Your origins of riding.

[Wrecka]

My uncle lived in shed up the back corner of my Nans place, he had a huge collection of old british and some jap iron , he was allways out tinkering. He used to let us pick somthing that had brakes and air in the tires and we used to push them up the hill and roll all the way down.

 

[TOMCAT]

Bunch of us kids (been 12 or 13 years old ) swapped a carton of stolen Kool menthol cigarettes for a Triumph pre-unit rolling chassis. Got it from the other gang of little troublemaking turds in our suburb. Used to push it up Loncroft St hill and first 3 or 4 to get on would get a ride down the hill. Lasted about a fortnite before cops took it off us .. was replaced by a Magoo car (Morris Minor or similar) .. 8 or 10 of us could risk life and limb then ..hahahaha

 

[Wrecka]

Bunch of us kids (been 12 or 13 years old ) swapped a carton of stolen Kool menthol cigarettes for a Triumph pre-unit rolling chassis. Got it from the other gang of little troublemaking turds in our suburb. Used to push it up Loncroft St hill and first 3 or 4 to get on would get a ride down the hill. Lasted about a fortnite before cops took it off us .. was replaced by a Magoo car (Morris Minor or similar) .. 8 or 10 of us could risk life and limb then ..hahahaha

When i was a teen a bunch of us used to go to the local tip and pile into old cars , strap in and get others to shove it down the embankment , surprised none of us died

 

[TOMCAT]

Pity the poor buggers that lived on Loncroft Street .. we'd roll down the hill and swerve at the very last moment to avoid hitting their parked cars .. how they didn't form a vigilante group and beat us within an inch of our lives I've never understood. The milkman and half a dozen of his mates did though, guess he was finally jack of us thieving his milk money. We got a well deserved hiding , it worked .. never touched his milk money again... hahahahaha

 

[Wetrudgeon]

It was 1964. AD. A friend down the road obtained a Honda mini bike. He let us ride it up the road and back. It was fun. That was that.

We trudge on.

 

[Rocket Scientist]

I had 2 things which led me to a reprobate life on 2 wheels.

First, when I was 11 or 12, my next door neighbor came home with a shiny Honda 305 Super Hawk. I just loved the look and sound of that bike. Then, after a few months with it, he sold it off and got the CL305 Scrambler. With it's flat grey tank and high pipes - I liked it even better. I never tired of looking at those bikes and talking to him about what it was like to ride them.



Second: The year was 1965. I was 16 years old and dating a MOST attractive girl named Gerri. She wanted to do something out of the ordinary. In those wondrous days of yore, things were a little different then they are today. You could rent small motorcycles at many neighborhood gas stations. So Gerri & I screwed up our collective courage and I plunked down the requisite $6.00 for a 1 hour ride on a Honda Super 90 (you remember - this was the one with the tank between the knees - no "step through" Honda 50 for us!) After that one hour ride - I was HOOKED. It was so simple to ride - even easy to shift and find neutral. G-d, that was one of the best dates we ever had!

Actually, now that I think about it, there was a third influence as well. Geoff - another guy in my HS, was an absolute motorcycle nut. He was always talking about wanting an XLCH, or a Matchless Atlas or any number of other two wheeled transports. He was so enthusiastic, that it led me to investigate some motorcycle magazines. Those also served to whet my appetite for what was to come.

I've NEVER looked back from these early influences.

I had 7 0r 8 of those in my youth. If you didn't store them properly they would seize up over the winter. You could buy them for about $50 in that condition. Started off taking apart and knocking the them loose with a hammer and a block of wood. The rings would be stuck in the piston grooves and would always break when you tried to remove them. Rings were expensive. Soon found if you just knocked it loose and put it back together, just riding it would free the rings ! They weren't the best dirt bikes, but they sounded cool and you could beat them like a rented mule. The tranny gears in them were about the size of the ones in a rocket !

 

[1BigDog]

It was long ago and it was far away and it was so much better then it is today............

As a kid in the late 1950's we had a guy named Red on our block who used to give us kids rides on his Lambretta scooter. As a youth I had a M/C gang living across the street from me. The Rat Pack from Brooklyn specifically. I loved the sound of the Harleys and longed for one. I ended up going to school with the road captains son and met some of the members. This really sparked my interest in bikes. Mini bikes, Honda 70, etc. When I turned 18 I still didnt have the cash for a bike so I spent time with my 66 Chevelle. I began dating a girl, who happened to own a Yamaha 250 2 stroke and fell in love. I took my road test on that bike and we did plenty of riding in the city. She sold the bike and went with a Honda 550/4. I still couldnt afford a bike so I rode with her, or I should say I commandeered the bike most of the time. We got married and I got a good job so I went out and bought a new Honda 750 SS and we each had our own bikes. This was in 1978. The Chevelle was sold and we took many trips on those bikes. Best one was a trip to the top of Mt. Washington in NH. After our daughter was born in 81, her 550 was sold as cash became real tight. A few years later my 750 went for the same reason. Flash forward to 1990. I had a good paying job and just transferred to Florida. Wifey says buy her a house and I can get my Harley. So I bought her a house.........and furniture......and appliances......and....and....and......never could afford that Harley. I did pick up some bikes in between but money was always an issue. One was a 1983 Gold Wing that needed more than I could afford to make it safe. So a few years later I stumbled upon a clean 1983 Yamaha Venture that sat around for a while. I picked it up cheap and tore her apart, cleaned and replaced stuff and rode the hell out of her until 2nd gear failed. I still rode my now 4 speed into the ground and sold it for parts. Still couldnt find an affordable Harley. Enter a pristine 1999 Yamaha Venture with all the bells and whistles with 9k on the clock and a steal at the price. Bought that and rode it for almost 11 years before the old body started breaking down. Sold her last Jan and thought I would be done riding. A few weeks later I thought it may be time for that HD. Even looked at some Road Kings..............But now that I could afford one I thought they were way too overpriced for what you got. So, what did I do???? Bought a mint 2008 Rocket 3 Tourer. Best dam bike that I have ever owned. Now to get this broken body back into shape and put some miles on her.

Moral of this story: I dont need no stinkin Harley.........and yea, im still married to her

 

[Wannbe]

Honda Z - 50 my grandpa bought me when I was 5. Then at 9 an upgrade to a cbr 125. 20 years or so later got a vtx1800r. From that to the Beast.
ps. still have the 50 in rough but running condition

 

[martym52]

My oldest brother took me for a ride on his '49 Indian Chief 80" when I was ten or eleven; and I was hooked! Rode a twinjet 100 Yamaha after that, next bike was at fourteen; 650 BSA Lightning. Well, that sealed the deal!

 

[R3Tex]

Honda mini trail 50 at 10 years old. When I was home in the summers my cousin and I would pile on that little bike and trek the 5 miles to a local creek and go fishing...be gone all day. No way in hell I would turn a 10 and 11 year old loose on a motorcycle by themselves today...our parents had to be crazy. MotoX all through high school. First go fast bike was a 1979 GS1000. Dirt bikes and snow cross in Alaska kept me in the groove when we lived there. I've had a bunch of different jap bikes over the years. Didn't have my first HD until I was nearly 50. Now I have a geezer glide for long trips, the Rocket for everything else and manage to squeeze in some time in the saddle of the Breakout occasionally.