07-06-2013, 09:27 PM
Gentlemen,
When I was 11 years old I bought a brand new Briggs & Stratten 3hp mini bike. Rode the wheels off of it on the street and on the trails. At that age I was the king of the world on that little bike and it was unbelievably fun. At age 13 I bought a Honda Trail 70 4-speed with a manual clutch. Top speed was 46 mph. My dad got license plates for it and I rode it all over central Arizona and never got caught (I obviously had no drivers license). That little bike was bullet proof and I wish I still had it. My first real motorcycle was a Honda SL100. On my 16th birthday I took my riders test on it and was finally legal to ride on the roads. I raced both Enduro's and Desert Races on that bike and it will always be a favorite. My first brand new Harley Davidson Sportster (1978) took me on my first long multi state road trips with good friends. It was a chick magnet and I had a blast on it. Every motorcycle I've owned since then, and it's been a bunch of them, have been attempts to recapture the magic of those first bikes. Some came closer than others.
So I guess for me my favorite bikes are special because of the experiences I had on them and memories associated with them. It wasn't because of their beauty or technical brilliance. Though I've owned many finer machines, those early bikes will always be my favorites. Cheers.
Chip
When I was 11 years old I bought a brand new Briggs & Stratten 3hp mini bike. Rode the wheels off of it on the street and on the trails. At that age I was the king of the world on that little bike and it was unbelievably fun. At age 13 I bought a Honda Trail 70 4-speed with a manual clutch. Top speed was 46 mph. My dad got license plates for it and I rode it all over central Arizona and never got caught (I obviously had no drivers license). That little bike was bullet proof and I wish I still had it. My first real motorcycle was a Honda SL100. On my 16th birthday I took my riders test on it and was finally legal to ride on the roads. I raced both Enduro's and Desert Races on that bike and it will always be a favorite. My first brand new Harley Davidson Sportster (1978) took me on my first long multi state road trips with good friends. It was a chick magnet and I had a blast on it. Every motorcycle I've owned since then, and it's been a bunch of them, have been attempts to recapture the magic of those first bikes. Some came closer than others.
So I guess for me my favorite bikes are special because of the experiences I had on them and memories associated with them. It wasn't because of their beauty or technical brilliance. Though I've owned many finer machines, those early bikes will always be my favorites. Cheers.
Chip