and your first Motorcycle?

[BigDave]

Yamaha XT600

Worst moment: I wheelied it over on the second day I owned it. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Best moment: Beat a corvette in a stop light race while pulling a wheelie. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[TCowner]

1971 Kawasaki Mach III. 500 cc's of misquito killing two stroke terror. Nothing on the street could touch it from stop light to stop light. It was nearly impossible to launch from a dead stop because it had so little low end torque. The only solution was take it to 7,000 rpm, lean forward as far as possible, drop the clutch and hang on. If you caught the narrow power band just right you were rewarded with an incredible burnout and the need to hit second gear quickly.

It ate Harleys, Nortons, Triumphs and anything that dared to test it (again provided you got that shot out of the hole right). It handled poorly and had terrible brakes. Gas milage was around 18-20 mpg. But that hit in first gear when the rpm hit about 5800 - 7000 is hard to describe. I was 17 at the time and was king of the street. Corvettes, GTOs, 442s, Chevelles didn't even have a chance.

Everything was going so well until Kawasaki realeased the Mach IV. Suddenly, I was moved to second place. I was disappointed but still have fond memories of that bike.

Now at age 48 I wonder how I survived those years. If I ever hear of my boys driving like I did I will kick their tail. Oh well, the joys of middle age.

 

[JDgreen227]

Traded my Honda 450 with a buddy for a day so I could ride his Kawasaki triple. What I recall about his bike was the extreme vibration, it was bad even with a tight chain and when he let the chain get loose it put your hands, feet, and rear end to sleep in short order. Most uncomfortable bike I ever rode, the lousy fuel mileage was likely a blessing in disguise as it forced you to get off before complete paralysis set in. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I was born a gear head. I've loved cars and bikes as long as I can remember.

My first bike was a Suzuki X6 Hustler Scrambler. Back then a scramble was geared a little lower and had upswept pipes. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif We got into a little trouble, had a lot of fun.

I'd just turned twenty one and wanted a dirt bike. I stopped by a local Kawasaki dealer and he had me try out a 238 Grean Streak his son raced TT. It had a quarter turn throttle and my first hundred feet was in white knucklesville. I took it home with me that day.

About ten years later I was given a Honda 350 scrambler. One ride out in the desert and I knew I either had to buy something with power that could handle or I'd kill myself on the Honda. Yamaha 465 fixed that just fine.

I haven't owned a bike in twenty plus years.

About five years ago my youngest daughter came in one evening just raving about how much fun it was to ride a dirt bike. She'd been out with the guys riding and she thought it was the neatest thing since creamy peanut butter.

I asked her if she remembered when she was about two or so and riding in the desert with me. She didn't. I breathed a sigh of relief. There are some ghosts you don't want.

She married a guy who's a gear head. When they were going together he left his 996 Superhawk in my garage. I took it out one time. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

I like to had a heart attack when he sold the 996 and bought the 954 I think they called it. More umph and less weight. And here I thought I'd died and came back in my prime on the Superhawk.

The 238 and me did an endo that split a Bell and I woke up forty five miles later. I gave away the Yamaha when I moved to Texas because I didn't see anywhere in the Dallas area where there was enough area to let it breathe. I'd also reached a point in my life where there was less bounce and more of a splat when things went wrong.

My doctor asked me about the calcium deposits in my upper vertebra. He wondered what I had done to cause such damage in my youth.

Every now and then the weather'll change and I catch a new hitch in the get up. Just for a second I'll feel a little regret for some of the fun I've had. A real real short second.

 

[jmc]

TCowner,

I had that same bike and it was exactly as you (and JDgreen277) describe it. 60 HP in a 400 lb bike was unheard of. While you were only 17, I had all the good sense of a 21 year old, with access to alcohol. I still shudder.

While that bike seemed unbelievably fast, my friend and I were bike shopping when they had just introduced the Yamaha V-Max. At the time it was 145 HP and I heard they had to detuned them later. My friend says "HOW MANY TIMES AFTER YOU BUY SOMETHING DO YOU WISH IT HAD MORE POWER? YOU REALLY CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH HORSEPOWER." I agreed and bought one.

We were wrong.

John

 

[jmc]

Harv,

We both did stupid things on motorcycles and we both have bad necks. I think we have the ingredients of a class action suit.

John

 

[Henro]

<font color="blue">We both did stupid things on motorcycles and we both have bad necks. I think we have the ingredients of a class action suit.
</font>

I probably did as many [or more] stupid things on motorcycles as you guys! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

I didn't end up with a bad neck, but should have...can I join the class action suit too? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[8561]

My first motorcycle was a mini-bike made by Arctic Cat (yes the snowmobile manufacturer) when I was 6 or 7 years old.
Moved up to a 1975 Yamaha 80. Then a Yamaha 100 then to a Yamaha IT 175. Gave them up for a while about the time I got my license and cars. Then I bought a Kawasaki KZ400 street bike, a Ninja 600, then a Yamaha FZR1000. Like 996 posted earlier, that was a daily driver that ran in the 10's at street night at the local drag strip and was quite a handful with the short wheelbase. Currently riding a 1999 Ducati 900 Supersport with lots of aftermarket carbon-fiber. Very light, turns and stops great and great torque for backroad rides.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( We both did stupid things on motorcycles and we both have bad necks. I think we have the ingredients of a class action suit.)</font>

I think to qualify for a class action lawsuit you have to first, have regrets, second, prove incompetence by another.

I have few regrets, and to be honest, the incompetence was all my own. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Besides that, I don't believe any jury or judge in the world would feel sorry for us as those grins started when we described the pain, the shame, the thrills.

 

[Libertine]

Henro,

Harley 61 with the floorboards and "suicide" clutch (the ones with the gearshift lever next to the fuel tank). Was an old hopped up police bike I bought in 1960 or so. Big sucker. Did tooooo many foolish things with it and used up a life time of "luck" (from splitting lanes going down the San Diego freeways at rush hour to "doing it" riding down the road - face on is best). Used to like to wind it up when hot then back off - blue flame shooting out the tailpipe. Even tried off road. Dumb. Was lucky I didn't kill myself. Fond memories with it, but it scares me to think of some of the things I did.

JEH