The CB1100 Community Forum

I thought I would start a thread to solicit stories about everyone's first "love". Tell everyone about the first motorcycle that really put its hooks into you and made you passionate about motorcycling.

On that note, I will start...

My first and favorite street bike was a 1982 Honda CB900C. I bought it used sometime around 1989. While it may not have been the fastest bike out there, it was definitely one of the prettiest, at least to me anyway. I rode that thing everywhere and whenever possible. There was something about not having windows and steel wrapped around me while I was shooting down the road. Not to sound cliche, but to me that motorcycle was the embodiment of freedom. I had ridden dirt bikes since I was 8, but that bike was an entirely new world of getting from A to B. I religiously washed, waxed and polished that bike once a week for almost 20 years. Sunday service to me was a wash bucket and a bottle of Meguiar's. It was my most prized possession.

Then in 2006 I ended up selling it to a coworker that had a compulsive problem with collecting motorcycles. At the time I sold him my bike, he had something like 12 bikes in his shop. He was always badgering me to sell him my CB900C, especially after I had purchased a new 2004 Honda CB900F (919). As fate would have it the next year, I ended up needing to move back home for a job offer and didn't have the room in the moving truck for two bikes. In a decision I would regret ever since, I concluded that "newer is better" and the CB900 Custom lost out. My coworker assured me he would keep it garaged and baby the heck out of it. Judging by the condition of his other bikes, I had no reason not to believe him. It still looked amazing the day I handed him the keys considering it was then 24 years old.

In a recent fit of nostalgia, I have been wondering what became of my old bike and perhaps if I was lucky, I might possibly buy it back if I could locate my old coworker. I have been casually trying to track him down for a couple months now and I recently found him. I reached out to him through social media and sadly it seems he had fallen on hard times since we last worked together. He and his wife wife of 20+ years had divorced and he is also in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. After his divorce, he had to sell all of his bikes but two due to downsizing his living arrangements. One of the two he kept was my old CB900 Custom. He told me however, that 5-6 years after he bought it from me, it was stolen from his home and later recovered after having been joyridden, crashed and otherwise completely totaled.

As I sit here contemplating the intricacies of life, and even though I am going through some health issues at the moment, I can't help but feeling that I have been more fortunate than him. The part that tugs at my heart strings is he is still one of the most genuinely nice guys I have ever had the pleasure to work with and is the least deserving of the crap hand he has been dealt.

The other thing I am now contemplating is that perhaps it would have been better to never have known what became of my first and most adored street bike.

A toast to all the first "loves" that made us all fall in love with motorcycling!

My 1982 Honda CB900C, the year before I sold it...

Sweet.

(11-03-2021, 01:12 PM)Whoops_imp Wrote: [ -> ]I thought I would start a thread to solicit stories about everyone's first "love". Tell everyone about the first motorcycle that really put its hooks into you and made you passionate about motorcycling.

On that note, I will start...

My first and favorite street bike was a 1982 Honda CB900C. I bought it used sometime around 1989. While it may not have been the fastest bike out there, it was definitely one of the prettiest, at least to me anyway. I rode that thing everywhere and whenever possible. There was something about not having windows and steel wrapped around me while I was shooting down the road. Not to sound cliche, but to me that motorcycle was the embodiment of freedom. I had ridden dirt bikes since I was 8, but that bike was an entirely new world of getting from A to B. I religiously washed, waxed and polished that bike once a week for almost 20 years. Sunday service to me was a wash bucket and a bottle of Meguiar's. It was my most prized possession.

Then in 2006 I ended up selling it to a coworker that had a compulsive problem with collecting motorcycles. At the time I sold him my bike, he had something like 12 bikes in his shop. He was always badgering me to sell him my CB900C, especially after I had purchased a new 2004 Honda CB900F (919). As fate would have it the next year, I ended up needing to move back home for a job offer and didn't have the room in the moving truck for two bikes. In a decision I would regret ever since, I concluded that "newer is better" and the CB900 Custom lost out. My coworker assured me he would keep it garaged and baby the heck out of it. Judging by the condition of his other bikes, I had no reason not to believe him. It still looked amazing the day I handed him the keys considering it was then 24 years old.

In a recent fit of nostalgia, I have been wondering what became of my old bike and perhaps if I was lucky, I might possibly buy it back if I could locate my old coworker. I have been casually trying to track him down for a couple months now and I recently found him. I reached out to him through social media and sadly it seems he had fallen on hard times since we last worked together. He and his wife wife of 20+ years had divorced and he is also in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. After his divorce, he had to sell all of his bikes but two due to downsizing his living arrangements. One of the two he kept was my old CB900 Custom. He told me however, that 5-6 years after he bought it from me, it was stolen from his home and later recovered after having been joyridden, crashed and otherwise completely totaled.

As I sit here contemplating the intricacies of life, and even though I am going through some health issues at the moment, I can't help but feeling that I have been more fortunate than him. The part that tugs at my heart strings is he is still one of the most genuinely nice guys I have ever had the pleasure to work with and is the least deserving of the crap hand he has been dealt.

The other thing I am now contemplating is that perhaps it would have been better to never have known what became of my first and most adored street bike.

A toast to all the first "loves" that made us all fall in love with motorcycling!

My 1982 Honda CB900C, the year before I sold it...

A beautiful bike to me too!

Sweet lookin' machine!

Maybe not my first bike, but one that really made me want to go riding just to be on it. The first year of the new Triumph Speedmaster back in 2003 was such a bike. I had back surgery in 2009 and could not ride for a few years, so I sold her not to just let her sit in my garage and be neglected.



Note: Air/oil cooled just like our beloved CB1100's.

(11-06-2021, 12:57 PM)michael1954_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Maybe not my first bike, but one that really made me want to go riding just to be on it. The first year of the new Triumph Speedmaster back in 2003 was such a bike. I had back surgery in 2009 and could not ride for a few years, so I sold her not to just let her sit in my garage and be neglected.



Note: Air/oil cooled just like our beloved CB1100's.

That’s a beautiful bike! Was the seating posture upright like most UJM’s or was it more laid back like a Harley? The big footrests look comfy.

Like your story, share your conclusion. It's not always best to look back through the fog of time. Some things better do not get uncovered. To answer your question, ...
My first was a little Italian Gilera, with barely 10hp, next a Suzuki, 400cc, and some 30+ horses unleashed if you let her rev beyond 7000 rpms.

Mine was a Honda 250N Super Dream, but it was more of a Super Nightmare. It was 1984, and it had supposedly been rebuilt by the local Honda dealership. I suspect that he must have had several parts left over when he finished the job as it was forever breaking down. On one particular occasion, when it wouldn't start, I had no choice but to get a friend with a car to tow it the 5 miles back to the dealer. Since we didn't have a trailer we had the bright idea of using a tow rope. We tried attaching it to the bike frame but rapidly discovered that wasn't a good idea, so instead I wrapped the end of the rope around my arm! Now the 250N wasn't a big heavy bike like the CB1100, but having to tow it up a steep hill for half the journey meant that my left arm probably ended up 2" longer than the right one. Amazingly we got there in one piece. I eventually sold the bike to the chap who took over my position when I got a job abroad. I heard that the poor lad was fired for not showing up to work on time. I wonder did the 250N have something to do with that!
Here's a photo of it with a friend trying it out for size. Does it remind you of anything?

(11-06-2021, 01:31 PM)Whoops_imp Wrote: [ -> ]

(11-06-2021, 12:57 PM)michael1954_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Maybe not my first bike, but one that really made me want to go riding just to be on it. The first year of the new Triumph Speedmaster back in 2003 was such a bike. I had back surgery in 2009 and could not ride for a few years, so I sold her not to just let her sit in my garage and be neglected.



Note: Air/oil cooled just like our beloved CB1100's.

That’s a beautiful bike! Was the seating posture upright like most UJM’s or was it more laid back like a Harley? The big footrests look comfy.

That’s a beautiful bike! Was the seating posture upright like most UJM’s or was it more laid back like a Harley? The big footrests look comfy.
Thanks! It was more laid back like a cruiser, hence the reason for the really nice floorboards. They came free when I bought this bike new; and I got a $250 coupon from Triumph for use on the brand only. They actually installed them for free too a couple months after I got the bike when the coupon came in the mail!

(11-06-2021, 06:17 PM)spechg_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Mine was a Honda 250N Super Dream, but it was more of a Super Nightmare. It was 1984, and it had supposedly been rebuilt by the local Honda dealership. I suspect that he must have had several parts left over when he finished the job as it was forever breaking down. On one particular occasion, when it wouldn't start, I had no choice but to get a friend with a car to tow it the 5 miles back to the dealer. Since we didn't have a trailer we had the bright idea of using a tow rope. We tried attaching it to the bike frame but rapidly discovered that wasn't a good idea, so instead I wrapped the end of the rope around my arm! Now the 250N wasn't a big heavy bike like the CB1100, but having to tow it up a steep hill for half the journey meant that my left arm probably ended up 2" longer than the right one. Amazingly we got there in one piece. I eventually sold the bike to the chap who took over my position when I got a job abroad. I heard that the poor lad was fired for not showing up to work on time. I wonder did the 250N have something to do with that!
Here's a photo of it with a friend trying it out for size. Does it remind you of anything?

Sure does.

The chap is holding his arm too; one might even look a wee longer than the other. Does he appear happy?