Your first Motorcycle???

R

Ringo

New member
65 Dad built a minibike with a 3HP Briggs and Stratton engine
69 Honda 50 Mini Trail
73 Honda SL125
74 Honda XL250
74 Honda CR125 Elsinor
75 Honda MR 175 Enduro
80 Honda XR200 Enduro
75 Kawasaki KZ 900
76 Kawasaki KZ 900 LTD B-1 still have this one
85 Kawasaki GPZ 900 Ninga
96 Kawasaki ZX 1100 still have this one
08 1098

What's next? Time will tell.
 
Sweet ride squid! Single sided swing arm, GP shorty exhaust, nice! One of these exact bikes just poped up on craigslist here in Portland for $2500. It isn't an NP (or maybe it is, I don't know these bikes), but it is an '88 Hawk 650GT. Cool bike. Here's the link...if it works!

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/mcy/1025756065.html

-ND
 
Rapt,
Only with true motorcycle enthusiasts. Most riders don't even notice it, which is good because the swing arm fits some CBRs. Very few were imported, and back then they were the same price as the Hurricane, which was more bang for the buck.

Yeah, Moviefreak, it was like the Honda engineers got drunk together and wanted to see what they could do.

Nate, that's the same bike but the one in the ad has a lot of Frankensteined stuff, looks awful, and dirty. The front end is attractive if just left alone (see pic). There was one in running condition for sale in the LA are with half the mileage for $2k; I should have bought it for parts but chose to get an $4k R6 instead, kinda regret it now. Once I run out of parts I guess I'll just give it back to Honda or have it stuffed and mounted in my living room.
 
2002 F4i brand new on the year end clearance deals for like $7100. Got rear ended around 12k miles and got around $6k for it. Bought it back from the insurance company for like $2200, had it running for another $800, and then sold it finally for $4200 with 16k miles. I think it cost me tires and gas to put 16k on my first bike, plus a trip to the hospital. Was a good bike though! Rock solid FI, stupid reliable, fast, smooth...

Took some time off for an M car, sold that and bought a house and then a 1098 popped up "down the street." Woops, back into bikes!
 
Mom and dad would never allow a motorcycle under their kids. I covertly owned a Honda 50 step through that I kept at a friends house. I would pedal my bike over there then ride the 50 all day. A helmet and dark glasses hid my age from the cops so I thought. Once I hit 16 I actually got a drivers licence with bike endorsement.

Then when I was 17 a knucklehead frame somehow showed up in the garage. Then a wheel, a 48 panhead engine, a transmission, and so on. Within a year and selling the 50 along the way, a hardtail chopper fired up and left the garage under it's own power. Man,, was I Peter Fonda on that thing. Owned it for a couple years then got tired of it beating my spine to death. Onward to several MX bikes and racing, then numerous street bikes. 450,000 miles later I'm still addicted to these two wheeled things. Alas I didn't take any pics of the old bikes. I only have a faded pic of a couple choppers under construction in the garage.
 
Yeah, my folks wouldn't let me have any bikes. Oddly, they didn't get pissed if I rode a friends bike. And I did that a ton. I've told my Mom if they wouldn't have had that rule, maybe I wouldn't be so into them now. Oh well, thanks Mom and Dad. I currently have 13 bikes. All run but one.

My first?....at 18 I bought a Honda CL175. That bike ran like crap!!!! But I paid 75bucks for it, so I didn't expect much. Had it for about a year, and it's been "on" ever since. I'd like to get one again just to display it. Looking at them now, they're about the size of a moped these days. Gotta love 'em though. Well, at least I do Mine was a 71, here's a pic of a 72
 
'81 Honda CB650c

"if you can get it to run, it's yours"

so, i dug it out of 2" of upstate NT perma frost, wobbled it down the hill, charged the battery and popped it to life. not for long mind, but i was on my way.
 
got the bug in the mid teens,but could only ride very occassionally on relo's farm as they lived over 250k away.remember going to a party,and the girls older brother had just got this ducati.,a 900 SS, in black i was hooked!! so the process is long and winding.the first road registerred bike was a Kawasaki 1981 KL250,princely sum of $700.was so low geared !! that i lost the odd pillion off the back at the traffic lights.they should learn to hang on!!.even lost an ex g/foff the back going threw the bush.it was never great on the road,but learnt how to tear it apart and get it going again.next was another Kwaka. a GPZ750 83/84.Great bike in a straight line,but crap suspension.After that a bit of a hiatis away from bikes.wine/woman etc etc.another brief interlude with a Kwaka zzr 11[think it was a 95model.After another gap, i wanted to get back into it and get a duc,mid life crisis was quickly approaching,but thought with the loss of serious road riding experience over the years i purchased a VTR1000 firestorm ,as disposable practice before i finally realised the dream of finally owning a ducati. the following are pics of the model bikes ,but not my pics.hj
 
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