Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge History, how long & what you ride

OK people, this is a question everyone here has an answer to. How long have you been riding and what have you owned ?
I'm gonna go get another beer and want to see some answers when I get back.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrppppppppppppppp !!!

Started at 12 with a 5 hp Brigs and stratton "mini bike"
move to a taka dirt bike
Suzuki gl550
1979 Bonny
1983 Gold wing
05 BA
about 20 +- years in the saddle

Oh yeah and there was a Bridgestone 175 in boxes at my house for awhile

Never pass up an opportunity to talk about myself (as unimpressive as it is!).

Riding 33 years.
Age 13 - 17 various enduro/Dirt bikes such as Honda 50, Suzuki 125, Yamaha 175, Pentax 250.
Age 17 - 46 (current age) '73 Triumph 750 and now a '04 Triumph America.
Future bike is a Rocket unless Triumph comes out with something better.
there you go!

ah man...thought I was going to be the first to reply!!

Bud- Lots of luck getting replys, but here's mine. What about you?

A little over 30 years
1972 Honda cb175 --New
1972 Honda cb350 --New
1974 Kawasaki 175 Street/trail --New
1977 BMW R/65 Luftmeister fairing --New
1964 Harley Davidson DuoGlide FLH full dressed --used
1974 Kawasaki 900 --used
1987 Kawasaki ZL1000 Eliminator --New
1993 Honda Gold Wing Aspencade w/trailer --New
2005 Triumph America

Jerry

When I was 16, Indian dirt bike (split in two)
Suzuki Intruder till my son was born
10 year layoff
The America

1. Honda 50 2. Honda 50 3. hodaka 125 4.AMF Harley Davidson 250 5.Yamaha 250 [first road bike, 2 stroke 6 speed,FAST,125mph] 6.Honda450 7. Triumph T-100 8.Harley ironhead sportster. 9. 1955 harley panhead 10.Triumph tr6. 11. 1982 Harley lowrider. 12. 750 Honda chopper, 12" over springer, hardtail. 13. 650 BSA hardtail springer chopper 14.04 TBA. Man, now my brain hurts, I had to think all the way back to 1968 when I was 10, I even had to look thru some pictures to help remind me. Now I feel old.

started ridding when I was 5 30 now and dont remember ever not having some kind of 2 wheel machine..


first bike was a honda 50
dont remember how long I had that, but when I was 8 dad got me a yamaha 100 4 stroke but still rode the 50 ( new bike was to tall in the saddle)
for my 12th b-day got a kawi KX125 raced it for 3 races and broke the frame
same day the castcame off my arm dad took me to the Honda shop to getme a CR 125 but I fell inlove with a KTM 250 that was used, raced that for a year befor I blew the tranny. It was then that the local Honda shop offerd me a good deal ( little did I know my dad had bought 50% of the business a week eariler) but I was to get free bikes (125's) free ridding gear that had the Honda shop name in it, and free service. But I had ot keep good grades and all that Jazz..So I took it and raced 125's in the AMA for 4 years till stepping up to 250's when I was 17.. Went through countless bike I remember 4 in one year( dad was not happy, but I won 99% of the races I didnot break stuff in). Thenthe big show bug got me, I started racing all over the country running with McGrath and so on.. I had a full backing and my bikes were preped just like the factory bikes.. Was racing the GA dome in July 7 years ago, I was doing very well in the race even tho my bike was acting up real bad.. It was landing real hard on any kind of jump with more then 5ft of air.. So I was taking the long side of the track to stay out of faster ridders way.. Seems i was going better then most anyhow, had one guy following me the whole track.. 2 turns from the end I was sik of him so I went short on the turn and stayed low, he was expecting me to go high. long story short he hit me square in my back at 35+ mph with his front tire. I was inthe hospital for 3 months and spent a year learning to walk again.. Dad was very upset and took the blame, all of it, he sold the bike shop ( by now he owned it 100% free and clear) all my bikes the truck and traier. I told him he was a idiot he told me I worked EMS and not in the bike shop so it did not matter lol.. Well I have yet to be on a dirt bike but have a 6 year old nephew who races motocross and isfreaking awesome..

Once able to ride again dad gave me his old pan head hd I rode it for about a hour till I said this sucks loud and slow andrides like a tater wagon. called my buddy who was selling his triumph legend, then got me a FXR, sold it got a soft tail deluxe, sold it got a chopper, kept it got a CBR f2 then a CBR 929 then a CB1,, about then one of my buddies died and hos wife gave me his old BMW their VTX1800, then i got my first BA (all back of course) then my second BA (all back as of 4pm) and now I am in the market for a goldwing or a ultra classic HD for my alaska trip..Oh and the SporsterI just got last week, but it is a gift for my brother,(all 4 of my sisters and parents chipped in)

crib notes
est 20+ dirt bikes
Soft tail
and a FXR

Have still
CBR F2
CBR 929
triumph legend
BigDog chopper
BMW
VTX 1800
2004 BA
2004 BA
2006 Sporster

My insurance company loves me when I pay the bill every year, but it is still cheaper then my truck.

Let me think OK here goes.

3 1/2 Briggs mini bike
Benelli 50
Suzuki 100
1972 Yamaha 175
1976 Yamaha 175
1973 Yamaha 360 Enduro (an old early thumper, good bike)
1969 Triumph TR6 (still in the restore process)
2002 TBA

Age 10-12 mini bike
12-16 Honda 100/Yamaha 125/ Suzuki 250
17- 19 Honda 250 (rode my step dads BMW650RS, and sometimes without permission )
20-35 Honda 250 CR with big bore, rode my foster brothers HD panhead while he was away also
Took a few years off
2004-present TBA

Different bikes I rode (as kids we changed off a lot and a lot of us rode dirt bikes, some of us rode street bikes as dirt bikes)

Hodaka 100
Bultaco 360
Misc Honda’s street and dirt

Oh, almost forgot, the mighty Honda 50!! My step dad’s. Sad thing, one of the kids, NOT ME, took it to the drive in movies, jumped the back fence to get in free. When he returned, the bike was GONE…… man Pops was PISSED (as in mad)

learned to ride at age 15 on a minibike. bought my first bike(82 HD Sportster)while in the army. since then i have owned a 86 hd low rider, 99 bmw r1100rt, and a 04 triumph.....angelis

Have been riding 30 years
175 yamaha dirt bike
750 honda
900 kawasaki
650 kawasaki
85o guzzi
1000 guzzi
850 hd sporster
1340 hd softail
hd dyna glide
78 triumph bonnie
2004 america now

40 years

Very long list--- Triumph, Harley, Yamaha, Ducati, Honda
Best bike I ever owned 1983 Honda CB1000 Custom. Smooth, fast, never broke, good to look at and did I say fast.

I dunno lol a lot of em. Wife counted em one day, about 20.

Oh! 2005 Triumph (lots of fun)

Age 11 Fox minibike Sachs saxonette 50cc 2 speed auto...few years L8R a Maico Mc400...Yamaha XZ550RJ Vision, A"73" RD350, A "85" RZ350, My Speedy...And a 50cc Pocket bike...I still have the RD,RZ, Pocket bike and Speedy...Riding 32 years

42 years....

1958 Cushman Highlander
1964 Honda Sport 50
1966 Honda 305 Super Hawk
1967 Triumph Bonneville
1979 BMW R100-RT
1982 Honda Nighthawk
1996 BMW R1100-RS
1999 BMW R1100-GS
2004 Triumph America

Hi Budster
here is my history :
(begun 's in age 14 ...and endet in ......
1.Puch ,Maxi
2.Puch,Jet
3.Honda,Dax 70ccm (18jears old)
4.Kawasaki Z900
5.Kawasaki H1
6.Jamaha RD350
7.Jamaha XS650
8.Kawasaki GPZ1100
9.Jamaha Fj1200
10.Honda GL1100
11Triumph America
12.BMW K1200LT
and actualli used a Triumph America 06
PETER

I've noticed that a lot of us were first bitten by the bug while riding a little Honda 50....

....and that little sucker(the bug...not the Honda) bit Yours Truly almost 40 years ago.

(in order of purchase)

1965 Honda CL50 Sport

1967 Benelli 360cc(sold by Montgomery Wards)

1966 Honda CL77 305cc Scrambler

1966 BSA A65 Lightning(twin-carb)

1971 BSA Rocket-3 750cc

1978 Honda CX500

1980 Yamaha XS1100 Special

1995 Triumph Sprint 900

1970 Triumph T120R Bonneville(custom "Streettracker" with TR6C single-carb head)

2002 Triumph Bonneville America

Cheers,
Dwight
(BTW...I'm being buried atop the '70 "tracker".....hopefully around the year 2036)

1974 Honda XL 70 in 1974 (12 y/o)
1987 Honda Magna in 1988 (launched over handle bars,totalled
2005 TBA

this thread has great potential to take on ‘fish story’ characteristics. so, i didn’t want to post my reply too early in fear it would be topped, or, too late in fear it would be used. i believe its time.

my first bike had a wooden frame and stone wheels. it didn’t roll well because we didn’t yet have the ‘round’ concept. but, the stones kept the frame off of the ground and delayed frame rot. (originator of the ‘thrill of motorcycling)

my second bike had round, stone wheels and rolled. this certainly extended mileage. i liked that bike.
invented rolling transportation)

the 3rd bike had a pelt thrown over the center log. seating was quite comfortable - so comfortable that i considered accommodations for extending travel distance.
(inventor of the seat

on my 4th bike, i lashed a huge sack to one side of the center post just behind the pelt. i put a lot of stuff in that bag – so much that it was terribly out of balance and would often tip to the side of the heavily laden bag. (i invented the first saddle bag)

to correct the balance problems of the previous bike, i made new bags for the 5th – ½ the size of the original and affixed one to each side of the center post, just behind the pelt and adjacent to the rear stone. (i was the first person to successfully implement ‘counterbalancing’ in motorcycle production.)

this bike was very nice to ride and i kept it for some time – until the advent of the chain and gear. i wasn’t an innovator on this 6th bike, but i enjoyed the fact that i could now keep my feet off of the ground and my moccasins seemed to last forever. although i made no contribution to the design of this bike, my frequent wearing of these prized moccasins was a smashing hit. i was the first to introduce leather fringe to motorcycling.

there have been several since, but they never had the charm or character of those first 6. gee i miss those early days – the days before rubber and engines and lights. seems technology only brings more things to break. oh, the good ole days.

Started riding at 11, now 37.
'74 Honda XL100 for 2 years
Yamaha YZ125 for a few years
Yamaha IT175 in high school
1st street bike: '84 Honda VF700 Magna (1991-99)
No bike for 5-6 years until '05 Speedmaster

My dad got me into riding. Through the years he had a Honda CB350, Nighthawk650, Honda CBX. I got to ride all these a little bit. I wish he still had the CBX.

Will

First bike I rode was a 1959 Matchless G12(650)when I was 13, 43 years ago.
Had a Puch maxi at college, followed by
step through Honda 50
Honda CB175
Honda CJ250
1970 Triumph T100ss
1967 Triumph T90
1969 Triumph T90
1974 Triumph Tiger 750
1971 BSA B50SS
Honda 90 (for winter)
Yamaha virago
Triumph BA 02, 27/09/01 registered, so probably one of the first ones? have had it over 4 years now.

Started riding at 16.
1st bike was a suzuki 125. then I bought a new trials bike in 1976(the most fun in the dirt I ever had). A Honda CR 125 and a Honda super sport 400 followed the trials bike. Yamaha xs 650 (had that bike for ten years) A Yamaha 920 was next. The last bike before my America is (I still have it) a 1985 Honda Magna 700. I plan on keeping my Triumph way past 10 years!!

Started riding when i was 12. Had a handful of dirt bikes. One of the bikes, I will never know what it really was (same with a couple others), but it claied to be a 1972 125cc Indian.
Also had:
1972 Yamaha 250 Enduro, the bike I learned on
1976 honda CB 450 that bought from a guy I worked with that was a Hells Angel. He built the bike from all the spare parts in his back yard. It had taller handle bars, fat bob tank, genuine glass tombstone tail ight and (suprise) fishtail pipes. Paid him $275. That was in 1983.
1983(?) Yamaha 750 Seca (wasn't mine, it was the next door neighbors, but I rode it a lot)

After the Honda quit running didnt get another bike for 15 years and it was (and is) a 2004 Speedmaster.

Soren

Luckily I didn't have any false starts. I bought the perfect bike the first time.

Got it in one.

My first "real" bike was also a Honda 50 in 1964. Also had a Honda 90 and a Motocross 160 until getting my first Triumph in 1971 - a Daytona 500 (looked like a dual carb Bonnie but 500cc). I bought it in London and traveled all over Europe on it that summer. I later had a Bonnie and a Honda Rebel before giving up bikes for many years. When I decided to get a bike last year and saw what Triumph was doing now, it was a no-brainer. Love my America!

So, you're saying that you've basically had Harleys?

@pipedr
oh Man - i had stomach for your story ...
very good
PETER

pipedr,

Say hello to Wilma, Barney and his foxy wife Betty for me, will ya???!!!

Cheers,
Dwight
(I'm mean...I've heard 50 is the new 40, but THIS is ridiculous....how old exactly ARE you, dude???)

Hey all...

Been riding for precisely 2 years (give or take a week...)

I still have my Kymco Cruiser... Had her brand new, and I love her in the way you can only love a first bike.
Then I got my America. Picked her up the day I passed my test....Now she is the love of my life.

Not now but soon.... next year I want to buy a Tiger Cub. They're just cute. And then I will inherit (though hopefully not to soon) one day a 3HW (WWII Dispatch Riders bike). One day - hopefully soon - my dad will have it running and then I'll post a pic of it...

I started riding about 23 years ago. Started of on a Yamaha 50 fsie, then took my test on a Honda CB125.since then ive owned a honda CB200, Honda CB250, Kawasaki Z400, Honda 550 four, A Yamaha XS 750 lowrider, Two Suzuki GS 750s, a Kawazaki ZX10 and a yamaha FZ750 Genesis.
Then after a five year gap last year i bought the Triumph speedmaster.....

Been riding 32 Years....

Hodaka....
Wombat
SuperRat
Ace 90
Susuki
TS 50 and TS 250
Kawasaki
1973 Z1 900
Honda
1983 V65 Magna
1982 XR 200
1985 XR 350
Triumph
2002 TBA
HD
2005 Super Glide Sport
2006 Softail Deluxe

And a few other dirt bikes and parts bikes..

I am getting old and forgetful. Add a kaw. 200 and a Magna V65 to my list.

Hey Bud,

Glad the surgery worked out so well and you're riding again. Bikes? I remember spending alot of my last two years in school reading about various bikes. Had a friend with a slightly chopped Triumph 650 of unknown vintage which I swear he tried to roll me of the back of. Kind of liked the Honda CB750's, also had passing interest in the Beemers of the day, R75, is that right? Living in Wisconsin I was well aware of HD, and checked out the sportsters. But that was the AMF days and their reputation wasn't the best. Never rode any one of them (Honda/BMW/HD) truthfully.

Kind of settled on a Triumph Bonneville, due to 1) price, $1,995 out the door and 2) 1976 was the Bicentennial Year and I thought I'd do the patrioticly contrary thing . Plus I thought it looked cool. I then ended up riding horses & not motorcycles for work for about 12 years. An old Harley buddy knowing of my affliction strongly suggested I check out the new Triumphs. I added fringe on the seat, as an ode to the old cowboy days, or to be contrary

JH

I learned to ride on a friends 125 Ducati(rh shift).
My first: 120 Suzuki enduro, 3sp, dual range
72 200cc Yamaha, twin cyl, twin carb, dual ex. road bike
71 Norton 750 Commando(rh shift,1 up,3 down)
69 Triumph Daytona 500(rh shift,1 down,3 up)
74 Yamaha 360 enduro
03 TBA

Charlie

Quote:

---

No, Bill. Never owned a Harley and only rode a few.

---

oh , it was that whole pelt over the center log that got me .

No brag factor here. Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts...

7? Honda CB 360, used, about 2 years
76 Suzuki GT 550, used, about 6 years
18 year gap without motorcycle
04 Triumph Speedmaster, new, 1.5 years

Don't miss the first bike, but yep, I pine for that Suzuki sometimes.