What was your first bike?

[LongRanger_imp]

It's amazing how product categories have changed over the years. What Yamaha called a "Special" back then would probably be considered a "standard" today. The Specials (especially the blacked-out and gold "Midnight Special") were considered to be the daring cutting edge of cruiserdom.

 

[apex1_imp]

My first bike was a 1969 Honda PC50, a small moped that was only sold in the United States in 1969, though it was sold much more widely in other parts of the world. It came either in blue or in red. One day my dad and the neighbor went to the local Honda dealer and he came home with a blue one. I honestly don’t think he ever rode it. I was 11 years old and I immediately made it mine, riding that thing thousands and thousands of laps around a two-tier parking lot in a church near our house and what I would guess was thousands of miles through the woods. After that was destroyed, I graduated to a Trail 70 then a Suzuki TC-90 before I turned old enough to get my drivers license. Dozens of bikes came after that. With the advent of the Internet I was able to piece together both blue and red 1969 PC50s about 15 years ago, that I still own today.

 

[the Ferret]

Nice!

 

[ChipBeck_imp]

Gentlemen,

My first motorcycle was also a Briggs & Stratton 3HP mini-bike. No front suspension and a double loop steel tube frame just like this one. My second bike was an orange 4-speed manual clutch Honda Trail 70. That was followed by a Honda SL-100. Then a Husqvarna 450 Desert Master. At age 14 (and obviously without a drivers license) I rode that Trail 70 all over central Arizona and was never stopped by the police. I'd love to have that 70cc Honda today.

Chip

 

[Mtneers]

The first was a 2 1/2 HP homemade mini-bike followed by a 3 1/2 HP “Lil Indian” mini-bike. My dad had a franchise and sold @Lil Indians” for awhile. That was followed by a ‘69 Honda Z50. Next was the Trail 90 my brother had that I begged him to sell me. I bought a basket case Z50 from eBay in 2003 and restored it. Still own.

First generation RLETS

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[Dude_imp]

My first bike was a 1978 Kawasaki KV75 when I was 10. My first street bike when I turned 16 was a Yamaha XS 400 Special II.

I think a pair of those bars would feel great on the cb

 

[mattmcuomo@yahoo.com]

My first dirt bike was a Hodaka Ace 100. First street bike was a Kawasaki KH100.


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[LongRanger_imp]

Cool, another Hodaka!

 

[cooldrum_imp]

My first bike was a '67 Honda 305 scrambler... which I still ride today in addition to the CB. Unrestored and original. Many memories riding it and it's a piece of rolling history now. Just amazing Honda engineering.

 

[peterbaron]

My first bike was a '67 Honda 305 scrambler... which I still ride today in addition to the CB. Unrestored and original. Many memories riding it and it's a piece of rolling history now. Just amazing Honda engineering.

Can you post pic, please

 

[Obliviontoad]

First, '72 CB350, Second, 2010 SHadow RS 750, Third, some retro bike nobody ever seems to know anything about...

 

[flynrider]

It's amazing how product categories have changed over the years. What Yamaha called a "Special" back then would probably be considered a "standard" today. The Specials (especially the blacked-out and gold "Midnight Special") were considered to be the daring cutting edge of cruiserdom.

Yep. In the days before cruisers were their own category, Japan put out these Cruiser-ish versions of the standard UJM. Custom (Honda), Special (Yamaha), LTD (Kawasaki) and Suzuki just used the suffix "L". I often thought of these as "universal" as the UJM. Take a UJM, add stepped seat, buckhorn bars, cast wheels and shorty megaphone pipes. They all did it about the same way.

I must admit that I liked the looks, compared to the standard models. The only thing I never got used to were the crazy handlebars. They positioned your hands about 90 degrees from normal bars, and much closer together. Such was the price of owning the "cool" version.

 

[use2b_imp]

cooldrum if you ever decide to sell the 305 Scrambler talk to me ....... looking for one.
I went through bikes fast as a kid [ worked hard at many jobs ] and also had a hodaka combat wombat for the clay pits around my home but purchased a Bridgestone 100 from a friend and loved that bike. It was the fastest 100 around with rotary valve engine , rotary transmission and they set two new land speed records at Bonneville .
got lucky and then bought a Bridgestone 350cc with Six speeds, 40 HP, oil injection, dual rotary valves with quick-cooling aluminum alloy cylinders with low friction chromed steel bores . always wanted to race a RD350 but never got the chance . the carbs were enclosed on the engine sides for direct flow straight into the rotary valves .

 

[peterbaron]

cooldrum if you ever decide to sell the 305 Scrambler talk to me ....... looking for one.
I went through bikes fast as a kid [ worked hard at many jobs ] and also had a hodaka combat wombat for the clay pits around my home but purchased a Bridgestone 100 from a friend and loved that bike. It was the fastest 100 around with rotary valve engine , rotary transmission and they set two new land speed records at Bonneville .
got lucky and then bought a Bridgestone 350cc with Six speeds, 40 HP, oil injection, dual rotary valves with quick-cooling aluminum alloy cylinders with low friction chromed steel bores . always wanted to race a RD350 but never got the chance . the carbs were enclosed on the engine sides for direct flow straight into the rotary valves .

NICE pic...my friend had his racing Yam RD 250cc, 2 stroke, twin with rotary valve and reed valve + ports done ++ = awesome performance those days...was doing around 200 km/h if I remember good..

 

[LongRanger_imp]

use2be, could you upshift the rotary transmission on that 100 from 4th (or 5th) back to 1st by accident?

 

[suhawk305]

use2be, I lived near a Bridgestone dealer, I remembered when the 350 GTR came out and I wanted one so bad. Unfortunately, by the time I could afford one, Bridgestone was history.

 

[use2b_imp]

use2be, could you upshift the rotary transmission on that 100 from 4th (or 5th) back to 1st by accident?

No - you would hit neutral .... I never had a problem .
I liked the transmission a lot and it was all gears down then down again for neutral at a stop light and down again to 1st although you could downshift by clicking up. they were wonderful bikes and the hard chromed cylinders stayed shinny as the bumper on a new car back then i was told they could not be bored out but only re-ringed.
did take a full 1000 miles for break in because of the chrome but they were really fast , smooth bikes.

also the tanks were all Chrome and when the 100 got scratched up on top i used paint remover and had an all chrome tank

 

[MinneapolisCB_imp]

My first bike was a 2008 Buell 1125R. I had just started dating a gal with over 30 years of riding experience, but was shopping on my own. When I told her what I purchased, she told me later that her reaction was, “This guy will either quickly splatter himself or has big enough cajones to be a real good time. I better stick around to find out.” We are married now.

I obviously survived, but it was a poor choice for a beginner.


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[Banned_imp]

My first bike was a 2008 Buell 1125R. I had just started dating a gal with over 30 years of riding experience, but was shopping on my own. When I told her what I purchased, she told me later that her reaction was, “This guy will either quickly splatter himself or has big enough cajones to be a real good time. I better stick around to find out.” We are married now.

I obviously survived, but it was a poor choice for a beginner.


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That is one of the worst first bike decisions I have ever heard. Glad you survived.

 

[MinneapolisCB_imp]

[/QUOTE]

That is one of the worst first bike decisions I have ever heard.
[/QUOTE]

I could not agree more. I thankfully had a healthy fear of the bike, so I barely twisted the throttle until I built up some confidence.



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