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CVO Social => Other Topics => Topic started by: RGlideKid on July 27, 2015, 10:54:46 PM

Title: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on July 27, 2015, 10:54:46 PM
We all remember our first bike.  For most of us, it's what started us down our path to motorcycling, and we'll always have a soft place in our hearts about that first one.

So what was your first bike, how did you come by it, and what are your best memories of it?

My first bike was a used 1972 Suzuki Gaucho 50cc dirt bike, in orange.  I paid something like $275 cash out of my own pocket from paper route money I'd saved up for 2 years.  I loved that little orange bike and have truly wonderful memories of my times on it.  The pic below is a factory pic, but that's the model I had!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Aussie on July 27, 2015, 11:32:26 PM
Closest I could find is a 175cc.
Mine was a Kawasaki 100cc. Cost me, well cost my Dad $100 after my Mum convinced him to get it.
I come across the bike after a school mate told me he had a bike for sale, it was sold before I saw it. That was a good 38 years ago.
Once I was behind those handle bars there was no turning back.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: gadgetz on July 27, 2015, 11:40:14 PM


No pictures, but the first one was a 50cc Suzuki and then went to a Yamaha RM125 and have been riding ever since.

Life was a lot simpler then and riding was pure joy. I can remember spending every spare moment on those bikes.

I still love riding today, alone in the wind with my wife, life doesn't get any better.

Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: krypto2011 on July 28, 2015, 01:11:20 AM
My first bike was the Top Gun bike. 1984 GPZ 900 also known as a ninja ZX900. Bought it used my senior year of high school for $900. My folks were less than impressed when I rolled into the yard on that bike. Almost had to find a new place to live!!! Probably had more to do with that I didn't have a motorcycle license than actually buying the bike. Took my test on this thing 2 weeks later and never looked back.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: dooinit2u on July 28, 2015, 07:58:21 AM
My first ride when I was 15... Bought with money from my first job... Delivered newspaper on a bicycle all afternoon to be able to ride later... Awesome times...


 (http://s681.photobucket.com/user/dooinit2u/media/images.jpg.html)
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RonandJanet on July 28, 2015, 08:12:24 AM
I have a picture (stock) I will load up later. My first motorcycle was a Yamaha 250. It was part off road and part street. The year was 77 and I was about 19 (hard to remember all this now).  I was in the USMC and a friend and I struck a deal.  I would ride to the base with him on his bike (Suzuki 750) on nice days and he would ride in my car on other days.  The first day he said if you get hooked on riding don't blame me. I laughed.  The day was pretty but cool and I had no idea about clothes etc. He told me what to do and to lean with him etc.   He did all the things you would do to keep people from riding. We went fast and through turns like a bat out of hades.  Two weeks later I bought the 250 and rode it everywhere.  I have ridden since and just love riding. 

I finally remembered to upload the picture.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: 2k on July 28, 2015, 08:23:49 AM
Too old to remember my 1st, but my son's first was a 50cc Suzuki Trail Hopper. My first Harley ride was on my Uncle's brand new '49 Duo-Glide(or sumtin like that). I was 2 and can remember it!!!!!!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: kiro on July 28, 2015, 08:40:29 AM
The first bike I actually owned was a Honda CB350. Not certain on dates but I think it was circa 1972. I don’t recall the year of the bike either. I paid $250 for it if memory serves. It sure did start me off on a motorcycle trend that so far hasn’t ended. The image is from the web, but this is what it looked like. This bike was sold and quickly followed up with acquisition of a 1969 BSA Thunderbolt, then an early ‘70’s Norton Commando 750 in yellow. I don’t have photographs of any of these bikes that I’m aware of through years of changes and moving around…
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: ultrarider123 on July 28, 2015, 09:42:03 AM
I've been riding since I was a younger man.... ::) but the first motorcycle that was actually mine?  Suzuki GS450L.  Bought it on a Friday, totaled the following Saturday (long story).  Bought it back a year later from my future brother in law after his rebuild.  Rode it for 6 months and moved on to greener? pastures....
1981 and this color, too.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Chains on July 28, 2015, 10:30:35 AM
1962 BSA A65 500cc. Paid $230.00 for it in 1964.  Bought it from a University of Dayton senior that said motor was bad. Rode it over to my friends, it had a terrible tick. Tore it down, split the cases and all I could find was a nick in one pushrod .  Filed it smooth and reassembled the motor. In the meantime painted it a deep dark blue with rattle cans. Baked the paint in my buddies mothers oven. Sure upset her.
Had a tendency to blow head gaskets.  After about the 3rd one I was at the local dealer one day getting another head gasket when a older man asked why are going through so many in such a short time. I told him if I knew I wouldn't need another. He told me to go buy a can of silver spray paint and generously coat both sides and let drybefore assembling and I would never have another problem. I thought what the heck can't hurt. Did it and never blew another head gasket. Sold it in 1968 for $550.00 to put towards my 1969 Triumph Daytona that was $1,134.00 tax and title. My how prices have changed.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: TinSpinner on July 28, 2015, 10:45:07 AM
My first motorized 2 wheeler was a Cyclops mini bike that I got for Christmas in 1969. Briggs and Stratton 3 HP was enough at the time but soon left me wanting for more. A few years later I bought my first real motorcycle, a Yamaha 125 dirt bike from one of my friends for $200. His parents were pissed because he sold it to buy headers for his car, mine were pissed  because I bought it. Against the stern admonitions of my parents not to race or ride fast I would sneak off and enter some open motocross events, eventually won a few then was offered a sponsorship by one of the local dealers. Explaining how that came about was tricky and received with much skepticism by my parents. Stayed on the race circuit for 6 years until I finally got hurt bad enough to give up motocross but I did enduros and hare scrambles for many more years, last one was in my mid 30's. My transition over to street bikes started with a Triumph 650 when I was in college, loved and hated that bike, loved it when gas went all the way up to $1/gallon but eventually the hate won after it left me stranded on the side of the road too many times so I sold it. Missed a few years along the way with no bike but usually have had at least one and enjoyed them for most of my life. Lately I have been thinking about selling my bikes and minimizing risks in my life but I doubt I will, if I do it probably would not be long before I would have another.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on July 28, 2015, 10:46:25 AM
I'm smiling this morning as I'm reading all these memories! 

These are all great stories and pictures guys!

Let's keep this thread going!!!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Jbbrown73 on July 28, 2015, 10:51:45 AM
1984 Honda Nighthawk
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: 110Mofo on July 28, 2015, 11:34:45 AM
1964 YAMAHA YG1 TRAILMASTER 80cc

 I think it was my 12th birthday when i got my first bike, it was a long time ago  :D

 I don't have a pic of my actual bike.
 
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Dr.D on July 28, 2015, 04:10:37 PM
I have a picture (stock) I will load up later. My first motorcycle was a Yamaha 250. It was part off road and part street. The year was 77 and I was about 19 (hard to remember all this now).  I was in the USMC and a friend and I struck a deal.  I would ride to the base with him on his bike (Suzuki 750) on nice days and he would ride in my car on other days.  The first day he said if you get hooked on riding don't blame me. I laughed.  The day was pretty but cool and I had no idea about clothes etc. He told me what to do and to lean with him etc.   He did all the things you would do to keep people from riding. We went fast and through turns like a bat out of hades.  Two weeks later I bought the 250 and rode it everywhere.  I have ridden since and just love riding.

My third bike was a green DT3 250 like the one you are describing. My first a Honda CT 70. My brother and I rode the absolute chit outta that thing. Ugly as all get out but we learn to love them at Daytona rentals on the beach.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Rooster on July 28, 2015, 04:11:43 PM
My first was a Honda mini trail 50. I didn't take any pics cause I was to busy ridin the wheels off it. :huepfenlol2: It was my answer to parents saying we can't afford it so you have to get a job and buy it yourself. Well that didn't work I know they had to be saying after I showed up with it. Seems like it was a little over $100. Although just a few years ago we were in a Honda store and above the sales floor they had a line up of many of Honda's bikes over the years. I noticed they had two of the Honda 50's, one was BLUE. I said man I always wanted the blue and silver one. He says I actually bought that one restored. He paid $2000. WOW
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Dr.D on July 28, 2015, 04:20:19 PM
Here's the first hit of the drug. My mother told my father it would be a waste of  money like all the other toys we play with for a while and then discard. Boy was she ever wrong. Sort of reminds you of the Dyna line doesn't it?? :P Got tires just like my Fatbob.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: TNCarters on July 28, 2015, 04:51:13 PM
First bike when I was about 14 was a Rupp minibike similar to the pic below with 5 hp motor, motorcycle carb and no govenor.  State was building a new divided highway near our house and we had some awsome trails, jumps and hill climb spots with a bunch of other Honda 50's and Trail 70's.  After about a 40 year break due to life interferences, my wife and I bought a neighbors Yamaha VStar 250.  It was fun but outgrew it quickly and moved on to cruisers.  Made the progression to Kawa Vulcan, HD Limited to CVO RGU.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on July 28, 2015, 04:57:50 PM
Here's the first hit of the drug. My mother told my father it would be a waste of  money like all the other toys we play with for a while and then discard. Boy was she ever wrong. Sort of reminds you of the Dyna line doesn't it?? :P Got tires just like my Fatbob.

Dang, that brings back memories!  I spent a LOT of time on a red one just like that way back when!
A Dyna!  That's a hoot!   :zroflmao:
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Dan_Lockwood on July 28, 2015, 05:51:00 PM
This was my first bike, a '66 Bridgestone 50 Sport.

(http://www.bridgestonemotorcycle.com/images/BS50-2.jpg)

My dad was a mechanic all his life and we had moved off the road to stay put for a while.  He was a mechanic for a very large construction company our of Ann Arbor MI back in the late '50s through the early '60s.  We move from road building job to the next road building job.  I went to 11 different schools before we settled down in our home town area in the middle of my 7th grade.

So to keep me occupied in the summer, we lived on a lake, he got a gas pump and 275 gallon tank from his nephew and put it in down by the lake in front of the house.  We built a dock and I started to sell gas on the lake.  He bought my first tank and case of oil and then at the end of the summer I paid him back.

Well at the time I didn't realize all the people my folks knew and how many of them wanted my dad to look at their outboards etc.  So along with the little gas pump, we had a little building that I stocked spark plugs, some ski ropes and misc items that they could buy from me instead of walking up town to the hardware store.

So after a year of this, the building got bigger and we ended up putting up a building up behind our house on the blacktop road around the lake.  This turned eventually into a pretty good size marine business and I was the mechanic.  It still amazes me how older people back then would trust their motor etc to a "kid", me.  But they knew my dad and that was good enough for them.  You would not get away with that today.

Anyway, my cousins that lived out of the village a couple miles had some money and wanted to buy small motorcycles for themselves.  So my dad took on Bridgestone bikes and he had to buy four I believe to get the dealership.  A 60 Sport went to one cousin and to his brother went a 90 Trail with dual rear sprockets...  I only had the 50 Sport as a demo and didn't really get to do with it what I wanted, but hey, I was riding and only 15.  We eventually sold Johnson, Mercury, Artic Cat, Polaris, Crest pontoons, and a bunch of other stuff.

So the 50 Sport was my start.  We didn't have a lot of money and I was always wheeling and dealing to get bikes of some sort.  I'm still doing the same thing.  :)

My first Harley came when I was about 18.

(http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL846/863774/1562785/411125597.jpg)

This was a '56 KH.  The H I believe was the stroker motor with a 3/4" longer stroke than the stock 750 flathead.  I paid $50 for this and that was a LOT of money to me.

Hope I didn't bore you all with my ramblings.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: DaBigNuttedMan on July 28, 2015, 07:05:45 PM
1st one 1968 trail horse mini bike 3hp techumseh [sp]  I was 8 and it was bigger than life, I bought Mini Bike Guide magazine every month livin large real large, then in 71 got a Rupp Scrambler. I still love mini bikes. 1st motorcycle SL 100 Honda about a 71 model used with a locked up motor, 1st engine I ever did a complete on. anybody into minibikes check out minidoodle.com. still have a 69 Rupp roadster shriner special all chromed up with factory windshield both horns, highway bar, original motor great shape.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Kent on July 28, 2015, 08:12:46 PM
I don't remember the year but it was a Harley 50cc two stroke with a 3 speed twist grip shifter and clutch on the same left handle bar been in love ever since
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: MadCVORG on July 28, 2015, 08:38:47 PM
1982 Yamaha 650 Maxim.  Bought it off a buddy's roommate at my first USAF assignment in FL, in 1986.  Got the 10-second intro, told to stay on base, and took to it like water. Took the bike to Germany, and sold it in '90 when I went to Turkey. 
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on July 28, 2015, 08:39:49 PM
1st one 1968 trail horse mini bike 3hp techumseh [sp]  I was 8 and it was bigger than life,

Isn't it amazing?  I remember thinking the same thing about motorcycles.  I remember looking at the metric big fours in the bike magazines, but the Honda CB750 and the Kawasaki 750 triple and Kawasaki 900 four are forever etched in my mind from the 70's as bigger than life.  To me back then, they were positively huge motorcycles!  I remember thinking that I'd never be big enough to handle one!  Funny how things change and how we perceive things at an early age...
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: fastfreddy on July 28, 2015, 09:21:58 PM
it all started at 10 years old, my older cousin had a honda 50 mini trail, he taught me how to ride it, and let me have it for the summer. at 12 i bought my first mini bike w/5hp, at 16 a 72 450 honda, at 18 my first new bike a 79 kz 650, had two of them, then a kz900 ltd (first year for the LTD and last year for the 900) then the kids came into the picture...so it was back to a honda 50. bought my first harley in 2011. thanks for bringing out the trip down memory lane  :) :)
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Indenial on July 28, 2015, 09:32:10 PM
1971 Suzuki TR-250----bought it new for $500 with money earned working in a fast food drive-in flippin burgers and making fries.  Put 25000 miles on it during high school and college, as I didn't have a car.  I  still have it and it still runs great.  Riiinnnnggggg   Ding Ding----  Have thought of selling it several times, but too many memories say "don't sell it"
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Craigisdad on July 28, 2015, 09:42:00 PM
Not sure of the year but my first was a blue Honda ct 70. Dad bought it for my brother and me, and we rode that thing to death all over our farm. And after 40 years I broke down and got another one. An orange 1970 70h 4speed, I love it but it sure is a lot smaller and slower than I remember. I had 2 friends back then, 1 had a go cart and the other had a Honda 3 wheeler and we would get together whenever we could and switch rides. Didn't know at the time that those were some of the best times we would ever have, good ole days. Boy do I sound old or what, haha.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Royalroadie on July 29, 2015, 01:16:12 AM
All my friends had bikes and my folks where not thrilled with my fate in the hands of others when I road on the back.  They finally caved and said I could buy my own if I promised never to take a passenger.  I work as a busboy and waiter at a drive in for almost a year before I had $500 for my first bike.  I was looking at some used ones but my father thought they looked iffy.  So one day my mother handed me an envelope and told me I needed to take it to my dads office and give it to him since I was meeting him for lunch that day.   Well on the way to lunch we where driving past a bike shop and my eye where glued to the front window and he asked me what I was looking at?  I said the bikes in the window.  He said do you want to take a closer look, knowing the answer. I said SURE!  We went in and I was in love with the Suzuki t350 rebel. But it was out of my price range.  I being a typical 16 year old, I had total space off the envelope in my back pocket.  My dad asked me if I would prefer a new over the used ones I had been looking at.  I looked at him like it was a totally stupid question because they had told me I had to buy the bike with my own hard earned money and he knew I only had a little over $500 save so far.  He said I could afford it and I look at him like he was nuts.  He asked me if I had something I was supposed to give him.  Ahh yeah, feeling a little stupid for forgetting about it.  He opened the envelope and pulled out $800 cash an he told me the he would loan me the difference because I had work so long and had made it most of the way.  I purchased the bike for $725 out the door. I was a sophomore in high school and I rode it almost ever day some times inthe snow.  I sold just after graduation to buy a car for college.  I did not get another bike until I was almost forty after divorcing my first wife.  She was totally against my buying a bike.  Right after the divorce I bought a dirt bike just to spite her, she was afraid that I would kill myself and not be able to pay her alimony and child support.  After riding in the dirt for a year or so I bought a 750 Magna. I loved the look on her face the first time I pulled up on a street bike. Now she was really pissed. None of my friend had bikes but the all wanted to ride again.  With in a year my 5 closest buddies all bought bikes.  So in the last 20 years I have had 6 street machines.  Lots of mile and good times.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: longlast on July 29, 2015, 04:06:33 AM
Found my first one at the back of a garage when I was walking along some rail tracks it was covered in vines, all I could see of it was the left hand grip. I was curios so I hopped the back fence to take a look and there it was a complete bike. I went to the house and asked if he would sale it. He said that old thing! if you want it give me 20 and it's yours but you have to move it. I shot home told my dad that I had just bought a motor bike he said what kind of bike I replied, It's called a Panther a 1936/39 350cc. I was 18 I tore down the motor had new bushes made up at the local machine shop, cleaned it all up and that was that she ran like a top.

                                               The pic is the replica of what I had that I found in the Panther diary
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Lone Rider on July 29, 2015, 06:41:07 AM
49cc Velocette (pedal start)

No pics but I'll keep looking….

Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: kiro on July 29, 2015, 07:30:53 AM
Quote
the Honda CB750 and the Kawasaki 750 triple and Kawasaki 900 four are forever etched in my mind from the 70's as bigger than life

I can recall in the late 60's, early 70's a 750cc motorcycle was considered to be in a super-bike class Harry. When I bought a 750 Norton Commando in 1973 or '74 (before I got married in any event), my riding buds were envious of the large, powerful engine & 'cutting edge' technology. When looking back at that period of bikes now, those engines look so modest... Still wish I had that Norton now though.  :nixweiss:
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Dr.D on July 29, 2015, 09:16:58 AM
Isn't it amazing?  I remember thinking the same thing about motorcycles.  I remember looking at the metric big fours in the bike magazines, but the Honda CB750 and the Kawasaki 750 triple and Kawasaki 900 four are forever etched in my mind from the 70's as bigger than life.  To me back then, they were positively huge motorcycles!  I remember thinking that I'd never be big enough to handle one!  Funny how things change and how we perceive things at an early age...

That's a flash back post right there. In 1974 I had that big fast Yamaha DT# 250 seen here and my buddies got the Honda 750 Fours. SOB they were the biggest badest MoFo's and I was little POS. I saw one the same old Hondas the other day and it looked so small and pitiful, how time does change everything.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on July 29, 2015, 10:36:31 AM
I can recall in the late 60's, early 70's a 750cc motorcycle was considered to be in a super-bike class Harry. When I bought a 750 Norton Commando in 1973 or '74 (before I got married in any event), my riding buds were envious of the large, powerful engine & 'cutting edge' technology. When looking back at that period of bikes now, those engines look so modest... Still wish I had that Norton now though.  :nixweiss:

Hey Kiro,
The Norton Commando.  Just the name brings back so many memories and feelings.  I thought it was to die for back then, and I'd love to have one now also, but I'd bet you it would feel tiny, even tho it looked so huge to me back then.  And the women in their ads in the bike mags.  So racy, just like the bike.  To a young impressionable boy, those women sold me on the bike, but I loved that black with the gold decal on the tank.  Man, I thought that bike had it all!
H
PS.  Here's a trip down memory lane for you!   
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: kiro on July 29, 2015, 10:47:10 AM
Quote
Here's a trip down memory lane for you!

Haha, yep - that's the beast, just like the one I owned. Love that poster...  :2vrolijk_21:
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Chains on July 29, 2015, 12:25:19 PM
Here's my second bike. 1969 Triumph Daytona with custom paint by the Egyptian.  Also my 1967 427-435 Corvette.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on July 29, 2015, 12:45:43 PM
Haha, yep - that's the beast, just like the one I owned. Love that poster...  :2vrolijk_21:

Yeah, but which one's the beast, Kiro?   :o   :D
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Puma on July 29, 2015, 01:18:39 PM
The first bike I rode was an old Benelli 50cc. Street legal in Italy. An old man brought it back from Europe when he was in the military. The first bike I owned was a Honda 750 Shadow. I only kept it about six months. As soon as they came out with the VTX 1300 I got one of those. They gave me almost what I paid for the Shadow as trade value.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: chaos901 on July 29, 2015, 02:39:45 PM
About 1974 bought a new Honda 250-XL, about a dozen more after that one.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: johnbv on July 29, 2015, 03:43:25 PM
WOW ! What great Forum Member stories !!

Well, my first Motorcycle was a Red, 1972  Benelli , 65cc Dynamo Dirt Bike with a 2 speed automatic transmission, as my Dad didn't think I could handle shifting the 4 speed model !!

What a mistake, I was kind of a plump 12 year old and the old 2 speed automatic wasn't stout enough to pull me up the big trail hills, my best friend had the same Benelli, but his Dad bought him the 4 speed unit and he kicked my butt on the old trails, but we rode for hours out on those dirt trails, what a great start to my Motorcycling future.

Thanks for making me think of the Memories !!

Anyone else ever ride a Benelli dirt bike ?
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: muddypaws on July 29, 2015, 03:45:45 PM
1969 a little Honda. All I could afford.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: phato1 on July 29, 2015, 08:49:37 PM
The first bike I had was a 1969 Honda 50cc. I rode the wheels off that thing, tearing up my parents yard in the process. Thought I was the coolest kid in my neighborhood -- of course I still think that all these years later  ;D .

This a pic of one I found on the web....
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: phato1 on July 29, 2015, 08:54:36 PM
Another that sticks in my mind because of some great memories of blazing trails through the woods with my buddies and racing down the NG pipeline and electrical power line right of ways..can't do that stuff anymore around here  :(   
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Puma on July 29, 2015, 09:00:51 PM
WOW ! What great Forum Member stories !!

Well, my first Motorcycle was a Red, 1972  Benelli , 65cc Dynamo Dirt Bike with a 2 speed automatic transmission, as my Dad didn't think I could handle shifting the 4 speed model !!

What a mistake, I was kind of a plump 12 year old and the old 2 speed automatic wasn't stout enough to pull me up the big trail hills, my best friend had the same Benelli, but his Dad bought him the 4 speed unit and he kicked my butt on the old trails, but we rode for hours out on those dirt trails, what a great start to my Motorcycling future.

Thanks for making me think of the Memories !!

Anyone else ever ride a Benelli dirt bike ?
I rode a 50cc Benelli street bike. Never a dirt bike.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: johnbv on July 30, 2015, 01:25:34 AM
Hey Chains, and the Egyptian is still in business doing custom paint work to this day !!!!  He is so well known, amazing  !!!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: iski on July 30, 2015, 01:44:18 AM
Saved mowing yard & hauling hay money for this 1973 Kawasaki 175.  Think it was $379, bought in 1972.  Pic is me doing donuts in my front yard in Texas.  Car was mine, too.

Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on July 30, 2015, 10:09:58 AM
Saved mowing yard & hauling hay money for this 1973 Kawasaki 175.  Think it was $379, bought in 1972.  Pic is me doing donuts in my front yard in Texas.  Car was mine, too.

Now there's a young fellow who couldn't get enough of his bike!  Nice SS by the way!
You look like me at that age...all height and no weight! 
Wish I had more pictures of my youth from those days... but that was way, way before digital cameras, and film was expensive for poor folks. 
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: iski on July 30, 2015, 11:08:46 AM
Now there's a young fellow who couldn't get enough of his bike!  Nice SS by the way!
You look like me at that age...all height and no weight! 
Wish I had more pictures of my youth from those days... but that was way, way before digital cameras, and film was expensive for poor folks.

Thanks.  Car was a head turner. 150#s, 6' 3".  My younger sis took the pic on a Polaroid.  Only a few pics of the bike, this was scanned.  Absolutely, we were so poor then we didn't know how poor we were..  Had bummed rides since 13 on everything small engined with 2 wheels.  Mostly mini bikes.  I wanted a bike bad. Friend had a Kawa 90, I saved to buy the 175.  Used to eat Honda Scrambler 305s for lunch.  Loved to ride dirt, wheelies , jumps, & donuts & foot plant corner slides.  Now I would be in a wheelchair in short order - maybe. Then had no fear.  My to be wife over the valid objections of her parents began riding on the back that same spring.  Good times.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: moscooter on July 30, 2015, 12:25:39 PM
 ::)
My first bike was a used '63 Triumph TR6.  (40" with a single carb)...........first year for (unit construction).  I got it in 1965.  Rode it to work and school and some of us got into enduros.  Stock rear sprocket was 46t.  I put a 60T (overlay) sprocket on it for hill climbing and enduros.  Very heavy bike for enduros if you get stuck in the mud or similar.   Then sold it around 1968 for less than $100 from what I had paid originially.  ($725).  Got into Bultaco enduro bikes (Spanish).  Had a '67 Matador (250cc),  and later a '75 Frontera (360cc).  Later on had a Yamaha Virago (750) and finally into Harleys in the mid '90s with my first being '93 Dyna Wide Glide..........several H.D.s since. :drink:
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Chains on July 30, 2015, 01:52:06 PM
Hey Chains, and the Egyptian is still in business doing custom paint work to this day !!!!  He is so well known, amazing  !!!

I uses to spend a lot of time with Don at the shop after I got off work.  Wanted to learn to custom paint so I would stay in the booth with him and watch the magic.  Had it not been for one of his guys going behind his back and stealing a customer from him I think he would have taught me.  But when the guy painted a 65 fastback corvette for the cost of the paint and a Muncie 4 speed it was all Don could do to not strangle the guy.  I remember one night I took my girlfriend down to the shop and introduced her and told Don I was going to marry her.  After about 5 minutes talking to her Don says Jim you can't marry her she is a bitch stay clear.  Needless to say I didn't listen but found out soon he was right, laugh about it today , but boy was he right.

You know he worked in California as a young man and I used to love sitting in his office looking at the photos of cars and especially the ones with him and George Barris together.  He is a great guy 
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Dr.D on July 30, 2015, 03:40:07 PM
.  Loved to ride dirt, wheelies , jumps, & donuts & foot plant corner slides.  Now I would be in a wheelchair in short order - maybe. Then had no fear.

x2  Loved my two enduro bikes. Those peppy two strokes would out run larger displacement four strokes every time. Easy to work on too. I remember taking the heads off to clean the tops of the pistons and if they had carbon build up it would improve performance quite a bit. Hell to the fire if I tried that on my new HD. :o
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: iski on July 30, 2015, 04:53:47 PM
x2  Loved my two enduro bikes. Those peppy two strokes would out run larger displacement four strokes every time. Easy to work on too. I remember taking the heads off to clean the tops of the pistons and if they had carbon build up it would improve performance quite a bit. Hell to the fire if I tried that on my new HD. :o

Yeah those 2 strokes were very easy to work on.  Always carried spare spark plugs. The bike came with surface gap plugs that were easy to clean.  Tried conventionals in multiple heat ranges, ended up back with the originals. Champion made them, otherwise we would gap Bosch plugs. 

(http://www.formula1-dictionary.net/Images/spark_plug_surface_gap.jpg)

Used to run forest trails banging into trees jumping over stuff & having a helluva good time.  The young wimmens who accompanied us thought correctly that we were crazy & was common to hear "you"re gonna kill yourself."
The little 2 strokes left bigger 4 strokes behind.  Kawas, Suzukis, Yamahas.  Was a lot of fun.  Always used stingers with just enough back pressure to be.....well they were all loud as hell.  Did not need to be a genius to work on them, pretty straightforward.  Compared to modern bikes is like 70s cars to modern cars.  Engineered to the nth, scanalize & now the computer says where/what.  But when it comes to starting on cold mornings or in elevations, the modern stuff is easier. 
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Chains on July 30, 2015, 06:05:01 PM
x2  Loved my two enduro bikes. Those peppy two strokes would out run larger displacement four strokes every time. Easy to work on too. I remember taking the heads off to clean the tops of the pistons and if they had carbon build up it would improve performance quite a bit. Hell to the fire if I tried that on my new HD. :o

Had 3 or 4 enduros over the years and 3 full blown yz's of various cc's. Ran moto cross for a while but really loved the enduros in the woods. Even had a Hodaka for a while. Used to take my two stroke bikes apart and polish the intakes and exhaust ports like a mirror. Seemed like it helped. Even rode one of my enduros to work on nice days. Loved riding on the rear wheel and watching cagers about crap.  Bought a brand new 500 Yamaha moto cross bike with aluminum tank loaded it up in my van and went to the national forest to ride power lines in southern Ohio.  90 plus degrees that morning.  Two hours in to the ride while I was all alone in the middle of nowhere the rod came out the bottom.  About an hour later a buddy of mine found me and helped me by taking turns pushing it through creeks and up and down hills till we found a road. I stayed with bike while he tried to find our campsite. About two hours later he returned. If it had been up to me the thing would still be there.  Dealer agreed to pay parts if I paid labor, race bikes had no warranty back then. I can still here that thing letting loose and thinking oh you're so screwed its comical now.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: willyB on July 30, 2015, 06:29:51 PM
When I was 15 years old I bought this 1972 Yamaha 250 MX from a friend of a friend for something $200.

All my friends were riding all the new cool stuff but this 250 would out run all of them in a straight line. It had horrible suspension but it was fun as heck to ride.

That's my nephew on it. He's 38 years old now.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: DaBigNuttedMan on July 30, 2015, 08:54:43 PM
The first bike I had was a 1969 Honda 50cc. I rode the wheels off that thing, tearing up my parents yard in the process. Thought I was the coolest kid in my neighborhood -- of course I still think that all these years later  ;D .

This a pic of one I found on the web....

 that's a Honda QA 50 if I remember right was the smallest bike Honda made, my friend Jim Satterfield had a yellow one we wooped up on it pretty good, thing was tough.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: North Georgia Hawg on July 30, 2015, 09:04:06 PM
The first bike I actually owned was a Honda CB350. Not certain on dates but I think it was circa 1972. I don’t recall the year of the bike either. I paid $250 for it if memory serves. It sure did start me off on a motorcycle trend that so far hasn’t ended. The image is from the web, but this is what it looked like. This bike was sold and quickly followed up with acquisition of a 1969 BSA Thunderbolt, then an early ‘70’s Norton Commando 750 in yellow. I don’t have photographs of any of these bikes that I’m aware of through years of changes and moving around…

Wow! That's the bike I started out on! Paid $400 I think. Put TT pipes with Snuff 'r Nots in 'em - so I could be loud or quiet. That takes me back. Mine was a '72 red model, but I rattle-canned it gloss black. Rode that little bike to high school and all over north Texas for two years.

From there I went to a '73 Kawi Z1 900 four in 1977, with a black Vetter Windjammer III frame-mounted fairing. I think I paid $800, or maybe $900, but I really don't remember. Quite a jump! Rattle-canned that one gloss black too, as the funky dark purple factory paint had oxidized to a sickly greenish-brown.

I rode it to college for a couple of years, and had it until 1985, when I traded it for a brand-spankin'-new 1985 Kawi ZL900 Eliminator in fire engine red - for which I dropped an astounding $3500! That bike was so fast it was scary... 0-60 in 2.7 seconds, and a sub-11 QM. Looked kinda like a Dyna. Nobody ever beat me to 60... on any number of wheels! I never did a thing to it except change the oil and add a small windshield.

Then many off-bike years raising kids with a wife who hated motorcycles and hounded me into selling the Eliminator in 1991. That probably kept me out of trouble during those years, though.

I returned to two wheels on Bertha, my beloved 1995 FLTHP that my current (and LAST) wife bought me for my 50th birthday in 2005, and for which we paid a whopping $9999. Bertha was a big, bad, black Certified Police Special Electra-Glide - but with a windshield, not a fairing. She was the very last year of the old FLHS "toaster dash" windshield-equipped E-Glides, and in that year they came only as Police bikes. The windshield-equipped police bikes from 1996 onward have been the Road King Police.

I put a LOT of dough into Bertha, then sold her in 2011 and bought HoneyBadger on Aug 26, 2011, from Macon H-D for which I plunked down straight-but-obscene MSRP ($32,600) - plus tax, title, freight, and a flat $250 doc fee... No setup.

HoneyBadger was one of the very first FLHXSE3s on the road in Georgia... perhaps the first one, I don't know - but mine was the first one I found at any GA dealer, and I called ALL of them! I'm pretty confident she was the first Hot Citrus SESG in these parts, and it was a full year before I saw another one on the road. I've put a lot of dough into her too... but she's never going to be sold while I'm still alive. I'd trike her before I'd ever sell her!

Ken
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on July 30, 2015, 09:35:47 PM
This wasn't my first bike, y'all saw that one in the first post, but this was my first touring bike and I loved her dearly.  This 1982 Honda Goldwing Aspencade (1100cc opposed 4 cyl) was what got me into baggers and touring, and from then on I pretty much never looked back.  I think I paid around $8,000 new for her in 1982 and the dealer in Tucson threw in two color matched Shoei full face helmets (something no dealer would likely ever do today!).  This picture was taken in 1983, but I'm wearing a Bell full face I bought in 1975.  Man I thought that helmet was so cool!  I sold that bike right before getting married, and have regretted it to this day.  I still see that same model running around every now and then.
I weighed 150lbs back then with a 30" waist (in the military).  Now I'm 215 and a 37-38" waist (retired).   :-*
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: North Georgia Hawg on July 30, 2015, 11:18:24 PM
This wasn't my first bike, y'all saw that one in the first post, but this was my first touring bike and I loved her dearly.  This 1982 Honda Goldwing Aspencade (1100cc opposed 4 cyl) was what got me into baggers and touring, and from then on I pretty much never looked back.  I think I paid around $8,000 new for her in 1982 and the dealer in Tucson threw in two color matched Shoei full face helmets (something no dealer would likely ever do today!).  This picture was taken in 1983, but I'm wearing a Bell full face I bought in 1975.  Man I thought that helmet was so cool!  I sold that bike right before getting married, and have regretted it to this day.  I still see that same model running around every now and then.
I weighed 150lbs back then with a 30" waist (in the military).  Now I'm 215 and a 37-38" waist (retired).   :-*

Quite a few of those early-80s GW Aspencades and Interstates still roaming around out there. Seems like every time I ride the Cherohala Skyway, I see at least one. They were great old tourers, and their owners are always fanatical about them!

Ken
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: DCFIREMANN on July 31, 2015, 08:56:07 AM
My first bike was an old 1973 Ironhead Sportster. It was a blast to ride.

Be Safe

THE DAWG
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: TNCarters on July 31, 2015, 12:34:04 PM
A bit off subject but recently saw a photo of a very large fellow, probably 7' tall and 400# sitting on one of those old GW and had to sit on the passenger seat to fit and made the bike look like a scooter.  Comments above just reminded me of the pic and brought a laugh to the day.  Please excuse the distraction.  Found it!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: DaBigNuttedMan on July 31, 2015, 04:17:57 PM
Found my first one at the back of a garage when I was walking along some rail tracks it was covered in vines, all I could see of it was the left hand grip. I was curios so I hopped the back fence to take a look and there it was a complete bike. I went to the house and asked if he would sale it. He said that old thing! if you want it give me 20 and it's yours but you have to move it. I shot home told my dad that I had just bought a motor bike he said what kind of bike I replied, It's called a Panther a 1936/39 350cc. I was 18 I tore down the motor had new bushes made up at the local machine shop, cleaned it all up and that was that she ran like a top.

                                               The pic is the replica of what I had that I found in the Panther diary

today on craigslist there is one of these for $14,300.00 I think they call it a 1962 sloper.  Craigslist Indianapolis, under Motorcycles Parts and Accessories the add id # is 5140623116   go get um Longlast your young again !!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: SHRADER on July 31, 2015, 05:53:45 PM
My first bike was a Harley M65 that I got at age 8 or 9. Dad found this one used and it had a transmission problem that rendered all gears but first inoperable. When I eventually blew it up from over revving it all the time he taught me how to shift gears on a 1949 Harley S125.

The first V Twin I ever rode was a 1942 Harley WLA that my dad put together. That bike has a hand shift and foot clutch and is a blast to ride. Both the Hummer and WLA remain in the family along with 19 other bikes dad had when he departed. The others include a 1934 Harley VL, a 1941 Indian Scout, a 1949 Indian Single and my favorite a 1947 Indian Chief.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: TN on August 01, 2015, 07:06:01 AM
My first actual road bike, Honda 90.  Shared some great times together.  :orange:


Ride On


TN
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: ChopperPilot on August 01, 2015, 10:28:33 PM
Mine was a 1974 Honda CT70, my dad bought one for me and one for my older brother. Top speed 42 mph. We rode everywhere, streets, woods, dirt roads in the snow and in the rain.

I will have to dig through the old photos to post one here.

The cool thing is those two bikes are still at my mom's house today. You can put a leg over them and crank them today.

Probably no coincidence my current bike is orange too.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: JoeSDE on August 02, 2015, 10:02:38 PM
First one I ever owned was a new 1969 Honda CB350. Learned the year before on a CL350 with the high side pipes. Put about 5,000 miles on it and bought a new 1970 Honda CB450. They were both real nice rides at the time. Always regretted not going for a 750 four, especially after I drove one. That was a beautiful bike back then. First Harley was a new 1978 Sportster.        JoeS
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on August 10, 2015, 10:37:41 AM
This was the first bike I licensed for street.  I think in Illinois at that time you could get a MC license at 16 or 17.  I bought it brand new and paid around $600 or so cash for it from my own job savings.  I loved everything about that bike, and I can still remember how cool I felt on it and how amazing it was to be on the streets at last (and be legal  :o) with my own licensed vehicle. 
This isn't my bike as it's one I found on line.  If you look hard enough for them on line, you can still find pics of your old bikes out there somewhere.  And it sure brings back memories to see them like this again after all those years.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Dejad on August 26, 2015, 07:48:33 AM
(http://)

A 1982 Honda Nighthawk 450. Same color as the photo. I was 2 years out of high school with a bike and a sweet redhead on the back. Man I loved that thing. It was in pristine condition until the day it burned to a heap of smoldering metal and melted plastic 5 days before Christmas 1985. I was crushed. It was winter in Michigan, no riding. It was paid off, so I cancelled the insurance to save a few bucks over the winter... A mistake I will never make again. It got so hot in the fire that the carbs were melted into a blob and just fell onto the crankcase. No rubber left... nothing at all to save. The fuel cap blew off and we never did find it. A total loss. I'll find the pics and post some.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: finn on August 26, 2015, 09:07:20 AM
I bought a 1966 BSA mark 2, that was in 1970,
 bought a house in 1982 and  needed every dollar i could find, sold it for $350.if i can find a picture ill post it.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: StreetDog on August 26, 2015, 08:37:41 PM
 My very first road bike was a blue 1972 Harley 350 sprint. I bet not a lot of folks remember those. They were built in Italy, they made a 250 and a 350 single cylinder. The motor was a piece of junk, bottom end needed rebuilding after 10,000 miles. Had to file the points about once a week to get it to start. I'll try to find a picture.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: lilcoot on August 28, 2015, 12:11:59 AM
My first bike was a '75 Suzuki RV90 when I was 10.  My brother and I needed a work vehicle for the farm in Idaho, but I never stopped riding it.  It had huge balloon tires and had to be the ugliest bike ever made. I wore it out in a couple years, and the whole time saved my pennies for three years to get my first real bike, a '77 Yamaha IT175. 
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: lilcoot on August 28, 2015, 12:39:01 AM
The '77 Yamaha IT175 was an amazing bike.  I immediately went out and got my first speeding ticket when I was thirteen.  I rode it everywhere - MX tracks, trails, dirt roads, highways, rivers, canals, camping trips, even freeways - for 5 years until I went to college, minimum care and maintenance, and it never gave me a minute's trouble (besides a couple broken bones and tons of scrapes and bruises).  While I was away at college, I left it outside leaned up against a fence for eight months through the Idaho winter, and it started on the first kick.  When my son got a 2003 Honda crf 250, I thought I'd be impressed by all the new tech, but I was disappointed.  The old IT 175 was a better bike.  Of course, my memory might be biased...
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Pymie on August 29, 2015, 06:58:29 PM
The first bike I rode was one my father had in the shed - an Ariel Side valve. I dragged it out and fired it up - eventually. New tubes and I was away. Tank shift and rigid rear end - only photos are with my father on it. Next was a Honda 175 twin then the Honda 450 Double overhead camshaft. First Harley I rode was a friends '82 FXR - which I later purchased and still ride. This thread has brought back some memories.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Pymie on August 29, 2015, 07:00:26 PM
The Honda 450 - with additional lighting !
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Jock on August 29, 2015, 08:52:00 PM
Ahhhh...the first one, excluding the mini bike lawnmower engine would be...

(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5696/20803599829_3ba9f9821a_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/xGkTrF)

Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on August 29, 2015, 09:32:06 PM
Thanks to everyone who's posted so far!!!
There have been some awesome posts here...all the way through this thread!

So let's keep this thread going! 
And if you guys have old pics of old bikes, even if they weren't your first one, keep posting!!  These old pics are great! 

 :orange: :mango: :apple: :jalapeno: :cucumber: :pineapple: :pepper:
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: mac1911 on August 30, 2015, 01:41:36 AM
A 1969 Honda CT70, gold in color.  I was about 7 years old, and it was a hand-me-down from an older cousin.  47 years later, I am still as excited to ride as I was then.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Dr.D on September 01, 2015, 05:18:57 PM
A 1969 Honda CT70, gold in color.  I was about 7 years old, and it was a hand-me-down from an older cousin.  47 years later, I am still as excited to ride as I was then.

Like this one?
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on September 01, 2015, 07:14:18 PM
I put many a mile on a red one like that when I was a kid.  Sure did love that thing!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: jachd17 on September 01, 2015, 08:13:54 PM
No pics but the first street bike that I actually used to ride to school was a 1965 Honda Dream 160 twin. Was grandfathers but he "upgraded" to a Honda 400.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: 08glide on September 03, 2015, 01:10:23 PM
Ahhhh...the first one, excluding the mini bike lawnmower engine would be...

(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5696/20803599829_3ba9f9821a_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/xGkTrF)
looks like the beginning of a CVO (with that chrome look to the tank ) 8)
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on September 03, 2015, 01:30:45 PM
looks like the beginning of a CVO (with that chrome look to the tank ) 8)

Yeah, and he's already got that stance and attitude going!!  Oh, yeah...that guy's gonna ride a Harley one day!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Rooster on September 03, 2015, 06:51:36 PM
Same bike for me only mine was red and I was shorter :huepfenlol2:
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: rayz1951 on September 07, 2015, 10:22:39 AM
My Father was into motorcycles, so the first bike I rode was his 1957 Moto Bi, Binelli. I was 14 at the time. I wish I had a picture, it looked like a café racer. A year out of high school, I graduated in 1969, I bought a 69 sportster. My mother didn't like it, she said I couldn't ride it at night, yea right! The old man didn't say a thing. BTW my brother has the 57 Moto Bi. in his basement, in boxes, I've been trying to get him to put it back together.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: screem on September 08, 2015, 07:20:21 AM
y first bike was a Honda CB90. I was 13 y/o and i partenered with a buddy of mine to buy it. We worked at a local farm stand and were able to keep it in a barn there. My parents had no idea that i bought it, the first time i rode it on those dirt roads around the farm, it scared the heck out of me and i thought , i just made a big mistake, as i was about $40 into it. Then something happened that changed my mind on motorcycles for ever. The owner of the farm had a daughter named Candy, she was 14 and i was quite smitten with Ms Candy. She asked me for a ride, of course i was thrilled to take her, she hopped on and put her arms around my waist, pressed her chest into my back.... and i was hooked on bikes...that was 1967, i have been on bikes ever since...Thanks Candy!!! :2vrolijk_21:
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on September 09, 2015, 11:33:51 PM
y first bike was a Honda CB90. I was 13 y/o and i partenered with a buddy of mine to buy it. We worked at a local farm stand and were able to keep it in a barn there. My parents had no idea that i bought it, the first time i rode it on those dirt roads around the farm, it scared the heck out of me and i thought , i just made a big mistake, as i was about $40 into it. Then something happened that changed my mind on motorcycles for ever. The owner of the farm had a daughter named Candy, she was 14 and i was quite smitten with Ms Candy. She asked me for a ride, of course i was thrilled to take her, she hopped on and put her arms around my waist, pressed her chest into my back.... and i was hooked on bikes...that was 1967, i have been on bikes ever since...Thanks Candy!!! :2vrolijk_21:

Boy did that make me smile!  I remember those times!  Lemme tell you, a good back seat rider can make all the difference on your outlook, brother!  Thanks for the memories!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Phantom309 on September 10, 2015, 05:23:03 AM
Cool thread here! I think I posted something similar to this years ago except I was asking everyone if they could remember every single bike they ever owned or still do.

I was the envy of a couple buddies on my street because I started with a '77 CB 750 for my first street bike. A buddy up the street had an old TS 250 and another buddy down the street had a CB 550 so I felt like king of the hill with my bike. I'll never forget that day, I was 18 and pulled into the driveway with my big, black Honda all proud of myself and my dad says "Whose is that?" ... with a big grin from ear to ear I said "It's mine!!" ... he says "What???" ... I just laughed and told him it's true while dad tells me I need that like a hole in my head. The look on his face was priceless!lol.

It was a steal, I only paid $600 for it ... forget the mileage. I was driving a wrecker back then and I bought it from my boss's friend. I gave him a couple hundred down and he let me make payments on the balance so that was really cool. It had a couple broken spokes in the rear so I took it to a local guy that re-laced/trued the wheel with new spokes. I put new points in it, changed the oil, adjusted the valves, synced/re-jetted the carbs and put a 4-1 Kerker on it. I did all the wrenching on that bike myself with exception of re-lacing the wheel and it was a dream to work on. Lots of good memories with that Honda, it took a good whoopin' from me over the years and never once let me down. I would have to ask my mom if she has an old pic, cause I can guarantee my dad doesn't have one, lol. My dad was never into bikes, I wished he would have been because we could've had a lot of good times. I managed to get him on a dirt bike once, but it wasn't a pretty sight. That was the bike that started all my fun on the street.   
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Tractor Bubba on September 14, 2015, 09:40:57 PM
1968 "FS" 100 Yamaha single.   Or I think it was an "FS" series...can't remember now.
After I got this used one (black one on the right), the old man went and found a '68
Yamaha "YR2" (I think) to ride along (red one on left).  I was about 13 or 14 I suppose.

I rode that little squirt HARD...burned a hole in the piston a couple of times.
But, Dad showed me home to fix it myself (the first time), and even that was fun at that age.

Moved up to an AT series 125 Enduro for off road and an RD350 (2-cycle twin) for the street.
Rode Yamahas until I got my first Harley (Sportster) in my mid 40s.   On #3 Harley now.

Sorry about the poor quality photo...picture is from June 1973...found it at Mom's this weekend
when I took the family back for her 80th birthday.


Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: hardcandy on September 28, 2015, 04:15:19 PM
If I only had some pictures to share.   My Dad was a really handy guy.   I don't know where he found it or if he made it but my first bike was a homemade frame with a lawnmower engine on it.   Throttle and a rear brake when you depressed it a metal flange pushed down on the rear tire.   Lots of fun.   Migrated from that to an Indian 50 to learn the mechanics of shifting.    Look at me now Pops.....
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: willyB on September 28, 2015, 07:59:50 PM
This is not the exact bike but this was my first street bike.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: grtguy657 on September 28, 2015, 09:27:14 PM
First bike 1972 S2 Kawasaki triple two stroke , very fast . Had Yamaha, Honda, and two Harley's since
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Skillet on September 28, 2015, 09:48:41 PM
A 1971 Honda CL90 at Kunsan Air Base, Korea. It was airlifted in a 600 gallon travel pod in the belly of an F-4D Phanthom from Misawa Air Base, Japan.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Rumblerider on October 03, 2015, 04:42:17 PM
I had this old Honda C110 when I was too young to get a license and used to ride it up and down the drive way.  I spent many hours working on that bike, taking it apart and even splitting the cases one time to fix a shifter problem.  I don't even remember what happened to that thing.  I remember buying lots of parts and being really amazed that they almost always had what I needed.  Later I bought a Honda SL100 (got my license), then a 72' Yamaha MX 250 (with lots of tricked out work on it), then an Honda CB450.  Lots of great memories on all of those machines....

 
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: CVODON on October 03, 2015, 05:34:03 PM
1972 SL-350 Honda was the first one I actually bought and paid for. LOVED it. Shop I worked at then was a Hooker Warehouse, they gave us chrome headers for the SL and we thought the sound was the best.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: BSCVO09 on November 24, 2015, 06:32:21 PM
This is a pic of the first bike I owned, many years ago about 1972. This isn't "the" bike but one like it...I had never rode a bike before so it wasn't but a few days and my dad was showing me how to do my first clutch job...lol. Those were good times...it was a Suzuki B120.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Highrider on December 01, 2015, 09:53:30 PM
My 1st motorcycle was a 1968 BSA 500 . I was 16 and it looked nice for the money. It was purple. I had it 2 years and then bought a new 1971 Bsa Lightning, My Harley days started in 1973
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Rooster on December 03, 2015, 03:23:10 PM
1972 SL-350 Honda was the first one I actually bought and paid for. LOVED it. Shop I worked at then was a Hooker Warehouse, they gave us chrome headers for the SL and we thought the sound was the best.
I had one of those back in the 70's. Those alligator foot pegs destroyed my shin many times when kicking it over. Mine was blue and silver and my younger brother still has it although he hasn't ridden it in years.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: 08glide on December 09, 2015, 05:40:00 PM
I had this old Honda C110 when I was too young to get a license and used to ride it up and down the drive way.  I spent many hours working on that bike, taking it apart and even splitting the cases one time to fix a shifter problem.  I don't even remember what happened to that thing.  I remember buying lots of parts and being really amazed that they almost always had what I needed.  Later I bought a Honda SL100 (got my license), then a 72' Yamaha MX 250 (with lots of tricked out work on it), then an Honda CB450.  Lots of great memories on all of those machines....

 
I remember all these & honda 350 scrambler with the exhaust up high like that, burning the girls legs while they rode on back in their bikini's. some had really severe burns on such nice looking peanut butter legs (thighs)
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: 68 XLCH on December 19, 2015, 08:38:17 PM
I think it was a '55 or '56 triumph 500 cc that i bought second or third hand from a guy for 200 dollars. 

Next bike was a '68 sportster i bought while i was in Army Flt Training at Fort Rucker, Al., bought from Potter HD, in Albany, Ga, brand new, 1500 dollars. (list was 1700)

This guy represented how it use to be.

A really small shop two bikes a 74 and the sportster in a small show room area, i think wooden floor. The other half was his service area.  On the wall were all pictures of him racing flat track on a sportster.  As far as i know a one man operation.

He told me to go down the street, have a hamburger and come back in about an hour and she'd be ready to go.

And he said i needed a helmet and thru one in.

Then before i left he told me to come back in about 30 days or so and he'd look the bike over change the oil and make any adjustments that were needed.  All part of his standard deal.

I stopped by to see him after graduating from flt school on my way to nam, he said please stop and see me when you get back.

I regret that i never got back to see him, i am sure he got gobbled up a major HD taj mahal operation, progress?????
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: panz on December 19, 2015, 11:22:16 PM
My first bike was a Honda 250 Scramler in 1961...had for a year then off to college. Didn't get another bike until the early 80's, a 1976 KZ1000. First Harley wasn't until 2007. Had 4 since...think I'm done!😎
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: AirCav101 on December 20, 2015, 09:52:31 AM
I was 21 in the Army just got done with a vacation in Bosnia.... dreaming of buying a CBR900RR yellow no doubt... well I settled for a New 98 CBR600F3 the bike was bad ass...
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: BDMastiff on February 14, 2016, 10:40:20 AM
1958 Honda 50.  3 speed, no clutch, top speed about 55 MPH.  I carried a bottle of fuel additive under the cool banana seat.  I used to ride around Newport Beach with no helmet, no shirt, no shoes and OP swim trunks.  The good old days!
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xUdF3dq2pJ4/Tgp7zLR6WoI/AAAAAAAAAA0/vFTuDFZFiYA/s1600/the_honda_50_1.jpg)
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: LC110 on February 14, 2016, 01:13:58 PM
Traded my 72 Rupp American snowmobile in on a 72 Kawasaki 100 Trail Boss. It had a Hi and Lo transmission.
And a Torque aftermarket pipe that was crazy loud.
(http://www.classicandracebike.co.uk/autoclass/stock-images/3ai5ihqv0n/brpjo015u4/egbh8sr728.jpg)
Not my pic but this is what the bike looked like right down to the luggage rack, and the dents. I think mine came stock with chrome fenders front and back also. LOL
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Joel on February 14, 2016, 01:22:04 PM
My first bike was a Yamaha 750 Maxum, Road that everywhere, longest trip was up into Canada.
As a kid I rode my cousins Honda like the 1 in DipSitck's post, it was all white, we made a few home videos pretending we were in 007 movies, man those were some fun times.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: GDavidHughes on February 18, 2016, 11:16:46 PM
KZ900, Boy was that thing fast and I had no ideas of the fundamentals of riding. Don't know how I survived.
(http://www.cyclechaos.com/images/thumb/8/8f/1976-Kawasaki-KZ900-A4-Brown-4172-2.jpg/640px-1976-Kawasaki-KZ900-A4-Brown-4172-2.jpg)
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on March 12, 2016, 12:55:05 PM
KZ900, Boy was that thing fast and I had no ideas of the fundamentals of riding. Don't know how I survived.
(http://www.cyclechaos.com/images/thumb/8/8f/1976-Kawasaki-KZ900-A4-Brown-4172-2.jpg/640px-1976-Kawasaki-KZ900-A4-Brown-4172-2.jpg)

That bike was the bomb in those days, and the dream of every kid.  I never owned one, but I knew I was missing greatness!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: SDCVO on March 13, 2016, 12:23:07 AM
KZ900, Boy was that thing fast and I had no ideas of the fundamentals of riding. Don't know how I survived.
(http://www.cyclechaos.com/images/thumb/8/8f/1976-Kawasaki-KZ900-A4-Brown-4172-2.jpg/640px-1976-Kawasaki-KZ900-A4-Brown-4172-2.jpg)
That  bike was my only mode of transportation in college and like you I have no idea how I survived..
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Indenial on March 13, 2016, 05:52:53 PM
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.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: DOWNTOWN DON on March 13, 2016, 07:27:05 PM
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
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: jc15025 on March 19, 2016, 08:42:00 AM
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.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: 67sprint on March 28, 2016, 01:45:28 AM
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. 
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: 68 XLCH on October 20, 2016, 01:36:25 AM
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.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: WTF Chuck on October 20, 2016, 09:20:13 AM
72 Suzuki GT550 3 cylinder
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: fenderbunny on October 20, 2016, 10:40:14 AM
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 ;D
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: HUBBARD on October 20, 2016, 12:38:42 PM
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 
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RonandJanet on October 20, 2016, 12:59:13 PM
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.     
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Rooster on October 20, 2016, 02:14:19 PM
KZ900, Boy was that thing fast and I had no ideas of the fundamentals of riding. Don't know how I survived.
(http://www.cyclechaos.com/images/thumb/8/8f/1976-Kawasaki-KZ900-A4-Brown-4172-2.jpg/640px-1976-Kawasaki-KZ900-A4-Brown-4172-2.jpg)
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.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RonandJanet on October 22, 2016, 09:08:21 AM
I had a friend that a green one. It was a great bike.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: n8schmitz on October 22, 2016, 02:49:36 PM
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! 

(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161022/3ed3f9182123c00b24e708c939da8422.jpg)


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. 

(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161022/0140727aaeb492c91e3543db2f1b487f.jpg)


(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
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on October 22, 2016, 09:35:40 PM
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.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Dan_Lockwood on October 24, 2016, 05:06:13 PM
My first motorcycle was a Bridgestone 50 Sport and it was not fast enough to be able to lean in the corners.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on October 24, 2016, 05:08:56 PM
:
My first motorcycle was a Bridgestone 50 Sport and it was not fast enough to be able to lean in the corners.

 :worthless: 

Ha ha!  Gotcha, Dan!   :orange:
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: FLH91 on October 24, 2016, 07:17:00 PM
Here we go,  Brings back some great memories....
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Mano on October 25, 2016, 09:22:19 PM
1966 Sachs Prior Hercules K50 - 5 Speed.

My grandfather bought this bike new in 1966. At about 5 years old he had me on the gas tank and would ride me around while he ran his daily duties. By 7 I was on the back seat and by the time I was 11 years old I was riding it myself. It was my ride by 1978 until I parked it in 1989 in my grandmothers basement. It sat the way I left it (with oil in the piston) until 2009. 20 years later grandma said "take the thing out of here, your grandfather always wanted you to have it". God bless her. I never had the nerve to ask for it as I did not want her to think I wanted her things in her old age. She passed away in 2011 at 101 years old. I shipped the bike here to Toronto, Canada from a little Greek island in 2009. Last year I finally started to tear it down to restore it. I will be restoring it as it was in 1966. I am hoping to have it completed sometime next year. Some things called work and riding are getting in the way, lol. The good thing is that the bike is all there. Nothing is missing. Motor turns over. I have all original paper work and keys. Original licence plate, heck I even have my grandfathers drivers licence. Since I have his name can I say I am the original owner. We just have a different date of birth. ;D
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: HillCity on October 26, 2016, 06:02:07 AM
Mano, what a great story.  This bike is a treasure as-is and will be beautiful when restored.  Would like to see the "after" photos when completed.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Mano on October 26, 2016, 07:35:21 PM
Mano, what a great story.  This bike is a treasure as-is and will be beautiful when restored.  Would like to see the "after" photos when completed.

Thank you HillCity. I see it more like a family heirloom. I own 7 motorcycles but this is the one that does it for me. Forgot to mention that my dad also rode this bike too. I will post pictures when it is completed.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on October 26, 2016, 10:05:22 PM
Thank you HillCity. I see it more like a family heirloom. I own 7 motorcycles but this is the one that does it for me. Forgot to mention that my dad also rode this bike too. I will post pictures when it is completed.

This pretty much deserves a new section all to itself on this forum for these types of stories and projects.  I too, would be very eager to see not only the before and after, but follow along with you as you describe your efforts to bring this bike back to its former glory.  And to hear the story "through your eyes" would make it even better.
With the availability of so many old photos now on the internet, I get on a kick every now and then to do research on and find pictures of the bikes I rode or owned from the time it all began for me in the early 70's.  It thrills me now to see pictures of bikes I rode back then, especially if they are clean or restored.  It's like being in a dream to see them again, in a way my mind's eye could only remember them.  I wish my parents took more pictures of those things back then, but neither were much for photography.  It was an expensive hobby for some, I suppose and not like digital images are today.
This is an excellent story.  We thank you for sharing it and hope you will keep us updated on your progress. 
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Royalroadie on October 04, 2017, 01:32:57 PM
Well I finally stumbled across a picture of my first bike!  This was taken in1973.  I really did have hair back then.  I have to chuckle,  Frye boots, flaired jeans, wide belt any watch strap, it was very cool back then. 

Edit: what a dumb ass expression!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: ultrarider123 on October 04, 2017, 02:12:23 PM
Hey Roadie, did ol' Affleck use your picture for that part?..... ;D
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Royalroadie on October 04, 2017, 02:44:51 PM
Hey Roadie, did ol' Affleck use your picture for that part?..... ;D

What can I say, it was the 70s!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Mikey on October 04, 2017, 08:50:21 PM
No Cushman owners out there?
These bikes were built in Omaha, Nebraska until the early 60's, Mine was a 1955 Iron Eagle. The later models had a Silver Eagle the first model with the kick starter on the side. They had an industrial motor that sounded more like an overgrown lawn mower. When I was 14 I traded the Cushman for a Honda 50 that would rev up like a big bike. My best friend and I had numerous bikes all through the 60's and 70's before interest changed to cars and women. That ended with no bikes for a number of years. We bought Harley's in the late 90's. After riding the Harley's and remembering all the fun we had when we were young, we started collecting bikes that we had as kids. We found and have most of those so we began collecting Classic Muscle Bikes. The collecting turned in to hoarding and the rest is history!
www.Classicmusclebikes.com
Mikey
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on October 05, 2017, 11:01:13 AM
72 Suzuki GT550 3 cylinder

Hey Chuck!
Funny story for you about the GT550.  My dad fought 2 tours in the south Pacific in WWII fighting the Japanese.  He came home with a distinct hatred for anything made in Japan.  Fast forward to the late 60's and I buy my first bike, a Suzuki 50cc Gaucho.  Then my second, a 125cc Kaw.  Then my third, a 400cc Kaw.  In the meantime, my dad buys a 250cc Triumph Trials bike.  I only drove it a few times, and felt it was quite inferior to my metric bikes.  Just before I leave home after college, dad comes home with a mid-70's GT550, which he rode the heck out of for many years to come.  After that, I noticed a few "made in Japan" things in their house, but he always refused to buy anything made by Mitsubishi for the rest of his life.  He hated to admit it, but he loved that old Suzuki of his!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on October 05, 2017, 11:02:27 AM
Well I finally stumbled across a picture of my first bike!  This was taken in1973.  I really did have hair back then.  I have to chuckle,  Frye boots, flaired jeans, wide belt any watch strap, it was very cool back then. 

Edit: what a dumb ass expression!

Wow!  Is that a yellow helmet?  Guess you were going for hi-rez even back then, John!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Grizzly on October 05, 2017, 11:16:24 AM
I had ridden bikes through my teenage years but they were borrowed from friends.

After purchasing my first bike  (1983 Honda V45 Magna), and 3 days prior to picking it up from the shop,  I broke my foot playing in a ball hockey tournament.

My friend and neighbour (who convinced me I needed a bike, but that was because he had one and no one to ride with), picked up my new bike for me, and it sat in my garage for the next 5 weeks until my cast was off. 

After outfitting it with custom made leather saddlebags and a tombstone windshield, my friends called it my Honda-Davidson.  It was a fun bike to ride.

A few years later I got serious and bought my dream bike (1991 Heritage Softail Classic) which I still ride today!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on October 05, 2017, 06:15:06 PM
I had ridden bikes through my teenage years but they were borrowed from friends.

After purchasing my first bike  (1983 Honda V45 Magna), and 3 days prior to picking it up from the shop,  I broke my foot playing in a ball hockey tournament.

My friend and neighbour (who convinced me I needed a bike, but that was because he had one and no one to ride with), picked up my new bike for me, and it sat in my garage for the next 5 weeks until my cast was off. 

After outfitting it with custom made leather saddlebags and a tombstone windshield, my friends called it my Honda-Davidson.  It was a fun bike to ride.

A few years later I got serious a bought my dream bike (1991 Heritage Softail Classic) and still ride it today!

Cool story!  I looked at an '82 in the same model back when I was in the service.  Test drove it and a Kaw 750.  Opted for a Suzuki 750 based on ergonomics and all-around feel.  They were all three cool bikes.  It was a tough choice.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Lars on October 05, 2017, 11:36:52 PM
My first bike was a belt final drive Whizzer that my older brother got during one of his travels and gave it to me. That was in the late 50's. I was around 10 or 12 years old. I didn't ride it on the street but I wore an oval path out in the pasture next to our home. Those were the days.
Like others have stated, we were too poor to even think about taking pictures back in those days.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: fastfreddy on October 06, 2017, 06:25:53 PM
Mikey i took a look at the link in your post... are those your bikes ?? my last metric was a KZ900 LTD and man i miss that bike. have always thought about getting another one
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Mikey on October 07, 2017, 09:32:33 AM
Mikey i took a look at the link in your post... are those your bikes ?? my last metric was a KZ900 LTD and man i miss that bike. have always thought about getting another one

Yes those are all in our collection. The 1976 KZ900 LTD is the first Japanese factory custom ever built. Some what of a "CVO". They were assembled in Lincoln, NE and used parts from US suppliers. The wheels, exhaust, and Goodyear tires were all made in the US. It was the first triple disc brake offered and other many other custom enhancements
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: 5-0king on October 07, 2017, 12:26:58 PM

First bike was an 06 Road King Peace Officer.  Growing up had a older cousin who used to rip around town on a softtail.  Married into a family of Harley riders.  Always loved the look of the Road Kings and the  time was right was able to get one.  Just wish someone would have warned me about the cost of owning a Harley.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on October 07, 2017, 07:01:24 PM
No Cushman owners out there?
These bikes were built in Omaha, Nebraska until the early 60's, Mine was a 1955 Iron Eagle. The later models had a Silver Eagle the first model with the kick starter on the side. They had an industrial motor that sounded more like an overgrown lawn mower. When I was 14 I traded the Cushman for a Honda 50 that would rev up like a big bike. My best friend and I had numerous bikes all through the 60's and 70's before interest changed to cars and women. That ended with no bikes for a number of years. We bought Harley's in the late 90's. After riding the Harley's and remembering all the fun we had when we were young, we started collecting bikes that we had as kids. We found and have most of those so we began collecting Classic Muscle Bikes. The collecting turned in to hoarding and the rest is history!
www.Classicmusclebikes.com
Mikey

Hi Mikey,
I just visited your Classic Muscle Bikes website.  I had no idea you had a collection like this.  I'd love to come see it one day.  Looks like you've got a very interesting operation going!  Ready to see you and Pat in a couple weeks here!
Harry
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: moscooter on October 07, 2017, 07:19:09 PM
No Cushman owners out there?
These bikes were built in Omaha, Nebraska until the early 60's, Mine was a 1955 Iron Eagle. The later models had a Silver Eagle the first model with the kick starter on the side. They had an industrial motor that sounded more like an overgrown lawn mower. When I was 14 I traded the Cushman for a Honda 50 that would rev up like a big bike. My best friend and I had numerous bikes all through the 60's and 70's before interest changed to cars and women. That ended with no bikes for a number of years. We bought Harley's in the late 90's. After riding the Harley's and remembering all the fun we had when we were young, we started collecting bikes that we had as kids. We found and have most of those so we began collecting Classic Muscle Bikes. The collecting turned in to hoarding and the rest is history!
www.Classicmusclebikes.com

 :2vrolijk_21:

Cool looking scooter...........I was born and raised in Omaha.  Couple of buddys had Cushmans,  and I had a chance to buy one,  but it was a no go with my Dad.  So I never became an owner and really wanted one.  While not a current member this year,  for a few recent yrs,  I joined the Cushman Owners Club (or somewhat similarlly named club).  They had a newsletter and scooters and parts for sale, etc.  But to get an old Cushman RoadKing like I wanted from the early 50s,  was pretty pricey.  So I never pulled the trigger on buying one.

If I can find it in my collection of pictures,  I will add to this post a really really cool Cushman Eagle......(though I was never interested in the Eagle version)




/quote]
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Landshark on October 07, 2017, 10:07:04 PM
Honda 250 scrambler. Great bike for the times. Late 1960’s.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Mikey on October 14, 2017, 07:23:58 AM
Hi Mikey,
I just visited your Classic Muscle Bikes website.  I had no idea you had a collection like this.  I'd love to come see it one day.  Looks like you've got a very interesting operation going!  Ready to see you and Pat in a couple weeks here!
Harry
RGlideKid,
You and any of the site members are welcome to visit anytime. I always make this offer " You can ride anything you can start" with today's poor quality fuel and batteries that last about a year it makes keeping this many bikes running next to impossible! I try to keep 5 or 6 ready to ride but even that is tough. Looking forward to retirement and plan to do a Route 66 museum bar combination.
www.classicmusclebikes.com
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Mikey on October 14, 2017, 07:42:42 AM
My first bike was a belt final drive Whizzer that my older brother got during one of his travels and gave it to me. That was in the late 50's. I was around 10 or 12 years old. I didn't ride it on the street but I wore an oval path out in the pasture next to our home. Those were the days.
Like others have stated, we were too poor to even think about taking pictures back in those days.
Lars something like this one? 1947 Schwinn Excelsior
These are fun bikes! Pretty squirrely when it takes off and not much brake. They sold a kit to convert your bicycle. The kit was less than $100 dollars but to me at that time $100 was impossible to get!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: 2ROWDY on October 14, 2017, 10:05:43 AM
Fyi. The Texas Cushman club is having there annual meeting here in Snyder this year. They have been roaring around town the last couple days. Lots of very nice machines.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: DesertHOG on October 14, 2017, 01:59:23 PM
I got my first motorcycle when I was in college. I bought it used from a college friend. It was a Honda CB500 circa 1973. Four Cylinders of fun with a kickstarter. I put a picture below but it's not my personal bike, just a representative pic.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on October 15, 2017, 02:36:52 PM
I got my first motorcycle when I was in college. I bought it used from a college friend. It was a Honda CB500 circa 1973. Four Cylinders of fun with a kickstarter. I put a picture below but it's not my personal bike, just a representative pic.

I thought the big Honda's from those early 70's were so beautiful.  Didn't matter the color...they had class.  Never did get one, but dreamed an awful lot about them!
In Illinois back then, I believe you couldn't own over a 175cc until you were 18 or 19.  Now we've got 1800cc bikes in our garage! 
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: HUBBARD on October 16, 2017, 01:34:20 PM
1967 XLH Sportster.  Purple & White.  Had White Saddle Bags, Windshield, and a White seat.  All from the factory.  Had those rivets or bolts, or what ever the hell they were back then in the rims for the tube, I think.  At any rate, spun the rim inside the tire, and eventually ripped the valve core out.  My first crash!  Didn't bode well at all.  Went down at about 45 MPH.  I've still got gravels in my right forearm, and right butt cheek.  If it'd happened 10 min. before that, I'da been dead, and none of you clowns would've ever known Ol' Hub!  LMAO!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Lars on October 16, 2017, 09:01:10 PM
Lars something like this one? 1947 Schwinn Excelsior
These are fun bikes! Pretty squirrely when it takes off and not much brake. They sold a kit to convert your bicycle. The kit was less than $100 dollars but to me at that time $100 was impossible to get!

Somewhat similar to the one I rode.
I spent hours riding in the pasture next to our house.
Made a lot of left turns.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: LMR on October 19, 2017, 01:37:49 PM
My first was a 1976 Honda 750 four. I bought it in Illinois while at Great Lakes A school. Never rode a bike and tried it in the parking lot and knew I was over my head. Luckily I was smart enough to bring someone who could ride. I spent the next four weeks learning to ride on base before getting my license. Next came the drug induced space rides .
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: bigchuck on October 19, 2017, 03:33:52 PM
Bridgestone Chibi 60. I was about 9. My cousin had a Honda 50 and my dad wanted me to be able to out run him. I was so cool with my bell bottoms and Chuck Taylor Converse. I later graduated to a Honda M/T 125, two-stroke street legal dirt bike. My dad licensed it, I put on a helmet with dark shield and road it for three years until I was 16 and could get my license. I was always big for my age.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Squires on January 30, 2018, 12:29:18 PM
I bought a '74 Honda CB750 for $400. in 1988. A Family friend's father passed away. He ended up with It & thought I'd dig it. It was a solid, tough, reliable bike. It lasted 50k and 3years.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: skippy on January 30, 2018, 03:31:02 PM
1979 triumph Bonneville 
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: LMR on January 30, 2018, 05:18:18 PM
1977 in A school, Great Lakes Illinois, I never road a bike and went out and bought a 750 Honda. Tried to ride it home from the dealer but couldn’t even turn it around in the parking lot. I had the forethought to bring someone who knew how and he rode it back to base. I spent a week riding in the parking lot to learn how. Once comfortable, a friend and I would get stoned and take off riding. It was a different time then. Basically had 3 weeks to learn before the trip back to Ct. which I did nonstop.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: ACfixer on February 03, 2018, 11:50:47 AM
1969 Yamaha 80. I got it when I was 12 in 1974. My dad bought it for $100.

(https://classic-motorbikes.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/yamaha-yg-1k.jpg)
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: fastfreddy on February 03, 2018, 01:21:16 PM
 i just bought my grandson his first motorcycle, a honda xr50, cant wait to give it to him... his dad dosnt  think he is ready yet, and i said how old was you when i gave you a honda 50? thats right...10, so have not seen either one them for two weeks now  :nixweiss: the weather is going to break here in iowa soon and im sure my boy will come around and teach his son to ride
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: ACfixer on February 03, 2018, 01:36:53 PM
^^^^ Awesome. What a great day that will be...
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Mano on February 04, 2018, 11:12:38 AM
^^^^ Awesome. What a great day that will be...

X2,  :2vrolijk_21:
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: jhuff on March 06, 2018, 09:47:11 PM
Hello all,  My first motorized machine was a 3 1/2 hp mini-bike, I'll look for a picture and post it later if found.  Anyway, I was 5yrs old at the time and not strong enough to start it. LOL.  During the summer break, my father would start it up before leaving for work and I would keep it running by adding gas to it during the day.  When called for lunch, I would just leave it running, Mom didn't like the idea of me riding, so it was no option for her to restart it.  LOL
My first motorcycle was a Honda CT-70, new on Christmas of 1971.  My first "Big Blue", I still own it, my sister, son and daughter grew up riding it.  Here is a fairly current picture.   
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: jhuff on March 06, 2018, 09:59:12 PM
Later...my first street bike.  This photo was taken last August, I rode it on my birthday.  My 82 yr old Dad is seated in the picture, thinking "I can't believe I really helped you buy this thing...it could have killed you".   ::) ::)  Mom was not happy about it at the time, that's for sure. LOL
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: jhuff on March 06, 2018, 10:14:23 PM
Still later came my first love...I mean Harley...A 1982 Low Rider.  To own a Harley Low Rider had been by dream ever since I saw that Harley ad in the Cycle World magazine, you know the one..."Ever since you were this tall to a kick starter". 
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Mikey on March 08, 2018, 08:21:33 AM
Later...my first street bike.  This photo was taken last August, I rode it on my birthday.  My 82 yr old Dad is seated in the picture, thinking "I can't believe I really helped you buy this thing...it could have killed you".   ::) ::)  Mom was not happy about it at the time, that's for sure. LOL

Is that a 1973 Z 1 ?
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: jhuff on March 08, 2018, 07:36:00 PM
Yes, 1973 Z1-900...
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Mikey on March 08, 2018, 08:45:51 PM
 Wow that is a great bike! If it is ever for sale I would be a serious buyer. Did you restore or is the original paint really that nice?
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: jhuff on March 08, 2018, 10:01:31 PM
Thanks!  Yes, original paint.  Mirrors, handle bars, grips, super coils, electronic DynaIII and exhaust are not original, but I have the original parts.  Oh, also, I changed the final drive ratio(higher for more top speed).  Never liked the original bars, removed them, I don't know, maybe 35 years ago or so.  The bars are from a Honda 900 custom.  I purchased the bike from the 1st owner, a family friend, in all in factory trim with about 6,000 miles, now has, just walked to the garage, 18,403.  One thing for sure, no shaft drive 900 or 1000 Honda could touch it in a 1/4 mile run back in the day. LOL 
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: HoustonBussa on March 09, 2018, 03:21:32 PM
My very first bike was a Honda-Matic 400. I learned how to ride on this bike. I remember my friend had a bike and before I knew nut to butt wasn't cool, I rode behind him. I had to get one. I talked about riding like there was nothing else in the world. But I didn't even know how to even shop for a motorcycle.  Well one when I got home, my dad was standing in the driveway standing next to a shinny red motorcycle. Oh, I was in envy.. Asking 20k questions. He pointed out all the functionality of the bike and told me to sit on it. I couldn't contain myself. He finally gave me the keys and say "Don't wreck, because your mom will never let you ride again."  Well guess what.. I wrecked. I was coming home from football practice. Rush hour had died down. So almost no one on the street with me. So I gun it and wanted to try and take the corner as if I wanted to drag a knee.  Well needless to say, that bike wasn't built like that. Not to mention that as I got all the way over, I went through a pile of gravel. As I slide on to the street I was trying to turn on, I had crossed over two lanes of what would have been my lanes in to the two lanes of on coming traffic And as I was trying to gain control of the bike, what did I see... ONE.. THE ONLY  ONE car on the road that happened to be coming towards me. Not knowing any better I decided to lay the bike over. I came of the bike on my feet. As the bike slid I ran, trying to keep my feet under me. The bike stopped WAY before I was able to. By this time I realized that the oncoming car was easily a quarter mile down the road, she was able to stop her vehicle WAY before her or I would have been of any danger to each other.  As I was finally able to get my feet beneath me under control, I turned around and walked back to the bike. As I approached it, she drove up to my side and rolled down her window. She said "I saw you when you lost it. Are you ok?". Not trying to show my embarrassment I kicked the tank of the helpless bike as if it were a dog that had did something wrong after I walked in the house from a bad day. I replied, "Stupid bike! Yes ma'am, I am fine thank you" as I preceded to attempt to lift for the first time, a bike that was on its side. I wish I had known there was an actual method for it.  As she drove off I struggled to get this bike back on its rubber. Finally with some success I got her up. After a few minutes of settling gas, I was even able to get her started. After a short celebration, I quickly heard my dad's voice in my head. "Don't wreck, or you mom will never let you ride again"..... Oh chit.. How am I going to hide this? I ended up ridding to every shop I could find to find parts for the handlebar damage which was so easy, that even today, i don't recall what was broken other than the front brake lever.  There was a crash bar, so there was no damage to the paint. What was killing me was the replacement mirror. To get an exact mirror, it was WAY out of a high school student's pocket money from part time job's range. I ended up getting a glass shop to cut a FLAT piece of glass mirror to fit in the mount. On a side note, I will NEVER recommend doing this as you'll never see anything out of that mirror unless you make it a vanity mirror. I got home late that evening after installing parts in the parking lots of the places where there items were purchased and having the glass shop glue the mirror in to it's mount. I pulled the bike in my parent's garage very close to the wall so no one would notice the damage and acted like nothing happened. Years later after my mom passed, I brought this bike up to my dad and asked him if he remembers what he instructed me. Before I could tell him that I DID in fact wreck that bike, he stated he knew I wrecked it but he never told my mom and he saw my poor attempt at fixing everything to hide the fact and just let it all slide.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: HoustonBussa on March 09, 2018, 03:29:10 PM
My second, and probably my most favorite bike was a Kawasaki KZ650. I ended up adding a fix fairing much like the one pictured below. With my pull out stereo unit, my hard bags and truck on here, you couldn't tell me anything. This was the first bike that I ever truly left my comfort zone. I left Abilene Texas (about two hours west of Fort Worth) and headed to Phoenix Arizona. This is also when I realized that I10 was straight and boring. OH!!! And that it takes a day worth of riding to get out of Texas. I stopped in El Paso. This bike and I have the most memories and I would end up writing a book on it trying to share it.  If I just had money and space  for one, I would get one just to relive my memories.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: moscooter on March 19, 2018, 06:14:36 PM
i just bought my grandson his first motorcycle, a honda xr50, cant wait to give it to him... his dad dosnt  think he is ready yet, and i said how old was you when i gave you a honda 50? thats right...10, so have not seen either one them for two weeks now  :nixweiss: the weather is going to break here in iowa soon and im sure my boy will come around and teach his son to ride

 :)
FFreddy......Saw your location and had to ask.  I grew up in Omaha and graduated High School there in 1960,  so I'm an old dude..(in fact,  my Mom was a grade school teacher in C.B.  she taught at Hoover and then at some Jr. High after that.

Anyway,  the most ever fun I had back in the late 60's and early 70's was dirt bike riding and one of our favorite spots were the hills just north of C.B. along the Bluffs.  Normally,   we would get there via the Mormon Bridge and then cut down to where we parked.  Other times,  we could go to South Omaha and cross the bridge there and immediately turn off there and could ride on the Iowa side clear up to where we would go thru a drainage ditch (under) I-29 and then end up at the Bluffs spot.  Ever do that??? :nixweiss: 
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: fastfreddy on March 19, 2018, 10:36:08 PM
:)
FFreddy......Saw your location and had to ask.  I grew up in Omaha and graduated High School there in 1960,  so I'm an old dude..(in fact,  my Mom was a grade school teacher in C.B.  she taught at Hoover and then at some Jr. High after that.

Anyway,  the most ever fun I had back in the late 60's and early 70's was dirt bike riding and one of our favorite spots were the hills just north of C.B. along the Bluffs.  Normally,   we would get there via the Mormon Bridge and then cut down to where we parked.  Other times,  we could go to South Omaha and cross the bridge there and immediately turn off there and could ride on the Iowa side clear up to where we would go thru a drainage ditch (under) I-29 and then end up at the Bluffs spot.  Ever do that??? :nixweiss:
oh yes i did, grew up on the west end of town and since i could ride a bike i was down at the river, there is only one place left by the south O bridge to ride now, its a club type deal. lewis and clark monument/park is the bluff area im sure your thinking of. yes there were miles and miles of trails to ride bake then... thanks, that brings back so many memory's of my youth. i still live on that end of town.... about a mile from the train bridge  :2vrolijk_21:
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on March 20, 2018, 10:49:40 AM
My second, and probably my most favorite bike was a Kawasaki KZ650. I ended up adding a fix fairing much like the one pictured below. With my pull out stereo unit, my hard bags and truck on here, you couldn't tell me anything. This was the first bike that I ever truly left my comfort zone. I left Abilene Texas (about two hours west of Fort Worth) and headed to Phoenix Arizona. This is also when I realized that I10 was straight and boring. OH!!! And that it takes a day worth of riding to get out of Texas. I stopped in El Paso. This bike and I have the most memories and I would end up writing a book on it trying to share it.  If I just had money and space  for one, I would get one just to relive my memories.

Gotta love those old Windjammer fairings.  They were the coolest looking fairing you could put on your bike.  No telling how much that company made in those early years!
I had one on a Honda CB750.  Pretty amazing for almost 40-year old technology.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: HoustonBussa on March 22, 2018, 06:59:34 PM
Gotta love those old Windjammer fairings.  They were the coolest looking fairing you could put on your bike.  No telling how much that company made in those early years!
I had one on a Honda CB750.  Pretty amazing for almost 40-year old technology.

You're ever so right!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: KGB on March 23, 2018, 08:18:05 AM
Gotta love those old Windjammer fairings.  They were the coolest looking fairing you could put on your bike.  No telling how much that company made in those early years!


I had one on a Honda CB750.  Pretty amazing for almost 40-year old technology.
You're ever so right!


I was a Honda Tech in the early 70's and installed my share of Windjammers, Cycle Sounds, and Bates Saddle Bags on GL1000's CB750's, You don't know how glad I was when the Goldwings started coming with fairings and bags! My first week I thing I built 3 GL1000 dressers with Windjammers, bags and light bars, and I wanted to fix motorcycles  :o
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: jhuff on April 03, 2018, 11:48:44 PM
Riding my ole Z1 900, its not a Harley, but always fun!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Icewater on April 15, 2018, 07:14:11 PM
Mine was a 1980 Kz-750. Bought it April Fool's Day 1983 with only 1200 miles on the clock. I was 18 and just arrived at my first assignment...Ellsworth AFB.
I promptly ripped the exhaust off and installed a Kerker 4 into 1 header, threw the baffle in the trash and rejetted the carbs.  That thing was more fun than a barrel of monkeys. I rode over to Sturgis and had the week of my life.

Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Sprintkid on April 15, 2018, 08:54:06 PM
My first ride was my uncles Shriner Doodle Bug. I put a million laps around the empty lot next to his house. That started a life time on two wheels. I had some dirt bikes as a kid. A Hodaka super rat, Ossa Stilleto, Bultaco Pursang, Ossa Pioneer. I bought my first HD at 19. A brand new 1974 Super Glide from Kempers HD in Omaha. I am on number 19.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on April 18, 2018, 02:41:51 PM
My first ride was my uncles Shriner Doodle Bug. I put a million laps around the empty lot next to his house. That started a life time on two wheels. I had some dirt bikes as a kid. A Hodaka super rat, Ossa Stilleto, Bultaco Pursang, Ossa Pioneer. I bought my first HD at 19. A brand new 1974 Super Glide from Kempers HD in Omaha. I am on number 19.

A long career on bikes just like so many of us!  I'm on number 10 right now.  Quit riding for a long time over one of my marriages.
I regret not having more pics from when I was younger before leaving home!  Like many parents did, my folks struggled financially early on, so taking film photography wasn't high up on their list.  Shame that.  But I still have the memories!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Dan_Lockwood on April 18, 2018, 03:36:01 PM
This isn't my first, but second bike.  My first was posted earlier in this thread and this is my Bridgestone 175 Dual Twin.  My first one was a Bridgestone 50 Sport.

(http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL846/863774/24480418/413856001.jpg)

I'm wearing my dad's archery deer hide leather jacket.  He was very active in the early archery days in MI.  He used to shoot in tournaments with Fred Bear.  There are patches on this jacket that no one else has to this day.  But because I was such a douche bag back then and didn't care about preserving items, this jacket came up missing and I never really looked for it.  A true bit of MI archery history gone.

Like Harry pictures were not all that important and there was not enough money for the "extra" things like pictures.  I did find a few boxes of slides a few years ago that I didn't know I had.  I've since scanned them and they are near and dear to me now.  This was one of them.

Dan and mom did want me to have some fun and when able, they got me materials to build my own things.  Dad taught me to weld with torches and braze as well.  I made, with just a little help from dad, my first mini bikes.  Then I made all my own stuff.

Before that time though, we lived on a lake and I had a gas pump down at the lake and sold gas and oil.  This was the beginning of a very nice marina.  In 10 years we sold Polaris, Arctic Cat, and Johnson snowmobiles, Bridgestone motorcycles, Johnson and Mercury outboards, Crest pontoon boats and Safety Mate fiberglass boats.  Safety Mate was bought out by Four Wynns.  It was funny because John Wynn was our Polaris rep before his dad, him and two brothers formed Four Wynns boats.

So dad bought me a set of plans from Popular Mechanics and a few sheets of plywood and some paint.  This is what I ended up with.  This was my first motor, a MK15A Mercury.  Within a couple months my brother did some trading and I ended up with my MK20H Mercury racing motor with a Quickie lower unit.  The little 8' hydro would hit 55 mph with a slight ripple on the lake.  I was 15 in this picture.  In the picture above, I was 16.

(http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL846/863774/24480418/413856005.jpg)

Sorry for the bad picture, but this is after restoration software did it's thing.  I carried this Polaroid in my wallet for years.  It did not like that very well.

This is a '56 KH Harley.  Not to be confused with the first Sprotsters.  They came I believe the following year.  This was a flathead.  It was a 45" with a 3/4" stroker from Harley.  I believe that's what the H stood for.  I paid $50 for this and the guy never got me the title so after getting it running and illegally riding it for a few months, I tore it down to do some stuff to it.  When the guy came back I threw it all in hit truck in pieces and he gave me back my $50.  That could have been a very nice bike to have today.  I'm sure at the time he just tossed it out in the brush when he got home.  But no title, no keepy the bike.

(http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL846/863774/24480418/413856006.jpg)

Sorry for rambling this much.

Hope to see y'all in ES in 6 or so weeks.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on April 18, 2018, 04:11:44 PM
This isn't my first, but second bike.  My first was posted earlier in this thread and this is my Bridgestone 175 Dual Twin.  My first one was a Bridgestone 50 Sport.

(http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL846/863774/24480418/413856001.jpg)

I'm wearing my dad's archery deer hide leather jacket.  He was very active in the early archery days in MI.  He used to shoot in tournaments with Fred Bear.  There are patches on this jacket that no one else has to this day.  But because I was such a douche bag back then and didn't care about preserving items, this jacket came up missing and I never really looked for it.  A true bit of MI archery history gone.

Like Harry pictures were not all that important and there was not enough money for the "extra" things like pictures.  I did find a few boxes of slides a few years ago that I didn't know I had.  I've since scanned them and they are near and dear to me now.  This was one of them.



Ramble on, brother!  That was all good stuff and great pics.  You looked like quite a tough guy back then.  I looked like a complete geek!
A lot of us were thoughtless when we were younger.  Not trying to get you in trouble with Linda, but maybe you left that jacket on some young lady's bed one night?   :o :D

Thanks for the memories, Dan.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Dan_Lockwood on April 19, 2018, 01:19:43 PM
Ramble on, brother!  That was all good stuff and great pics.  You looked like quite a tough guy back then.  I looked like a complete geek!
A lot of us were thoughtless when we were younger.  Not trying to get you in trouble with Linda, but maybe you left that jacket on some young lady's bed one night?   :o :D

Thanks for the memories, Dan.

Harry, I can assure you that did not happen, no jacket on no bed... :(
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Scott7d on April 19, 2018, 02:46:01 PM
I bought and sat on a motorcycle for the first time almost 5 years ago to the day. I bought one on a whim because a couple other good buddies rode and I could never tag along. Now I'm addicted and literally ride more than most of my friends in a year combined. One of the best decisions I've ever made. My first bike was a Honda Shadow 1100cc, Maybe a 2001 and or 2002. A few months later I bumped up to a Kawasaki Vulcan 1700cc. Had that about a year before getting my Road King, have had it for 3 years and no plans of trading or selling.
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on April 19, 2018, 04:17:52 PM
I bought and sat on a motorcycle for the first time almost 5 years ago to the day. I bought one on a whim because a couple other good buddies rode and I could never tag along. Now I'm addicted and literally ride more than most of my friends in a year combined. One of the best decisions I've ever made. My first bike was a Honda Shadow 1100cc, Maybe a 2001 and or 2002. A few months later I bumped up to a Kawasaki Vulcan 1700cc. Had that about a year before getting my Road King, have had it for 3 years and no plans of trading or selling.

I had a Vulcan years ago.  After I got my first Harley, I used to joke that the Vulcan handled like a hippo with handlebars in comparison.  That Vulcan was massive.
Glad you've acquired the love for riding Scott!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: Rollin on May 14, 2018, 11:19:39 PM
1992 Honda CBR 600...buddy of mine had Kawasaki EX500 and I thought it was awesome!  Met a guy at a car wash that was selling his 600 so he could upgrade to CBR900RR.  One look and I was sold.  Mom about killed dad for co-signing...oh man!  Had a lot of fun on that bike, glad I lived through all of it!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: SIKBIRD on May 15, 2018, 12:00:44 PM
1st bike: Suzuki Jr 50 (motor locked up)
2nd bike: Honda Z 50 (outgrew it)
3rd bike: Honda XR 100 (rode the wheels off it)
4th bike: 1987 Honda Rebel 450 (sold to a cousin; still on the road today)
5th bike: 2000 Harley-Davidson Night Train (rode it for 13 years but sold it after I bought the CVO b/c after a couple of weeks on a touring bike I knew wouldn’t ride it enough to make it worth keeping)
6th bike: 2004 Harley-Davidson CVO Electra Glide (bought in 2014 and only $100 away from having it perfect, haha!)
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RivRaptor on May 16, 2018, 12:33:34 PM
My first was a 1975 Suzuki GT380 Triple 2-Stroke Ram Air.  I had a 68 Charger & 71 SuperBee 383 Mag both beat to Hell.  Could never get them running enough to drive between money and experience (17 years old and a busboy wages) lots of carb fires & tranny fluid in the hair, but learned a lot.  So an offer came along to trade for a Running Gt380 and that was it...Transportation!  Fixed it up cherry and rode the chit out of it, sold it (regret) and the guy wrecked it!  Moved up the Suzuki line GS850, GS1000, GSXR1100 oil cooled, then Ducati's 916SPA (955), 996, 998 Matrix, MH900e & a couple of other bikes sprinkled in & not counting dirt bikes.  Still own a couple Ducati's.  And a few years ago ran across an exact copy same color too, with 2k original miles on eBay, couple K later with shipping it arrived, took it off the truck & rode down the street!  Other then some patina on the chrome & paint a nice bike. 
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RGlideKid on May 16, 2018, 04:25:12 PM
My first was a 1975 Suzuki GT380 Triple 2-Stroke Ram Air.  I had a 68 Charger & 71 SuperBee 383 Mag both beat to Hell.  Could never get them running enough to drive between money and experience (17 years old and a busboy wages) lots of carb fires & tranny fluid in the hair, but learned a lot.  So an offer came along to trade for a Running Gt380 and that was it...Transportation!  Fixed it up cherry and rode the chit out of it, sold it (regret) and the guy wrecked it!  Moved up the Suzuki line GS850, GS1000, GSXR1100 oil cooled, then Ducati's 916SPA (955), 996, 998 Matrix, MH900e & a couple of other bikes sprinkled in & not counting dirt bikes.  Still own a couple Ducati's.  And a few years ago ran across an exact copy same color too, with 2k original miles on eBay, couple K later with shipping it arrived, took it off the truck & rode down the street!  Other then some patina on the chrome & paint a nice bike.

Cool story!
My dad had a 550 in the late 70's, and I bought a GS750 back in '81-'82? while in the service.  Here I am at 155 pounds wet!  Weigh 220 now and trying to keep it under that.  Was 24 then, am 60 now!
I sold it two years later for a GW Aspencade!
Title: Re: What was your first motorcycle and the circumstances behind it?
Post by: RivRaptor on May 17, 2018, 12:09:07 AM
^ My 850 was an 81' & the 1000 was an 80' so right there with that 750.  Damn fun bikes!  I'm right there with you on the weight thing too!  Another quick bike story in the pre helmet law days here in Cali I would hop out of the shower, dress, wouldn't dry my hair, hop on the 1000, put on Sunglasses, hit the freeway for a few miles then dump me on old Route 66 to work @ Marie Calendars....on arrival, hair perfect!  Those were the days.