Topic: What Was Your First Bike

[bill440cars]

                 KC, looks like you've been a dyed-in-the-wool Honda man from way back. Looking good!
                                                   Later on, Bill

[needswork]

I did some digging and finally found the pic of me on my first bike........a 1975 Honda XR75. How ya like them "highwaters"?  At least I didnt have to worry about getting them caught in the chain.  lol

Whoa! That was my 1st bike too, except the tank in mine was a kinda red/orange colour. I was 13 or 14. After 2 years, my dad sold it for a little more that he paid. Great bike ot learn (and crash) on, their impossible to break.

[nomadwarmachine]

First bike was a 1972 Honda CB750K2, and I still have it:

http://www.nomadwarmachine.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=CB750-K2

[quietlikeachurch]

The first bike I rode was a '75 CB200T.  The first bike I owned was the same '77 750F that I have today.  I bought it from the original owner for $300 plus $40 for immediate delivery and a spare engine and '76F frame...of course this was 5 years ago when I still lived with my parents.  My dad looked like he was going to kill me when he saw the bike sitting out in the alley, but after I got it started he said "It sure sounds like a Honda," and proceeded to tell me stories about riding (and wrecking) his friends' cycles in the '60s and '70s.  If not for this (well, the Greenspun) board I wouldn't have gotten the 750 running, so thanks to you all!

-Ian

[jwalters]

With exception of my Honda Helix, my first real motorcycle was a 1200 Suzuki Bandit.  I love the bandit, but I miss the helix for commuting.  No clutch, big trunk, and a Kenwood stereo system with a big windscreen to direct the sound right at you!  It was perfect for listening to Bob and Tom in the mornings on the way to work!  Although it didn't have much of a motorcycle feel, the clutchless bike was very nice for stop-and-go commuting.

[Kelvin8]

My first MC was a '72 CB350Four. Looked like LoonyMoon's, but had a backrest and a rack on the back which I found usefull when I went grocery shopping. Rode it every day for a year and a half when I first moved to Los Angeles (it was my sole transportation). Put cafe bars on it, moved the passenger foot pegs to the rear axle and discovered I could steer from there. I wore that thing out. Great bike, though I kept ogling the 400Fours.

[superchode]

first bike was an '85 XR 100 that my dad picked up for my brother and I... first road bike was an '83 Honda VT500 Shadow I scooped up when i was 18 - that thing served me well for a lot of years (only mode of transportation).

[mlinder]

While I don't have a picture, it was pretty much the same as this one:


Honda trail 50, heh. I was 8 years old.

[vermont550]

I learned to ride on a 93 VFR 750. After learning I bought a the 550 that I have now. While I love the bike and will probably hold onto it for life, it lives in the shadow of that VFR I learned on.

I guess its better to learn on something with less balls than your first bike, otherwise you develope a hunger for more juice.

[toycollector10]

This was my first Honda, photos taken in January 1974. Top pic is my brother Alan and I am in the bottom pic holding the bottle of beer.....Honda CB250 registration 35ABF (A Bloody Flyer)



click image for a larger re-size

[unlucky71]

i still have most of the pieces of my first street bike. a 1971 cb750k1. i never took a picture, and i never will. at the time i had to commute about 33 miles each way to work every day (which took about 3 hours!). riding a motorcycle allowed me to take the carpool lane and cut my commute in half. a friend of mine recommended the 750k's to me as the best bike ever made. he was of course correct. i bought the first one i saw at a place called bent bike in auburn, wa. it had some crazy orange 70's paint scheme that was a poor attempt to conceal the dents in the tank. underneath the tank you could tell the original color was a candy gold. it was about $700 bucks after it was all said and done and they even threw in a helmet. i didn't get ten blocks away before the bike stalled and wouldn't re-start. i had to walk back to the shop, shiny new helmet in hand, and ask them to go pick up my new bike. there were no refunds. a week later the bike was "running like a top" they said. so i picked it up and rode it home. one month later it started to smoke. it smoked to the point that i felt like i was coming on stage at a heavy metal concert every time i stopped at a light. soon after, i went to start the bike for my friend that recommended the bike to me, it caught on fire. yup, on fire. the electrical tape band-aid on the lead wire coming off of the battery had given way, shorted, and set fire to the wiring harness underneath the seat pan. despite all this, the bike actually ran pretty well considering, and was very stable at speed. my rear tire blew out at 70mph in the fast lane, not a scratch. finally, on that fateful fall day a few months later, the bike's transmission appeared to go out. heading home from work, there was a "pop" and whoops, where did all my gears go? turns out it was just the clutch, but that marked the end of that 750. it was unceremoniously disassembled, and all the parts were carefully labled and packed away. but an important lesson was learned. that day i realized that i should never again own something made in the year 1971. don't even get me started on my '71 oldsmoblie...

[bill440cars]

                    So, where do you go from here? Will you get another 750 and will it be a 72' or do you
          want to get a little further away from 71'? Just curious. I can only imagine that, since you   
          dismantled the 71', you're figuring on getting another one eventually. Wall, what ever path you
          take, Good Luck. Later on, Bill

[KCs76Cafe]

Dug this one out too.......probally my first time on a bike. 

[bill440cars]

                          Just 2 questions KC, How do you get that puppy started and how do you see
                          when you get that helmet on? Ha! Ha!. Seriously, Nice Triumph there. Any info
                          on it?    Later on, Bill

[unlucky71]

                    So, where do you go from here? Will you get another 750 and will it be a 72' or do you
          want to get a little further away from 71'? Just curious. I can only imagine that, since you   
          dismantled the 71', you're figuring on getting another one eventually. Wall, what ever path you
          take, Good Luck. Later on, Bill

thanks for the encouraging words bill. since then i've moved on to a 78 750k in much nicer condition than my last 750. i'm modifying it slightly by changing the tank and adding the seat from my 71. keep your fingers crossed. ; ) hopefully i'll be riding that one again in a couple of weeks. i've also got a rusty 74 350f i want to turn into a little cafe racer. i love the old fours, a little bad luck isn't going to stop that.
keep it rubber side down,
-tyler

[KCs76Cafe]

                          Just 2 questions KC, How do you get that puppy started and how do you see
                          when you get that helmet on? Ha! Ha!. Seriously, Nice Triumph there. Any info
                          on it?    Later on, Bill

I wish I had all the bikes my Dad had from back then. One day I'll have to get him to give me some info on them. See more of them here.....   

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=5138686&uid=826033&members=1

At the top is a chopper my buddy has built as his shops signature bike.....Razors Edge Choppers over near Rutherfordton,NC.  Below it are the bikes my Dad owned. They are scans from pics in our old family photo album.

[bill440cars]

kc, get all the info on anything (not just motorcycles either) you might possibly want to know about and put it in writing or something. My Dad's 80 and will be 81 this July 16th and I remember, from previous conversations, more details on some of the motorcycles he's had (than he does) for example: He took Indian Warrior and Scout (both were vertical twins) and built a screaming machine. As far as the engine goes, it had a Scout lower end with the Warrior top end, he replaced the rear half of the frame with the rear half of an AJS swing arm set up, then he used a Mustang gas tank and a 2 into1
upswept (scrambler type) exhaust and no lights as this was strictly an on road bike. I don't remember the cc's of the Warrior or the Scout. He also built a 250 Jawa that was a great runner. He did modificationsinside the engine (according to factory recommendations and I have those factory printed instructions), lengthened the swingarm and jacked the frontend to allow for 19" wheels, built & tuned straight pipes with a washer on the ends for backpressure (expansion chambers were here yet), put a 56' BSA Bantam gas tank on it, with no lights and painted the bike metallic purple. I forgot to mention that the engine was a 50' model. He's pretty alert and all but, he's forgetting a lot. I've talked too long. Take care and I hope all is well with your family.       
                                                        Later on, Bill

[BobbyR]

I am happy I started this post. It is great to hear about how they got started, the great bikes they were exposed to as young people, and hopefully the traditions they will pass on.

[lrutt]

A 1964 Honda CT200 trail 90. First one I learned on, first one I owned.

And I'm in the process of getting one to restore just for old times sake.

[crazypj]

1965 Honda S65 in 1971. I was smaller then.
First one I fell off (apple tree ran out in front of me, Suzuki M15 sportsman, 1968) first Honda I crashed was CB72 in 1970 but they were not mine.
PJ

[KCs76Cafe]

Hey crazypj......lets see a better pic of your avatar. Whats that speedo reading? 

[crazypj]

100 MPH, 100,000 miles. was a special occasion (I almost hit that car ) 'self portrait' was an OK idea, just traffic got in the way
Bike had done over 70,000 hard miles on 591cc conversion (1977 CB550 F1)  I still have it (first bike I ever bought brand new) but its in Britain and I'm in Florida.
PJ

[Stevearino]

So I guess if I get my 77 550F screwed together right it will do 100!

Maybe I should run some low speed tests first...

[cbtbbb]

A 1990 Honda Pacific Coast PC800 in beautiful Cherry Red metallic. I love it so much I bought two. But now I am over them.

It's CB750 K time...

Craig

[Rushoid]

Heffay reminded me of my first 2-wheeler. My sister's Huffy that originally was bright green and covered with flowers! It even had a lovely...er...hideous white basket on the handlebars  I was 6 at the time. For Christmas that year, my Dad had welded a bar across the top of the frame (now it was a boys' bike!), painted it black, put on a custom black/gold seat ( with sissy bar) and found a plastic, fake gas tank to put on it. It even had a sticker that said HONDA. It was the coolest bike in the neighborhood. I haven't thought about that in a long time...

30 years later, I bought my first motorbike. That 78 Supersport you see to the left. Just got it 2 months ago.