Topic: What Was Your First Bike

[mrbreeze]

First bike was my dad's old minibike... an Arctic Cat Ramrod minibike.  2 stroke w/ torque converter, front brakes only and no working kill switch.  Oh yeah forgot that the slide cap would pop off the carb allowing only full throttle.  made things interesting....

Second bike was my mom's old Honda Z-50, much nicer, and the 3 speed was so much more fun than the torque convert... I still love riding the z-50.



was a little hard on it in the early high school years...



but I rebuilt it just before going off to college, and it still runs excellent.

Don't you mean a "centrifical clutch?

[b82ta]

on the arctic cat?  it was definitely a torque convertor or whatever its called.... similar to a snowmobile clutch where as the rpms increase the drive ratio changes

Something kinda like this.

[KeithTurk]

My Dad bought a CB500 new in 73 or 74 and I got used CB350 Twin...  Red and white... really cool bike... I did all kinds of work to it and eventually blew it up on a mountain road.... got the motor redone by HyperKynetic's in Downey and rode it till I joined the Army... when it got stolen and then recovered .... got it back and eventually sold it for 200 bucks....

Always loved riding my dad's 500...thought that thing was Sleek with it's vetter Fairing and trunk... I mean ... geez  it was Just to #$%*en...

Now I've got a bazillion of them... ( or 5 you pick )....

K

[Retro Rocket]

on the arctic cat?  it was definitely a torque convertor or whatever its called.... similar to a snowmobile clutch where as the rpms increase the drive ratio changes

Something kinda like this.

Yep thats a centrifugal set up all right, the faster it spins the further the 2 front hubs come apart pushing the belt further toward the centre of the hub changing the ratio between the front pulley and the rear, making it go faster ..

Mick

[m00ntan]

First was a generic minibike with no suspension and a 5 hp motor.  My dad had to make a seat for it, so I know now that it was cheap, cheap, cheap.  He showed me how to put gas in it, how to twist the throttle and what to step on to stop.   I was forbidden to go outside our alley, but it was a tee, so I had two long blocks and a turn.  I was nine years old and having the best time of my life.  And I was the only kid with a two wheeled lawn mower.  It's the first time I became noteable to the other kids.  Other kids would come and hang out in the driveway just to watch me ride back and forth.  Then something happened.  The kid in the next block got a shiney minibike and another kid got a scooter, then "You meet the nicest people on a Honda" happened.  Then of course I moved on trying to chase the first time.

[b82ta]

hmmm I had always called that a torque convertor and when I here centrifugal clutch I think this..




Just differences in terminology I guess

soda vs pop....

[SohRon]

'69 Honda CL350. My only means of transportation for about a year or so in the early '70s. I used to carry my cat to the vet on that bike; I'd wear a long coat,  stash him inside, zip it up about half way, and off we'd go. He would make his way to my lap and stick his head out from under the hem of the coat and be quite content as we motored our way down the street. He never once tried to jump out or get away; he was a real biker cat!

That 350 was a sweet little bike that I rode like a maniac; very maneuverable and quick, very responsive to body movements - sort of like wearing a bike rather than riding it. When I went to college in California, I left it with a friend stashed in his dad's warehouse. Unfortunately, I stayed in Ca. longer that I intended, and when I got back to Boulder, both the warehouse and the bike were gone, and there was a housing development in their place. C'est la vie, n'est-ce pas?

Still occasionally get the urge to pick up one of those old scramblers just for the shear joy of riding they can provide.

[le_sterls]

'69 Honda CL350. My only means of transportation for about a year or so in the early '70s. I used to carry my cat to the vet on that bike; I'd wear a long coat,  stash him inside, zip it up about half way, and off we'd go. He would make his way to my lap and stick his head out from under the hem of the coat and be quite content as we motored our way down the street. He never once tried to jump out or get away; he was a real biker cat!

That 350 was a sweet little bike that I rode like a maniac; very maneuverable and quick, very responsive to body movements - sort of like wearing a bike rather than riding it. When I went to college in California, I left it with a friend stashed in his dad's warehouse. Unfortunately, I stayed in Ca. longer that I intended, and when I got back to Boulder, both the warehouse and the bike were gone, and there was a housing development in their place. C'est la vie, n'est-ce pas?

Still occasionally get the urge to pick up one of those old scramblers just for the shear joy of riding they can provide.

Now that's an interesting tale, my buddy has a cb350 twin, very fun light bike. Also we just picked up my friend's dad's old bike, an XL-250, not running yet, the air filter element just kind of crumbled you could say. It'll be a fun bike one day.