   That's what this is all about!  I think about that every time I get on my bike today.   Talk about addicted at an early age. 




(Not my actual photos of the bikes. I have to dig through the old 35mm or Polaroids to find the real ones... but that's an afternoon filled with memories).




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RGlideKid]

I'll never forget that feeling of going around a round-about and leaning into the corner, and then the acceleration as we straightened out onto the highway!   That's what this is all about!  I think about that every time I get on my bike today.

 

I can't speak for everyone out there, but I think you've hit the nail on the head.  Carving a turn well and smoothly, and then accelerating at just the right moment to help bring the bike up straight from the tight lean...and then all you can do is just smile like an idiot.  I can never get enough of that, which is maybe why I don't think I'd ever be happy with a trike.  Between carving turns and the sweet feeling of accelerating, there's no substitute for that small feeling of being kind of a rebel and master of your own destiny for another sublime moment in time.

And that's not a feeling you can get anywhere else in the same way as far as I know.  And the cool thing is, we've all felt that.  From a young age when things were simpler.  You and your own bike making memories that will last forever.

[Dan_Lockwood]

My first motorcycle was a Bridgestone 50 Sport and it was not fast enough to be able to lean in the corners.

[RGlideKid]

:

My first motorcycle was a Bridgestone 50 Sport and it was not fast enough to be able to lean in the corners.

  

Ha ha!  Gotcha, Dan!