I had ridden dirt bikes in my youth, but never my own. The first bike I actually owned was a 1986 Suzuki GSX550EF. I bought it new when I was 17. Shortly after I purchased it I saw the 750 Paso in a magazine and I knew I had to have one someday. Well, I never have owned a 750, YET, but I did by the 907 in '91 and have had it ever since. You know, it took me 2 years to sell that Suzuki as the heartstrings were still attached.
Regards, B

heh ... my first legal bike was a 197x Yamaha Special 650. The first bike I had was a 197x Yamaha Enduro 175 ... no plates, no reg, no insp. ... and no highlight or turn signals most of the time. It was a train wreck waiting to happen, but it was blast. Just difficult keeping it from the parents and the police at 15 years old ...

Eventually a friend borrowed it, skipped school for the day, finally got pulled over on it ... 5 tickets, a trip in the cruiser, the impounded and eventually flattened. Easy come, easy go? Good times ...

aw shucks,i wanted to say schwinn but it was really some lesser brand of bike but boy did it go. the sound it made was that of a juvie blowing air thru his lips as he shifted and clutched up thru the gears , all 10 or 12 gears at that. i doubt he even throttled and clutched from the same side all the time!
but later in life he got a honda ct 70 3 speed auto (darn it) and still has it 2-day although not in running condition for a few decades now. about this time he was also given 1/2 (or more) of a ducati 125 bronco that got carted around as his parents looked for that perfect house.after 20 yrs of this the ducati was sold with some other ducati's he had accumulated. soon after that he found a complete, running bronco that he still cherishes to this day.
thanks for the trip down memory lane,hope you enjoyed it too.

:thumbup:


Props on another great topic, cuz!


My first bike was a Velocette. You can read a bit about it on page one of 'funny stuff', now just below 'What was your first bike?' in this Forum.

Ha!So far got you all beat for off the wall bikes.First bike,1948 125cc Harley Davidson with rubber band front forks.Bought in many bushel baskets.Mother of po said take whatever looks like parts of the bike from the cellar.I sure had no idea what was or wasn't.Many weeks later had it on the road.Year of all this?1955.
Was first of many many interesting bikes from all corners of the world.[well almost all corners]

.[/quote]Wow I did not know H-D ever built something so small. That is impressive & it was 16 years before I was born [/quote]
Yeah,and the technology was just as impressive as todays HD's.48mph topend on a good day with following wind.Girder style forks with 4 rubber bands for springing.Can't remember now what it was a copy[poor]of,keep thinking Adler but that was Yamaha.
They also made as years went by,165,250 and 350's.

AS a kid that LOVED motorbikes, but never had one - I worked whenever possible for local ag cotractors & farmers from age 12 - upon getting to age 16 - I had enough money to buy half a brand new Yamaha XT 400 (Mum & Dad helped me out with other half).
This was a great bike, especially once I got my bike licence ( ) - once I left school, it was transport to work everyday, as well as trail-riding fun in the weekends.
It even came through fairly unscathed from bouncing off a XY Falcon that turned accross in front of me when it was 2 wks old.
Alas, due to the cold, girls, & other fun things in life - I sold it after the first yr of ownership. Did 15000 in that time, which was great.
Then after a few months without a bike, I brought another one, & it's been a bit like that ever since............. :thumbup: :thumbup:
(XT 400 - picture a white Yamaha XT 550J, with 150cc less....)

My first bike was just before I turned 16 in the UK (1978). It was a 1974 Yamaha FS1E moped in Purple. I have managed to find a picture of this one that has just been restored in the UK.



When I turned 17 I got a red 1976 Honda CJ250T, the one with the two-in-to-one exhaust as standard. I found this picture of a yellow one on the web.



I then emigrated to South Africa and went without a bike for many years. I managed to buy an old Honda XL185 which I used to ride around on until I had to donate it to my nephew.

In 2000 I bought a Yamaha RD400 that had a blown engine (and many weird modifications). I sourced another RD400 that had blown its engine to pieces (some bits in a black plastic bag, the rest missing) and had been standing outside for years. With some new pistons, rebore etc. I was able to build one good one.

In 2001 my father's friend wanted to sell the Ducati 750 Paso he had owned for 13 years (he was the second owner). I had always wanted a Ducati, but I really wanted a 900 SD. Anyway, nearly four years later I am still happy with it but I have only managed to put just over 1,000km on the clock. The wife made me sell the RD400 ("you are only allowed one motorbike !").

Paul