First Bike You Feel In Love With (i.e. bored at work post)

[chr|s sedition]

Everyone has a "first bike" they drool over that starts the addiction. What was yours? How old were you at time? And did you ever end up owning it?

Mine:

Honda Mini-Trail. First bike I ever saw up close. A neighborhood kid had one when I was like 12. It was old, and beat to hell, but super fun to ride. Never owned one. Ended up with an older QA 50cc.


A month later someone else in the neighborhood got an 1986 XR 80cc. This bike blew me away when I saw it. Never owned one of these either (I still want one). Ended up a 1973 Elsinore 250cc, also old and beat to hell.


ahh...my off-road roots.

[rjh200]

Well I think I caught the bug well before I was able to ride but the first bike I had was a 1978 Honda 50 trail bike.

[slaps76]

My neighbor had a Honda 50 when I was a kid too, so that was my first 2-wheel experience, and I always wanted a dirtbike even though I've never owned one. Besides that 50, I've still never ridden one. Plus I always liked sportbikes growing up.

[Paul_E_D]

I had the street legal version of that 80. XL80. My dad rode it to work sometimes!

I used to jump it and land so hard that the blinkers would fly off. Keeping up with real dirtbikes on that thing is what taught me my mad skills

[KB]

Paul was that you at the track smoking the family of Honda school buss yellow team guys in the 125 class?

That was a great race to watch. Those guys would let the old man out in front for one lap then back to third then he'd move up. It was a great race.

Do you have a recent pic of your bike?


KB

[highsider]

Honda Hurricane 1000 in black and red.

My Dad had one, and he let me pound on it from time to time. It was following this through a corner that I earned the nickname "highsider".

[Paul_E_D]

Originally posted by rmbbikes
Paul was that you at the track smoking the family of Honda school buss yellow team guys in the 125 class?

That was a great race to watch. Those guys would let the old man out in front for one lap then back to third then he'd move up. It was a great race.

Do you have a recent pic of your bike?


KB

That was me out front checking out, not dicing with the School Bus kids. My bike is all black with a little silver on the lower these days. I don't have any pics lately... Saxman got some good ones. It was definitely a fun race. Glad you enjoyed it too!

[akira700]

first bike?

an Honda XL 125
around 1976-1979?

Best memory
getting two wheels in the air !
or knowing that turn signals are
for breaking and taping back on.

[Wishbone]

i cant remember but my first ride was at 18 mounths old, acording to my dad, then my dad said at about 5-6 years old he let me hold the throttle after that i was HOOKED alway wanted my own after years on the back of my old mans. but the first bike (acualy bikes) was when i wandered into the ducati dealership at the age of about 13 and that was it i had to have a duc i took alittle while but at 22 i got a 620 monster first bike i ever kicked a leg over. had 12 miles on it when i bought it put 6k on it in 3 months then it blew up

[breakdirt916]

Didn't everyone go in and out of the "go-kart" bug when we were ~12 years old?


My first bike was a 1972 Honda XL-250 and it pooped, farted, and sputtered around my backyard for 2 years. It sucked, sure, but I treated it like a queen because it was mine.

[joberly]

The old school Nighthawk! My uncle used to take me for rides down the street when I was maybe 5 or 6 years old? I wanted this thing so bad!

[beet]

My Dads bike .. I have a old pix with mom sitting on it when they lived in Hartford some place ........... 57 Panhead looked someting like this .........

[beet]

1966 vintage .The old man called jap crap ..
He said he seen to much jap crap in ww 2 ..
His ship was kamikazed & he lost 25 buddys ..

[odduc]

My addiction came later in my life as my parents hate motorcycles..."they're dangerous", blah, blah, blah.
However, a friend of mine had a "mini-bike", the type with the fat tires and the lawnmower engine. I got to ride that alot. Another friend had a Suzuki DS80 and that was the first bike with a clutch that I learned on. My friend's dad got so frustrated with me because I kept letting out the clutch too quick and killing the motor.
It wasn't until I was 27 years old when I got my first bike:
1986 Suzuki Katana 600. I loved that p.o.s.
But, the 1997 YZF1000R as featured in Sport Rider in early 1997 had me hooked. So, I bought a used FZR1000(still have it) as I couldn't afford the new YZF.
My addiction has gotten much worse over the years and I am afraid my condition is terminal.

[Tabby]

In 73, when the first gas crisis hit, my dad bought a basket case 66, 250 Ducati Scrambler. He got it going OK. I started reading in the mags about the Ducks. I fell in lust with the then new 750 Sport. Not the SS, just the unfaired, orange in color, clip ons and Conti piped sport. I was only 14 but it sure gave me a woody. Never did get one, they were too expensive then. Hell, a good running one today is still too expensive.