| Author | Message | ||
     Etennuly |
Everybody seems to want to find that nostalgic bike of their youth. I found that maybe my youth reaches back too far. My first bike sucked. Cheap and barely rideable off road, barely rideable on road, but dependable. It never failed to start, cold, wet, buried in mud. The not so coveted 1973 Honda XL 250. Four stroke five speed about 18 hp.  Note short swing arm with vertical springs and shocks. 3 inches of travel with rider. Fork travel was almost 5 inches. That 21 inch front tire was more like a bumper than a wheel. It would run into things rather than over. The transmission was geared too high in lower gears and to low in the higher gears. You had to change out the sprockets to gear it down to go off road at all. But the top end would come down to 55 to 60 mph WFO. I learned how to crash on this machine. Never on the street. I rode trails nearly every day for the two years I had it. Never a day without a get off or face plant. Had a good rear knobby and after this picture a new front. Did not matter. I recently spoke with a guy I did not know, about old bikes. He also had the same vintage XL 250. He said he was jonesing to find one. I asked him why. He said he would love to ride one again. It's been a long time, maybe he forgot?  | ||
| Hootowl |
A friend had one. It was, I think, the first bike I had ever ridden. Certainly the first bike I had been on the back of doing 60 on a fire road. We would take it in turns to scare the crap out of each other. Good times. | ||
| Tootal |
I remember my LT2 100 Yamaha. It was a great trail bike but once I got it on the street, after I got my license, I forgot to check the oil tank and just kept putting gas in it and it seized up. I rebuilt it and it was running great until somebody stole it! My cousin had the same Honda. He twisted off a couple of kick starter shafts. You could see how the metal had crystallized. Ever had yours twist off? | ||
| 1313 |
Ever had yours twist off? Now that's a rather personal question, now isn't it?  | ||
| Etennuly |
I guess mine started so easily twisting off the starter was not an issue. Had a Hooker header on it too. It was a very durable machine. I dropped it many many times slow trail riding. Actually trying to do trials type riding. But then I went over the bars at over 40 mph a few times also. One of those times came from the chain breaking to wad up in the case sending me flying. So many times it powered out on steep hill climbs. I went from two years of beating myself on the ground with this bike to a Yahama TT 500. Solved the power and suspension travel problems! | ||
| Tootal |
My dad had a TT 600. It had tons of torque and a great suspension, just don't let it fall on you!! | ||
| Ltbuell |
..had a Dick Mann TT500 all tricked out.Dick Mann frame,swingarm, pipe, Simons forks, Fox shocks, Weisco piston, Web cam, aftermarket foam air filter.......man that thing was a torque monster that could wheelie with ease.Miss that bike, never should of sold it.Just like the '68 Husky 250 i use to have to.Miss both of those bikes.....take those over the never ones....old school here.Need to get the '00 Yamaha WR 426 F running and sell it.Don't ride it , due to multiple reasons...if it sits ...PITA arse to get runnin'( needs carb gone through), plus don't really have the time, and with mounting medical bills mounting...time to say bye bye to it...either with it non running or.May even have to sell the '00 X-1 Lightning i have to help pay for the medical bills....dang do i miss the good ole days of riding those two dirt bikes.....LT | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
My first, first was a rupp minibike with a 2hp motor and no brakes. Still have it. Still no brakes  My first "real" bike was a real P.O.S. and hurt me regularly. It was a 1977 RM125 that was race prepped at some point and then worn out and beat upon by every other clown teenager in town. By the time I got it: pogo suspension engine so loose that it gurgled if you kicked it over slowly kinda rear brakes no front brakes no muffler Lucky it didn't kill my dumb 14 year old ass. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Vern- I had that same exact bike for about a year. My father-in-law used to have a couple of small houses he rented out on his farm. A few years after I got married, somebody abandoned a Honda like that at one of the houses. One weekend when we were visiting, he had the Honda stashed under his tractor shed. I didn't have anything to do on Saturday, so I fooled around with it and got it running. My in-law's house had a big picture window on the back side of his house that looked out from the kitchen (where he often sat) over a pond he had built. I was riding the Honda back and forth in his back yard, and when I came by at about 30 MPH and got air right in front of the window, my wife said my FIL laughed so hard he about fell out of his chair. Anyway, the Honda went home with me the next day. I fixed a few things on it, including replacing the completely worn out front sprocket. A month or two later, I brought it up to my parent's house (where I live now) to ride on dirt roads but it died after a couple of hours riding and I couldn't get it re-fired, apparently due to an ignition issue. I messed around with it some, but I finally wound up selling it to a buddy for $50 (?). I don't believe he ever got it running either; not sure what became of it after that. At any rate, it was a lot of fun for the short time I had it running. | ||
| Etennuly |
On the other hand when the durable XL 250 grew double the suspension travel, and about 30% more power in the mid 80's it became a much better bike.  I have on of these in the shed now even. | ||
| Etennuly |
This was my first new street bike in 1979. I loved that thing in the days before I rode seriously.  It was a beautiful bike that had a high frequency buzz through the frame above 55 mph. It made for a numb butt beyond 100 miles in a day. Had an opportunity to buy an exact low mileage copy of it a couple of years ago. Looked great from 50 feet. Plastics/seat/gauges/paint were good, clear coat on engine peeled just enough to make all of it bad. Every thing was just bad enough to need to be rebuilt. Starter did not work three years before, new battery died then and was left in the bike to corrode around it. Carbs surely would need rebuilding. So tempting. They were asking $900. I could see a money and time pit with no bottom. Anybody else been teased by one of your former favorite bikes popping up for sale ? | ||
| Pwnzor |
Yup...  I threw money at this thing for way too long... never did get it right. | ||
| Etennuly |
That is where my 86 XR 250 is. New cam and followers with gaskets $500. Got that. Other stuff it needs $ 750 or so. Bike value up and running about $650. | ||
| Teeps |
Etennuly Everybody seems to want to find that nostalgic bike of their youth. I made my living working on Honda/Kawasaki motorcycles during late'60s~early'80s. We called that bike the "moto-moose" because of its weight! But it was as reliable as an anvil. I road them all back then, and I see nice survivors and restored bikes all the time at the Rock Store. I have zero urge to buy or even ride one. | ||
| 86129squids |
Matthew! I'm trying to remember... is that an RS250/400? Not an RM, maybe a PE model? My best buddy's hooligan big brother had an RS250 IIRC, I always wanted that bike. Wow, memory lane fo sho... |
