| Author | Message | ||
     Gomo |
Since I am sitting here in the office and slightly depressed that I had to cancel going to the NYS Rally because of work commitments; I thought I might start a thread of how we started into this great sport we enjoy....... My first bike was a Fire Red 1973 Honda SL70 when I was 14yrs old. A friend of my family, a lifelong rider (he also was part of the motorcycle division in WW2) thought a kid in the country (As a kid I lived in the Catskills in a town named Big Indian ) should learn to ride and have a motorcycle/dirtbike to keep occupied and stay out of trouble. Though a great idea, the staying out of trouble part didn't work out to good for me (too long of a saga to go into). I spent countless hours and days riding that bike along with neighbors my age that owned Indian dirtbikes (that's right, the Indian name was even tossed on 2 cycle dirtbikes). we probably covered every logging road within a 20 mile radius as well as practiced performing stunts I certainly wouldn't try today. One day we were riding in a field close to our home that had some great knolls for jumping the bikes, a couple on a Harley stopped on the road and watched us for a while. I remember it as a blue FLH, late sixty's perhaps with the big dual person "pogo" type seat. All of sudden the guy was alongside of us riding in the field with his lady watching from the road. He circled around the field with us a few times. Then being the show off teens we were, we headed to the jumps. One by one we sail through the air higher than we ever did before, almost looking like pro's (no doubt dumb teenage adrenaline in play here). When we all turned around we saw the guy heading to our favorite jump at a good clip. That H-D went into the air with the rider standing on the floors boards at amazing heights. He landed slightly awkwardly but kept the big blue machine up on its rubber. That was the coolest thing I ever saw. He then picked up his girl, waved to us and went roaring up the road with that rumble that gets all of our hearts beating. Looking back, I really don't think he knew how drastic that jump was when he hit it, but he forged forward and pulled it off with style all of his own. I can only imagine how they told their version of the story and describing the looks on our faces. There is always certain factors or situations in our lives that helps form thoughts or images in our minds, no matter whether they're logical or emotional. Over the years after that Honda I road and owned an array of bikes. Even though the person that bought me my first bike was a Harley owner; it wasn't until that event in the field that made me want to own and ride a Harley of my own - I just don't see me hitting any jumps in the future. Years later the passion for a bike happened again when a friend showed up with a white S2T.......and so it goes.  (Message edited by GOMO on July 10, 2008) (Message edited by GOMO on July 10, 2008) | ||
| Darthane |
Right after I moved out of my parent's house, my roommate at the time desperately wanted a motorcycle and was interested in both Harleys and Buells. Every now and then he'd drag me into a dealership with him to ogle. At the time I was driving a V6 Dakota and wasn't altogether pleased with the gas mileage it got (and this was back when gas was well over $2 cheaper than it is now). I noticed a placard on a Blast that proclaimed 69 City / 72 Hwy MPG and thought, "SOLD!" I picked up my Blast just a couple weeks later and spent the majority of two days in the parking lot of an abandoned HQ learning how to ride it - until that point I'd never even ridden a motorized scooter, let alone a motorcycle. Two weeks later I went for a romp around the Pinckney/Hell area in Michigan with Spidey and another Bueller and scraped both pegs up pretty good (I know, I know, not hard to do on a Blast, but I was pretty pleased with myself being a rider for only a couple weeks). I was hooked. At the time, Buell was running a promotion with the Blast that guaranteed sticker price as the trade-in value if you stepped up to a Harley or Buell twin within a year. I got to know more and more Buellers and the bikes they rode and spent time trying to figure out which one was for me, finally deciding on a X1. Six months or so after I got my Blast the XB9R was announced and I fell instantly in love with it. Come next June my year was rapidly approaching and I began the process of getting an XB9R to replace my Blast - lo and behold, the XB9R was delayed enough that it technically became an '03MY bike and the promotion only applied to '02MY bikes. I was pretty pissed, but decided to simply keep the Blast as a second bike rather than take a reduced trade-in on it (and I'm EXTREMELY glad I did...I can't imagine opening my garage and not seeing the Blast in there). I had the Firebolt for about a year before I got shuffled off to Japan for most of a year for work, which put a massive crimp in my riding for a while, and I also lost contact with a lot of the people that I used to ride with. I did manage to make it out to the Carving the Northeast tour, which was phenomenal and I'd love to recreate sometime. I got really busy with work and around the house for several years and didn't put nearly as many miles on the bikes as I wanted to, nor did I make it out to any organized events. Finally, this year, I was essentially forced to take a week off in the beginning of July as the auto industry shutdown occurred, which happened to coincide nicely with the 25th Anniversary Homecoming, so I made my reservations and plans to finally make it back to one after missing them all since 2001. ...I made the mistake of test-riding an XT at a local dealership the Saturday before the 4th weekend, and put money on it right then and there. I picked it up on Monday after sorting out all the particulars and happily rode it across Michigan and into Wisconsin for the event, and as I type it's parked outside the office waiting for the workday to be over.  | ||
| Bcordb3 |
My first ride was on the back of a 1955 (I think) Harley K. The first bike I rode was a 1948 Indian Chief (in 1958). That suicide clutch tried to get me. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
Although I'm only on my second street bike. I started with this bike (not mine in the pic). 1977 Honda XR75.  | ||
| Dick_stilton |
2 years ago on holiday with friends in the US (Colorado) we passed a Harley dealer with the 'We rent dreams' thing outside. Someone in the minivan said 'Hey lets rent bikes next year!'. As one of two out of 6 without a bike ticket it was either get one or don't come next year. I got one ( A week before our trip last year at the tender age of 47). I'm coming back this year to ride Texas, solo. What does it ell ya? I got bit... bad!  | ||
| Doon |
I had always like motorcycles, but was under the standard not when you live in my house from my parents (who both disliked them). I wasn't even allowed to have a dirt bike or 4 wheeler even though we lived in the country (Just like Gomo, miles and miles of fields and logging roads). I would sneak rides on friends Dirt bikes when I got the chance, and was hooked. Slight setback when I was 15 or so, I Lost 2 friends to a car motorcycle accident (Woman in cage fell asleep, crossed center line and hit my friends head-on), so that scared me a bit. After a couple years of college and getting out of the house, I got interested in them again. My Girlfriend(Now wife) Twin Sister's Boyfriend (wow that sounds like the setup to a bad joke) had a Ninja. So I scrapped together some $$ and bought an 84 Ninja 250 to learn on (this was in '97) I drove around local roads, getting used to the feel of the road bike, and then wound up doing some rather stupid/squidly things (Like 2nd day on a road bike going out for Cannolis and Cappuccino in Little Italy NYC -- Nothing like dodging cabs on The west Side highway or First Ave to teach you about riding in traffic  ). After about 8k miles, it think it threw a rod but basically the engined ate itself. The next summer ('98) I got a 94 VFR 750 (Which in hindsight was a bit too big of a bike for me at the time) and put around 15K miles on it. On that bike I had my first real accident (spring 99) (Way home from work, got distracted, car in front of my jammed on breaks, I panic'd stopped with a whole handful of front break (94's didn't have linked breaks like the newer ones do) and the sand in the road caused me to go down. 45 or so into the road. Jacket (standard leather, not MCY Specific) took most of the beating, but I did get some rash. After that I set the bike down for a bit and didn't ride for a bit (scared). My brother had a '98 VZ800 that he was going to sell cause he didn't want to make the payments. So I took that over and my wife and I started on the cruiser route, and I sold off the VFR to a friend who turned it into race bike. My wife and I put 25k miles on the Marauder going all over NYS, VT and MA. I then wanted to get back into sport bikes, but had like the torque of the V-Twin power plant. So I was looking at the Buells and Ducati Monsters. But alas budget wasn't there. So in 02 I got an Suzuki SV650, which was perfect. Light, nice power and torque, and cheap. 22K miles later I traded it in for a leftover 05 XB12S and haven't looked back. 11K miles on the lightning the first year. With the birth of my daughter it brought some changes. My brother's girlfriend bought the marauder(Wife said, no matter how much she wanted to ride it was going to be years before she got on the bike again), and My riding was limited (only 1.5k miles last summer). So I guess that was a long way to get to here. So it looks like 10 years, 85K or so miles on two wheels.I still here and still love riding.. | ||
| Hr_puffinstuff |
1st ride: my cousin's red Honda Z50. i was about 4 or 5 years old, and i think my dad was as excited as i was. i grabbed a handful of throttle, bounced it off the back of the shed, and thru aunt mary's rose garden. having not released said throttle, i jammed it into second, and jumped into a ditch at full tilt boogie. i recall being VERY P.O'd that my riding day was over. when i turned 15, my dad gave me his '69 Honda CB750K0. when he bought it, my mom flipped out. dad calmly told her "the bike's not for me, it's for the boy" i was about 6 months old at the time, and a recently-discovered baby book sez my 1st words were "dada" and "honda" and not in that order. hooker headers, a big 16" rear rim off of an FLH, and ape-hanger bars were added, and he put 14,000 miles and change on it before parking it. when they divorced, the bike "junked, your honor" until the divorce was final, and then i got the keys. took me two weeks to rebuild the carbs (i had never worked on anything more complicated than a skateboard before that) and put a new battery in it. when it started, i was blown away - eventually blown all the way, in fact, to the factory school in AZ. an older friend of mine had raced a bit while stationed in florida, and he decided he would teach me how to ride. it was NOT and MSF-approved course, to say the least. his parents owned 400+ acres of wisconsin farmland, and he told me i couldn't ride on the street until i could pass him, on his 750 kawi, "out there somewhere." dry stream beds, plowed cornfields, dodging cow pies and tractor parts... i'm sure it would've been heaven on a dirtbike, but i wasn't, and quite frankly, it was hell. took me a little more than a week, but i finally passed him, slideways and on the throttle, and just kept right on going. that bike has had 3 motors, more miles than i can count, and still sits in my garage today, broken, bent and burnt. i have gone hungry and slept in the bushes rather then sell it, and it will rot in my garage until it is dust, before i will junk it. there is NO WAY to measure the impact that bike has had on my life, and if i ever come up with more money than brains, it will see the street again. i'm almost 40 now, and dad passed away in january. but he bought me a new Buell in may. god bless my wife, we fought about what to do w/ the cash, and i lost. feels good to be riding one of dad's bikes again, even if he didn't get a spin on it. thanks, dad. it's been one hell of a ride so far, and i'm just getting started on the new bike. | ||
| Tramp |
Gomo- I have a neighbour who is hoping to sell an SL exactly like that pictured in your post. | ||
| Cowboy |
My first motorized ride was a bicycle that I riged a 1 1/2 hp brigs to in dads blacksmith shop (I was farm raised) It started me on one of my passions for life. that was about 55 yrs ago. | ||
| Badlionsfan |
First ride was around 10 years old, my cousins Honda 50. Two years later my mom bought me a moped. I was still two years away from being able to get a moped permit, so for two years I had to keep it on our dead end street, back and fourth all year round. Sold that to a kid up the street when I started driving. Then when I was 21 I bought a customized 1976 Sportster that was lower, stretched, custom fenders and stuff. Looked cool, but wasn't really any fun to ride. Rode it that first summer, then it sat in the garage for another 3 years before I sold it. Fast forward a few years of deciding what to get that I would actually enjoy, i revisited the Buell brand last year with the purchase of the mighty cityX last spring. My first run in with Buell was around 1999 I think. A guy I worked with a guy that had a S1. Coolest thing I'd ever seen. I tried to trade my sporty in at one point for a S3T, but they were too expensive and they wouldn't give my much for the sporty. When I started my search for "fun to ride" bikes, my search lead me right back to Buell, so here I am. | ||
| Jumpinjewels |
My first bike was a purple Honda 350 back around 1975. Had it in the Boston area, Swampscott to be exact, for a summer. Rode in the beautiful NE area along the ocean. One scary thing was riding over the bridges that opened. The bike was all over the place. Didn't have another bike until 10 yrs ago when I met my hubby. Had a Suzuki Marauder 800cc, then my SV650 and now the Buell. This bike has made a motorcycle nut out of me. I just love it. All I can think of is riding. We're leaving this Sat for a week long trip on our bikes to play thru Colorado. Hope to put on between 1500-2000 miles. It's a great sport!!!!! Oh I forgot, I also just got a dirt bike and have been learning that which is a blast. It's the new Kawasaki 140L. It's a perfect fit. My dear sweet hubby took me on an intermediate trail which freaked me out but I made it. Only dropped the bike twice and bent the clutch handle, so a new one has been ordered (plus some extra ones for just in case) (Message edited by jumpinjewels on July 10, 2008) | ||
| Dentfixer |
My first bike was a Honda Z50 Mini Trail my dad got me after cutting my teeth on a neighbors QA50. But what got me into riding motorcycles was was a book I chose to do a book report on way back in elementary school. It was A Long Ride on a Motorcycle about a guy taking off across country without a plan on a BMW airhead. I was smitten by the wonder and freedom of the open road on a bike. So I've been a biker since elementary school. AND I finally have my own BMW R75/5 airhead I'm currently restoring. I think I am pretty close to fulfilling my 41 year old dream! | ||
| Diablobrian |
My first ride on a motorcycle was with my uncle on a Honda ct70 back in the early 70s. My first time riding solo came in 1978 on a Kawasaki KE100. The hook had already been set and that just reeled me, and my brother diablomichael who shared that Kaw with me, in. Since then I've owned nearly every major brand of motorcycle and some of the minor ones and belonged to many riding groups. Buell is the best. | ||
| Hughlysses |
First bike was a CAT 2-1/2 HP mini-bike about 1968. Purchase price was $99.95 earned driving a tractor for $5/day for a neighbor who grew tobacco. That was later replaced with a no-name pseudo-chopper 5 HP mini bike. Faster, but not as much fun. "Then Came Bronson" probably had as much to do with my interest in 2 wheels as anything. | ||
| Buellfighter |
Learned how to ride on a 1972 SL 70. Then saved up money from a paper route for a 1973 Yamaha LT3 100 enduro. Good friend of mine had a 1973 XL 100. Ahh good times. | ||
| Supafast |
My first bike was a 2002 Buell Blast. I had never ridden a motorcycle before. I didnt even have a license! But I bought it anyway. When they rolled it outside I sat on it and said, "ok, whats go and whats stop?" lol! You should have see the look on their faces! It was awesome! I put over 13,000 miles on the Blast! Then In 2005 I bought a new 2003 Lightning. It had 4 miles on it. I talked them down a few thousand so I took it home! | ||
| Cityxslicker |
I was 5, it was a Honda 50cc Cub 7 it was an XR75 (light kit at 10 ) 12 Honda Trail 90 14 XR 250 15 GL 1500 (grandpa was a Honda fiend) 16 1985 Nighthawk 750S (the bike that got me kicked out of the house) 19 1986 Yami VMax (sold in 3weeks) 19 1989 Ninja 7 21 1991 Ninja 9 22 1993 Ninja 10 25 1995 Ninja 12 28 1999 Ninja 6R 28 1998 Kawasaki Vulcan Classic 800 32 1999 Kawasaki KLR 250 38 2005 Harley 883R 39 2006 Buell XB9SX 40 2009 Harley XR1200 Its an addiction. I blame my grandfather for getting me started. | ||
| Gomo |
Gomo- I have a neighbour who is hoping to sell an SL exactly like that pictured in your post. Thanks, but at this point the Blast and the Suzuki GZ250's I teach on are as small as I need to get. | ||
| Barker |
KX125 ring-a-ding, ding |
