Hey fellas, what ride first got you on the road? Mine was a Yamaha FS1-E, 50cc of raw power, complete with pedals (which both locked forward) to comply with some b.s. regulation. I lapped the head to the barrel and fitted a 60cc "big" bore kit in my quest for speed. I seized several times, crashed it almost as many times and had a whale of a time! 55mph...I'm surprised I could breath at that speed!

Puch DS 50cc with PEDALS !! 3 speed with change by twisting the grip..........
Followed by a C110 Honda 50cc with the upswept pipe, and good for ,maybe, 55 MPH or 90 KPH.
Damned thing was bullet proof, but could never catch the Garelli's, Itom's or other two strokes..........even the DKW 50 was quicker...........
Gawd !

1978 cb550k inline four cylinder. it was in 1985, i was in high school and i thought i was the chit. wasn't all that quick compared to the newer bikes but the center of gravity on that bike was so low and it idled so smooth i could stop at a red light and never put my feet down. got pulled ofer a few times for running stop signs until i proved to all the local cops that i could stop and wait for 5 seconds without putting my feet on the ground (that was how they could tell if you came to a complete stop)

Hey fellas,1st ride .... Well a honda XR 500 big single full of raw power .... lol had a lot of fun on the XR riding on the back wheel & racing had the need for speed till I hit a car and a few weeks in hospital .... lol

First bike was a Honda Trail 50cc, followed closely by an XR80 (which I MAY have run on the road a few times :icon_wink:).
Then I got my uncles old CB100 running and broke the law a little more. :D

Then I started riding a Suzuki GS750 that was my buddy's dad's. He was crazy, and didn't care if I rode it all over the place. (His mom was crazy, too, and let me drive her plymoth duster at 13yrs old without a license! :eek:)

I'm a newbie biker so the Hurricane is the first bike I've ever owned and I'm in love:icon_wub: , cant walk away from her without that backward glance and pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming:).

The first bike I ever rode for any length of time was an old '78 GS750 suzuki.

Mine was a Suzuki TS 50 ER, derestricted and good for 55mph
(if you could find a long enough hill) :icon_bike: and just like Davethepom I spent more time rebuilding it and laid up because of "high speed" crashes than I ever spent racing Fizzy's and AP's. You never bothered even trying to race a DT, 30mph was their lot (they would probably go faster if you dropped them off Dover cliffs LOL. Great days :)
My first proper bike was a Suzuki GT 250 Ram air (2 stroke twin) it used to smoke like an old bus and blow up every 6 months (might have been the way I rode it, lol)

My first bike was a 1970s Yamaha YZ 80 that I got as a hand me down from my older brother when I was about 9 or 10. It wasnt much, but got me hooked! The list gets really long after that...

Mine was a 1972 CB350 with a 10" extended fork, custom paint and sissy bar. Think I paid $500 for it. A mini jap chopper of sorts. I can't believe someone put that much time and money in a 350, even way back then. Wish I still had the pictures. Fun part was it would wheel stand real easy. Oh well, young, dumb, and full of c....

My first ride was made with Riga 8 ( 48cc USSR made cycle with one gear and pedals).
My own firs bike was also USSR made 1989 Minsk. It was 125 cc two stroke and i spent more time fixing it than riding:D although it was pretty unreliable it was easy to fix it with screwdriver and few wrenches. My brother called it "very good model for educational purposes" and it was that definitely - i now about anything there is to know about that two stroke engine now:D
about all my childhood went by with old ussr motorcycles until few years ago my mate gave his 93' GSXF600 to test ride - after that there was no turning back:D the four stroke inline four is my kind of machine:D
That time the 600 GSXF felt unreal how powerful one bike can be ( the most powerful ussr solo cycle at that time was jawa 350 cc with 18kw if i remember correctly, the 750cc four stroke urals were with compulsary sidecar) but last year when i tried one GSXF600 again after riding hurricane for two years it felt like a wuss:D

Well the very first motorized 2 wheeled thing that I actually owned was a push bike that I added a 4 stroke lawn mower engine to at the age of 12 ... Direct Drive and no brakes to speak of !!!!

It was a mad ass thing that only lasted about 2 weeks ... LOL

I knew nothing about gearing and it was geared for about 120mph I recon... At 20 mph the engine was still rotating at less than idle ....it would rattle and thump because of laboring at such so slow Rpm's..

I crashed it bad a couple of times very quickly and me mum thought I would kill myself on it for sure !!!! , so she went and bought me a little pre manufactured rolling mini bike frame that was setup ready to take a motor mower engine and I put the mower motor in it for about a year or so... its was a touch nuts too though, as I still had not sussed this gearing thing out quite ... LOL

It did have brakes and a centrifugal clutch though ...wooohooo !!

Wouldn't we have made a badass looking gang with all those cool rides! Even in those days Honda could trump the Fizzys and AP50 (the Fizzy riders nemesis!). A smart mate of mine bought an SS50 and we wondered why because everybody knew they weren't as fast...Until he told us that the C70 (these step through things) cylinder fitted straight on. He used to p!ss all over us, and his bike sounded better. There's always one isn't there? It would have been handy to have the internet to swap de-restricting and hotting up tricks but it's pretty funny to think of all that lapping and filing for a .0001% increase in horses. Speaking of horses..I've got today off and the cbr is calling me. See you later fellas.

Please do not make jokes at me...but my first bike was a Honda Elite 80 cc. I trashed the poor thing, but it was good school to learn about loose mufflers, low pressure tyres and no-experience-at-all-paint-jobs :)

Still I loved that bike so much I still have the extra key as memorabilia.

Then I had the Elite 150, a Vespa 150 a Genesis FZR400 and the good old Colorina....great times though!!

Brand new, 1969 Honda Trail 50 when I was 13. Great little bike.

Ha ha... the old trail 50... Just like me, Randy, except mine was far from new. :)

I like hearing about all these old bikes. Takes me back.
Particularly liked your story, Steve! Good stuff.. I once turned an old snapper lawnmower into a cart. Chopped the top off, lowered the steering, etc.. Good times..
My cousin had a minibike with a mower engine, but he also had a moped that we fought over. I musrt have crashed that moped 100 times.. :D

I also find it interesting that there are so many old hondas. Goes to show who has ALWAYS made the best bikes.. :icon_wink:

Mine was a 1967 Yamaha 100 enduro (purchased around 1975). I used it for riding in the woods and strip minds-great fun. The biggest downfall was the shape of the gas tank, it had a rather large hump right where it met the front of the seat-similar to a Honda dream. If you ran in to anything head on-trees, rocks etc., the family jewels where at great risk of being mashed bad.

I like hearing about all these old bikes. Takes me back. After my year or so lawn mower powered miracle ride ...LOL
....I saved up and bought my first of many Honda's....
An SL70 proper mini trail ...she was new and I can still smell the new smell from mud and chit cooking on her new exhaust and engine ....

Those were the days:icon_bike: ...I felt like king of the road at 13 .... gears , brakes , clutch , lights , horn, reserve fuel switch (chit I was in shock that she even had a fuel tap ..LOL ) .... ignition key was amazing !!!....she was a bloody ripper and I can still remember the day I picked her up like it was yesterday ....:D

BTW- she was so dam good that she caused my first few , of many many run in's with the cops too ...:icon_couchhide:

ok , yer , I was a very!!! over eger 13 year old that thought nothing of hitting the hyway and rolling a 50klms on the road to get to our favorite national park riding playground ...
:icon_attention:


Please do not make jokes at me...but my first bike was a Honda Elite 80 cc.
Mate , make fun of you ??? chit no !! ...you owned a real sweet ride compared with me ....gees , om jealous now still ...LOL

Started riding street bikes kinda late. Had a 1974 DT100 Yamaha enduro bike but didn't own it too long tho, kept giving me problems. My first real street motorcycle was a '82 CB900 with the high,low range 5 speed. Got it back in 1988. Had no second gear when I got it. Rode it like that for about 4 months before puttin it in the shop for trans repair. What an expensive repair for back then I thought. $742.00 for them to fix counting front fork seals also. Kept it till I bought my '88 Hurricane 1k in August of '91.

Good stuff. I used to like ripping past (if you can call 50mph ripping) the restricted 50s on my old sh!tbox Fizzy. Mind you if they followed me long enough they'd find me standing next to it and scratching my head, wondering if I could free the piston up when it cooled down or not! Either that or lying on the side of the road some distance from it.

It's cool to see so many old bikes mentioned that I remember riding or racing against. I had a thrash on a GT250 with Micron pipes and a few other mods. The bloke said "don't take it over five grand in the first three gears or you'll be sorry" ..As soon as I was out of earshot I did, but I wasn't sorry! I'd have killed myself for sure if I'd jumped straight on a powerful, heavy bike at 16 or 17. Young, dumb ..you know the rest!

When I was only 15, me and my best mate were really good friends of the guy that owned the local Honda dealership where we lived...

Every afternoon for ages we would go ride down to his shop on our SL70's just to hang out ... I actually got to ride for real ...(engine running and everything!! ) a near brand new Candy Apple Red Honda 750 4 ...

I was allowed to take her around the car park at the front of the shop , then ride her around to the storage area where all the bikes were kept at night...
WHATTTA buzzzz!! :icon_hyper: I can remember that day real well.... she was a monster that had this deep subtle growl and a beautiful clean engine sound that still sticks with me till today ....

The guy thought we were great because of our free labor ...LOL...after a while he would let me and my mate put all the stock away near every night after school... it was great !!!

BTW - we wound up buying not only our 2 SL70'S off him , but our 2 brand new XL 250 Moto Sports as well only a year later..

They certainly were great days back then ...:icon_mrgreen::icon_mrgreen::icon_mrgreen:

Started on a honda 50cc trail in the late 60's then a honda 70cc trail in the early 70's. Moved onto the road on a suzuki gt 750 two stroke water buffalo in the late 70's early 80's what a screamer. Bought a new 82 kawasaki kz 1000 ltd a very nice all around comfortable ride, was stolen in 85 and never found. Went 23 years bikeless mostly due to marriage and kids, bought a 96 cbr 1000f still working to restore it to mint, very close now, by far the best of the bunch.

my first real bike was a GT125suzuki before that had honda 70 and 90 step troughs with all the plastics lights taken of no key had to push start them but they were only mess abouts for the fields also had CB250N' XJ550' had a 15 year gap with no bike:icon_no: then went mad an got the big girl i have now :icon_bike:

It's interesting that there are a few of us who went a few years bikeless and the bike we chose was the mighty cbrf. I sold my GPZ1170 (Wiseco kit and other goodies) to travel, then a couple of years later couldn't resist a cheap 750 four to get me back on two wheels. After another break (kids, lack of $$) I had a break of a few years. Not a day went by where I didn't miss it! Got the cbr 3 1/2 years ago and love it.

Hawkwind: You made the right choice of bike first time! I still do the "backward glance" you mentioned every time I get off. Where I park at work I can see the old girl every time I leave my workshop, and can't resist a look. Even at my age (nearly 43) my heart beats a bit faster every time I'm about to ride..It's just in my blood! My old man dated my mum on a Matchless 500 single, and my son can't wait to ride the cbr..He'll be waiting a while yet!! Time for another look out of the workshop..

Yep, it's a beauty... that's for sure. I do the same thing.
Not sure yet if I look back just to gaze at her, or if I'm looking to make sure she's ok... :D

I do the same when I take it to work, just can't help it.
I went down to Kent motorcycles the other day, its a meet up point for all the bikers (its a Honda dealership with a cafe on the side of it open till late).
There must of been 50 bikes there and the only one to draw a crowd was my old girl :icon_wink:, funny but all the blokes that came over for a chat were all 35 plus and commented on just how well they were made and could give most things on the road a run for its money.
Its a good ride out,a bag of chips and a cuppa, talk bikes and then a good ride home. Can't think of a better way to spend a sunny evening :icon_bike:

Sounds like a great evening out Sawnee , what times is this place open? Wouldn't mind riding over there myself if I could get away one fine evening.

I've only been the once but I will find out and let you know, I went on a Wednesday but I dont know how often the meets are.
I will post something up when I know more.

I remember her like an old girlfriend. My first DIRT bike was a '78 Yamaha YZ 80. She was ugly as sin and rode like a brick. But she started 1st kick everytime and was a FAST (well fast for a 8 year old brain). I can still remember my 1st ride; the first time I learned what a clutch was and how to respect one. Here was my debut voyage instructions.

Uncle Bob: "Pull in the clutch, give it gas, push that thing down with your foot, and let the clutch go!"

Me: :(

Uncle Bob: Do it you'll be fine!

Me: :( :(

He neglected to say let it out slowly. I dropped that clutch like I was Jeremy McGrath. I also quickly ended up on my butt, crying to the amusement of my family.

Uncle Bob: Try again. (Still neglecting the don't drop the clutch)

Me:

I wasn't gonna let it get the best of me, so I did the SAME thing all over again. But this time held on for dear life with all the strength my 8 year old hands could hold. So I made it about 10 feet on the rear tire, running (dragging) along. Finally after this time and more tears I was explained to how a clutch worked ;). I was hooked for life and had many more 2 Strokers.

My 1st STREET bike was an '87 Kawasaki EX500. Kinda like a Ninja before they took off. I was 17 and still remember the look on my Mom's when I rode it up. She didn't talk to me for 2 weeks. The bike lasted 3 weeks and Mommy made me sell her. I gotta find some pics of that old girl....

LMFAO!!!

Micheal, that was great! :D:D

I'm sure every kid that ran dirt when they were young did it at least once. I think that may be what makes it so funny. I can see myself laying on the ground behind my XR80.. :D

However, I've done it on multiple dirtbikes, even after learning how to clutch correctly. In fact, the first time I rode my XR80 (around 8yrs or so), I DIDN'T end up on my ass. I knew how to ride.
Did it a couple times later on, though. Got bucked off a Yammy 125, too....
Yep, I'm THAT good... :D:D

In my teens back in Dublin a little '70's vintage Suzy 90 like this

At 17, I got a sweet CX650 Custom... water cooled and shaft driven. Dropped it before even getting out of the driveway on my first ride. Very proud.

At least you dropped it in your driveway instead of in the parking lot at work in front of a bunch of people.

Not that I've ever done anything like that. I'm just saying...you know..
It MIGHT suck if SOMEONE were to drop a brand new bike in the parking lot at work, in front of a bunch of people, they day after he (or she) bought it. :D