my first bike was a...

81 CB900F, repainted white with blue accents. Was the fastest PIG in town. Almost induced my first Harley versus Honda fist fight while sitting at a gas staion with some friends. Guy at the stop light yells, "Buy a Harley!" I shouted back, "I don't own a pick up to haul it in!" 8 of us versus 1 of him...he kept driving.

 

My first race bike: 92 600F2. Crashed on Saturday and had run out of red duct tape.



[This message has been edited by rfknight (edited 05-16-2001).]

 

A brand-new 1968Yamaha YL-2 for $295. It's still in the basement at my parents place. Only 27k on the clock. Basket included. Best offer. Any takers?

 

The following is a true story. It is best told at night at racetracks after re-hydration exercises.

An August Saturday, Summer of 1969, Uncle Sam gave me 36 hours off-base. I hopped on that YL-2 and ring-dinged down to Richmond on I-95. On the VA portion of the beltway around DC, between the Potomac and Springfield, I came across a narly Harley dude complete with 1% patch and a - what else - non-functioning Harley. Oh shit, I thought, ... Well, you stopped to help...

Altho he grumbled about Jap crap, the guy took my offer to tow his scoot to the nearest exit. The tow rope was a length of parachute cord I had with me. While towing him at 20 mph, he tried bump-starting with no luck. We abandonded that idea and got him off the x-way.

He left it at a gas station. He called his buddies; he told me they were too drunk at the party he was to be attending to drive out to help him. (NOTE: I know it's odd that they admitted to this. I really think they were too involved in the "getting drunk" process to leave the kegs and the women.) He offered me a beer if I could get him to the party. Since he was like 6-5 and 300 lbs while I was 5-9 and 160 (that was 32 years ago, guys, don't bust my chops), I readily agreed.

We wound up at a cinderblock clubhouse outside Manassas, VA. All the way there, I was apologizing for not going faster than 65 flat out. He kept on asking "what kinda bike is this? How big?" For the un-initiated, a YL-2 was a 100cc 2smoke single.

Anyhow, I got him to the party. A half-dozen dudes as big as the passenger scowled at us as we rode up until one of the party-ers recognized the guy. There was a hushed conversation amongst themsleves and sidelong glances at me while others not-too-discretely cricled me and the bike. Remember, I had a regulation GI haircut in 1969; they were probably deciding if I was a narc and should be planted in the field.

The guy I helped got into the convesation, shaking his head "no" and pointing at me. The pow-wow broke up and the spokesman/leader came up to me, slapped me on the back (damn near knocked me over) and said, in effect, "We don't like rice burners, but you helped our brother, and he gave you his word, so have a beer, man."

I got my beer, recall hearing names like Crazy Jack, Psycho, etc. I was told to have another one. I thought that was a very good idea, considering the circumstances. I looked at the females, but knew I was not permitted to speak to them.

I finished the second beer, returned to my bike which, surprisingly, was not set on fire. I nodded to those who were looking at it and me and took off. Three miles down the road I stopped to relieve myself in the woods. Before I got back to the bike, I heard sirens, skidding tires, a BANG of a tree getting hit, some shouting and a few gunshots. George, you shoulda never stopped to help the guy...

Got back on the bike, went about a quarter mile down the road and found Trooper Angry handcuffing a late-arriving and now slightly-wounded party-goer to the bumper of his Plymouth Fury that had a bullet hole in the windshield. The guy's pick-up had a couple bullet holes in the bed.

The Harley that was riding in the bed was not harmed.

 

Yeah okay gotta love those Harley drinking stories

Boo-the CB is not making it to RA but the ZUMA is there and I think he took the Z50!

[This message has been edited by Laurie Acree (edited 05-16-2001).]

 

Benelli 50SS. I was 13 years old about to turn 14 in a couple of weeks (driving age for 50cc bikes in Italy). I almost chose a Bianchi but it was a 3-speed and the Benelli was a 4 speed. Didn't know the Bianchi was much faster with 19mm carb (and ported appropriately) as opposed to the 14mm Dell'Orto on the Benelli. We moved to France that summer and they shipped the Benelli there. I removed the restrictor from the intake and installed a 19mm Dell'Orto on the Benelli and was able to compete in local races. Those French teenagers were no match for my Benelli on their Mobylettes, Vaps and Solex's. LOL

Best birthday present my parents ever bought me.

Ciao,

Fred

 

I had great fun on that bike. Crashed a few times but just bent the handlebars back and rode away. Man, those really were the good old days.



[This message has been edited by RAHargis (edited 05-17-2001).]

 

RZ350 what a fun first bike but quickly became too slow.

 

A 1968 Kawasaki A-1R. My first streetable machine was an S-3 400.

 

OK, what other bikes in my collection have you folks had as first bikes? This is my street RZ; I also have one in race trim.

 

Hey RA, you should have been at Putnam. Bill Moeller, owner of Bore Tech, had his beautifully restored Sears Gilera 106 with a 125 top end there. You would have gotten a kick out of that.
First ride,1962 CB150 Honda
First crash, same
First bike owned, 1966 Suzuki X-6 Hustler
First bike that I thought was a real motorcycle, 1967 BSA Thunderbolt ( the X-6 would have kicked it's butt, but the BSA sounded better) The list gets long from there.
Currently own 1964 R60/2 BMW, 1968 Norton Commando Fastback, 1973 CB500 Honda, 1994 BMW R1100RS, 1996 Ducati 916, 1998 Suzuki TLR (race only) three 1989 EX500 Kawasakis (in various stages of repair from 5 years of racing them)The EX stuff is for sale,BTW. Great thread. Dean

 

OK. Yamaha Rick probably knows what this is... my first bike was a 1973 Yamaha CT-3 175 2-stroke enduro. My dad bought it around 1980 to ride around the farm and ended up parking it. I got out there in high school and got it running. I found out rather quickly that those old dual sport tires don't grab too well on grass, especially when its wet. My buddy with the XR 200 always took me on the start, but give me about 1/2 mile and I was a speed demon. Top speed was b/w 80 - 85 mph. Kinda scary now that I think about it. Then I got an XR 250 and parked the CT, but my first real street bike is the YZF 600 that I have now.

 

My dad's first Yamaha Enduro was a 1970 CT1B, a 175cc single. It had a green tank. The 125's were AT, 175's were CT, and the 250's were DT's.

His second DT175 was a 1974 model. I got the bike on my 16th birthday, in Daytona, in 1978. My first ride on it was on the beach, as I had not yet received my permit (that was the following Monday).

Mind you, when I got it, it had a dual leading drum brake (is that the right phrase?), cafe bars, 34mm carb, custom expansion chamber, and MX close-ratio transmission, among other things. The only thing faster that this bike at my high school was a brand new Kawasaki KZ1000.

Here's a photo of the DT175 in my collection. Different bike, but identical to my first. This one is totally stock; even has the original rubber pieces around the cable adjusters. You might see it at Road A this weekend.

 

first bike '75 honda mr 50. very kewl. looked like a big bike. and had a clutch

first street bike kaw ltd 750t. the way kewl twin version.(i've hated kaws ever since)

first sport bike 87 honda hurricane. the baddest 600 of its day!....glad that day has come and gone

 

This was mine!



[This message has been edited by Guoseph (edited 05-17-2001).]

 

Guoseph
Member
From: Lawrenceville, GA!!!!!!!!!
Registered: Feb 2001


Congratulations dude. Hope the move was a smooth one.

 

I'm here, my stuff isn't yet. I don't get my apartment until the 23rd, so I'm staying with a friend right now.

 

This is my first bike... '93 FZR600
I bought it in the fall of '99. tried to keep it secret from the parental units, but somehow they found out. oops
Notice the fresh krylon job, and the custom belly pan
sold it last fall, only owned it for almost a year



[This message has been edited by rob600rider (edited 05-17-2001).]

 

Your picture has to be online already.

then simply place the web url within

[ img ]http://your pic here [ /img ]