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Hr_puffinstuff
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011 - 08:44 am: | 
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my baby book says my 1st words were "Dada" and "Honda" and not in that order. Dad rode one of these, a '69, and it's in pieces in the corner of my garage.
Evel, of course, played a major role in my young life, as did the coolest guy in the world, straight outta' Beerwaukee -
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Reepicheep
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011 - 09:18 am: |
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That Fonzie bike is going up for sale, FWIW.
The bike that lit my fire was when I was 14 and had a 50cc Garelli moped (piece of junk). But saw the guy riding on the Batavus bikes. None of this step though garbage like the Garelli, a real and proper motorcycle tank. And it was FAST (  ), it would do 35 MPH all day long. The Garelli was lucky to hit 25. I still remember how hard that thing pulled when a friend let me ride his.. lol.
I wish my parents had gotten me a dirt bike. |
Etennuly
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011 - 10:14 am: |
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When I was a little guy all I wanted was a mini bike from J.C.Penneys. Back when they had auto centers, they had a pretty blue one with front springs. My dad could somehow see right through me. So eventually he got me a go-kart.
When my elder brother got his used Bridgestone 90 two smoke street bike to strip for the dirt, I got my first shot at twisting the throttle.....dad was right. Went about 300 feet caught a peg on a flower planter and went over the bars. I was fourteen. Now not allowed to have a bike until I was eighteen.
The only bikes I knew of as a kid scared the crap out of me, one neighbor had a 400 Greeves that would wheelie past our house with no muffler, one had an early Kaw 750 triple that was always at over 100 mpg passing our house, and a big fat neighbor who had a no muffler early sixties Harley.
My first, in 1975 was a '73 Honda XL250. Two years later my first street bike was a '74 Honda CB750. I always kept a dirt and street bike. I moved up to a '79 TT500, and a brand new '79 CB750F super sport. There were several more but, probably my most fun street bike was an '85 V65 Magna.
Then I got into racing three wheelers. But I always yearned for a dual sport that was really able to go places. I thanked Erik one time for making the Uly.....I explained to him how a riding buddy and I designed it in about 1979 on a napkin in a bar. We had an idea, but not the gumption to follow through.
When I saw the '05 Hero Blue City-x that would become my first Buell, I spent half an hour in a showroom sitting on the floor beside it studying it with a booklet that explained it. I was hooked. Six months later the Uly was announced and my riding life became complete. |
Road_thing
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011 - 10:15 am: |
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1963, Port Angeles, Washington. My aunt Marion turned me loose on her Honda Trail 55. I was 11 years old. I still have the burn scar on my ankle.
rt |
Whatever
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011 - 10:49 am: |
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January 20, 2003... day I became a Buell owner. I was obsessed with the tubers for three years before I could afford one, and even at that I could not afford one.
My friend Tom, a retired police officer who had just survived cancer and chemo had me take the plunge. He said, "So you can't afford the bike, but you may not be around by the time you can."
He was a good guy. You should have seen the teenagers honking at him when we drove it back north from Sauk City... yeah, January in Wisconsin is a little messy for a ride.
One of the best decisions I ever made. Took me 8 years to pay for it. The XB I paid cash...
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Whatever
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011 - 10:53 am: |
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First bike was a 1981 Yamaha 750 SECA I bought in 1995 for $800 in Arizona before I knew how to ride. Taught myself how to ride it without destroying it. I loved that bike too. Rode it in 1996 through the Rockies back to Wisconsin... that one ended up on the Menominee Nation Reservation, crashed by my friends 20 year old. Don't have any photos of that one though.  |
Whatever
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011 - 11:05 am: |
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My first bike, but imagine it with no sissy bar, a ripped up seat and all rusted up... 
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86129squids
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011 - 11:30 am: |
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Char, that's very cool that you lernt yerself on an old Seca- my other hooligan best buddy's mom had a Seca 550... my first real pucker moment was when my buddy let me ride it up the street, and I went past ludicrous speed straight to plaid.... somehow, brought it back to him intact.
This is definitely one of the best threads in a long time!  |
Barker
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011 - 12:13 pm: |
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Rick_a
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011 - 12:32 pm: |
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Great stories guys.
An '86 Honda CR80 like this one was the first bike I rode at the age of fifteen.
It was highly modified and had already crippled a couple adults due to a light switch powerband. It nearly crippled me. I was so short the seat was mid-chest.
Years later I rode a newer stockish 125 that was a pussycat in comparison. I went back to the 80 and immediately looped it. |
Johnnylunchbox
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011 - 03:09 pm: |
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Saw this when I was 14 and wanted to go places on it.
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86129squids
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011 - 03:52 pm: |
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Haha- Johnny, grab your Connie and I'll get another first year PC800, or my dream GTS1000.
A Norge would do, too... |
Johnnylunchbox
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011 - 04:35 pm: |
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I did get one finally in 2004. It was my first real street bike. Still have it. |
Ljm
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011 - 04:37 pm: |
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Bonanza minibike. 2 1/2 h.p., no fenders, no lights, no suspension. Won the minibike drags two years running, beat the 5 h.p. Rupp's, and the honda 50's and 90's. Still looking for one to replace it. |
Buellish
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011 - 08:52 pm: |
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My first time up on two wheels was on a '66 Honda P50 that my brother and I road into the ground.Got another then a 150 Dream,160 Scrambler,300 Dream and my favorite a '68 CL 77 305 Scrambler.From there moved up to a '74 TL 400 Suzuki,I found out pretty quick I'm not into dirt.Sold it and got a '75 H2 Kawasaki.Installed flytop pistons,
chambers,carb mods and dual roller chain. Somehow managed to avoid killing myself for four years.
Got my 1st HD,a '78 1/2 FXE Super Glide.Then an 80/80 Electra Glide.Reinvented it three times.Was hit head on by a Honda Accord.Totaled the FLH and broke my hip.
I was able to keep the motor and trans.The motor was by then an '86 inch stroker with S&S internals,an Andrews cam and a Rivera SU carb.Got it back up as a roller but after 20 years I had lost interest.By then I had moved back to North Georgia and was riding in the mountains,scraping floorboards,frame and exaust.
I discovered Buell on the internet.Drove to Illinois to look at a '96 Parkway Blue S2T.
Fell in love with the bike.Fell in love with riding all over again.Since then,a '95 Yellow Jacket Pearl S2 with bags,an '06 Uly,a '95 Ice White Pearl S2,a '96 Quicksilver Metallic S2T ex cop bike,a '97 Billet Metallic S1,a '98 S1W Black "White Lightning" and an '01 Yeller M2 Cyclone.
I've have an off and on relationship with BMW's starting with a '78 R60/7,an '81 R100RT cop bike,an '86 R80 with "S" faring and bars,an R1100S with Ohlins front and rear,a Vanderlinde full stainless exaust,a shortened billet torque arm,heated grips and hard cases and an '01 R1100RT.I briefly had an '01 Kawasaki Concours.A great bike,
but I learned I'm not an inline four guy.
Had an '04 Moto Guzzi V11 Sport Ballabio,sold it to my good friend Joe to keep it in the family.
We'll not go into the bikes I had when I had my shop,which were mostly bought for resale.
I can't imagine life without an S2T.I'll always have one and I don't know why,but I'll probably get another BMW.Either an Airhead,an Oilhead,
or another Guzzi.
(Message edited by buellish on October 10, 2011) |
Aesquire
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011 - 10:38 pm: |
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After the minibikes and buddies motocrossers & enduros the Street bike I learned on was a Honda CB500.
First owned bike a Suzuki GT 380 ( heavy, slow and smokey ) moved up to a GS750B which got turned into a cafe bike, then back again... A Kawasaki 500 Triple was given to me, ( broke, and Mom wants it gone ) fixed, then donated to a buck a whack for charity event at a Hells Angels/ABATE 4th of July party. ( couldn't get the title )
Then finally the dream bike, the GS1100E. Unobtainable when first came out, it was the King Kong in the three way Horsepower wars of the early 80's, trading off top spot with Kawasaki and Yamaha. My sister's boyfriend in a local punk band actually Wrote a song about that bike. It's on an album somewhere....
Sold to a buddy who'd lusted after it with dire warnings to take it easy until he was used to it. He calls me after a week complaining that it's strong, but not all that nasty. I asked where he was shifting, he said "four grand"... I told him "Try 8". He lived & finally understood......
Yamaha triple shaft drive 750 for a few years, then quit biking for a while...
All bought used, all taken apart and put back together at some point.
Dream bikes were the BWM RS1000, Triumph Bonneville, and the 500cc 2stroke GP street bikes that never came to America.... Best friend had a Norton Combat Commando, and I learned about the Prince Of Darkness, helicoils, and actually made Transmission shafts at work on lunch break for that beast.
While watching a show on bikes, tell my buddy that I always wanted one of those Buells. He asked why I didn't go down and sit on one.... So I bought my first brand new bike off the showroom floor.
Now, happy with Buttercup, the 2001 M2L that owns me. Added a S3 fairing, the Buell custom seat, and few other bits to make the sport tourer I always wanted. Now waiting for Erik Buell Racing's new toys. ( since I can't afford, or justify a 1190R... darn it.) |
Crusty
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2011 - 11:08 pm: |
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Several different bikes have "Lit My Fire" over the years. Some have tried to put it out. A '53 Triumph 6T, a '54 Matchless 350 single, a 57 Triumph TRW flathead twin, a '73 Moto Guzzi V7 Sport, a '78 FXE, an '86 XLH 1100, an '88 FLHS, a '98 S3-T Thunderbolt and my '07 Moto Guzzi Norge were the bikes that I had the biggest emotional bond with. My '68 BSA Lightning and my '69 Honda 750 almost had me give up riding. The BSA wouldn't stay running long enough for me to ride it much, and I just flat hated the 750 Honda. The rest of the bikes I owned were good bikes, but they didn't really inspire me.
The two bikes that I loved the most were my '73 Guzzi Sport and my '98 S3-T. They both spoke to me. I still feel that the S3-T is the most beautiful motorcycle ever made. |
Boliver
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 07:36 am: |
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Without a doubt the Honda 50 started the fire. Then in 1974 my dad took me and my big brother to see Evel jump 13 semi trucks here in Tulsa,OK. After that, the love affair went out of control. |
Fahren
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 09:46 am: |
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I wanted a mini-bike really bad - one of the kits from the back of Boys Life magazine. Never got one.
My fist bike was a Kawasaki KZ400 - one of the later, 440cc ones. Brown (in retrosprect, yuck). I loved it. It was the roads, though, that got me hooked. The roads through the countryside of Albemarle County, around Charlottesville, VA.
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2734
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 10:15 am: |
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As a kid I had a couple different trail/mini bikes until I was 14.
My first motorcycle was a(dont remember year) Yamaha Enduro that me and a friend went partners on when we shared a paper route.We would alternate using it for the bigger of our 2 routes. 2 years later(1987) he bought me out and I got a 85 Kz 550 Ltd.
I kept the 550 until the fall of '88 when I sold it and bought my first big bike.
It was a '79 Kz 1000 Z1R and that bike is still VERY fresh in my memory.I put K&N filters, Dyna ignition and a Kerker header on it. I sold it when I went into the Army.
I know where one is that is a twin to it that belongs to a friends dad but the bike is not for sale "at least not right now" he says. I tried to buy it before I bought my M2 last year.
My M2 has made a big impact on me and I would only part with it for another Buell of some sort. |
Sifo
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 12:21 pm: |
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All it took for me was my stingray bicycle. I was always looking for a steeper dirt hill to go down. Once I got on a Honda Mini Trail 70 in the woods of North Michigan it was all over though. 6 years later, once I was old enough for my M license I got my GT750.
Then finally the dream bike, the GS1100E. My brother had one of those. 85 mph speedo!  |
Xl1200r
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 12:34 pm: |
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I didn't even start to think about motorcycles until I was about 13 or 14. My mom was dating a guy with a Goldwing (which I didn't care for) but he offered to get me a small dirtbike and teach me to ride it. We bought a 1986 Suzuki DR125 and I spent a lot of time riding that around the driveway, his backyard and the apple orchard on the other side of the woods.
I also remember seeing some yellow 1000cc crotch rocket in a magazine and falling in love, mostly with the color. I think it was a Yamaha, but I can't remember.
The first bike I rememeber being obsessed with was the Buell X1, I think around 1999 or so. It would be 5 years before my next bike and first street bike (Sportster) and 7 years before my first Buell. I haven't been Buell-less since. |
Kilroy
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 12:49 pm: |
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I've been riding some 33 years, since I was 14. Had one of just about everything. Never kept a bike for more than 3 years, until I bought the M2 in late 2000. I have had it 11 years now. I might have other bikes in the future, but they will be "in addition to" instead of "instead of" the Buell. |
Gentleman_jon
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 01:50 pm: |
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This mid 1950's Norton Dominator 99 was the first motorcycle I rode, and it was a very good place to start as it turned out.
Greatly influenced by the Norton Manx race bikes, it was by far the best handling large displacement bike of its day, and it started me on a love affair with good handling motor cycles which has spanned some 30 bikes and over fifty years. |
Babired
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 03:02 pm: |
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I was on Honda dirt bikes in the 1970's riding trails in the woods then onto my Dad's 350 cc Honda Street bike. I don't know the year of it but it was white and blue just a standard street bike. Then moved up to a 550 Honda standard. The stereo on the bike was a mounted car 8 track player with a speaker strapped to the sissy bar. You could hear my Dad come home from work!
I rode my first Buell in 1998 the M2 and back then it was too tall for me so I hopped on the X1. In 2000 I bought my first Buell the X1M. No other bike compares |
Tiltcylinder
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - 12:16 pm: |
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I was about eight when I got the first 'frame job' with a 2.5 horse Briggs-n-Stratton. The bike that made me a cyclist was definitely the QA50
Multiple gears (two!), no suspension, 8" tires and 25 miles an hour. Used to jump it so hard that the bolts holding the three piece rims together would shear, allowing the tire to expand and lock in the frame or fork. Unbelievable endos were common after poorly landed jumps... ahhhh.. what fun! |
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