| Author | Message | ||
     Ustorque |
The title says it all. please forgive me as i tell you about the person who gave me my love of all things motorcycles, and the reason why i bring it up now(it may go slightly off topic here and there). A little back story: I met my best friend 26 years ago on the first day of school of 1st grade. He and his family live about a mile away from my family, and from the day we met i became a member of his family(which saved my life in more ways than one). His dads name was Paul Bristol, and this guy lived for motorcycles. His priority was always his loved ones, but motorcycles were his passion. if there was some where to go and the possability of getting there on a motorcycle thats how he was gonna do it, if there was a bike broken he was gonna fix it, and if there was a better design he would mod it. The summer after first grade he bought my best friend(his son) and me matching Rupp mini bikes from a small engine repair shop in our neighborhood, and so the passion began. we rode the hell out of those little things and he taught us everything he knew about motorcycling, most of all was the fact that if we were gonna ride em we better know how to fix em. This trend of Paul purchasing dirt bikes for us went on for years, I was not even his son yet he always made sure i had a bike. Looking back i now realize that one of his biggest joys in life was passing on his love of riding to all of us(his 4 sons and me). At the age of 15 1/2 we got our permits to drive and Paul made sure that the same day we were signed up for our MC safety course and testing. After 10 years of him kicking our ass in the woods and teaching us all he knew there was nothing that was gonna keep us from finally getting on the road, and i'm sure that was his plan all along. That's when we found out how hardcore Paul really was. He was a BMW rider on the road, and nothing else would do for him. He always had about 6 to 10 bikes at a time, and most of them were always broken down for some reason or another, but i think he liked it that way it gave him something to fix. A the the age of 16 i bought a ninja 600 and my best friend had bought a nighthawk 750, these were our first legit street bikes and little did we know what his dad would soon be putting us through. Paul was the type of guy that would wake us up at 4 am for breakfast, at 5am ask us if we wanted to take a quick ride and 9 hours later we'd pull back into the drive way. No matter whether sun, rain, or snow the man was always up for a ride, and the challenge he set in front of us to join him each time was impossible to pass up. One of our yearly rituals that was never missed was our New Years Day ride. Paul would hunt us down where ever we ended up on New Years Eve and get us up and out on the bikes. You had to dress warm and plan for a long day, cause it wasn't a quick ride once he got goin. I have never missed a Jan 1st ride since 1993, and as the New year approaches i will get ready for this years ride, which my best friend and i still take. Paul Bristol, my best friends dad and mine was killed on Sept. 6th 2001 while taking one of his quick 10 hour rides on his '98 K1200 when a 92 year old woman pulled out of her driveway directly into him, he was 54 years old. Paul taught me everything i needed to know in life in regards to work, family, and friends, and the great gift of motorcycling. Thanks Paul! (Message edited by ustorque on December 18, 2008) | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
I think I was born in to motorcycles. I don't know that there was ever a moment in my life were I did not have an addiction for motorcycles. Then again it did not help that my grand father and father were both flat track racers/ mechanics/ drag racers(just my dad)/ bikers. My Grand father rode a motorcycle 4 days a week to and from work (fridays he took his van so he could haul his boat to his camp on the river to go fishing) as well as he went to bike week and sturgis (still goes to sturgis) every year. I feel empty inside if i do not have a motorcycle in my life. (Message edited by firebolt020283 on December 18, 2008) | ||
| Jon |
Always interested, never allowed as a kid. Later as a 21 year old my friend Erik sold me his Yamaha 650. I rode that thing EVERYWHERE and all the time. Then I sold it to a friend. years later another guy named Erik sold me a bike; my X1. And I would blame this Erik for some of my passion as well. The Buell and associated friends has been one of my blessings in life. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
My buddy Pete from Harley. Tried talking me out of Buell, but when he realized that wasn't gonna happen, he was there 100% to help me mod, fix and set up the XB. "you turned this thing into a peppy little bastard, looks good as far as Buell goes too" That's a compliment! Thanks VR Petey, you've given me the bug! | ||
| 2008xb12scg |
My mamma! No really she rode a H.D. trike when I was little. | ||
| Hexangler |
Bicycles, skateboards, and motorbikes. Tim Ryan John Ryan Tom Ryan Terry Ryan Jim Ryan Don Hughes Adam Fisher Mark Merat Dan Cartwright Mr. Russel's son (minibike) And three "gangs": Roadholders, SF CA Capital City Motorcycle Club, Sac CA ...and BadWeB  | ||
| P3newbie |
my dad. used to come home when i was 3 and i would beg him for a ride everyday. he worked construction 10-12 hour days, and would still ride me around. he stopped riding until a few years ago, up until then, always loved riding just never owned a bike. he bought, my mom, and myself, now we all ride. i will never forget those rides around the yard on his old suzuki 250 enduro. we ride when he comes to visit. thanks dad. | ||
| Oddball |
One of those pull start Briggs&Straton powered Sears bike I think it was. Brother in law gave it to me and my bro if memory serves. It had been one of his toys. Rode that like crazy round and round the yard. Then our parents got us yamaha dirt bikes. I dunno how many times we raced around that yard this way and that but it was pure bliss as I remember. We both still have those bikes 28 years later. | ||
| Nik |
My mom kept telling me 'No!', so I knew I had to have one! | ||
| Danger_dave |
Harry James Adamson. Chief Engineer, Australian Iron and Steel, Port Kembla Steel Works. Had the apprentices build me a lawn mower engined mini bike when I was 2 years old. I was so young all I really remember is burning myself on it. My mother looks at me to this day and shakes her head and says 'it's all your grandfather's fault'. | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
This is going to sound morbid: When my mother was 15 living in London. She was part of the "rocker" scene. She was part of all the crazy antics including racing to the Ace Cafe doing the ton. Well one day she was on the back of a scooter when something went wrong. She was hit by a bus and sent into traffic. She was severely injured and spent nearly 2 years in the hospital. They told her she would never walk. Determine she regained the ability to walk, even though one of her legs was 2 inches shorter. She still has a nasty 20 inch scar on her leg. When growing up if I as so much looked at a motorcycle I was seriously in trouble. Motorcycles were not spoken of in our house. Of course this made them even more desirable. When I became an adult a bike showed up in my life. Obviously my mother was not thrilled. We had a nice long talk about why I was going to have it. After coming close to death 3 separate times in my life (once nearly bleeding out in an ER). I have a unique ease with death. Once she understood my thoughts she has backed off on the hatred of my machine. | ||
| Eboos |
From the time that I was 13, I was into sports that I could either do with other people or by myself. I skateboarded, mountain biked, and rode freestyle BMX. I always wanted to get into motorcycles, but I never had the time when I was involved with other hobbies. Then, 5 years ago, I really trashed my knee. Suddenly, I wasn't able to ride BMX anymore. So I saved up some money and got my M2. I always thought that I would be a cruiser type, but $3000 was all I could afford, so I got my Buell. It wasn't until a few months on the bike that I really discovered sport riding. I would have to credit NEBO, Tony's Track Days, NE Street Riders, and the Loudon Road Racing Series for shaping my riding interest. | ||
| Rich |
My mother rode her Harley around while she was pregnant with me, guess I just got used to it. | ||
| Boliver |
Evel Knievel!!! The Greatest motorcycle rider ever.He is the one that put real excitement in it for me.I was fortunate enough to watch him jump 13 semi trucks here in Tulsa 1974.I will never forget it, or the bicycles I ruined trying to be just like him.God rest his soul. | ||
| Babired |
My Dad bought my first Honda Trail bike in 1970 I rode dirt bikes and the Honda 350 and 550 street bikes when I was 12 years old. All over the place! He never wanted me to get my license for some reason  So I rode illegal up until 1997 then took the MSF class It was all good after that! K | ||
| Jb2 |
Dad. | ||
| Thedavyboy |
My childhood best friend Mike who let me ride his Honda CT90 motorcycle when I was 12 and I've been hooked ever since . I'm now 45 so I have been riding for 32 years . | ||
| Hammeroid |
Johnny Chimpo | ||
| Lovedabueller |
The many and the only's MY FATHER Dirt Bikes Rick Johnson Jeremy McGrath Ty Davis SPEEDWAY Bobby "BOOGALOO" Swartz Dookie Ermalinko | ||
| Buellfighter |
It would have to be my dad. He would take me for rides on his Harley and we would stop at the dirt bike trails and watch the guys tearing it up on their Bultaco's, Maico's, Montesa's, Hodaka's.... I begged him for a dirt bike and finally he broke down let me buy a 73 Yamaha 100 with the money I saved from my paper route. Back then a lot of the neighbor kids had dirt bikes and we would come home from school, toss the books and jump on our bikes and meet up at the local trails and ride till the sun went down. Man those were some good time! I'm Hooked! Thanks dad...Thanks a million!!!!!Q | ||
| Phwx2 |
My neighbor joe morris got a 50 cc piece of crap that we toiled over and road at a ratio of 10 to 1. And of course Hunter S. Thompson - RIP Gonzo! | ||
| Jaimec |
Nobody "gave" it to me. I've ALWAYS preferred two wheels over four. I rode bicycles more than I drove my car, and when I got my motorcycle license there was no turning back. | ||
| Paw |
Mom and Dad 1975 they got us one of those pull start mini bikes for X-mass i was 5 years old and it all started from there. | ||
| Xbpete |
(Message edited by xbpete on December 19, 2008) | ||
| Xbpete |
Granpop Ryan L. Ravilious When I was a lad, very young, I thought that the tat on his left forearm of an American Flag was from him being in WW1, he was born in 1900. When I was 12, he told the story of his buddies and himself buying Indian Motorcycles, 8 of them in all, and they all got tats.... that was in 1918! I immediately wanted to do the same as he, talked my parents into a Rupp Mini-bike with a 3 1/2 HP Briggs as my first powered 2 wheel vehicle... modified and rode it until I bought a Hodaka Wombat, then Triumph, and in 1972 bought a new XLCH from HD. My 72 year old grandfather rode that bike, told me he preferred the tank shifter on his Indians and the early Harleys! He passed in 1979, one of the original bikers in the usa and I miss him every day... | ||
| Paint_shaker |
When I was young, I was always on two wheels of some sort; bmx, bmx stunt, dirt bikes. But I would have to lay the blame on my dad, a guy named "Bear", CHiPs, and Harley Davidson! (Message edited by Paint_shaker on December 19, 2008) | ||
| Swordsman |
I got really interested just out of high school, but couldn't afford a bike, rent, food, and college. So I window shopped, but that was all there was to it. Reality check wins again. A few years later I met my future wife. We married right after we graduated. Her Dad is a big Harley nut, and our conversations sparked my interest again. Sam encouraged me to look around, and actually brought Buell to my attention (I was busy eyeballing Ninja 250's and Suzuki 500's). After I decided the 2006 XB12Ss was probably my favorite bike on the market, Sam bought it for me! Payed for the whole thing at once. We payed him back of course, but it saved us the cost of interest. My wife didn't want me to get a bike (she worries about the other crazies on the road), but she got overruled.  ~SM | ||
| Xl1200r |
I've always wanted to ride, but I have no idea why. It was just there one day, I guess. A boyfriend of my mom's got me on my first dirtbike, but the seed had long been planted by that time. I'm told that my great-grandfather used to ride Harleys back in the 20's or so. My uncle also rode some dirt as a teenager, but other than that nobody else in my family rides. I got my first street bike in secret back in 2004 - my mom found out about it a couple days before I picked it up, and I dad found out 2 weeks after I got it. Fun times! | ||
| B00stzx3 |
I started BMXing when I was young, then freestyle, then a Tomos targa LX moped, my first "bike". I went out and bought a Firebolt without even driving it cause I knew I would love it. I did/do! | ||
| Mikethebike72 |
The story goes that my Uncle Jerry took me riding on a 72 Norton Commando with my Aunt Sharon holding me when I was a few months old. Growing up, I would ride his dirtbikes on occasion, if I could kickstart them that is. When he moved away from Georgia, I didn't really stay with bikes, but would still ride his when I visited in Florida. That was until I went to a dealership with my sister and brother in law the Friday after Thanksgiving in 90. As they were looking at 4wheelers, I sat on a Suzuki VX800. Something clicked. I knew I had to have a bike. Something felt right about being on a bike. I started reading all I could about bikes with an desire to know all I could about being safe on a bike. Finally a high school friends dad decided to sell his 82 Yamaha Maxim 550 with 4419 miles on it. So September 19, 1991 at 19 years old, I bought my first bike. I rode that bike everywhere. 60 mile round trip for school/work, First trip to Daytona bike week, first trip to Deals gap, first trip to the Big Kahuna at Road Atlanta, first trip through Atlanta's rush hour, ended up with 89k+ on that bike before the output shaft bearing went out. I went without a bike for a month or so until my Sister told me she was going to have to kill me or loan me the money to get another bike. I have always had once since. This year, I finally figured out why the bike felt right. I was breaking in a rental XB12S for the rental fleet. It sits more up right than my R and felt so much better than the HDs I had been breaking in. As I was riding to work, it hit me. The sitting position on "sportbikes" reminded me of how I used to fly in my dreams as a kid, not like Superman, but slightly leaning forward with my knees bent under me sometimes my arms would act like wings, sometimes pointing where I was going, sometimes holding something/someone. I would even bank for turns. I am around 400,000 miles now, I hope to break a million and much more before this great adventure ends. |
