Poll

What was your first, real motorcycle? No damn mopeds, please.

Honda
62 (37.8%)
Yamaha
34 (20.7%)
Suzuki
19 (11.6%)
Kawasaki
32 (19.5%)
BMW
0 (0%)
Triumph (the new ones)
0 (0%)
Triumph (the old ones)
3 (1.8%)
BSA
3 (1.8%)
Norton
0 (0%)
Ducati
0 (0%)
Moto Guzzi (seriously?)
0 (0%)
Harley
2 (1.2%)
Hodaka
1 (0.6%)
Maico
0 (0%)
Husky
0 (0%)
Bultaco
0 (0%)
Montesa
0 (0%)
Something Else (what?)
8 (4.9%)

Total Members Voted: 161

Author Topic: Your first motorcycle?  (Read 34517 times)

Offline JetJock

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Your first motorcycle?
« on: July 01, 2011, 08:49:50 PM »
So what was your first real motorcycle? No mopeds, no scooters. Gen-u-wine motorsickles, street or dirt. Photos if you got em. Bonus points if you're in the photo with the bike (double bonus points if it's not you but a good looking person of the female persuasion).

Mine: 1968 Honda 305 Scrambler. Never should've sold her, but I was young and stupid and really really wanted a Triumph Bonneville, which is what I got next.

Offline George R. Young

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #1 on: July 01, 2011, 09:01:25 PM »
Honda CB160, my first 'touring' machine.
65 CB160 (67-69), 69 350GTR (69-72), 72 R5, 73 RD350 (73-84), 82 XZ550 Vision (84-03), 01 Concours C10 (03-19), 89 EX250 (11-14), 00 SV650S (14-16), 03 SV650S (19-)

Offline booger

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #2 on: July 01, 2011, 09:13:55 PM »
1958 Zundapp moped

Offline MIST

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #3 on: July 01, 2011, 09:52:43 PM »
'82 Honda Nighthawk 650
(photo compliments of Bing search)
« Last Edit: July 02, 2011, 06:54:13 PM by MIST »
Mike
'10 C14ABS

Offline ZG

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #4 on: July 01, 2011, 10:48:42 PM »
My first street bike was an 83 Honda Nighthawk 550, I don't have any pics of my actual bike but it looked liked this. I was 16 years old (in 1986) and had never even rode a streetbike before, bought it used from a private party $800 cash on site before even riding it, man I wrecked that bike at least 3 or 4 times...

Offline Conrad

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #5 on: July 02, 2011, 06:54:33 AM »
1974 Yamaha DT 125. I bought it used from our neighbor in 1975, with my own money. It was the first set of wheels that I could call mine own. They called it an enduro at the time, a dirt bike with turn sigs and a head light. Man I really loved that bike and went everywhere on it!



I graduated from high school and left to join the Army and then my bro wrecked it for me. I've never forgiven him for that.  ;)
Northern Illinois   Silverdammit '08 C-14 ABS

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Offline ssmith

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #6 on: July 02, 2011, 07:02:25 AM »
71 Suzuki Trailhopper
Steve Smith, COG #3184
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Offline thundercloud

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #7 on: July 02, 2011, 07:34:14 AM »
My first was a 1966 Honda CL-160. Got me around and was I proud of her at 16 years old. Bought it in boxes and baskets. Wish I had it back.

Offline anycleavers

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #8 on: July 02, 2011, 12:28:30 PM »
'77 Jawa, hand me down from my older brother. twin cylinder, 2 stroke 350. Made in Czechoslovakia. Don't have any surviving pics, but it looked like this.



"Always take the long way home."

Offline okxd45

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #9 on: July 02, 2011, 12:58:25 PM »
93' Yamaha Seca II.  (Not my pic)

Jeff
"Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under 't." Macbeth Quote (Act I, Scene V).
"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." (Matthew 10:16 NIV)

Offline Strawboss

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #10 on: July 03, 2011, 08:50:56 AM »
1981 Kawasaki 305CSR, I rode that thing everywhere. I sold it to buy the KZ550 in 1983.

« Last Edit: July 03, 2011, 10:05:35 AM by Strawboss »
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2001 Concours-1982 KZ550A-1979 Triumph Bonneville-1995 Honda SA50

Offline Snibbor

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #11 on: July 03, 2011, 09:53:16 AM »
CB 750 followed by Shadow

Offline yoman

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #12 on: July 03, 2011, 10:41:16 AM »
Mine was a 1977 Kawasaki KE125. The bike was so awesome that I bought a project bike just like it. I feel like I am 16 again when I get on that thing.
2002 Semi-naked Connie

Offline Ron Dawg

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #13 on: July 03, 2011, 11:39:36 AM »
'71 Honda CB350. It was fall of 1975. Rode it two years (5,000 miles) , put one tire, chain and sprockets on it, traded it in the fall 1977 on a Honda Hawk I CB400. Got $450 trade in for the 350, the new CB400 retailed at $995. Rode that two years (10,000 miles) and sold it for $500 when I ran out of money my senior year in college.
2014 C-14 Red

Offline just gone

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #14 on: July 03, 2011, 12:10:45 PM »
My first was a '67 Kawasaki J1TL: a two stroke, rotary disc valve, 4 speed rotary shift, maroon colored (yeech!  :yikes:), moving speed bump.
I ordered it from Alden's catalog for $200 something and picked it up from their loading dock. Kawasaki still was trying to bank on their "Aircraft Company" name,
and the Chrome was covered in some blue anti-corrosion during shipping stuff.
If it were not for the short, skinny, gawky-lookin', pimply faced kid usually sitting on top, those white walls made it
a real chick magnet!  ::)



It died, on a Friday evening on west Diversey Ave. in Chicago in a head on colision with a '61 Pontiac that crossed the centerline. I lived, with a scrape on my International Orange Bell helmet
and a sore wrist.  The centerline of the front axle ended up behind the centerline of the crank shaft. The Pontiac?..it had a clean spot on it's front chrome bumper where my front tire hit it.

It's demise wasn't all bad as it made me get my first GTR......a Bridgestone 350 GTR, now that was a chick magnet! (as long as my helmet and sungasses were on.)

Offline George R. Young

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #15 on: July 03, 2011, 06:35:54 PM »
. . . first GTR a Bridgestone 350 GTR . . .
Ah, my second bike.
65 CB160 (67-69), 69 350GTR (69-72), 72 R5, 73 RD350 (73-84), 82 XZ550 Vision (84-03), 01 Concours C10 (03-19), 89 EX250 (11-14), 00 SV650S (14-16), 03 SV650S (19-)

Offline Kazairl

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #16 on: July 03, 2011, 10:47:57 PM »
My first bike was my 2000 C10.  I'm thinking, I could have found an easier bike to learn on. Oh well.

Offline IRULE

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #17 on: July 03, 2011, 11:19:42 PM »
I think it was 86 Suzuki GS700. What a POS!
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1978 Triumph Bonneville

Offline jbailey

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #18 on: July 03, 2011, 11:58:26 PM »
1981 Suzuki GS450.  Bought it new.  Traded in for 1982 GS650 (Shaft Drive).

Offline tjpgi

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Re: Your first motorcycle?
« Reply #19 on: July 04, 2011, 04:15:26 AM »
1973 DT3 Yamaha 250 Enduro. Bought it for $959 with a painted matching helmet ( additional $29.99) from a Yamaha dealer in Tarpon Springs Fl in Nov. 1972. I was 22 and just married. When gas prices increased, I was able to convince my new wife that I needed to drive something more economical on gas since round trip  to my job as a journeyman electrician was about 50 miles . My car was a 307 Nova that only got 10MPG. I still have the bike and rebuilt it last year all except the seat, I'll finish that this summer. I used to hill climb a lot and can't count the number of times I wrecked going up or down the hills. I have also driven into fairly deep drainage ditches that I found abruptly sinking the bike several times. I would simply remove the jug, wash out everything, dry it, change the oil, dry the mag and points and it would fire right up. The bike is literally bullet proof. The bike in the picture next to the DT3 is a 1982 Yamaha 250 YZ..a great riding dirt bike.( water cooled)
2011 GSXR 1000
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1976 KZ900
1991 Sportster XLH 1200