Enjoyed Dans thread on the first cars, so we need a thread on your first motorcycle.

Mine was a Yamaha Twin Jet 100cc street bike. Like 65 or near there. I was 14 at the time. Used it to deliever the paper route and ride to the grocery store job. No pic, but one slow (20 sec quarter mile) bike.

Suzuki 425 (1978) age seventeen.

1969 honda 90. I was 10.

Oh, well, if you're going to count minibikes, then I was fourteen. I had one of those little Hondas too. Can't remember the model or CCs.

1976 Yamaha YZ 125, I was 16.

I was 14, it was a Zundapp 250 ISDT bike much used. Moe Griffin had used it to win the old Catalina race in 1958. Awesome bike that I thrashed learning to ride in the Desert.

mike r

2000 ZX-6R at 21

1982 yamaha virago 920 hit deer with it bought another this pic is not mine bike i put 130k miles between both bikes

Murder cycle of choice back in high school were RD 400's and KZ's/GPZ's.

I resisted the temptation. A lot of friends got pretty fugged up. A few of them died.

Southern California and street bikes were a pretty rough mix.

1951 Indian Brave, I was 14

100cc Honda Dirt Bike - 19

1979 Honda XR-80- age 10.

Sitting over at my Dad's place.

80 Suzuki, I was 15

Late 50's 175 cc NSU, black & chrome.

Don't have a photo of the one I had but here's one I copied from Google Images that looks just like it.

Yamaha mini enduro.
Had 2,1 was for parts.

Had a lot of fun running coyotes on that thing.

And i was in my thirtys i think.

Indian 70cc dirt bike. I believe it was a 1970. I bought it well used in about'84-'85 from a family friend for $30. It had no spark so the neighbor kid amd I found a coil from a oldInInternational pick up my dad was parting out and hose clamped it to on of the down tubes and away I went. I was about 15 and I rode the pizz out of it when I wasn't wrenching on it.

I remember that it had a tendency to shear off the flywheel key. Learned a lot about working on engines with that bike.

Honda CL360. I bought it new in 1976 when I was 16.

JD338

4hp totegoat at 12, 5hp rupp minienduro at 13 and then my first motorcycle, a yamaha 125 at 14 !!!

I got a used yami, bout like this one. probably age... 10-11?

1970 Honda CB350, red and white just like this one. Got it at age 17.

That was a great little motorcycle; well mannered, enough power to get out of the way with great brakes and excellent handling. I really wish they made a nice small-mid size street bike like that today. All you seem to be able to find are big engines or scooters or "cruiser" styles or crotch rockets.

Not that I'd get one, I'd just go down to the Honda store twice a week to look at it...

Always wanted a totegoat.

That was my second bike, except in green color. 8,000 miles in 4 months.

1973 (best I recall) Honda 550 Four, in about 1982
rattle-can black paint job, rusty mufflers looked better after I cut off up to the solid metal, but got banned from HS grounds with it because of the noise...

I was 15. '06 BMW R1200 GSA and '07 Suzuki SV1000 now.

1970's Yamaha DT100, I was too young to legally drive. Now it's a Honda VTX 1800

I wanted the YZ that Salmonella got but my Dad thought I was a bit too young.

My first was a similar vintage YZ-80. I was 10

worked all summer in 1974 too buy one of these

Still got it.......It needs a total restore, though.


I were 14

Here's a pic of a 1980 YZ 80. Not my first motorcycle but it was the first bike that I got serious about racing on.

A Honda Trail 70 similar to this one, was probably 13...

Put a Gillion dirt road miles on it, mostly with a fishing pole in the left hand.

Hurt like heck if you ever got Air, wasn't very sexy but it was pure FREEDOM...

Honda Trail 70 at 13 or so:

Similar to this, I was 5...and the Brigg's was "straight-piped" and I was the baddest 5 year old in the neighborhood.

For me it was the Honda CB 450 and I was 24.

1975 Ducati 860 GT age 20

A 1973 kawasaki ke100 in 1975, I was 12.

Mine was the sears version of this - I was 8 years old, but my friend had a Honda Z50 - a little 2 speed clutchless deal and we rode that thing until the wheels fell off starting around 6 years old.

1972 Kawasaki H1B. I was 17. Synchronizing 3 sets of points was fun.....

Honda Hawk 250CC, back when I was in the 10th grade. Lets see, that would have been about 1962.
now my first two wheeled motorized vehicle was a Schwinn bike that a buddy and I installed a Briggs mower engine on, and that was when I was in the 6th Grade.

A 1963 Yamaha 70cc whatchacallit. The year was 66 and I was 14. Then a Honda CB450 in 71, CB750 in 73, Harley 1200 Sporty in 75, Kawasaki 400 Enduro in 79 and my current 98 Harley Low Rider. I likes my bikes.

Man... I'm not sure about my age. I want to say 9? But it was a KX 60 and that muthaphucka ripped!


Travis

I always was riding my cousin's minibike, but MY first real cycle was at age 17.
I had wanted one for some time, but my mom always said, "You are not living in this house while owning motorcycle!!"

I was working at a gas station since age 14, and had saved up some money. I knew a guy from the gas station who was selling his 1978 Kaw KZ650.
This was probably 1986 or so, I paid $350 cash for it and drove it home. I parked it in the garage, went inside and asked my mom if she wanted me to move out.

Man, was she pissed....

Never owned a motor cycle, rode a few, (honda trail 90 to a KZ 900) never felt real comfortable on two wheels.
I think old Murphy "Murphy's Law" was whispering in my ear!

yz80, 12

1975 Ducati 750. I was 18

Honda CR 125. I was 16.

Mike

Bridgestone 100, age 16 and my mother was not happy.

Not counting mini-bike my first was Ossa Pioneer 250cc. Somebody had stripped it down and souped it up.
I enjoyed riding in the ditch alongside the highway and keeping up with traffic. A miracle I am still alive. I was 16.
whelennut

I cannot even find a picture of my first on the web. It was a tiny little 2 stroke that looked just like a larger bike shrunk down. It was so hard to crank I doubt I rode it more than 10 hours. Then Santa brought me a trail 50 when I was 8. When I was 12 I had a XR75 and was sneaking in every pond within a ten mile radius of my home. The only time I did not own a motorcycle was when I was in law school. As soon as I got debt free I got back on one. My dad was a harley fan. I idolized my dad so I ride Harley.

A blue Honda SL100, I was 15

This was my second bike. 1980 or 81 yz50 full manual transmission. I was 5 or 6 in the picture in 1981 or so. I threw a leg over a mini bike at 4 and a husquvarna sno tamer the winter of 3.5.....dad set a throttle stop and made a track with a bobcat that I could just go in circles on.

1985 YZ 80

I was around 11-12 I would guess.

Greg, you were spoiled and I'm jealous.

An early 50s Harley Hummer, when I was about 16.

I've had some great bikes since - but I had a lot of fun with my 'first'.

We had 2 Honda trail 90's. One was orange and the other had all of the fenders/plastic/extra crap cut off and was painted camo. During the summers when I was 8-12, I would put about 50 miles a day on one. About a year ago, I saw an orange one that looked like it came out of a time capsule and it really brought back the memories.

"Toilet seat" 90 .. awesome bikes. I had one.

Tom

Not a picture of mine but a 52 K Model Harley that I bought in bags and boxes at ten years old and put together over the next four years.

1971 or 72 CB350. I was 14. I really shouldn't be alive.
Stock photo, not mine. I wish I had it back.

Mid 70's. Buddy in the neighborhood and I split this. $30. We stashed in the woods behind house for a year Sometimes we had to tie another piece of rope to the recoil so we could both pull. Our main competition was a CT70 on the block. Spoiled rich kid. Whenever he won we just beat him up.

Like shooting in some regard every kid should learn to ride. It teaches so much more than just riding a bike. Applied to many things in life for a very long time..... Drag racing down the railroad tracks at 8 is a memory that is very clear to me. Hanging on for dear life with the wind blowing and bars slapping. I can go there in a heartbeat.

Cheers!

W

Returned from VN in '68. Bought my first motorcycle (brand new) the following year, a Honda CL350. Have had many since then. Last 3 have been Harley's.

First bike (stock photo) and present bike.

1976 Honda XR75. I was 12 and narrowly escaped death or a wheelchair.

In 1984, I was 12 and had a Honda XL75. I used it to ride, run my trapline, and shoot a lot of woodchucks in the summer with a RUger No. 1 in 25-06. I learned to reload on a Lee Loader due to that.

12 was good!

Now I have a Yamaha XT 350, still love to putt through the woods and logging roads, more guns and reload for a lot more!

I had one of those cl's, one of the better bikes i have had, still wish i had one. Now its a 1800cc goldwing. First bike at about age 9 was a tote gote.

A Yamaha 80. I was 15, almost 16. PO'd my mom. She wouldn't let me use her car as a result.

Of my bikes I probably miss the 360 Enduro I owned when the kids were young. a real good size for cow trails and on the street too.


I still like Yamahas. I still have a Virago.

My second motorcycle was a mid-50's K model Harley. Mine was sort of updated some with a HD Sportster gas tank and fork and a aftermarket 1 piece buddy style seat and twin straight exhausts.

Shared with my brother, a Taco 22. Around age six.

This was my first motorcycle, a 1965 Honda Trail 90 that I bought for myself when I was 10 years old with $150 that I made working on the family cattle farm. Best I can remember it was the only time my old man ever paid me anything for farm work... I have no idea what got into him that year.

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/kawasaki/kawasaki_h1%20500_75.htm


1974 Kawasaki 500, age 17. Ride an Electra Glide today.

My first bike...1980 RM80 at 11 years of age. Wow, motocross and motorcycles personified my childhood.



My current bike at 44 years of age.....



I have 2 sons, both have been riding since they were 5 yrs of age.

Motorcycles have provided a fantastic way to spend time with my kids.

A 1966 YDS-3 YAMAHA. Pretty sure I was fifteen at the time. I bought it used and paid for it by bucking hay and catching chickens. It was the beginning of an adventure with motorcycles. I've since ridden later bikes in 49 states, Canada from Nova Scotia to British Columbia, a perimeter run of the U.S. in 02' and a solo run to Alaska in 06'. Along the way I hit all four points of the compass as far as you could go on paved road in the U.S., Death Valley, McKinley, Top of the World Road, and others but it all began with that little 250 ring-a-ding.

Mine was a 1954 BSA - C11. I was 13. Hasbeen

1970 Honda 350SL��Shrapnel has one just like it I'm gonna go steal�.

Dirt Bike: 1984 Kawasaki KX80 at age 12
Street Bike: 1987 Kawasaki EX500 at age 16

Awesome bike Jim!!!

Cool thread...brings back memories.

My first was a Honda z50 when I was around 7 then an xr75 a few years later. The XR was a good bike but soon all my friends had YZs and RMs. and they were a lot faster.

My first full size bike was a Hodaka Rat with a chrome tank....I had the coolest bike in the neighborhood then.

Dayum Greg, you sure your name isn't Bob Hannah?

Hodaka Ace 100, I was 15. I used it to get my motorcycle endorsement.
Pops wouldn't buy a bike for us youngsters as they were too dangerous so I bought my own.

After the Hodaka it was a Yamaha 125MX and a Husky 125WR and a Husky 250CR and a Kawi. KDX 400.
I lived on skis and dirt bikes for several years!!

Yes it does. This on motorcycles, Dan's on first cars, then all we have left is chasing the girls. That growing up and falling down time. But of course you just got back up

`73 Triumph Bonneville 750. I was 21
Not my bike but the same color scheme.

First motorcycle was a 1968 BSA Starfire 250. 16 years old. My dad found out about it and made me sell it.


Second Bike was a 1970 Suzuki TS 250. Bought it my first year in college.


Third bike was a 1968 Triumph Trophy 250. Age 19. I had just flunked out of college and was on my own.


Fourth bike was a brand new 1973 Triumph 750 Bonneville I bought at my first duty station at Marine Barracks Rota, Spain. Age 20.


Bike #5 was a 2002 Aprilia SL Mille. Age 50. Totalled in a get off. Recouped my purchase price through insurance.


#6 was this 2003 Motoguzzi Rosso Corsa. My all time favorite. Age 55. Sold for a profit.

[img]http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s33/orangeokie/motorcycles/KGrHqYOKnUE4LE9rpBBOOy6msrQ0_3.jpg[/img]
#7 was a replacement for foolishly selling #6. A 2004 Motoguzzi Coppa Italia. Age 58. Sold for a profit.

[img]http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/...1-4f0c-8e78-c41cb1980147_zps6e685944.jpg[/img]
#8 was my last purchase and was sold a year later for a profit. 1960 Motoguzzi 250 Stornello Sport.

1978 Yamaha 125 endero age 13

1940s Indian Chief - in 1959 - age 21. Quite a bit like this, except mine had a small rear luggage rack and black leather saddlebags - with fringe.

"72/'73 250 SuzukiRM. Raced the crap out of that bike in the SoCal deserts. Just couldn't keep up with those damn 6 gear Husky's!
But, Lordy, I had fun! Ran District 37 for about 5-6 years.

Got out of the Marines in Aug. 1971.. Was home on a weekend leave about a month before I got out. Friend of my dad's had a local auto repair/gas station and had a beautiful 1970 Honda 750cc 4 cyl. he was selling. Don't remember what he wanted for it but he took about a hundred bucks down and a few weeks later when I got out I paid the rest of it off monthly from my regular job and by pumping gas a few nights a week at the station. It spent the winter of 1971/72 in my parents basement; put it on the road spring of 1972. Put a LOT of miles on it that year, then sold it in the fall of '72 for money to sink into a project car. Wound up kicking myself for selling it.

I grew up chasing this slightly older kid by the name of Joe Kopp. He was much faster than me.....but I always placed on the podium in the backyard.

Oh my! You should have kept this.

I believe you were thinking Suzuki TM 250 if it was a '72/73, the early RM models didn't hit the scene until 1975.

Yep,you're probably right, Little memory fade there. I tried laying down the rear shocks to help on the whoop dedoo's; that helped, but, those dang Euro's and that 6th gear on the flats!
As said, buckets of fun. Thanks for the correction.

First Motorcycle was a 64 Honda sport cub 55. Much like a 90, but only a 55. It did however have a real clutch and 4 speed transmission. went from that to a Ducati 250.. I was 12 at the time.

I came late to the fold...

Didn't own a bike until I got back from Africa and went to grad school. Threw a leg over my first one at age 28 and didn't get off for another twelve years and about 240,000 miles. Finally owned a car again at age 40.

The first bike, a used '82 550cc Yamaha Vision w/5,000 miles on it., a tad faded about like this one....



Can't believe I rode it from College Station TX to Moscow Idaho and back, pulling 1,000 mile days each way, without fairing or ear plugs Anyhow rode it for a year and 25,000 miles.

Followed by an '83 920 Yamaha Virago, uncrated new in '87. Holy Schizzizle, I had some good times on that bike Three years and 74,000 trouble-free miles until the front timing chain broke. likely from being flogged so hard.

Then an '88 Kawasaki Ninja, bought used from a roommate, two years and 40,000 miles.

After the Ninja ate the valves for a second time I traded it in for a '92 KLR 650, two years and 45,000 problem-free miles the first time around.

About to get married I bought the one bike I could keep forever, a '94 BMW R100 G/S Paris/Dakar. Three years and 45,000 miles. OMG it sucked, couldn't hardly drive it around the block without problems. Sold it, good riddance.

Brung the KLR out of storage and put another 10,000 on it. Rode it to New York and back a few years back.

Birdwatcher

79 honda cx500. bought it off my ncoic when i was 20. about 25 years ago i bought my first harley & still have it.

Mine was a brand new 1976 Honda MR-50, and I was 9. It was a two-stroke, 3-speed manual tranny dirt bike, and it would ride circles around my friends Z-50. Then in 1978 I got an XR-75 which I still have. Over the last year I have also bought a 1974 AMF Harley-Davidson Z-90, made for Harley by an Italian Company, Aermacchi. I also bought a 1965 Honda Sport 65. The Honda runs, but needs some cosmetic work and the Harley hasn't been run for awhile, so I've got a few projects ahead of me.

Suzuki 120 3 high and 3 low , I was 10.

Gunner

26 and a 'o3 fatboy

1967 Yamaha 305, Big Bear they called them. I still have what's left in the barn. I was 17 in 1971. kwg

THAT is the bike I wanted at 10 or 11! I had a CT-70 trail bike. pretty interesting little thing but man wanted that xr-80.

This.

I was 18.

wbyfan1,
Did you race in Texas from 1980 to 1989?

In 1989 a 1983 Honda Shadow 500, I was 18.

Mike

The first one I BOUGHT was a Zundapp 50 CC, to tear up on the farm at age 13. Upgraded to a Kreidler 50CC at 16. Upgraded to a Honda CB750FI at age 18. Got rid of it after realizing it only had two throttle positions "closed" and "open".

Getting blown off the road on the Autobahn by a Porsche while doing over 100...... priceless.

Honda 305 Scrambler...17

Steve, the bike I learned on was a Honda 305 Dream at 17


Sweet flared fenders!

mine was a 750 Matchless
Man that was a beautiful bike...

My dad bought a CB 160 Honda when I was in the first grade 1960, not sure if it was brand new or used. He hurt his back when I was 10 and he gave me the bike. When I first got it I couldn't reach the ground so we took the seat off and had a rolled up piece of throw rug for padding. I would ride that bike non stop all summer. If I went up a hill and couldn't make it I would just have to bail out and let it go, as it was too heavy for me to handle. Too many times to remember taking it home and Dad having to do some repairs. Rode that bike until in my late teens then bought a 250 Yamaha endure in 1971. Never should have got rid of those bikes.

Bart

1958 Triumph TR6. 650 cc - age 20

One I should have kept great motorcyle, well except for the Lucas electrics which really sucked. A lot of motorcycle for my first one.

drover

Not my first, but one I had in college around 1973. I traded it for a 1962 Austin Healey Sprite. In the background is my friend's Triumph 500. Years later I had to relive my youth and found another one. I sold it and bought another Winchester...

I see theres a lot of us that had bikes while we were young, and lived to tell the tale.

When I told my father I was buying one, you'd have thought I told him I'd been handed a death sentence...

You SOLD it????


How am I gonna sneak in your garage and steal it now?

Their is a site I just looked at, I think it Phoenix Restoration. Cool site to go down memory lane on.

You had your chance, I left the garage unlocked for almost a year and you never came by...

Damn!


I guess sloth is a deadly sin�.

You said first bike, here is probably my 15th. In my driveway last year.

1973 CB350

A 1968 Benelli, 250CC, sold by the W.T. Grant Company. I was 15 at the time. I thought I had the world by the ass. Have had several others since then, but man, to be 15 again. Fun times.

A VERY beat up Simplex Automatic, pretty much like this one, (I think it was a 51' Model). 13 Years Age



Built in the Town I grew up in ( NOLa), parts were no problem, EVER.

Converted it to a bigger engine, and generally learned to ride on it. The brakes were was a joke, ....you kinda' had to plan ahead.

GTC

Cushman Eagle 14 years old

1968 BMW R60/2 at 20.
Like this one, sans the hard luggage and p-pad.

'71 650 BSA,..age 17

Identical to this one.

Yes. Primarily from 81-84.

An old sears 106 when I was about 12 or 13 years old. the fenders were cut down to make it look like more of an enduro. I thought I was something back then.

Vincent - 18years old - next one was a 650 Bonneville many years later

And you're still alive, Zim? Good for you!

11 years old, Honda Mini Trail 50.

First bike was a Yamaha 90 Enduro at age 14. Later had a 1971 Triumph 650 Bonneville. Should have kept that one.

The Vincent was totally rung out and not a danger to anyone really. The Bonneville was a pleasant ride but I didn't have it long as I was pretty much taken by sports cars by then. My last bike was 30 years ago and was a Suzuki 250 Street and trail. My son is a paraplegic from an offroad bike mishap 3 1/2 years ago so I don't really have pleasant memories of bikes. He raced Classics and his ride was a 650 Sebring which he still has in parts.

Wow! crossfire, that damn Simplex is friggin' awesome! Ohwee!!

I was so jealous at the time, the XR75 and the YZ80 of 74 just flat out dusted me in the early 70's but I still tried to keep up on my 60cc Yami'.


By the age of 12, I was riding a bike similar to his, a CB750 (836) courtesy of Russ Collins, 4-1 megaphone header...was hell to hold when I twisted the throttle.




If I were to ride again, a KZ1000 would be high on my list.

1953 Norton 500 single. I was 19. It was stolen 2 days later..........OH well......I`ve had a lot since..

These were such great bikes. I had a 1970 750-4.

Wtxj;
Thanks for the thread sir and of course to the responding members who have made for some more interesting reading and grand memories.

I'm struck with two parallel thoughts when I read these sorts of threads, the first of which is where has the time gone?

The second is that its a wonder some of us survived our youth.

In fact when I dug out this photo to scan, beside it was a photo of my best friend and I on our bikes and it struck me that Scott was killed in a car crash not 4 years later.

Anyway to the question at hand, here's the first motorcycle, a Honda XR75 which for the life of me I can't recall the year. I think it was the last year of the grey XR's perhaps. I'm going to say I was 13 when I bought it?


Naturally I bought it with my own funds and against my parents wishes because I'd not proven to be a careful lad up to that point.

Just as naturally I hit the side of the house the first day I had it!

I am cognizant you asked about the first and hopefully I can be forgiven if I throw up a quick shot of my second bike - a 125 Suzuki - maybe a '75?



I suppose given that both photos show a motorcycle being used in a less than safe manner, my folks had good reason to be more than a wee bit wary of my bikes, but somehow I did survive them and the snowmobiles, cars and 4x4 pickups that ensued.

Thanks again for the great memories sir and thanks to our fellow 'Fire members for contributing too.

All the best to you all this weekend.

Regards,
Dwayne

I waited until later in life. Started around 1982 (age 26) with a Kawasaki 440 LTD.

I tend to hang on to bikes and cars for the long haul. I rode the Kaw for more than 5 years before I finally sold it to buy something larger. Around 1987 I bought a 1980 Honda CB750c that I rode for the next 15 years. In 2003 I sold it for a 50% profit and bought a 2001 H-D Softail Deuce. I've had it for 10 years now and still love it, I'll may ride this one for the rest of my life.

The motorcycle "jones" is starting to hit me bad.

,...wish I had some heat in my garage.

I've got to install some Sputhe engine stabilizers on my Dyna and put some new tires, do an oil change, etc. on my Burgman.

But for now, we've got a blanket of snow forecast for the evening, so I'll just bring in some more firewood.

First and only crotch rocket was a Hodaka Wombat when I was old enough to know better. I was 40 something. Regards, Woody

Yup, they sure got the lines tight, and NEVER changed em' much.

They were EVERYWHERE when I was a kid in NOLa. All the Mom and Pop grocers had the 3 wheel versions for deliveries, the Shipyards had em' for runabouts, and half the kids in my neighborhood had em'. A really good used one could be had in the 20-30 dollar realm. I don't remember EVER using "2 stroke mix", just canned 30 wt,.....they smoked like crazy, even when running right,and the dual plugs seemed to be a fine idea in that regard. you KNEW immediately one had fouled.IIRC, a new belt was in the $3.50 price range, and one substuted 26" Bicycle tires for the slightly larger factory issue.

I should really get my azz in gear, and replicate (with BETTER brakes) the thing, and hang one of those enormous vintage chainsaw engines of mine on it.......would imagine that serious "Mountain Bike" components would be stouter than the original simplex gear.

GTC

Mine was a Parilla 175.

First dirt bike was an old beat up '72 Kawi KE-100. No lights, dent and bent but great to learn on (never worried about crashing it. I was 12 or 13 and saved up to buy it from Dad for $100.



First street bike (in fact, my first driving street vehicle) was the infamous Mach III. Found a '74 that needed work for $200 and Dad and I rebuilt it. Overbore kit and some elbow grease and she was ready to go. Left many a car behind in a big, blue cloud of bug repellent on that thing and dodged many a deer on Wisconsin's back roads!






Bout two years later I was able to buy a Kawi 750 trip from one of the guys who worked with my Dad. Same crappy brakes and chassis but even more power. Yeehaw!

1995 Harley Davidson 1200 Sportster. I looked like the bear in the circus riding it. Enjoyed it through a couple of summers, then sold it for more than I paid for it. I doubt I'll own another motorcycle.

Oh, I was 26 or 27ish when I owned that scooter.

This was my first around 10 - 11 yo...



and this was my favorite.....

This was my first, a Honda 90, the day I turned 16. Bought brand new. Wrecked it 3 times the first month and it was totaled at the tender age of 4 months.



Have had many, many bikes over the years. Here are my current rides. '11 Wide Glide and '13 Street Glide;

Honda CM400T, I was 32.

HD Road King. Age 43.

Honda XL350. Age? 40

First was a 71 or 72 Yamaha R5 350. I was 17

Over 30 bikes later
Current ride:

My folks bought a 40 acre piece that came with a fully furnished mobile home. This included a brand new 1968 Honda trail 90.
We rode the wheels off it till dad bought a 1970 Honda CL350 Scrambler. My first motorcycle that I bought with money I made working construction with my dad starting when I was 9.
I was 15 in 1972 and picked out a Suzuki 125 Duster. Orange w/white stripe.
8 bikes later I have settled on a '96 BMW R1100GS.

My first one was a Kawasaki Mach III that I bought used when I was 16 in 1968. I sold my last one, a Kawasaki ZZR1200, last summer at 61 because my health no longer allows me to be on a two wheeler.

The last 46 years was quite a ride. I was without a bike for only three lean college years.

On my 6th birthday, my Mom assembled me and my fellow partygoers near the barn. Then she went inside, and wheeled out one of these:







I remember that my fellow Kindergartner, John Johnson, got on it, pulled the throttle all the way back, and fishtailed down the gravel driveway for about 20 seconds before laying it over, and introducing me (and the others) to the F-word at about 100 decibels. Oh, them memories�


As I recall, that was about the only day that bike would run reliably.


I was probably 8 years old when I saved up all of my allowance, and gave $400 cash money to Bud Wolf at the Honda store in Peru, IN for one of these.






And yes, I'm still outraged that that [maternal fornicator] could rip-off an 8 year old with a perfectly straight face. I later learned that it should have been closer to $250 back then. In fact, I'm still a bit pi$$ed at my Mom, that she didn't squash the deal on the spot. She has since said something about letting me learn my own lessons�


Anyway, it ran far better than the Indian did.



By the Summer before my 6th grade year, I found I couldn't keep up with my brothers on their Honda XR75 and YZ100, so I sold the Honda Z50 to my former 5th grade teacher, and bought one of these:







It wasn't quite a YZ80, but it ran like a scalded cat. I kept it 'til my 10th grade a$$ was just too big for it. Then I was out of the motorcycle business 'til I was 36. I can continue that story when someone starts a, "What was your renaissance motorcycle?" thread�


FC

Suzuki 1500 Intruder....good bike

Yamaha 80 when I was 13

Traded a 10/22 and $25. for it..About 1965

Last one I had was a Harly XLS Sportster.

Can't ride anymore due to bad injuries in an auto accident.

Virgil B.

Been fun reading and looking at all the pics.

Thanks for taking the time to post guys. Brings backs lots of memory's.

Anyone have the old Mustang?

Used to have a site bookmarked of the current CA company that's making them today.

My best friend had one. I was able to put it in the back seat of my 50 Chev 2 dr. and took it to the drags. I couldn't get it to start. It was pretty neat at the time and a lot faster that our Cushmans, even when we put moth balls in the gas tank.

Got a Honda CB450 when I was 16.

Got 2 in trade for a 1936 Chevy,Oldsmobile powered pickup. A Yamaha 80 and a Ducati 250 Diana.The Ducati was pretty quick for a 250,(when it ran!! )

One year later I sold the Honda and got a used Moto Guzzi. Big Mistake.

1970 Kawasaki Trail Boss 100 10 speed. 5 in high range and 5 in low.
Bought for $200 when I was 12 years old with paper route money. Good times!

My first was a yamaha 65 of some sort, looked like a little enduro bike. I was in the 3rd grade. Had many bikes since, motorcross, enduro, sportbikes, and duel sports. Loved them all. I tried the harley thing, hated it. My current ride is a duel sport honda XR650(R) not to be confused with the (L) that wouldn't fall out of a tree. Love this bike. I'm a lucky man cause both my boys and my wife ride with me.

My oldest's first bike was a XR100 my youngest's a CRF70 and my wifes first and current bike is a CRF150F. Money well spent!

1970 Honda SL 100 and it was red.

I was 17-18 and it was a '76 KZ400. Looked like hell and ran even worse most of the time but Irode it everywhere for a couple years.

had a 1975 R90/6 for awhile!

Honda CB 650 Custom at the tender age of 18. Mom cosigned the note, which was at 20% interest rate. My first wheels, which got pretty cold riding 50 minutes to Chapel Hill for school. For 8 o'clock classes, of course!

Western Flyer Minibike at age 6, Kawi Kz550LTD at age 19.

500 cc Thumper (single cylinder 500)??

drover

naw, man,.....that's a BSA "Victor 440"

We useta' call em' , "Half a Sportster"

GREAT machine.

GTC

Honda CB700 Nighthawk at 22 years old. I had it two weeks before it blew up on me on a cross country road trip. Epic trip.

Eric

I got a Yamaha DT-100 Enduro when I was about 12 in the 70's. Being in the rural U.P. of MI I went about everywhere on it. A brother & cousin had similar bikes.

The next 2 were a DT-250, then a CB-750F Honda.

I have stopped riding now since having bad knees but here are the 4 last bikes I had befoe stoping riding. HD Electra glide classic,Yamaha FZ1,Yamaha roadstar 1600, and a Kawasaki Nomad. I didn't have the Nomad long it never got ridin so we sold her. Sometimes I wish I had one of them back. I am not sure why the other 3 pics wont show guess I did something wrong.

Honda 50cc Mini Bike to a Yamaha MX100 to a Yamaha DT 250 Enduro to a Yamaha 650 Special to a Yamaha V-Max. Still got the Max.

1975 Yamaha RD 350B very similar to this one, with chambers and some other slight mods. I bought it when I was 14. It was impounded one fair night while I was busy having a, uh, uh, an administrative constabulary time out for some perceived impropriety or other...

Less than 72 hours later I was fighting for my life as two emergency trauma surgeons cut me apart and put me back together over the course of a 15 hour session. I awoke in intensive care some ten days later, with virtually no recollection of what had happened. After being brought up to speed, so to speak, some three weeks later, I demanded that my brother get my bike out of police impound lot. Unfortunately, when he called to see about it was told my Demon Pumpkin had been sold at auction the day before. Fuggers.

a old 500 triumph

Parents were totally against bikes so I hadda wait till I was out of the house and on my own. Then I got a '70 Triumph Trident 750 at age 23..

1986 Suzuki GS700E. Great bike and it was my daily driver for over a year while in college. I was 22 when I bought it.

Old Naval Frogman Uncle of mine came home in '72 with a Triumph 650 Bonneville, black and chrome, I loved that damn bike, I was 9.

Gunner

71 or so was my first bike-Honda XR75. More than I needed at 8-9 years old.
First actual motorcycle was a mid 70's Honda Elsinore CR175. More than I needed at 14-15 years old.
But both were damn fun!

Rode a Yamaha XL650 on the road at 18 and didn't care for rode riding at all.

I was 13 and got a Suzuki 100, I believe it was a TC model, street legal with lights, etc. but also had clearance, shocks, tired that allowed it to doe some moderate off-road stuff. Had a lot of fun with that bike. Even after getting my drivers license and riding on streets some of my friends asked why I didn't get something bigger. For what I did it was fine.

I swapped a riding lawn mower [pos] and 50 bucks for a Suzuki RM 250 when I was 12 or 13, that knee busting sombitch ran like a chainsaw on hillybilly crack. damn

Gunner

I had a Yamaha 125 enduro at 11, at 13 I got a 250 enduro that weighed about 400 lbs. Then my father got me a 250 can am that weighed half as much with twice the HP. I used To pull right up to the sunoco pump and fill it with a dollars worth of their 260 grade.

I had a real nice clean 1970 Bonneville I sold for 600 bucks around 1981 or so.

That was my second ('77 RM 250 ) & third ('80 RM 250)of 7 motocross bikes from '76 to '85.
Most street enthusiasts can't know how aggressive and powerful a racing 2 stroke motocross bike can be despite it's comparatively small displacement.

Amazing what a YOUNG body could withstand!!

Yeah, that's it Salmonella, never drew that kind of air, the bike certainly had the balls to do it, but I didnt.

And 10-Roger on the 'teen insta-repair' Raeford, I could heal up from most anything quick in those days, where'd they go?

Gunner

I quit riding dirt bikes a long time ago. I get on. Count to about 8. Then go to the ER. Two strokes on the street though are a different story

W

I was either 19 or 20 when I got a 1981 model year Honda XL250. On/off road bike I had a blast with for a couple years before I bought my last one, a 1983 Honda CB650.

I kept the wifey!


Just bought this 1973 Bonneville, original condition,just like the one I bought back in 1973 in Rota Spain.

Very similar to this one only an early 60's model.



Jumping terraces in th pastures and fields with that was a damn poor choice for a nine year old ...moved to other bikes better suited

Honda 100 dirt bike when I was 19.

Got a Cushman Eagle when I was 14, A Harley Sprint H at 16 and bought a '52 Harley pan head when I was 18. Had a few Harley Duo-Glydes and Electra-Glydes since, wish I could still Ride.

not my first by any means but my wife on an '84 XL200 we had for a few summers to put around the neighborhood on



Those Honda 200cc motors from the 70's and 80's are bulletproof - and heck, new carbs are like $25 on Amazon for 'em.

I don't even bother to buy the kits anymore.

Honda Mini 50 at age 10. Then a mighty Suzuki 80 at 12, then a mightier 90 at 15, then a PE 200 at 18 and a KZ 750 E at 21.

Honda SL350...I was 18 at the time...a Force to be reckoned with!

11 years old, traded a model 60 Winchester for it. bike is long gone but I got the 22 back and still shoots like a dream.

Cushman (base model with pull start,,, not the Eagle),,,, 12YO
I could only ride it around in the desert though.

You could get a MC license at 14 back then (80CC max) so when I turned 14 I got a Yamaha 80.
Paid for it with my paper rout money.

1972 Honda SL100 13 years old.

First street bike 1976 Honda CB 550, 16 years old.

First was a 1980 Honda XL 250. I was 9 years old. Second was a 1987 Honda XL 600 (last year of the thumper). I was 13 then...

Like others, honda CB350, for my senior year in HS.

Kent

1967 Triumph 650, 16 years old. Cur grass and was a paperboy for two years to pay for that bike. I loved it, my parents hated it. Ha. Now 66 and still have three bikes...1998 HD Dyna Wide Glide, 1999 Triumph Trophy 1200 and 2006 Honda 450.

Is that a 440 Victor thumper?

Sorry to be so late. 1964 Honda Sport 90. I was a hoodlum.

Since I missed the "First Car" thread, my 1932 Ford Roadster!!

Original vintage pictures!




DMc

Special Thanks to all the guys that posted pics!!!

Great thread!



DMc

My dad got a Honda Sport 90 when I was about 11-12. At 14 he bought a couple Honda Trail 90s for me and my two younger brothers.

When I was 11 in 1971, I got a blue Honda Trail 70 for Christmas.

1970 Honda CT-70H, 4-speed with a manually operated clutch.

1972 Suzuki 185 Sierra

1971 Honda SL-350

1974 Penton 175

1970/72 Norton 750 Commando (basket case rebuild)

1974 Honda MT-250

1972 Kawasaki S3-350

1976 Honda MR-250

1974 Penton Mint 400

1975 Kawasaki KH-750

1978 Yamaha IT-175

1987 Kawasaki KLR-250

My CT-70H was green.

Still have one! (Sorta) I gave it to this little guy, but he still rides as a passenger.

Altho he does have another bike!




DMc

Wish I had a picture. Mine was a late 60's Harley shovelhead 74 with a high rise sissy bar behind the seat and 8" extended front forks.....think Easy Rider and the Captain America bike. Bought it in 1972.

Loved that bike and wish I still owned it.

First was a 68 z 50 honda.
I bought it with my lawn mowing money my 9th summer.

spring after next I traded it in for a brand new 1972 Indian 50, unassembled in box, that had a clutch, 4 gears, and shocks on back instead of hardtail.

I took third place that fall in nebraska state grass track championships, 80cc and under, loosing to a 75xr honda and a yamaha 80, with a crowd of eight or so bikes behind me.
Still have the trophy but wish I'd have sold it and kept the bike
Classic little Italian machine.

1951 Indian Chief, paid $50 for it in 1966,i was 14,ran it around like an oversized dirt bike. Don

Suzuki TC 90 @ 14 years

Loved that little bike and rode it for years, until I finally burnt up the piston. Wish I would have kept it around to restore

A red Honda 50 Sport,I was 14(I think)! memtb

1970 Kawasaki Trail Boss 100 10 speed. I was 12.

Yamaha 80 Sport. Had to mix the oil/gas . No oil injection.
I'd buy a quart of bulk oil, and mix it with 5 gallons of gas.

I was 13. Traded a 10-22 and $35. cash for it.

Put a LOT of miles on that bike!


Virgil B.

Honda 90 age 15 - I road that thing down every road in Phoenix Az in the late 60's -- ride all day for a dollar or 2 - taking it fishing to Bartlett Lake was always an adventure - lol

I got a Honda 90 trail in the shed right now - man I need to get it running

parting out the old Honda 55

I trashed several 50 cc mopeds between 12 and 16, including Zundapp and Puch, but my first street bike was a 50 cc Kreidler. Looked just like this:



Learned a lot about hopping them up and dodging the authorities with that thing.

Mine was a 1954 BSA model C-11. I got it when I was 14 and paid 125.00 for it. Hasbeen

I was 11. Yamaha YZ 80

Honda XL 175, I was 12. Used it to ride to/from the truck farmer's fields that I worked for during the summer. Went a lot of places on that bike.

looks like two gauges up there - was one of them a tachometer?

'77 Harley Low Rider when I was 20. I totally rebuilt it as a 90" stroker at the ripe old age of 21. Never wretched on an engine once before that but it ran good and it ran fast. I was a lot pleased and a little proud.

At age 18 I purchased a 1976 Honda CB360 for $440 dollars. I barely knew how to ride it, and kept killing it during the test drive while trying to get used to the clutch. I purchased it from a co-worker, who said it could be my "chin grinder" (apparently he noted my inexperience on it.) Kept it for about 10 years, and never did grind my chin with it.

1974 Yamaha SC500A one lunger, 4 speed. I was 25. Bought to rip around the family farm. Then the gas crunch came and I had the local dealer install a lighting kit so it would be street legal. Two problems with that: with no battery, the headlight would really dim at idle and it didn't like running at a constant speed on highways. I seized 2 pistons doing that. Thankfully, 1 two stroke piston and a head gasket cost less than $10 for the rebuilds.

Gradually all my buddies sold their dirt bikes and it wasn't any fun riding alone so I traded it for a '74 Yamaha 500 twin street bike with double overhead cams and a counter-rotating balance shaft. I finally graduated to H-D and been riding my '98 Fatboy ever since.

Yes, speedo and tach. Max legal speed 50 KPH. With a few mods, 90 KPH was fairly easy.

64 Bultaco Metralla. Bought it in 1970 for $200. I was 17.

Back then Metrallas were cheap because you had to mix the oil in the gas and the electrics were abysmal. Everybody wanted Japanese bikes with oil injection and decent electrics.

Now they're collector's items worth thousands.

Not much power, but the handling was absolutely superb.

Honda CB360, age 17. i had been riding for 5 years on friends bikes. first 4 wheeled vehicle came at age 34.

ked

This is the one that started it off for me . . .


[video:youtube]4qklwSsBlbk[/video]

At age 16 I got a Honda CL360,

Yamaha Twin Jet 100 at age 14

Who remembers: Texas-sized grasshoppers?
Bird strikes?
Rain slick streets?
Sand and wet leaves?
Ice?
Off-center man hole covers?
Who remembers pulling their Honda muffler baffles?
How about carrying 2 passengers at the same time?
Push starts?
Riding hands-free?
First wheelies?
Old ladies at intersections thinking you were a bicycle going 6 mph when you were actually going 50?
Who remembers using only your front brake lever on a wet street?
How about intentionally or (maybe not intentionally) dragging a foot peg on a sharp curve?
Who remembers the girl they wanted to impress burning their leg on the exhaust pipe?

I could go on...,


DMc

PS: DOGS GROWLING AND SNAPPING AT YOU?

Where the hell is the like button!! I"m not sure of the model, but I remember being in the car as my mom pulled my dad on an old Indian trying to start it. I was 4. It wasn't even his bike. It apparently backfired through the carb and burnt right there on the side of the road with him throwing gravel on it to try to extinguish the fire. Apparently fire extinguishers were some kind of luxury for sissies and the rich. Of course this is the same guy who dynamited our well and knocked every picture off the trailerhouse walls! One of my oldest memories.

Lots of cool first bikes and thanks to all for sharing the memories!

My first motorcyle was a 50cc Rex when I was about 11. I'm not sure I even know who made it. Dad was always good at picking up "projects" of sorts. Next was a Honda 305 Dream, kind of a weird street bike.

Elsinore 50cc Honda

I was 8 years old, lotsa good times.

Getting in the game rather late on this.

No pictures. I was 39 (39!} and living in Baker, Oregon. Been single for a while. First bike was a Yamaha 125 Enduro. Didn't last long as I tried trail riding and needed more HP as I was about 175 lbs. at the time. Replaced it with a XL350 Honda which I ended up modifying ie: punched out to 410 cc's different suspension, exhaust, plastic 3.5 gallon tank, gearing, etc..

Eastern Oregon at the time was heaven for off road stuff. Lots of public land, etc.. Made for lots of exploring, etc..

Never had so much fun since being on my uncles ranch in Castle Valley near Moab, Utah in 1946 and riding horseback all day long..

Yamaha 60, 3rd grade about 8 or 9 years old. Graduated to a Hodaka 100 Dirt Squirt a few years later - ha ha. Wow, had a bunch of bikes since that time but none more fun.

Honda Mini Trail 50.

I was seven as I recall.

twofish

Sachs 125 trail bike, Pensacola, Fl. 1973

Worth big bucks now.

1972 Suzuki TS125J. 15 years old.

Bought a '64 XLCH in 1970. I was 21.

My brothers but I learned to ride on it...


My first:


My First that I actually paid money for:


What I have now:

I don't like 'Murdercycles'!

That's why I'm working on 76 years!!

I had a combat wombat at the age of 15. My parents were way too trusting.

1967 50cc Benelli

Dr. my wife works for calls them "Donorcycles"