The Motorcycle Thread.

Prages

Prages

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I have always loved motorcycles.

The first bike I ever rode was something like this. 1980 Honda 50.

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It belonged to a friend who had gotten this.

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My parents bought me this when I was about 13 years old.

1984 Suzuki DR100

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Then my sister got a 1984 Suzuki GS250, which, after I got my license, I rode more than she did.

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For my 16th birthday, I got this 1986 Kawasaki KDX200.

Kawasaki%20KDX%20200.jpg

The most recent bike, and the one I still have is this 1998 Kawasaki Vulcan 500. I hope to upgrade in the next year or two.

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The 1984 Suzuki GS250 is still sitting in my parent's garage.

Should I take it on as a project? The last time it was started was probably 1996.
 
I had a mid-life crisis last year and got my license, but I don't currently have a bike. Had a little Ninja 250 for a while, and it was great to learn on. I might look for a Cafe build later this year. Something like this:

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Guitar Heel said:
I had a mid-life crisis last year and got my license, but I don't currently have a bike. Had a little Ninja 250 for a while, and it was great to learn on. I might look for a Cafe build later this year. Something like this:
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Other than a few years in my mid to late 20s, I've had a bike since I was about 13 years old. I don't ride as much as I'd like to, but I do try to ride as often as I can.

I'm not into crotch rockets, but other than that, I'd gladly own and ride any bike.
 
In '83, I started with a '71 Honda CB400Four, rode it for 2 years. Then in '87, I had a '86 Yamaha Radian 600cc, putting 64K miles on it. Since 2004, I have a '98 Honda ACE Tourer 1100cc.
 
LeftyTom said:
In '83, I started with a '71 Honda CB400Four, rode it for 2 years. Then in '87, I had a '86 Yamaha Radian 600cc, putting 64K miles on it. Since 2004, I have a '98 Honda ACE Tourer 1100cc.
Click to expand...

Impressive.

My current 98 Vulcan only has a little over 20k miles on it.

My old KDX dirtbike had who knows how many miles on it. Dirtbikes are measured more by hours and it had a lot of hours. And they were tough hours.
 
I like motorcycles. They don't like me.

I've had a lot of bikes over the years, my first was in 1982 and was a Suzuki RM 125 that I raced at the now completely gone Carlsbad raceway.

Its life (the bike) didn't end very peacefully.

It was many years before I got back on any type of bike, but in my 20's I got the itch again. I bought a silly Honda Rebel which I totally loved, but it had zero balls. I dumped that and got a Nighthawk 750, then a Shadow VLX and on and on until eventually buying a stupid HD. I so regret that decision.

Anyway, I lost the passion. Maybe someday...
 
Mrs. P had a Honda Rebel 250 for a couple of years. She put maybe 2500 miles on it, then sold it.
 
Prages said:
Mrs. P had a Honda Rebel 250 for a couple of years. She put maybe 2500 miles on it, then sold it.
Click to expand...
No one can deny that the little Rebel was a fantastic looking bike. It was a styling tour de force. They were also crazy reliable. Just not enough oomph.

The hard to find Rebel 450, was about the most perfect cruiser to ever see the streets.
 
OGG said:
No one can deny that the little Rebel was a fantastic looking bike. It was a styling tour de force. They were also crazy reliable. Just not enough oomph.

The hard to find Rebel 450, was about the most perfect cruiser to ever see the streets.
Click to expand...
My wife wanted to try riding, and we found her a '82 Honda CM250 CUSTOM (belt drive). After a few tries, she gave up, and it fell to me to ride the bike (my Radian was long in tooth then). I rode it 70 miles round trip to work for a few years. 70mpg was wonderful. When the plugs were needing changed the mpg dropped to 65.

The wife thought she wanted more oomph, so we found her a 450 Rebel. She soon decided she preferred the passenger pillion.
 
If I have any regret in my life, it is that I never rode any two-wheeled vehicle. My mother did not let my older brother and I have bicycles (though my younger brother and sister eventually did get bikes.) After a certain point, one feels too self-conscious to try. I've always wanted to ride down the road on a motorcycle wearing a bow-tie and a leather vest with a patch reading "Born to be Mild."
 
Gary Blanchard said:
If I have any regret in my life, it is that I never rode any two-wheeled vehicle. My mother did not let my older brother and I have bicycles (though my younger brother and sister eventually did get bikes.) After a certain point, one feels too self-conscious to try. I've always wanted to ride down the road on a motorcycle wearing a bow-tie and a leather vest with a patch reading "Born to be Mild."
Click to expand...

It's never too late!
 
Prages, your first Honda 50 looks like a newer version of my first, a QA 50. I was riding motorcycles before bicycles since our whole family rode almost every weekend in the pine forests of East Texas.
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I'm one it, left side. Before I got it, my first solo ride was on my sister's Trail 70, right side of pic.
I flew down a hill and hit a tree that ride.
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My second bike was a '73 Yamaha GT80. I later stripped it down except for the headlight.
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In 1986 I bought my first street bike, a Yamaha FZ600 exactly like this, but without the fork and swing arm stickers. I safety wired all my street bike's brake caliper bolts.
yamaha-fz-600-06.jpg


In 1994 I bought a Honda CBR F2 600. This bike was a blast. I fabed some offset mounts to raise the pegs and build fresh air ducts for the air box.
honda_cbr_600_f2_91_94_service_manual_large_140.gif
 
Tig said:
Prages, your first Honda 50 looks like a newer version of my first, a QA 50.
Click to expand...

First two motorcycles in my post weren't actually mine. They belonged to a friend of mine. They were just the first motorcycles I ever rode. Once he got the 80, we'd go riding with me on the 50 and him on the 80.

The first bike that was actually mine was the Suzuki DR100.
 
a long time ago.....i had a Honda CB 750 Four....very smooth and reasonably fast for the time.
but the Triumph 650 Tiger was more fun.
 
Yamaha-XV_1000_Virago-1984.jpg

The 1st and only bike I ever owned. I loved it, but damn near killed myself on it, hit an armadillo on a dark country road. Scared the crap out of me. I hung up the helmet.
 
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