First motorcycle

[naturbar]

Lambretta

 

http://i31.tinypic.com/2cemflw.jpg

[Renne]

What a great thread! Oh the memories! Mine, a Harley 165 in 1957. A Christmas present, bright red, risers and trip speedo from a "74", a "Puckett" two plug head using the "74" coil, front fender lifted up under the lower triple tree for clearance. A great present from a "stepdad" who was the sales mgr for the Harley Shop in Toledo for 23 years. We actually lived in an upstairs apt above the shop then located at 1809 Adams St. Shortly after Dad (JOE Perkins) bought the British shop 3 blocks down,,,,,Joe's Cycle Sales came into being and my little 165 was sold off to better our "image", yes, but my next "steed" was a barky little 200cc Triumph Cub (very cool), rode that a year or so and managed to get a "Woodsman",,,,Time came now (16yr old) for something bigger, No sense in investing when we had a wonderful stable, I just road what was in the shop, A BSA Gold Star, a Square 4, some Lightnings and a Spitfire a few T120's but then Dad got the first Honda/ Yamaha franchise for N.W. Ohio,,,,,,oh my!,,,,a YDS1 Holy moly! A 250 2 stroke 5 speed screamer,,,to say nothing of the little Honda 125 Road Sport,,,,FUN,,,in between were some fun rides for me, we had Ducatti/Pirelli , Norton, Royal Enfields, Ariel, BSA and Triumph.... Just think how blessed I was. We were a riding family, dad promoting all over the place, mom giving up her "K" model and her "74" to ride a Triumph 21, all metal flake pink complete with white leathers to take Top Trophy Winner in the Motor Maids,,,,well,,,, Then off to the U.S.A.F and a bunch more...Dad went to Lockport N.Y. hooked up with Walter Kohl in 1963, did Honda forever,,,,what a trip........Life has been REAL GOOD! I've had my share and more, some British, a few HD's my Road Star and now my "NEW" RSV,,,love it.......("I still wanna ride an MV")

 

RENNE

[eusa1]

a 1972 suzuki ts 50

and after 30 years apart, i tracked it down and bought it back

restored it and plan to watch it collect dust for at least another 30 years.

[coldinnd]

Honda 250 XL:happy65:

[slick97spirit]

Wow the fun I had on my 1973 Honda CL 70 Scrambler. Rode that thing like a full blown dirt bike, then would try to sneak out and ride it on the road like I was a true biker. No telling how many tail light lenses I put on that thing after trying to ride wheelies to impress the gals. Didn't work out too well. Like I said, I replaced alot of lenses. HA!

:15_8_211[1]:This is what I thought I looked like at the ripe old age of 14.

[bj66]

My first bike was a 90cc Kawasaki. It was a late 60's or early 70's model. I believe that they called them enduros back then. It was a hand me down from my older brother. I first got to ride it around the farm when i was 8 yrs old. I remember it well cause i forgot how to stop, so i "gently" coasted to a stop by running into the white picket fence around the farm house! There were 3 or 4 of those little dirt bikes around the area, and all of us would ride them into little league baseball games. Try doing that today.

[RandyR]

• 1964 Honda 90cc
  
• 1965 Honda 305cc Superhawk
  
• 1967 Triumph 500cc Trophy Scrambler
  
• 1968 Triumph 650cc Trophy
  
• 1971 Triumph 650cc Bonneville
  
• 1974 Harley-Aermachi 175cc 2stroke
  
• 1979 Yamaha 1100cc XS11
  
• 1981 Honda 500cc Silverwing
  
• 1997 BMW K1100rt
  
• 2001 Triumph Thunderbird 885cc(current)
  
• 2006 Suzuki 199cc DR200SE Dual-Sport(current)
  
• 2008 Yamaha Royal Star Tour Deluxe 1294cc (RSTD) (current)
  

[Guest curtismiller]

1955 Allstate made by Cushman from Sears And Roe.Rode it home from the showroom floor. Curtis

[Moparlvr4406]

The first was a Sears&Robuck 3.5hp Tecumpseh powered mini bike

First real one was an old Honda 180 Twinstar

[jvbailey3]

Such a cool Post!!!!!!!!

 

I just got out of the Air Force in 1982 and am still not mechanically inclined (almost was refused entrance into the Air Force because my mechanical score was soooooooo low . Fortuantely my other scores were off the chart) so I convinced my Mom to get me a loan. The premise was I couldn't afford a used car since I couldn't figure out the difference between a wrench and a spatula. Couldn't believe she agreed - she hated the thought of one of her children on a motorcycle being a nurse:no-no-no:. But it was either a brand new 1981 or 82 Yamaha XS 400 Special II. Didn't have it a week and it drag me into a 15 foot deep canal - left the choke on and was trying to make a 90 degree turn from a stand still and being young, stupid, and knowing nothing about motorcycle riding. My lesson was the ride home from the shop on the back of my bike - wohoo!!

 

Survived it to move on to a Honda 70's CB750, then a 83 Venture Royale and now my 07 RSV.

[SilvrT]

Mine was a '69 Yamaha 125cc twin (bought it brand new) similar to the one in the pic. I thought I could ride that thing 2-up at 65 miles an hour ... engine didn't like that and seized. Got it fixed, rode the crap out of it for a year and sold it. Never had another bike until about 1974 when I bought a Suzuki 500cc twin 2-stroke.

[Keitho]

1974 Honda SS50

1976 Suzuki GT125

1977 Yamaha XS650

1982 Honda V45 Magna

1987 Yamaha 1100 Virago

2000 Yamaha Royal Star Venture

2006 Yamaha Royal Star Venture

2010 -------------------------- Will they or won't they?

[SLOW HAND]

I know the tread is old but I enjoyed reading all 6 pages & yep as stated above a 2nd gen is my first bike ( cause a new V-max woulda just been dumb:178: & wasn't even near my budget) went straight from a weekend corse on a 250 to picking up my venture and driving across 2 states(found on craigslist). I've been comuting to work all summer & hope to keep it shiny side up. I must admit to wanting a 1st gen but a 20+ year old bike and no wrenching skills can't match up well with a wife who has learned to say " I told ya so " without opening her mouth. I also wanted to thank DRAGONSLAYER for his post.

[bull463]

Had a Artic Cat mini bike 2 speed atomatic trans fun toy. Hey Tom They had ice cream back when you were a kid?

Bull 463

[Top Cat]

:thumbsup2:1949 125CC Harley when I was 15 Yrs old. Lived on it all summer. That was the best summer that I can remember. Top Cat

[GuthDaddy17]

After Mini-Bikes, my 1st street bike was an early 70's Yamaha 100 Enduro, I was 17 and pumped avgas at a local airport, sometimes the 130 octane wound up in my tank, wouldn't try that today!!!

Still alot of fun to think back on...

[autopilot]

The first that I rode was my brothers H-D 250cc Sprint. I'd sneak it out and ride it a little around our small neighborhood, when he was at work. My first bike was a new '69 Bonneville 650 thumper...loved the sound of that bike. Only had it a year or so. Dry spell till I got my new '82 Suzuki GS850L. Would have gotten the 1000 (or 1100?), but at that time the insurance went way up on anything above 900cc. Really enjoyed that bike; put a lot of miles on it. Another dry spell till I got my '98 RSTD a couple of years ago. Don't get to ride as much as I'd like.....BUT, that makes it all the nicer when I do get to ride.

 

Dragonslayer.....I too, thank you for your story! Inspiring, to be sure! I'd like to hear more about the NDE sometime, if you're amenable.

 

And thanks to whoever started/restarted/revived this thread. It was nice remembering some of my times/bikes and reading about everyone else's.

[wes0778]

Bob, WHAT an inspirational post!!! I have a close friend that drown when she was 9 and some of what she had to say about it is truly amazing.

 

That being said, I am very surprised at the number of Bridgestone M/Cs as first rides. Most folkes don't even know B/S made bikes. My first real job was at the Johnson outboard and Bridgestone M/C dealer in Greenwood Mississippi. We never sold any bigger tha the 90cc ones. The were great bikes and I'm surprised they didn't catch on. I think the reason we didn't sell more is that they were a sideline to the larger marine business and there was a rather large Honda dealer in town. I eventually went to work for the Honda dealer.

 

The first motor cycle(if you can call it that) that I actually owned was a Simplex scooter. Dad's boss had bought the scooter for his daughter. She ended up wrecking it 3 times before they said enough. I bought it for $25.00 (8 lawns mowed in 1965). The picture looks WAY better than what I got to ride, after all it had fallen down 3 times, remember.

 

While I was working for the Honda Dealer he had a 1964 CA72 (150 Dream) that a customer had a factory new engine installed and never came back to get it. I bought it for the cost of the new engine $150.00 I think. Rode the Pi$$ out of it. seized a piston and ended up boring it 0.125". Rode it as a trail bike at Mississippi State U, untill the 1968 Yamaha DT-1 came along. It is a domestic bike that a friend bought in Japan while he was stationed there in the Air Force. When he got out he brought it back where I bought it for $400.00. I still have it! But haven't ridden it in 30 something years.

 

Several years ago my daughter and son in law got tired of their 650 Burgman and gave it to me as a Christmas Present. I rode it up untill the 1998 RSTC jumped out of Craig's List and demamded that I give her a home.

[lonestarmedic]

Might as well add mine to the list. I guess I am the odd man out. My first street ride was a Suzuki GT380. A screaming banshee with a Kerker header and a 2 stroke six speed. Sounded like a supersize chainsaw.

 

JB

[GlennTuc]

Dragonslayer, what an experience. My mother talks about the out of body experience she had during a brain anyourism. My first bike was a 1972 Kawasaki 500, three cylinder, two stroke. Loved to do burnouts on that bike. Very quick in a quarter mile.

 

Glenn

[Evan]

Great post to stimulate good memories. Makes me regret not keeping better track of the types of bikes I've had since I can't recall many of the specifics. Anyway, back in 62, I was riding a bicycle 22 miles a day to get to a riding stable (my first love was horses) and bought a 50cc Allstate scooter to replace the bicycle. Then through highschool, rode everywhere on a Honda 90 305 Dream. One of bikes I liked best since then was my Kawasaki KZ650. Never been withoiut at least one bike since 62, inlcuding a Triumph 650 TR6, a Suzuki Titan 500, a Honda 750 Magna and PC800 etc. Like my current 88VR best of all partly because of this forum and the kind of people I am meeting as a result.

[Chinto]

My first bike was a '78 Kawasaki KZ400. It was the best way to get my daughter to sleep. Notice the pink blanket laying on the tail bag, it went everywhere. Great bike put lots of miles on before it got rear ended by a Ford Bronco in 1980. That totaled it. Got a KZ440 LTD for an insurance settlement at the time. Rode this one for several years until I decided to get a bigger bike which was a KZ750 Spectre which was my first shaft drive. Great bike tons of power. Rode this bike until my schedule pretty much eliminated any time to ride for several years until I returned to riding with an 01 V Star 1100 Custom which I though was the best bike I have ever had until of course I found my current bike which of course is an 06 RSV. My daughter now is 32 years old an rides on the back of her husbands 04 Harley Fatboy. My wife still likes to ride but admits that she prefers what we call the "Queens Seat" on the RSV best. Actually my daughter prefers riding on the "Queens Seat" better than the Fatboy's. Nice memories.

[GaThumper]

Had a Kawasaki Trail Boss. 100cc dual range 5 speed. Had a lot of fun on that bike.

 

 

http://www.adclassix.com/images/70kawasakitrailboss.jpg

 

Me Too! It was actually my second bike if you count the 1965 Honda 50 that me and my brother shared. I loved that trail boss and rode it all the time. The dual range tranny was a really cool feature. High range cruised the dirt roads and then low range got down and dirty! Here's a pic of the Honda 50.

 

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g158/jbmaynard/GS1000E/DSCN2669.jpg

 

There was a long series of enduro and dirt bikes before I got my first real street bike, a 1978 Suzuki GS750E. Traded it in the following year for it's big brother that I still have now.

 

My 1979 GS1000E

 

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g158/jbmaynard/GS1000E/CanonPictures127.jpg

 

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g158/jbmaynard/GS1000E/DSCN1420.jpg

[GaThumper]

1960 something Honda 50 can't remember model. It had a gap between seat and handle bars gas tank under seat, and a three speed automatic.

 

Was it this one?

 

Honda Cub 50, this was the first bike I ever rode at age 9. It belonged to one of my (still) very best friends and was the reason I got my first bike and fell in love with motorcycles!

 

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g158/jbmaynard/Cub_50_009.jpg

[E-Fishin-C]

A Rupp Mini bike