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Where Did It All Start

Discussion in 'Main Forum' started by deano, Jul 18, 2011.

  1. deano

    deano Commuter 500 +

    Messages:
    172
    This is just a post to see where it all started in your life of biking

    Started 3 years old first bike PW 50
    Then onto TY80 Trials,
    Then YamYZ 80 MX for years until i won a championship then onto bigger bikes
    spent years on 125's until major accident which kept me out for two years in that time i had fun on a home made chappie which was a chappie frame with a gp100 engine fast a fcuk, then a whole host of cheap bikes one of the most fun bikes was a russian cossack god that was fast, after my spleen back kness shoulder ankle and arm was ok back to mx for another 12 years on a mixture of two strokes and four, still have my KTM for freestyle and off road fitness training its cheaper than the gym, and off course the road bike but im pretty crap with that still where did you girls and guys start and what kept you into bikes :disco:
     
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  2. Sporty1200

    Sporty1200 British Superbike +

    Messages:
    2,064
    At about 9, I remember gawping out the window of my parents car at nearly every bike going past :love: , a bit like some of the kids i see today when filtering - Funny how bikes attract the young and old. Then started to collect model motorbikes. Watching 'scrambling' on TV . At about 14 i got a Honda 90 given to me which i used to ride and fall of down the drive, at the same time i used to go to a mates who had some fields where we used to race anything that we could manage to build and start, mopeds, francis barnets. At 15 i was occasionally allowed to borrow my mates 'Dove' moped then his FS1E, we used to 'borrow' his older brothers Honda CB 250 when he was away :sneaky: Got my own FS1E when 16, then a GT250 Suzuki when 17 on whichi passed my test and never looked back (except when overtaking) :) ..................
     
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  3. Jim

    Jim Race Rep +

    Messages:
    661
    7 yrs old and climbing onto the back of my brothers brand new Suzuki GT 500 2 stoke twin in 1976, loved it completely and utterly and never looked back!
     
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  4. Roadwart

    Roadwart Administrator Staff Member Administrator +

    Messages:
    6,721
    My mum hated bikes when I was younger. Dad wasn`t too fussed either way but I think that sometimes he just agreed with mum just for an easy(er) life. Anyway, bought a Yamaha FS1-E-DX with a micron off a schoolmate after leaving school for £50. That ran for just 4 days before dying on me & was consigned to the back of the yard where I was working.

    Borrowed a mates YB-100 & rode that for a while until I was stopped on a random check & they realised I was still only 16.

    Then purchased a DT50 from another school chum but I can`t really count that as it seized up about a mile from his house so took that back to him & his dad made him give me my cash back.

    Purchased another DT50 which I had for a few months which, through no fault of my own, bounced off a car & ended up stuck between the 2nd & 3rd trailer axles of an artic & considerably flatter but, miraculously the frame was OK. This also ended up in the works yard.

    Got talking to a friend of a friend who said he`d help me rebuild the DT. The engine & front end were fooked so we sourced a TY50 engine with a 75 kit on it which fitted along with the front end off the old FS1-E. We couldn`t find an exhaust that fitted (I`d sold the micron off the FS1-E) only a down pipe so he fashioned one for me out of some gas pipe so I ended up with a straight through 1-2 underseat exhaust. Now this monstrosity ran for 6 months until the insurance ran out. Due to work, I needed a car so basically bikes went out the window for the next 22 years.

    Just over 2 years ago, my company (along with the rest of the construction industry) were having a bit of a rough time & went onto a 4 day week resulting in a 20% less wage packet. About the same time petrol started to take a sharp rise making my weekly fuel bill for my car about £70 so I decided to get a little 125 for commuting & use Sue`s car at the weekends. I took my CBT & bought a brand spanking news Suzuki GZ125 Marauder. The reason for buying new is that I was going to retake the CBT after 2 years & then decide when that one ran out. As it turns out, 2 weeks later I had also passed my theory test & decided "Why stop now?" so got back on the phone to the company I did my CBT with & they recommended a 4 day DAS course based on my CBT progress. I started that on a Friday morning and by 2pm the following Monday I had passed both modules & you all pretty much know the rest :D
     
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  5. deano81

    deano81 Secret prototype +

    Messages:
    1,348
    hmm, from as early as i can remember i have been around bikes. My uncle used to have numerous bikes and raced them at one point. Also my grandparents, who brought me up, were always around bikes/bikers . They used to goto lots of pubs/live bands usually local biker hangouts so i would go with them. pretty much fired up my love of bikes and live music from that point on. Mny fond memories of weekends at the castle in ashford, during the late 80's early 90's . Unfortunately when i turned 16 my family pursuaded me to save my money rahter than take my cbt so i could get my car license. I was gigging heavily at this point so it made sense. Also my father built hot rods when i was a kid so i also had a thing for fast cars too. travel forward to just under 3 years ago and multiple silly cars i decieded that running 2 fast cars and doing track days in them was costing too much money and decided to do my DAS. passed that, bought a gs500f have'nt looked back since. now i own 2 bikes and no cars :D
     
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  6. GixxerChick

    GixxerChick 125 +

    Messages:
    285
    Never ridden a bike before..never ridden pillion...and then in 2004 i saw a poster saying do you want to learn to ride a bike..i thought yeah ok :barefoot: did my CBT first as i didnt know if my and riding would mix..so got myself a little kymco 125 and then realised very very quickly that i loved it but asnt getting anywhere quick enough :) so i did my direct access passed and got myself Dave the bandit and that was it i was hooked and love it..and have just recently got my gixxer 600..and still smiling everytime i am riding my bike
     
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  7. Skortchio

    Skortchio Caustic +

    Messages:
    2,035
    Just after my 21st, a friend of mine who was always getting me into trouble (no, i'm not easily lead!) suggested we go look at bikes for sale.
    A couple of hours later and I'd put a grand deposit on an XVS650. At which point it danwned on my I should probably learn to ride.
    After some slight confusion at the training centre, which is to say I thought I could ride the bike restricted on a CBT and hastily doing a DAS 2 days after as a result. I was on the road!

    It was awesome, the black, the chrome, burbling along and everyone looking with admiration or envy (in my head).
    Then I went for a ride with my best buddy, Dave. Watched him on his SP1 wow a coach of school girls by pulling wheelies.
    3 weeks later the XVS was a GSXR and I was going to do the same.

    Then onto a TL1000R, when I hit the usual 'I need more power' headtrip all riders do at some point.
    Woke up from that and bought a B1 636, which was the most awesome handling bike I've ever ridden (of course it was set up for my weight and riding preference so it should have been), rode that about 2k miles a month of fun until it exploded one evening in November '04.

    Took a little break from riding (about 6years) while I sulked about my bike being smashed up just after I'd finished it.
    But last year I got over that and bought a new one, a P7F - it wasn't as cool as the B1 though so I got rid of it for a Street Triple which I'm currently butchering and modifying as far from stock as possible.

    :whistle:
     
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  8. SteveeP

    SteveeP Sport Tourer +

    Messages:
    341
    Started at 17 or maybe 18 with a ride on mates CB175....and promptly fell off when trying to turn around.

    Eventually decided to learn to ride and purchased a CZ175 for £25 from a guy who had rebuilt the engine and it wouldn't start (he'd not installed the points!).
    Used that for a few months, fell off it a few times but as it was built like a tank it damaged the road more than the bike, and eventually took my test.

    Sold the CZ for £50 to my dustman and bought a brand spankers CB200 on which I commuted daily to London and also travelled around the UK on at weekends. A totally unburstable little bike and I seem to recall a pleasure to ride...albeit that 65mph was pushing it a bit!

    Part ex'd the CB200 in for a new CB400-4....magnificent bike! Again used it to commute. By this time I thought I was the dogs bollox on the road and would race anyone who wanted it! Eventually I decided to try racing so joined Bemsee (BMCRC), sold the 400-4 and purchased a Ducati 250 Desmo that I raced in the single cylinder class.

    After 2 years of that, I went mad and purchased a new Cotton 250 with a Rotax engine to use in the same class. Whilst it seemed like a good idea at the time (despite the cost) it proved to be financially fatal. The cost of spares was way above what I had budgetted for and having seized the bugger at two consecutive meetings I decided I could no longer afford to race so at the end of the season I sold the Cotton and went back to roadbikes with another CB400-4.

    The 400 morphed into a CB750F which then moved up to a CB900F.

    Once again my heart took over from my brain and I swopped the CB900F for a CB1100RC (crazy price - but had to have one). Fantastic bike but it needed servicing every 1500 miles!!! Eek. Kept it for 2 years and loved every minute. Unfortunately I fell off it at low speed and cracked the generator cover. Replacement cover was £175 (as opposed to £27 for the standard 900 cover, same size etc but not Gold Anodised). So eventually decided to move on and cocked up on next purchase...

    A CB1000F....nice bike but YAWN!!!!

    Didn't take long to like the Fireblades but test rode one of the early ones and decided it was too twitchy....

    Eventually Honda made the Blade a little more....rideable! So in 1996 I purchased the CBR900RRT...the very one I have now! She may be 15 y.o. but I still love every minute on her. Looked at various newer mounts since but can't see the point in changing.
     
  9. viking killer

    viking killer Street Fighter +

    Messages:
    513
    my dad rode motorbikes, my brother who was 5 years older than i was aslo had bikes, his friends were alway around our house so i just got into bikes and the club scene from a very early age.
    had so many bikes over the years but my favorites include.....xt500 had a lot of fun on that, gpz750 liked them so i had 3, my fatboy which i think i would still have now if i didnt get made redundant
    never had any superbikes like most of you on here, and with my hips, back, wrist and various other pains i never will have now
    i do prefer the cruiser type or chop, custom you know....but i love all bikes, the freedom they give you, the thrills, and the pissed off faces in cars when you go past them in traffic jams
    its also fun when there is about 30 or 40 bikers riding through towns, the looks you get is so funny
     
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  10. BlackHornet

    BlackHornet Look before you turn Staff Member Moderator +

    Messages:
    7,985
    At about 6 years old my dad arrived home with two puchmaxi for the total some of £27.00. One worked one didn't but between me and my brother somehow we managed to always keep one working and sometimes both of them for a good few years. At 10 years old i tried my first motorcross bike on a proper track :thumbsup: and crashed into a tree on the second corner :thumbsdown:

    Went right off motorcross bikes then. On the farm we always had quad bikes so spent the next few years on them. Tried the motorcross again at around 14 and still crashed to much.

    First road bike was the fizzy :D good for at least 65mph downhill with the wind behind you and the speedo adjusted :thumbsup: :giggle:

    Rode a few other bikes for the next few years but 4 crashes inside of 6 weeks meant i called it a day :thumbsdown:


    Then years later i decided i wanted to do it again :D This time i even went and did a real test :thumbsup: just incase the piece of paper some dodgy dealership had given me years before wasn't as real as some. :rolleyes:

    Brought a little Hornet and i have kept that ever since :D but then i only sold my fizzy a couple of years ago and still have the fzr 400.

    Somehow i have ended up with a couple of spare bikes these day ;)
     
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  11. Tony

    Tony Moderator Staff Member Moderator +

    Messages:
    1,166
    1987 on a Honda CB125... That's if you don't include the time I used to borrow my Dads Yamaha at 13!...only got caught as the engine was hot when he went in the garage at some point....
     
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2014
  12. GuzziRob

    GuzziRob Race Rep +

    Messages:
    896
    Err... 1969 at the age of 16 on an Ambassador 250 bought for £5.(one of the many clones powered by the Villiers 2T engine.) . 250 AJS/Matchless(three?). Royal Enfield 250 Continental GT(that managed to writeoff a Mini). Several BSA Bantams in various states of tune. Passed test 1971(twice around the park and an emergency stop). BSA A10 later rebuild to above RGS spec complete with 190mm front brake and RRT2 gearbox and a twin carb conversion. Then via 6/8/10? pre-unit Triumphs (5T,6T T100,T110 etc to Tritons in various states of tune, best one, with an engine built for grasstrack racing using a Norton crankshaft and a Weslake 8 valve top end would knacker a primary chain in about 500 miles, with enough torque to bend a swinging arm! BSA A65 Thunderbolt. Then a few years break, when the kids were young, still had a daytime legal DT175 Yamaha for trail riding, Then a T21 Triumph, T90 Triumph, a Norimp,(look it up) blew the engine so fitted a Yamaha XS650 lump, 2 more BSA A10's, Suzuki GS1000G, Triumph Trident 900, Triumph Tiger 900, Suzuki GT380, Honda 750( Original model) 350 Royal Enfield(Indian version), Triumph T120 Bonneville, Kawasaki GTR1000, Laverda 650, Pan Europeans 3*1100( one I still have), Triumph Thunderbird 900 and a Pan European 1300. ( I have excluded any that I have bought to rebuild and sold on)
    Opps forget the Rocket 3 and the Guzzi California
     
    Last edited: Oct 31, 2014
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  13. Les

    Les British Superbike +

    Messages:
    2,559
    Took test in army on a 350 in '70 aged 17, then got a Lambretta 175 as they were fashionable. Then KE185, T140V, XL 500, Bandit 1200, ZX900, B1 636 (2nd best of the lot), Superduke (best by far), EXC450 & the current Duke 690 which is soon to go until I see something appealing/different.
     
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  14. Panel Man

    Panel Man Secret prototype +

    Messages:
    1,830
    Bit of a latecomer. In 2008, my son passed his car test and asked if (at last!) he could learn to ride a bike? I had no idea he wanted to do this, although the Lego superbike, 1:20- scale Ducati 996 and other such hints should have been a warning.

    Realising that even modest 2-wheelers would provide the sorts of tactile feedback and on-road thrills I have always sought from cars, I said he could if his Mum and I learned at the same time. So we bought a Hartford 125 and embarked on a family CBT and DAS scheme.

    The episode was noteworthy in Peter's life for being the first Life Skill he has attained before me: he passed his test 20 minutes before me!

    After scouring the small ads, I hired a van, drove to somewhere in Wales with an unpronounceable name and returned with an SV650S as our first 'big bike' - like thousands before us, I believe. Peter then took it off to University for the next five years and I returned to the small ads.

    I sourced a lightly-used but recently-dropped GSX-R750 in Essex which the owner wanted to sell in order to buy some double glazing - I kid you not. My brief ownership of this lovely machine was glorious but brought to an untimely end last March by a Renault Clio.

    I've found an identical machine, though, in Brighton, and am chafing at the bit with the frustration of waiting for the insurance payout. I do realise I shall have to relearn how to ride and I hope there will be no residual mental hurdles: eg. freezing when approaching a potential SMIDSY situation.

    Wish I'd started riding in the 70s like several of you! Then I might know what I'm talking about and be able to recognise the machines named above.
     
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  15. Beelady

    Beelady British Superbike +

    Messages:
    889
    Can't remember when I first took to bikes. My Grandad used to race. He was a works rider for Dunelt, back in the 1920's. Back then it wasn't just road bikes but trials and endurance racing, depending on the time of year and although he had retired by the time I came along there were always bikes and veteran cars to play with and I used to love being sat in front of him and being taken out for rides. My Mum has a picture of me aged about two, wearing a pretty, white dress and chewing on a spanner, so I guess that's where the love for things mechanical came from.
    At 13 I learnt to ride properly on a 650 Triumph of unknown vintage, complete with sidecar as I couldn't touch the ground, but I could start it with no help, so no problems there. Riding on the road at that age was good fun, but could only happen when the village bobby was away on duty in Tenterden, so no danger of being caught. I'm sure he knew but if he didn't see me he didn't have to do anything about it. The Triumph belonged to a nice chap who lived in the village. We were friends for many years until he passed away quite recently.
    My first legal bike was a D14/4 Bantam, followed by a 350 AJS. Then, once I got married it was onto a 100cc Kawasaki, followed by a 250 MotoGuzzi and then a KH250. That was a lively little bike.

    Gave up for years once the kids arrived and had to be content with being pillion until they grew up. Once they were out of the way I had the chance to buy a little Honda Shadow which I pottered round on for a couple of years and then I bought my Harley, which I loved dearly and was truly sad to have to give it up as I was no longer capable of wrestling with it. But every cloud, etc. etc. I bought the Street Triple, modified it to suit my disability and have had so much fun with it that I've just bought it a Daytona to keep it company. This is a work in progress but already it's much more comfortable to ride with very little modification.

    It's been a long journey so far, but I've had such a good time. And I'm not past it yet, so who knows what bikes might still be out there, waiting to be discovered.
     
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