Page 1 of 7 12345 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 172
  1. #1
    Motorbike Professor NancysToy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Allegan, MI
    Posts
    20,514
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default What Was Your First Motorcycle?

    For those of you who have ridden before, and those of you whose Spyder is your first motorcycle, what was the first motorcycle you owned (or rode) and when? My first ride was a step-trough Cushman around 1958. I was just custodian of it for the neighbor, however, so the first I owned was a $10 Whizzer I bought in 1962 when I was 14. Nancy's first ride was on a Honda CB160 about six or seven years ago. She has owned a 1968 Honda Trail 90 for about five years, but the Spyder was her first street ride...at the age of 54.
    -Scotty
    2011 Spyder RTS-SM5 (mine)
    2000 BMW R1100RTP, motorized tricycle & 23 vintage bikes
    2011 RT-622 trailer, Aspen Sentry popup camper, custom motorcycle trailer to pull behind the Spyder



    Mutant Trikes Forever!

  2. #2
    Invalid Emails
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Augusta, GA
    Posts
    506
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    1968 Honda 350 Scrambler. Couple of riding buddies went out and bought Honda 750's. Couldn't keep up with them, sooo, my next bike was a '72 CB 750 K2.

  3. #3
    Registered Users
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    104
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    A 1975 root beer brown Kawasaki KZ 400. She had a disc brake and pushed about 35 HP. Great first bike. Rode it like I stole it right from the start. Would give the Yamaha 650 twins that were common then a run.
    I paid right at $1200 for her. For another $600 I could have got the KZ900. Thought about it but glad I didn't, not a good first bike. Likey would not be here


    RAL

  4. #4
    Active Member RodO's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Montréal, Canada
    Posts
    315
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    Three years ago, I got a '76 Kawasaki KZ900, but it blowed up after something like 36 miles (it's still in parts), so I picked up an '07 Suzuki V-Strom 650, which I traded in June '09 towards my Spyder.

    Ryde safe,
    Rod.


    '08 GS SM5 Full Moon -- after 15,000km sold May'11
    '10 RT A+C SE5 Full Moon -- after 30,700km traded in 2014
    '17 RTL Pearl White -- new-to-me in 2023

    "I guess its better to bend a valve in Missoula than to lose your mind in Bozeman", my wife said, patting my hand as if to console me. I winced and wondered if Phaedrus ever took the bus." -Peter Egan, Leanings

    CanAm Highway goes from Texas along U.S. Route 85 and Interstate 25 into Saskatchewan, Canada.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CanAm_Highway>

  5. #5
    Invalid Emails
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Valencia, CA
    Posts
    7
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    After my friends Bull Taco, my first ride was my fathers 1965 Honda 55. Shortly thereafter he traded it in for a Honda Trail 90. That thing would climb a wall if it could get traction. It had a small lever under the crankcase that you could flip to a real low gear ratio. I rode the heck out of that little bike, on the highway and in the dirt. Yes the highway..... I'd take it on the freeway and twist the throttle til it could twist no more in an attempt to keep up with traffic. It had no tach so I never knew how fast she was spinning but she never blew! Some years later he stepped up to a Honda 350. I laid it down one day racing a friend of mine. Boy, did I hear about that one! In my twenties my very own first purchase was a Maroon 1979 Honda CB650. Wish I still had that one. Good memories were had and I'm still alive.
    Last edited by Ken C; 12-15-2009 at 12:11 AM.

  6. #6
    BillGargan
    Guest

    Default

    1975 Suzuki GT380

  7. #7
    Invalid Emails
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Milan Il
    Posts
    27
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default first motorcycle

    1966 honda scrambler, wish i still had it!

  8. #8
    Very Active Member NautiBrit's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Buckeye, AZ
    Posts
    607
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    I started off with a James 125, vintage unknown, that I found in a field and brought back to life. I then talked my father into sharing a BSA 250 then a Lambretta TV175. I quickly realized that I wanted to be a "mod" not a "rocker".
    George

    2017 BMW R1200R

  9. #9
    Very Active Member retread's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Bargersville, IN
    Posts
    2,962
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    1948 Cushman Pacemaker in 1954, then a Whizzer Sportsman in 1956 (kick start model on a 20 inch bike with pegs, no pedals), then a Triumph 200 Tiger Cub in 1957.

    john

  10. #10
    Registered User WizardMaster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Beautiful view of the NYS Thruway
    Posts
    385
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    '87 Kan a Tuna. (Katana)

  11. #11
    Motorbike Professor NancysToy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Allegan, MI
    Posts
    20,514
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by retread View Post
    1948 Cushman Pacemaker in 1954, then a Whizzer Sportsman in 1956 (kick start model on a 20 inch bike with pegs, no pedals), then a Triumph 200 Tiger Cub in 1957.

    john
    I knew there was something I liked about you. Sounds like a mirror of my first rides. My Whizzer was a Sportsman, too, but I really wanted a Simplex. Traded up to a Mustang a year later. My first Triumph was a 1953 rigid frame 650 in 1964, but my dad made me sell it......and probably saved my life in the bargain.
    -Scotty
    2011 Spyder RTS-SM5 (mine)
    2000 BMW R1100RTP, motorized tricycle & 23 vintage bikes
    2011 RT-622 trailer, Aspen Sentry popup camper, custom motorcycle trailer to pull behind the Spyder



    Mutant Trikes Forever!

  12. #12
    RT-S PE#0031 MarkLawson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Snellville, GA USA
    Posts
    2,825
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    I bought my first bike in the spring of 1989. It was a black 1980 GL1100 Goldwing. I replaced it a year later with a new wineberry 1989 GL1500 Goldwing. I replaced that one with a new black 2001 GL1800A Goldwing, which I still have. I expect to keep it even after my RT comes in, but I also figure that after the first riding season with the RT, I may be able to decide if I can live with just one or if I need to hang onto both.
    Mark & Mary Lou Lawson
    Snellville, GA USA
    '10 RT-S PE #0031
    '10 RT-622 Trailer
    '08 Yellow SM5 #2332
    '01 Black GL1800A Goldwing #0930

    "Remember in the darkness what you have learned in the light." - Joe Bayly



  13. #13
    Very Active Member chris56's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    austria
    Posts
    1,545
    Spyder Garage
    1

    Default

    in europe its (still) not allowed to drive a bike with more than 50ccm max speed 30mls/h - if you are not 18 years old ( now 17)..
    so I startet 1972 with a watercooled zündapp ( 7hp) - too fast for the police .. after that a Norton 650 and a lot of BMW´s
    chris
    Outlander fairing - Fox-shock - BajaRon Swaybar - Hankook tire/ back - 165/50 Imperial tires front & longer front shocks - GIVI Topase - Shad sidecases -heated grips - new seats

  14. #14
    Very Active Member sabunim5's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Pensacola Beach, FL
    Posts
    1,009
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    1963 Susuki 80 cc with knobby tires and "trail gears". At 14 it put me on the road by myself. In a car you had to have an "adult" with you in order to drive for the first two years. My parents bought it used in 1965, and I worked 3 after school and weekend jobs to pay them back, cover the insurance, gas, oil etc.
    Happy owner of Silver PE #1232
    All The Gear All The Time - ATGATT
    Gulf Coast SpyderRyders

  15. #15
    Active Member Donzo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    NorCal
    Posts
    324
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    As a kid I had a 3&1/2 hp Sears mini bike, then the much faster Rupp Hustler 7hp then a Honda 250cc.
    First Road bike was a Kawi 1000 LTD, used that to go cross country right after getting out of college. Wish I had kept the LTD - very fast and comfy....
    Since then I've had 9 other bikes. Still have my Sabre 1100 and a Motoguzzi ElDorado 900.

  16. #16
    Registered Users GI Jane's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Hoover, AL
    Posts
    273
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    The first I rode on was a 1967 Triumph Bonneville or Daytona (can't remember.....it's an age thing). Was hooked from that day on. Bought an 1100 V-Star in 2005 but that was a bit too powerful for me.....then along came a in 2008.
    Happy Spyder Owner

  17. #17
    Mod Maniac ataDude's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    North Texas
    Posts
    3,373
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    First of about 30:

    Last edited by ataDude; 11-02-2010 at 05:44 PM.
    ata = allergic to asphalt

    My mods: https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...ead.php?t=5753
    .
    There are two kinds of people: (1) those who can read, reason and apply the experiences of others; and (2) those who just have to pee on the electric fence. ataDude, 2009

    My Spyder:


  18. #18
    Registered User Magic Man's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Schenectady NY
    Posts
    2,503
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    The list is now long, but I still remember my first bike well.

    It was a 1965 80cc Yamaha road bike I bought with the paper route money I saved for $100. It was already "beyond clapped out" when I got it, but I still loved it to death.

    I rode it in the dirt for years and it gave it's life for God and country for sure. When It finally was "put down" it was because the compression was too low to be able to "pop start it" anymore. As at 4th over bore when I got it, there was no place left to go.

    But at thre time, to me it was better than anything, and it shined like a bright star in my life.

    It had 15,000 miles on it when I got it, and like I said it was already bored 4th over and down on compression then. For at that time this was HUGE miles on these tiny 2 stroke engines.

    I think I spent more time fixing it to keep it running than riding it.

    But that is where and how I learned to "make it work" and owe that little bike more about what it taught me than I ever knew at the time.

    Since than the list has gotten too long to say without trying sound like shameless bragging, so I won't.

    But that little Yamaha and what it taught me still holds a special place in my heart.

    MM
    Last edited by Magic Man; 12-17-2009 at 03:52 PM.
    [URL="http://www.esicycleproducts.com/"]

  19. #19
    Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    ky
    Posts
    9
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default First bike

    Quote Originally Posted by NancysToy View Post
    For those of you who have ridden before, and those of you whose Spyder is your first motorcycle, what was the first motorcycle you owned (or rode) and when? My first ride was a step-trough Cushman around 1958. I was just custodian of it for the neighbor, however, so the first I owned was a $10 Whizzer I bought in 1962 when I was 14. Nancy's first ride was on a Honda CB160 about six or seven years ago. She has owned a 1968 Honda Trail 90 for about five years, but the Spyder was her first street ride...at the age of 54.
    I don't mean to make you feel old but i was born in 1958. Now that i have made you feel old my first bike was a Honda trail 70. I was riding through a field of tall grass one day and hit a bob-wire fence head on and came to a quick stop and took a nice flight over the handle bars. I bought a Honda 360 after that and ran over a beagle that had ran across the road in front of me with just shorts on. I was the one wearing the shorts I got a real nice road rash off of that. That was in 1970. I thought i would never ride again. The bug bit me again after that and i went out and bought a 2002 Indian then 2008 Harley Road king Classic and a 2009 Spyder. I still have all 3 of those. I was just kidding you about being old. Here in Louisville they had a antique motorcycle show this past summer. They had a cushman and a whizzer in the show along with alot of other vintage bikes

  20. #20
    Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    ky
    Posts
    9
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by MarkLawson View Post
    I bought my first bike in the spring of 1989. It was a black 1980 GL1100 Goldwing. I replaced it a year later with a new wineberry 1989 GL1500 Goldwing. I replaced that one with a new black 2001 GL1800A Goldwing, which I still have. I expect to keep it even after my RT comes in, but I also figure that after the first riding season with the RT, I may be able to decide if I can live with just one or if I need to hang onto both.
    You might want to hang on to your Goldwing. It always nice to be able to ride a different bike every now and then. If one of them is in the shop and its a nice day outside then you will have a backup to ride on.

  21. #21
    Very Active Member SpyderGirl's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    South Jordan, UT (Salt Lake)
    Posts
    2,939
    Spyder Garage
    1

    Default

    My first bike was a 1984 Honda Nighthawk CB750S - red & black. I sold that relatively quickly cuz I couldn't ride it really (too tall) and got a 2006 Honda Rebel 250 and then a 2002 Kawasaki Vulcan 800B. I traded the Vulcan in when I got the Spyder and then later bought (then wrecked and totalled) a 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250. Now I just have the Spyder and a Kawi KLX140L dirt bike. The hubby has a 1998 Honda Nighthawk CB750 and soon a dirt bike... maybe a mid-90's KX250.
    We are a happy THREE Spyder family!
    My Rides: 2008 Quantum Blue Premier Edition Spyder GS SM5 (#1344)
    2015 Pearl White / Red Can-Am Spyder F3-S SM6
    2016 Intense Pearl Red Can-Am Spyder F3-T SE6
    2019 Chevrolet Volt (ER-EV)
    2003 Jeep Wrangler Sport X 4.0L I-6

    RETIRED Owner / Event Coordinator - Annual Western Regional Can-Am Spyder Rallies
    Spyders in the Redwoods and Red Rock Spyder Rally of Southern Utah

    The West Coast's Can-Am Spyder Community Ambassador
    2008 GS , ISCI Quantum Blue

  22. #22
    Registered Users 2spyders's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Nebraska
    Posts
    228
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    Almost 20 years ago I bought a 1987 Yamaha TW200. Great bike to learn on. The tires were so big it almost stood up by itself.

    I LOVE my

    A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.

  23. #23
    MOgang Member Yazz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Cypress, Texas
    Posts
    3,040
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    The first bike I rode was in the mid-60's. A little kid's mini-bike. First thing I did was look at a big ol' rose bush. Yup, it stopped the bike and me.

    Second time I rode a bike was in the early '80's. Hubbies dirt bike that you can't touch the ground with your toes type. Tried to learn to ride it in our cul-de-sac. Hit a car... parked... in our neighbor's drive way...

    Hubby wanted to get a HD. I'm a sucker for low compression engines and stated if he got one, I got one. Fair is fair. Took riding classes and the rest is history. Thats where the second love of my life came into the picture. '98 FXSTS Springer Soft Tail. Tricked her out myself. Its painful every time I see her waiting for me. Hubby rides her now and then to keep her juices going but... the only thing that can make her look better, is me riding on her. One of these days we are going to tear up the town together again.

    Just glad I got Spydee so ma' kneeze are in the breeze again. Not looking at the back of Hubbies noggin.
    Last edited by Yazz; 12-15-2009 at 06:51 PM.
    Joy
    Very Happy Ryder...
    '09 Phantom and a '15 F3-S

    If you don't slow down, they can't catch you..
    ​If you don't give up, they can't win.
    What a long strange journey its been.





  24. #24
    Yellinacha Smylinacha's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Blue State Blues, USA
    Posts
    4,152
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    Harley Sportster - hated it. Had a dirtbike also which was fun, then a couple of Hondas which I liked, then my Deluxe and then the Spyder.

  25. #25
    Very Active Member Dudley's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Jacumba, CA
    Posts
    2,279
    Spyder Garage
    0

    Default

    1962 Honda 150 Dream, bought new in December of 1961. Even though I only had it for 3 months before I wrecked it, it ignited the love of motorcycling that has been with me since that first day I rode it home. I joined the Air Force in June of 1962 and it wasn't until after my four years that I was able to ride again and have ever since (July 1966 to now).
    2008 GS SE5 in 2008
    Traded at 43,000 miles for a left over
    2010 RT SM5 in 2011
    Traded at 57,000 for a left over
    2014 RTS SE6 in 2015, which has 35,000 miles
    Oct 19th, 2017, totaled 2014 RT while killing a Javaline
    Dec 12th, 2017 drove a 2017 F3L home. What an awesome machine!

    Never had any breakdown stranded issues.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •