| Author | Message | ||
     Tootal |
In the Crusty's Travel thread he mentioned a bike he had in 1978. That awakened a few folks brain cells as they recalled what they were riding in 1978. I realize that many of our younger members were riding daddy's knee but for us fossilizing old farts it would be interesting to know where our riding career started, or near to it anyway! So in 1978 I was graduating trade school and riding a 69 BSA 441 Victor. Later in the same year I sold it and bought a Yamaha SR 500 single. A Japanese copy of the BSA basically! Although the bikes were both fun to ride, it was really fun watching somebody else trying to start them! | ||
| Court |
Mary Adams | ||
| Crusty |
My 1973 Moto Guzzi Sport was stolen from a motel parking lot in Auburn, California in January of 78. I replaced it with a 1969 Honda CB 750 K0 which was the bike I totaled at the end of July. I hated that Honda and was planning to sell it when I had the wreck. After the accident, I couldn't walk for weeks, and I was unable to work until October. I bought another bike as soon as I could save up the money to pay for one. That was in March of 79. | ||
| Strokizator |
Bought a new 1978 Kawasaki KZ750 twin. I rode it back and forth to work every day -rain or shine - for a whole year. I sold it because everyone said how dangerous and irresponsible it was for a father of two small girls and started commuting on a Motobecane 12-speed. That was stupid dangerous! I could hear cars accelerate to get past me and then slam on their brakes to make a right turn. | ||
| Tootal |
Mary Adams $50.00 and Mary doesn't find out that you posted her name!  | ||
| Macbuell |
A bmx bike. | ||
| H0gwash |
 I was 6. Maybe I had graduated to a 2 wheeled Huffy with a banana seat. | ||
| Aesquire |
73 Suzuki GT380. A gentleman does not discuss these things.  | ||
| Ebutch |
BSA Rocket III  I painted frame black didn't like white. | ||
| Tootal |
Wow Butch, that's really nice. I have a 75 T160 Triumph Trident sitting in pieces all over the house! It had the BSA engine in it. I need to put that back together! You may have inspired me! (Message edited by tootal on February 18, 2017) | ||
| Ebutch |
Greg : So easy to start you don't need elec. starter and no vibes.Your Trident used leftover Rocket engines which where Trident only cosmetically changed for the rockets any how.Sloped bsa was a little faster at Daytona.  (Message edited by ebutch on February 18, 2017) | ||
| 86129squids |
Around that year I got my first motorized 2-wheeler, a Moto-Morini moped. I could blow away any Honda moped with it... took my best buddy riding beeatch, ass on the luggage rack! 1981, got my awesome TS125. Rode it until I hit 16, and hit the right rear quarter of a douchebag-driven Gran Torino who pulled a classic left-against traffic. He just looked back and drove off... Then my grandpa bought me my first car, a 1973 Super Beetle. Fun Times! Makes me glad to be alive as I approach 50.  | ||
| Tootal |
Volkswagon Beetles, I could start another thread with those stories! Butch, you're right, the T-150 still had the straight up Triumph engine and the T-160 had the Beezer motor. I really like the forward leaning engines myself. This is what dad gave me for high school graduation:  He painted it brown, his favorite color I guess, not mine! He used Dow Corning Bathtub caulking on the cases when he rebuilt it. It never leaked oil! We drop kicked the Amal carb and put a Mikuni on it. It would outrun a Honda 750-4 for two blocks! | ||
| Teeps |
'73 Honda CB500 four. Maico 250 Magnum | ||
| 357magnumgwg |
IN 1978 I HAD A KAWASAKI 400 TRIPLE WITH CAFE BARS AND BASSINI CHAMBERS, RAN THE OLDER NEIGHBORS CRAZY WITH THE RING A DING DING AND BLUE SMOKE | ||
| Ourdee |
 | ||
| Pwnzor |
I was 6, so I was riding a Royce Union bike with a banana seat. Complete with a joker card taped to the forks, so it made motorcycle noises flipping against the spokes. First motorbike was a 1976 CB750F1 Supersport, in the faster yellow color. Got that when I was 15, and it got me kicked out of the house. | ||
| Fast1075 |
CR-125, and an XL-350 based cafe' bike, bored and stroked to 410cc. | ||
| 46champ |
1972 XLCH Sportster. Not the most reliable HD ever built. By that time it had a set of Branch heads and Sifton cams. It still had the stock clutch which needed to be adjusted every 250 miles or so. | ||
| Blake |
My Bicycle. | ||
| Ourdee |
 My bicycle back then. | ||
| Buellish |
In July of '78 I owned a '75 Kawasaki H2 and was 6 months away from buying my first HD,a '79 FXE Super Glide.My 25 year love affair with that 45 degree V-twin is what led me to Buell. Dontcha just love cut and paste? | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
One of these  | ||
| Njloco |
360 Yamaha dirt bike, bored out to around 400, great bike and I could touch the ground with my feet ! | ||
| Aesquire |
I see 357 still has the hearing loss from the tuned pipes.  I am mildly jealous. The Kawasaki was lighter & faster than the Suzuki GT380. .and only twice as likely to melt. | ||
| Willmrx |
Suzuki RM 100  | ||
| 2003xb9r |
Road legal 1976 DKW 125. Also still have my first bike, 1954 BSA Bantam but haven't ridden it since 1979!  (Message edited by 2003xb9r on February 18, 2017) | ||
| Ducley |
Graduating 8th grade in in '77 my folks got me a '73 Kawasaki KE100. Tried to trade up later to a Honda CB400. Wow!! Too big and powerful. So I settled on a Suzuki TS250 when I got my learner's permit at 15.5 yo. | ||
| Steveford |
1973 Norton Commando 850 Roadster. | ||
| Etennuly |
Digging up memories. July 1978 I was riding a used 1974 CB750 4, my first road bike. I was riding a 1973 XL 250 on dirt. I guess I was one of those who never waited to heal to ride. If I could get on it, start it, and stay on it, I figured I could heal while riding. Matter of fact I think I healed better while riding. Lucky that none of my catastrophic wrecks had me laid up with tubing hanging out of my body. That would have been miserable tying all of that medical equipment on the bike! Riding 750 miles back from Homecoming 2007 was a tough ride, but not my worst. I guess this is that fine line between determined and stupid! My dad's opinion always fell on the side of me being stupid. He stood in the yard watching tears run down my face as I kicked through several times to get my TT500 started with a broken right ankle joint a week after I broke it. I wore a ski boot that would not let it move. I loved my dad, but he was not a rider. Ah memories! Good idea Greg. In '79 after four years, it was time to trade up from my old XL to a '79 TT500. I fabbed it up to be street legal. And as long as I was moving up I bought my first new vehicle ever, a 1979 Honda CB750F. I used to ride the old XL250 four miles to work on abandoned rail beds. It was much easier on knobby tires than the roads. The last trip I did on it to work, I had broken a bumper bolt on a car with a long 1/2 drive ratchet. My right hand went up under the reinforcement and cut my wrist open about an inch and a half gash. Boss was grossed out because it gaped open, so he sent me to dr for stitches and take day off. Put antibiotic cream on clean paper towel and wrapped it with masking tape, rode to dr, got stitches. Doc put a square bandage on it. Tet shots into the wound were not fun. Got on old XL hit the rail beds. When I got home I greeted my dad who asked why I was home early. Explained what happened, held up my arm to show him, the bandage was gone the stitches were all ripped out and it was gaping open like it was a couple of hours earlier! So I covered it with a clean paper towel and wrapped my wrist with masking tape. I loved that old bike, but to make it go the throttle had to be wrapped wide open most of the time. |
