[Bronson]

Just curious as to what got folks in to riding motorcycles?


For me it was a TV show back in 1969 called Then Came Bronson. I was 13 years old sitting in front of our 25 inch Magnavox TV, channel surfing all 4 channels (ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS) and came across this guy riding a motorcycle down the highway. I got hooked on the TV show and the TV show is what sparked my passion to want to ride a motorcycle down that long lonesome highway.


I started on a Sears mini bike and then at 15 I got a Honda CL100, then in 1974 a new XLH Sportster 1000.


Check out jimbronson.com for more information on the TV show.


Your turn!

 

[Danny Boy]

The neighbor kid on his Cushman Eagle back in 1961. That isn't his bike , but it looked like that. Seemed pretty **** cool at the time.

 

[willajabir]

1962 I wanted something faster than my bicycle to follow cars around these Bama dirt roads. Mom got the Sear mini bike for me, a bandanna, and dad got me some safety goggles from his work. Other kids got 'em too. So I got a used cushman, then upgraded to my Kaw 90cc real to goodness motorcycle and have been riding since.

 

[richroiz]

dirt bike on my farm .
Funny memory .. my first spill was when i chased a groundhog and it ran behind a stump.

 

[TennesseeSmith]

My Dad rode bikes. He made sure all of his kids knew how to ride. He left it up to us to decide if we wanted to continue riding. I'm the only one in the family who still rides.

 

[Lazelod]

I've always been mechanically inclined, and even at a your age, I was drawn to anything with an engine. My dad had a Cushman when we was 13 or so, but aside from that, nobody in my family had a motorcycle. My first time was when I was 12 and my childhood friend taught me to ride his 80 CC dirt bike. Three years later, my parents got my two brothers and me used bikes for Christmas. Mine was a 125 CC, and I've always had a bike since that time. My brothers however lost interest once they turned 16 and got a car.

 

[Test Icicles]

My cousin paid my family a visit Christmas 1977 took me out on the back of his Yamaha XS750, I didn't even have a crash helmet, just a builders hard hat tied on with a neck tie! If felt like we were going about 1000 miles an hour and I loved it, from that moment on I was hooked. Got my 1st bike at 16 Yamaha FS1E and the rest as they say is history. Even if I don't get out as much as I would like I have to have a bike parked in the garage, on the odd occasions I've found myself without a bike it feels like something is missing is that weird?

 

[HansenCTX]

My dad rode motorcycles. He was more of a sport and enduro rider (he liked off road stuff). My first time sitting on a bike (Suzuki) was when I was two years old. So, I guess you can say it was in my blood.

I always had a fascination with bikes (bicycles and motorcycles). I got my first dirt-bike at ten years old, a Suzuki 125 dirt bike. When I got home from school (5th grade) I found the dirt bike laying on its side on the driveway. My folks said "If you can stand that bike up it is yours." I got a huge adrenaline shot and pick the bike up! I rode that thing for five years and learned so much from it. I have been riding ever since!! All kinds of bike too. Dirt, trail, street, chopper, sport, touring, ect.

Here is a picture of me and my buddy working on my first bike (1981 Suzuki 125 dirt). I think I was in middle school when this picture was taken (6th or 7th grade).

 

[TennX]

The neighbor kid on his Cushman Eagle back in 1961. That isn't his bike , but it looked like that. Seemed pretty **** cool at the time.

Me too, met him in 7th grade, had no problem riding *****...LOL

 

[Reidion]

I started out on pedal bikes, then a friend let me ride around his scooter he got. Then one day I saw a 1985 Honda Spree at a yard sale, thinking it was an electric scooter, but to my amazement, it was an aweseome little 50cc engine! I got it for $50 and put on 3,000 miles! The sense of freedom I had with it made me never want to leave the motorcycle world again ^_^

 

[Bronson]

My dad rode motorcycles. He was more of a sport and enduro rider (he liked off road stuff). My first time sitting on a bike (Suzuki) was when I was two years old. So, I guess you can say it was in my blood.

I always had a fascination with bikes (bicycles and motorcycles). I got my first dirt-bike at ten years old, a Suzuki 125 dirt bike. When I got home from school (5th grade) I found the dirt bike laying on its side on the driveway. My folks said "If you can stand that bike up it is yours." I got a huge adrenaline shot and pick the bike up! I rode that thing for five years and learned so much from it. I have been riding ever since!! All kinds of bike too. Dirt, trail, street, chopper, sport, touring, ect.

Here is a picture of me and my buddy working on my first bike (1981 Suzuki 125 dirt). I think I was in middle school when this picture was taken (6th or 7th grade).

And that's were they got the name "Shade Tree Mechanic" ! Cool

 

[CTG]

I had never ridden a motorcycle, nor did I know anyone who did, but in 1977 a guy showed up at work with at red KZ400 - it was beautiful. I loved it...and 3 days later owned one the exact same... now a few years later I can't get it out of me

 

[HansenCTX]

And that's were they got the name "Shade Tree Mechanic" ! Cool

You know it! The best kind too!

 

[Gizmo]

Shipmate on board a USN ship introduced me to his Kaw 750LTD. He told me he wanted to sell it and I said, "why not!" I was 32 years old, freshly married and never rode before. It was a **** of a bike to learn on but I did! That was 30 years ago and I haven't looked back ... many bikes later. As long as I can throw a leg over the seat, I'll be riding!

 

[Old Guy]

Started when I was 14

I started riding when I was 14 cushman scooter, then I went to a Yamaha 100 cc at 16 and it has been in my blood every since. I have owned about every brand of motorcycle there is EXCEPT a Harley. And I have not ever had the desire to own one. My favorites are the 5 GoldWings I have had. But they are just too heavy for me now days. If this CTX1300 don't work out I may go back to a can am. Oh yes I have owned two SilverWings and I loved them both.

 

[4401]

Came home from school one day when I was almost 14 and found a 1959 Lambretta scooter in the carport. Went in the house and asked my dad about it. He said he was driving through the housing area (Ft. Rucker, AL) and it was sitting in a yard where a moving van was in the street. An officer had orders and had to leave that day and the moving van wouldn't take the scooter. My dad asked him how much he wanted for it and he said "For $75 it's yours." So he bought it. A year later I upgraded to a new 1962 Lambretta but had to sell it when we moved to Washington state because I wasn't 16 yet. In 1966 I bought a used Honda 90 to commute to my summer job. My brother got it when I left for college. In 1970 I bought a new CL175 to commute to seminary in So. Cal. Then from 1974 until 2012 I didn't ride anything. August 2012 I bought an NC700x, and then needed to get my motorcycle endorsement. Three weeks ago I traded the NC in for my blue CTX deluxe, and am having a blast riding it. Just had my 600 mile service done today.

 

[jeffz]

My story is completely different than a lot of yours. Never knew anyone personally who rode or who introduced me to riding. Read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance in college and liked it without feeling any impulse to learn to ride, but something must have bounced around in my brain cause years later, when I was 27, I signed up to take the free MSF course.

I didn't even know what kind of bike I wanted. I started looking at Hondas probably because Robert M. Pirsig rode a Honda in the book (albeit a 70s CB-something or other). I picked a Shadow Aero probably as a counter-reaction to not liking the bright colors and plasticky looks of the more modern sporty bikes. And away I went.

A few years later I traded the Shadow for a Triumph Bonneville after a few minutes of sitting on one convinced me I'd like a more standard seating position for all the motorcycle commuting I was doing (lived in Arizona at the time). My wife got me looking at the Triumphs -- she loved the vintage cafe racer looks. What got me was the riding position. We bought two of them (she still has hers).

Took 7 years for me to feel like I was outgrowing the Bonneville. Didn't like any options Triumph presented as an upgrade from that bike: I wanted storage and a comfortable riding position. No Thunderbird worked and I didn't want an adventure bike, which seems to be today's "standard" motorcycle reborn. Then I found the CTX. Bingo. Back to Honda.

Jeff

 

[Miks]

For me...getting on a motorcycle was FREEDOM from everything dysfunctional in my life!

We were a VERY poor family growing up, bottom 3% of income and parents divorced, my mother continued to date LOSERS! Since we didn't have any money, my brother and I would ride bicycles everywhere. I don't know how many miles I put on a bike, but I rode when it was ten below, and rode when it was 100 degrees. I live in the midwest, and the wind constantly blows, and I hated going into the wind, loved riding with it.

One day, we went to a cousins farm and while sitting around watching how many damned flies were on farms, I happened to peek into a shed...and there it was, a 1969 Honda Z50, Yellow! I asked my cousin if we could ride it, keys were in it but he told me he didn't know how to turn the gas on it, so we didn't go riding.

The next time we went there, I was determined to ride that thing. Oldest cousin showed us how to turn the gas on, showed me the gears...3 down and I was off! The VERY first 10 feet not having to pedal, I KNEW this was it! I rode that thing around...of course, before I took it out no one wanted to have anything to do with it, THEN everyone else had to ride it!!!

When I turned 14, I bought my first bike, a 1972 Suzuki TS125 for $85 at a garage sale. It didn't run. I tried everything to get it to go, but the engine had been ran without any oil, so it would seize up right away after getting it started. I eventually had the top and bottom end redone, but by then I was 16 and purchased a 1978 Yamaha DT 175! I rode the **** out of it!

 

[Bluebird14]

Started in AZ. at 14

Started on a Sears Allstate Vespa, used to run my paper route, Tucson Daily Star, from there went to 1965 Honda Dream, then at 17 had a 1961 HD FLH Duo Glide, this is when I got hooked for the rest of my life. Also, guess it was in my blood, my Dad built motor bikes, before he joined the Navy (WWII) after coming back, he rode Indians (Scout and Chief).

 

[Tamale]

Me and my buddy used my neighbors Honda 50 while he was on vacation. Didn't have permission. At the time, I was 13 or so. Been riding ever since. I guess "ride it like you stole it" rang true for me!