Nostalgic Story Time - What got you into motorcycles?

[timeconsuming]

Hey guys

Just curious to hear some tall tales of what first got you into motorbikes, whether it was James Dean, the Fonz, or just your friends (like me), it would be cool to read about!

Fonz's bike is pretty sweet:

 

[jrswanson1]

My wife bought a Can Am Spyder RT in June of last year. She decided I needed a motorcycle of my own, so she bought a brand new Ducati Monster 696 for me. I've purchased three more bikes since then.

 

[tybalt_214]

My grandfather once told me that when he was stationed in Europe during WWII (he was with the 636th quartermaster unit) he found a German motorcycle that had been abandoned. He hid it in a barn under hay and on his off time he'd sneak off to go ride it.

My dad also used to ride a Yamaha 650 back in the 70's. One summer he took a huge road trip. Drove (In an old cutlass which he pulled his 650 behind on a trailer) all the way to North Dakota to visit his brother who was maintaining missiles for the air force at the time. After staying with him for a month he sold the car and trailer and rode his bike cross country and knocked around in the southwest for awhile. Some notable highlights were seeing ZZ top in a shit hole biker bar just months before they got big (and grew the beards) and being chased by a couple of hells angels in New Mexico because he waved at them the wrong way.

Somewhere along the way he met a half hispanic half italian lady (not my mother) and they ended up dating for awhile with her coming to visit him in Arkansas and vice versa. She apparently turned every head in the little hick town he lived in at the time.

He stopped riding because he lost two friends to motorcycles very close together. Both of them were riding the type of bike he had.

 

[Basement rat]

My Opa rode in Germany in the late 40's to 50's before coming to Canada.

My Dad rode when he was a kid, once was late picking my mom up for a date once upon a time because he bought a new bike, etc and still rides today.

My dad bought me a dirt bike when I must have been four. It was stolen shortly after and I never got to ride it. I remeber both days.

 

[spotty]

i got into two wheels cos i was a mod in the early 80s here in melbourne, so naturally i had to have a scooter...shit electrics, no brakes, shit suspension, square tyres etc etc but i loved every minute of it, that was followed by another dozen or so over the next couple of years, strange thing was i thought everybody fell off every couple of weeks (it actually worked out to 27 accidents in 30 months including two lots of 3 times in one day)

as for actual motorcycles themselves, my mates in a bike/scooter shop sold me an XS250 as a get to work bike as my scooters were getting less and less practical (225 stroker crank/big bore, 30mm carb, expansion chamber, trick clutch so 'finely' tuned that i used to have to pull over before hitting a freeway and change to bigger jets then back again at the other end....) and within a couple of weeks of having the XS someone pulled out of a sideroad and i MISSED him, my first thought was 'if i'd been on a scooter i would have just ridden straight into him"

that last scooter was finally finished, painted, chromed, engraving, flash upholstery, the works and it lasted 3 days before the back wheel fell off (my fault) i fell off and broke my leg, sold it and i haven't had another one of the evil bastard things since

also i've only fallen off 2 or 3 times in the 28 years of bike riding since then.........hmmmm, is there some sort of message there?

 

[timeconsuming]

My wife bought a Can Am Spyder RT in June of last year. She decided I needed a motorcycle of my own, so she bought a brand new Ducati Monster 696 for me. I've purchased three more bikes since then.

That is the kind of wife we all envy, I'd think.

 

[beachcomber]

1957 My father took me along to a race meeting at Brands Hatch - job done.

The very next weekend I had a James Captain Trial bike courtesy of my Dad and his Brother. It wasn't competitive any more as a Trial bike, but made a fantastic woods bike for me to learn to ride and to fettle - aged 13. That's where it all went wrong then :

 

[reds]

My wife bought a Can Am Spyder RT in June of last year. She decided I needed a motorcycle of my own, so she bought a brand new Ducati Monster 696 for me. I've purchased three more bikes since then.

That is the kind of wife we all envy, I'd think.

Damn, you married Oprah!!

 

[pacomotorstuff]

I grew up in Hamilton ON Canada. When I was just a tike, my Dad had an Indian 4 with sidecar which was the only family transportation for about 1-1/2 years. My older brother would snuggle up in the nose of the hack and Mum and I would be bundled up in the seat, especially in the winter, as Dad didn't have the little canvas top for it. Must have been rough getting me in the sidecar - my (late) Mum said I'd cry every time 'cause of the engine noise.
Fast forward about 13 years to 1965; I had a paper route and an English family moved into my neighbourhood and were customers. They had 2 sons a bit older who both rode bikes - big chromed machines, not those little Honda stepthroughs that were just getting popular. The guys ended up at the same highschool as me and the first bike I ever rode on my own was one of their bikes - a '49 Matchless 500 single in a '52 (I think) plunger frame, Wassel peanut tank, Bates bicycle seat and apehanger bars. The deal was, if I could kick start it, I could ride it -and so I did, on the slippery grass in their back yard and into the hedge at about 5 mph, and then tipped over.
I was hooked.
A couple of years later the older brother got killed by a drunk driver while he was "really ripping along" (to quote the police) on his new '67 BSA Lightning and I haven't seen or talked to the other brother in years.
To use a line from the movie Stand by Me, I never had any friends like that later in life.
Regards,
Pat Cowan,
Vintage Motorcycle Fiberglass

 

[WeberKid]

I was riding on the back of a cb750 from the time I could sit upright. now I'm building a brit bike. sort of. it's half honda, so I call it a "Trinda"

 

[swan]

My best friend got a 50 cc Honda MR50 when were about 8 years old (1974) and that was what I learned on. Another neighbor owned a Honda dealership and his son was a friend of mine so I rode many other Hondas with them and eventually I got a Honda Trail 90 and proceeded to put tens of thousands of miles on it. When I was in college I rode friends modern sport bikes (Ducatis and Hondas) and bought my self a 1966 Triumph Tiger. I nearly killed myself on it, wisely sold it and went to Europe. Fell back in love with British bikes while in England and always wanted another. Ten years ago I built a 1966 BSA Lightning cafe racer, then a Triton, Triumph 750, Norton 850 Commando, ten Honda CB's and finally my Gold Star. I am addicted to building and riding for life. Good thing I am amongst like minds on this forum....

 

[notlob]

My brother had a Velocette 350 briefly which ignited the interest, In my teens me and my group of freinds had BSA bantams, honda 50 step thoughs puch mopeds and all manner of old cheap bikes to ride around the fields. We once got hold of a morris 1100 and chopped a piece out of the center and welded it back up. I had arc eye for a week and my mate ended up in hospital with it. When old enough went down the well trodden 70'S route of Yamaha ss50, RD250, rd400. Swore I'd never have a fourstroke or British bike and today 2 strokes are just too expensive to run as daily rider and I want a British bike.

 

[timeconsuming]

Pretty jealous of all the guys that got into bikes when they were kids.

I've been riding BMX since I was pretty young so I feel a little more at home on a little kids bike, though with the amount of time I've been spending on the big boy bike since I got it, I think I'll get there.

 

[gnarshread]

When I was very little my father, who has allways had a bike, would take me to his friends shop, Rockerbox, in Surrey. So I've always had a deep love of old British bikes. Especially if they make no power and leak oil. ha ha ha

One Christmas when I was in middle school I was given a used Honda XR100. I rode the damn tires off that thing! I loved it. Then I went to a CR90 and finally got myself a fully built, ex factory honda racing CR125. I still have it now. I just cant part with it.

My senior year in high school I had a few really bad accidents on the 125 which ended up with me in a sling. Then I went off to college for a few years and rarely touched a bike. I kind of lost interest for quite a few years. That changed about 2 years ago I got the opportunity to move to the UK and work. I immediately began searching for a "proper bike". I had grand aspirations of hooning around on a gold star. I've always loved that twitter sound they make. After a while I realized how unlikely my dream was so I got my British license, a cbf125, and slapped L plates on it. It is without a doubt the cheapest way to get around. I spent a year living on this poor, half shagged to death, gutless, cheap, grotty little honda. Rain, snow, hail, sunshine. I rode through it all thank god to riding MX as a child I'm not dead now but my did I have the time of my life. Most weekends I would put some food in a backpack and just go explore. It became normal for me to do 200 miles in a day completely lost with a huge grin on my face. That got me into riding on the road. As soon as I moved back into the states I began looking for a bike and here I am a 26 year old with black shadow dreams with a 350 honda in bits in a basement.

 

[J-Rod10]

I envy you guys who grew up on a bike. My father was always into them. He grew up on them, his father owned a cycle repair shop up until he died a few years ago. I always like to wrench on things here and there with the pops, but, I was never allowed to ride. I was a ball player. I didn't start riding until 2010. When I had a couple elbow surgeries that ended my pitching career with the Astros, I instantly bought a bike, and hopped on. I ride damn near every day now.

 

[gnarshread]

Damn, you married Oprah!!

That's exactly what I thought. AHHHH Ha ha ha ha ha

 

[timeconsuming]

I couldn't help myself.

 

[teddpage]

I've been riding BMX since I was pretty young so I feel a little more at home on a little kids bike, though with the amount of time I've been spending on the big boy bike since I got it, I think I'll get there.

I also come from BMX, which then translated into Dirtbikes, watching Motocross religiously even though there was NO track anywhere near me. My love of Dirtbikes got my dad into motorcycles, so he bought a 69 CB450, and thats what i started riding around when i was 17. Now i have a 72 CB450.
I guess the apple doesnt fall very far from the tree...

 

[boingk]

My father always had bikes, in particular he had a BMW R80GS - the proper, original dualsports motorcycle. He got it secondhand at a time they were considered rats and looked after it well. Still has it, along with an R1100S and a HP2 Sport - yes, he loves the groundbreaking Beemers!

Funnily enough, its not one of his bikes I remember my first ride on... although it was with him. I must not have been more than a few years old, but we were out at the family farm and my uncle had his HD there. This wasn't any ordinary HD - legend has it it was given to him from the head of the local Rebels chapter - and it looked and sounded amazing. Dad saddled up with me in front of him as I was still small. We both put helmets on and then the bike fired up and we went out along the dirt road. It was amazing, never forget it.

Later on I rode a PeeWee 50 around the farm every now and then... there was nothing like the feeling of hauling it along flat-chat though the bush. I've been hooked since then!

The current fleet is a CBR125R and a VTR1000 - both because they're practical and have a certain 'somthing' that attracts me. I'm toying with cafeing the 125 but I'm not completely sure how I'd go about that, seeing as its EFI and styled rather more like todays faired sportsbikes.

Cheers - boingk

 

[Wahoo650]

1967, my father was given a Honda CA77 in partial payment for putting in a concrete driveway for a family friend. Dad would take us kids for rides around town. It was black and chrome with the twin striped white walls. We were already a "car guy" family, but the bike was different- never forgot those first rides. I started riding on a minibike in the early 70's, been riding ever since.