What was your truly first bike?

cdrw

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Oct 6, 2006
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gobs wrote: ...what was the truly first bike you ride in your life?
Okay, kinda boring...but:

Hmmm...my first bike was a Schwinn...pedal bike. In my early 20's I had my first mtorcycle ride on a Montessa 175cc and learned that you
are _not_ to use the front brake to slow down while _in_ a curve. I flew off the bike, face planting, and earned a big scab which formed
from my nose to chin and reminded me of my error for over a month.
I not ridden again until recent years, where I either rented or borrowed friends bikes in Cambodia and learned some basic skills.
December of last year I bought my first motorcycle, a Suzuki 250 Djebel. I has been an exceptionally reliable bike and now I'm in the market
to upgrade to a DRZ400 or DR650
 
My first bike was a hand-me-down 1978 KZ-200. It was a great bike that saw me nearly all the way through High School. Layed it down one night, Halloween Night to be exact. I was on my way home from work, typical high school kid working until midnight, it was cold and I was wet from work. Had a nice downhill into a very small dying town that ended is a nice S-curve. Some of my peers decided it would be funny to cut down a tree accross the round in the S-curve. Mind you no street lights in small town America. Loose gravel on the macadam road and down I went cursing a storm.

My next ride was another hand-me-down, my brothers 1982 GS-650E. That was another excellent bike and saw me through my first two years of military service. My brother crashed a few times but I never did. I-10 from Pensacola, Fl to San Angelo, Tx was a heck of a trip for a 18 year old. Miss that machine too, sold it back to my brother when I went overseas. Should have brought it with me to Scotland!

Eric
 
My first bike was a "Vale-Onslow Special". I was 14 so the year must have been 1970. It was a "Schoolboy Scrambler" and based on a BSA Bantam 4 speed.

"Len Vale-Onslow died in 2004 aged 103, he was still riding at 102 and as he rirst rode when he was 8 yrs old, thats 94 yrs. Over 100 motorcycles followed the hurst.

He was once interviewed and asked about his longevity to which he replied " It's due to my none smoking, none drinking, a little sex (only twice a night)"

See also http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obitu ... 49907.html

and

http://www.vale-onslow.co.uk/
 

KenYam

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Nov 2, 2007
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My first was a 1967 Yamaha 305cc two stoke road bike, it was a education learning to ride on such a scary powerband bike, but I servived. Next was a complete rebuild on a 1968 Truimph Saint. Then I was chasing reliability so 4x Yamaha 650cc twins, 1x XJ750 Yammy, 1x FJ1200 Yammy ( 10years ) arrived Thailand so 1x 200cc Honda phantom, and I also have brought JohhyE's old 2001 Faser1000cc via information provided by this site. The Faser is the most modern, fastest and best handling bike I have ridden and I hope to meet more bike riders in CNX and ride it around the north of Thailand. I have only ridden it 150 k's now but will return home soon - working is a bitch.
 

DavidFL

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Finally dug out some older pix..

1. First bike was a Honda CB175 Twin, late 60s? model.
2. 2nd bike was a Honda CB450 Twin 1972 or 73 Model that had too much overheating trouble.

Pix below from left, younger brother on a Puch 125, Dad on the Honda CB175 Twin, & me on the CB450 Twin. Year 1973.
369805816_UHRCs-M.jpg


3. 3rd bike was a Honda CB500F, that I totally wrecked in a 1974 crash. I ended up with a few bits broken - pelvis, 4 ribs, both arms (left 2 places & right forearm shattered - still plated 34 yrs later), left collar bone, jaw 2 places, plus numerous broken teeth. AND I think the UK Centurion brand full face helmet actually saved my life!
1974 Pic below is me on the CB500F with a mate on a CB750.
369805820_Ypcaj-M.jpg


4. 4th bike was another Honda CB500F.
1975 photo below ready to ride across Australia.
369805806_ceSFF-M.jpg


Below same bike on the Great Australian Bight 1975.
369805908_zHweA-M.jpg


5. 5th Bike was a BMW R75/6
Photo below 1976 Pinnacles Desert, Western Australia. Out for a day ride (wearing flared trousers. Ha. Ha.) & dumped the bike on the sandy trail.
369805881_siphV-M.jpg


How time flies & how we've changed. Enjoy life while you can.
 

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gobs

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Feb 8, 2007
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Nice report David!

BMW 75/6... Mmmmmh, makes me thinking of my 90/6 parked in France since 3 years now :cry: What great bikes they were, is'n't it?

And OK +++ with you: time goes away very, very quickly! And yes, we have to enjoy every hour going on, with or without a bike...

Cheers
Gobs
 

Franz

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Jun 28, 2007
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Real nice ones David !!!! CB450T I think was the same engine as on my CB400T but had a bigger bore, awesome machine.........your brothers Puch, wasn't that a 50cc aircooled with a fan mounted on the crankshaft and enclosed in an aluminium casing ??

Enjoy life while you can, how true this is, the same John from KK told me that this is the reason he bought my F650GS, you & him are living up to that motto to the fullest. I hope only to get to the point where my savings enable me also a live as a "self employed or early retirement". Anyway while working, you need some things you are looking forward already from starting early in the morning at the office, as I like to rebuild "oldies", I'm gonna get my SRX400 Numer 3 this afternoon, legally registered, carbs, next to no electronics, I love them old & simple bikes........once No. one is restored I will do a picture post..........

Keep' them old pictures coming will ya please...........cheers, Franz
 

DavidFL

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Davidfl wrote: Finally dug out some older pix..

Pix below from left, younger brother on a Puch 125, Dad on the Honda CB175 Twin, & me on the CB450 Twin. Year 1973.
369805816_UHRCs-M.jpg
Correction, before you all jump on me, I now think the Puch was probably a 75cc & not 125. Sorry can't recall anymore than that. Dad used to ride it 4 kms to work & I think he only fueled it up once a month, as it was so economical on fuel.
 
Franz - Eastern Seaboard wrote: CB450T I think was the same engine as on my CB400T
Sorry to have to correct you here, but the two bikes had little more in common than the Honda badge, two cylinders and two wheels, each reaching all the way down to ground level. ;)

The old CB450T was a twin, with pistons offset 180 degrees, two overhead cams and torsion valve springs. A very nice bike indeed, but with a serious design flaw which destroyed lots of camshafts.

The CB400T (later CB400N with more plastic) was a parallel twin, SOHC bike and it sold in Germany in the early 80's like hot cakes. We thought at the time that it was a solid bike, but strangely, you don't see them on the road any more. It also had two balancer shafts, driven by a long thin chain which had to be adjusted every 3000 km.
 
Jun 1, 2008
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My first road motorcycle was a Mobylette moped. My first non pedal power motorcycle was a CZ 175, the one where the kick start turned into the gear change.

T
 
Nov 7, 2007
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My first Bike that i owned was a KTM Pony...not really fast , nor powerful but a lot of fun i had with it. here a picture how such Bike looks like ( mine was green and there was no topbox)
ktm%20pony.jpg


I think one of the first motorcycle i rode was my dads oldie HMW Foxinette :
foxinette.jpg

We actually still have that foxinette and on the last Aiustria Trip i made some pics of it.
http://tigersachsclub.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=136

And at the same time my Brother also got himself a old Yamaha RD 50 we did a lot of work on it but it never realy ran good for long , there was always something:
yamaha_rd_50.jpg


Than there was a long time no bikes as i was travelling a lot just some rented motorbikes here and there. I really got back on 2 wheels right here in Thailand. So far i went through about 10 bikes here, sure there are more to follow .

happy trails,

mbox
 
Feb 5, 2007
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1965 Yamaha 250 2 stroke twin, bought in around 1970, that lasted abut 15 minutes until I tried to wheelie it and shot across the street from Mom and Dad's, into the curb, twisting the front end.

Next was a 750 Norton that was a bitch to start and earned me a drivers license suspension. Upon regaining the privilege to drive I bought a new 900 Sportster in 72 which was the first in an unbroken line of HD's until this day
 
Mar 15, 2003
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www.daveearly.com
Some great stories in this post. Thanks for sharing. Some of you have already heard my "tales", but I will re-post it here from my website. I guess I don't really consider myself a true motorcyclist as it was never my passion as it is with many here. I was just mostly lucky. As GOBS asked for details, here it goes............

I guess I owe all this motorcycle craziness to my father, Andrew Early, and a man named Bob Leppan, the world's fastest Triumph rider............

I loved car racing and my father allowed me to start racing karts in my early teens. Although he was a great golfer and he competed successfully in many amateur tournaments, he saw that chasing a white ball around was not going to cut it for his somewhat rebellious son. He gave up many weekends for me.

In my senior year of high school a friend that we had made through karting recommended me for my first job- working at Triumph-Detroit (T-D). T-D was the largest motorcycle dealer by sales volume in the world. It was also the home of what at the time was the world's fastest motorcycle.

I knew nothing of motorcycles. I wanted to race cars. I started working part time as a general laborer doing all the jobs that teenagers do, including walking and cleaning up after the dog. T-D also sold Suzuki as the Jap motorcycle craze was just beginning. One of my jobs was taking the bikes to the nearby car wash. Tired of pushing them, I asked if it was OK if I rode them. My boss asked if I knew how to ride and of course I said "sure!" I then had one of the mechanics take me out back and teach me how.

I worked my way up in the dealership and was doing some new bike assembly and assisting the mechanics. Of course before a new bike could be sold it had to be test driven. I "test drove" about 15 bikes a day. Soon I convinced the mechanics that they were losing money every time they rode a bike to diagnose it, and again, when they rode it to test the repair. Soon I was a full time "test driver". "Hey Dave, this motorcycle has a wobble above 80mph, go check it out for me!" The sales staff and Bob were also tired of teaching new riders and giving demo rides. That also became part of my job description. Some crazy rides were had!

Through a number of lucky events Bob Leppan decided I had some natural talent (his words, not mine). One day we went to Baltimore, MD which was the headquarters of the east coast Triumph distributor, Butler & Smith. It was also the home of Gary Nixon the current A.M.A. National Champion. We went to Gary's house and he suggested we go trail riding. At that time a "trail bike" meant a Triumph Tiger TR6C, 650cc. NEVER having done this before Gary just told, " We are both riding the same motorcycles, there's no reason yours can't do the same things as mine". Logical I guess. So off I went into the trails following the current A.M.A National Champion and the world's fastest motorcyclist. Great stuff for an 18 year old.

Through the years I left Triumph and later had managerial positions with Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki before being accepted in 1977 by the Detroit Police Department (oh yeah, had to do a stint with the U.S.Marines also).
I had some great adventures and experiences along the way. The ironic thing is I never once owned a motorcycle until I bought a touring bike in 1985, Kawasaki KZ1000. I wanted to race cars!!!!!!!
gyronaut-x1b-150x150.jpg
ps-a-record-150x150.jpg
cnd-nationals-150x150.jpg

Oh yeah, I did end up racing for Triumph, Yamaha and Kawasaki.
Some interesting old Triumph Photos here..http://daveearly.com/earlyracing.htm
 

rmbike

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Jun 28, 2010
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Twas the humble but popular xr-75 k3 1976
1976_honda_xr75.jpg


made a megaphone pipe and laid the shocks down
got wiped by anyone, particularly a mate on a yz80b and then c

only issue i ever had was water on the points during our adventures around the local area (swamps)

just a thought: a thread like this relies on photos so post em please :smile1:
 
Oct 17, 2006
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My first bike was a Suzuki B120 which I found in my Uncles shed he had abandonded it in 1963 and I got it in 1972 when i was 14 , restoed it and rode it illegally until i passed my test in 1975. then my brother borrowed it a smashed it up .
 

mezcal

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Jun 20, 2010
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My first bike was a Gilera CB1 50cc when I was 14.
188818.jpg

The first time I rode it was in a closed parking space. My dad, my older brother and my dad's friend who sold us the bike were watching as I slowly approached the barrier, panicked and got thrown off while the bike continued its journey for a couple more meters. The others were laughing their asses off in the meantime. My bike and my ego got a few scratches, but I'm still riding, 22years later.
After that my dad got me a Malaguti RST 50cc. It wasn't really my style, but hey...
malaguti%20rst%201a%20srie.jpg

Next was a Piaggio Ciao Teen, very modified, very cool. Sadly it got stolen after just a few months at the school ground.
image3.png

Finally, something bigger: a Gilera SP02 125cc when I was 16. At that time there was great competition between bike makers in Italy to produce the fastest and most beautiful bike for teenagers. The SP02 was a 125cc, but far more than that and it still looks very cool and sporty even after 20 years.
gilera20piuma20600ccm2020jeroens20racinguv2.jpg
 
Jan 14, 2010
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Norton-1962-650SS-Dominator-1.jpg


1964 Norton Dominator 650 SS
Bought in 1971 at the age of 16
Photo is not of the actual bike but appears identical. I don't have a photo :sad1::
 

hs0zfe

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Aug 31, 2009
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Two BMW R 45s. One I parked at my driving instructor's place, the other in a friend's garage. The friend had a rear door of an old VW Passat station wagon leaning on the wall. First time I'm taking her for a ride, I forgot the front wheel's being locked. When i shoved it off the main stand, it had to fall.

a) hitting my shin bone with the cylinder and

b) crashing into the glass. I still shudder recalling how loud that bang was. :oops:

In those days, the magazine said a VW Beetle would win a sprint against the R 45. But I liked its kick starter, the R 65's frame and the solid feel versus the Kawasaki GPZ 305 twin I was riding, too.

Closing, I would like to confess that never again did I have so much fun on any bike. Which makes me wonder if it's more a mental state than a question of big bucks and hp?

Chris
 
Jul 6, 2004
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Now that I am back living in Chiang Mai, I feel like I can contribute to GT Rider. My first bike was a 1967 Suzuki Hustler 250cc Twin 2 stroke, went like the wind, wouldn't handle and wouldn't stop.
That little scarey episode of my life coincided with marriage.So no more boy racers, what does a 20 year old do for thrills, go dirt bike riding.
This a list of a few of my bikes over the past 40 years.
. 1969 Bultaco Sherpa T
. 1971 Yamaha 250 DT1
. 1972 Honda 250 XL
. 1974 KAWASAKI 250 Enduro
. 1974 Ossa 6 day
. 1975 Ducati 350 scrambler
. 1978 Yamaha 500 XT
. 1978 Ducati 750 SS
.1979 Ducati 900 Darmah
. 1982 Yamaha XJ650
. 1997 Triumph 900 Thunderbird Sport

meona1949speedtwin.jpg


. 2002 BMW GS650 Dakar
. 2002 Triumph 955 Speed Triple