If a Cushman counts I rode mine starting in the 6th grademoved up to a Cushman Eagle in Jr. High. then
on to a Mustang ( that is a small motorcycle) in Highschool.
The bike shown here is much newer than the one I had I Graduated in 1958
Yes, a Cushman counts. Many of us started out on a Cushman. Service time does not break the chain of continual ownership, and thank you to all of you
who took the time out of your lives to serve your country. What class were you in Dave?
Started out with a 1955 Cushman Eagle in my freshman year in high school. After graduating in 1962 I let my older brother have it pay to off a legal bill. Went without anything until 1985 and bought a Honda 350. Rode it for a couple of years and gave it my son. Bought a Kawasaki 440 Ltd which I took to England for a year in '88-'89. Came back and either sold it or gave it away and bought a 1981 Goldwing 1100 which I took to Louisiana in 1991. Rode it for a couple of years and sold it. Louisiana was too hot and muggy to enjoy riding plus it didn't work for carpooling! Went without until 2006 when I bought a 2005 GW 1800 as a retirement present to myself. Sold it in 2013 and bought a 2013 RT. Two years later sold it and bought the 2014 RT I have now.
2014 Copper RTS
Tri-Axis bars, CB, BajaRon sway bar & shock adjusters, SpyderPop's Bumpskid, NBV peg brackets, LED headlights and modulator, Wolo trumpet air horns, trailer hitch, custom trailer harness, high mount turn signals, Custom Dynamics brake light, LED turn signal lights on mirrors, LED strip light for a dash light, garage door opener, LED lights in frunk, trunk, and saddlebags, RAM mounts and cradles for tablet (for GPS) and phone (for music), and Smooth Spyder belt tensioner.
I graduated high school in 1967 and rode a Honda 50 to school and work. Rode that little 50 most of the year, in Wisconsin. When I got my drivers license my dad too me to Mel Krueger Honda, and we picked out the Honda for me. A lot cheaper than buying a car and insuring it. All my friends in high school rode and we had a blast riding all over on the motorcycles. y dad also rode the Honda occasionally and always supported my riding.
I didn't ride a motorcycle TO high school so much as rode many motorcycles IN high school!
I learnt to spin a spanner and ride as a young (& very small) kid let run free amongst all the veteran & vintage 'bikes & machinery that invariably got left scattered around an 'almost outback' South Australian Station that in its busy times (some years/decades before I ever got there!) had served as a transport staging yard & eventually as an ex-military vehicle dumping ground during & after both WW's (there were some really old aircraft to play with too! My first ever 'flight' was then/there too..... a 'fast taxi' in a Tiger Moth after I got it running again! Not reaaally sure it was a 'flight' so much as just 'a verrryyy loooong bounce' after hitting a bump in the grass 'strip at full throttle! ) Then when I ended up getting sent to School in the ' Big Smoke', I missed all that stuff so much that I started making lawn-mower motor powered 'mini-bikes' in 'shop while still in Junior school! Initially I made them for myself, to perfect the design & process, but by the time I got to High school & a real workshop, apart from a few 'experimental designs & some essential engine/gearbox/driveline upgrades, I was making them pretty much for anyone who wanted to cover the costs. It didn't take very long before the demand for these things grew so much that I got to the stage of turning them out at a rate of 3 or so every couple of weeks..... and you gotta test ride them, dontcha?? So I did.... thru the buildings & corridors as well as all over the School grounds, much to my great joy & to much of the staff's great horror!
Haven't really stopped riding for long ever since, apart from those periods when I was unable to take a 'bike along due to training, deployment, or other work & 'out of the country' commitments, but I've always been a motor-cyclist who either owned one or more 'bikes or was 'temporarily between bikes' until I found the next one! Really don't want to count the years or how many 'bikes I've owned, there's simply too many, but I hafta say they've all been pretty fantastic in some way.... the years AND the 'bikes both! And I'm planning on enjoying the heck outta at least a few more of both, too!
You don't get too old and stop riding; you get old because you stop riding!
6 Spyders??????????? and I thought I was crazy for being on my 4th one!!! I kept trading up as they introduced new models.. Now have a 2018 RT Limited and it is the cream of the crop.. Just don't like this winter weather and no riding??
BIG F
How many here owned and rode a motorcycle to high school and have owned one ever since, never breaking the chain of motorcycle ownership? What year did you graduate, and what brand was your first motorcycle? Scooters can count as a motorcycle if that was your first ride.
I graduated in "63" and my first ride was a Honda 50.
Can we still play if we broke the chain of ownership, but not by choice? I started riding at age 14 in 1968. Graduated in '72 but had to give it up because I had to sell my first big touring bike in '77 to pay off some doctors who were hounding me for money. Could not afford another bike until 2000 when I jumped back in with a BMW R1200C and now, several bikes & over 370,000 miles later, I'm still at it with a bit over 7,000 miles on a Spyder since October of '17.
Started riding in the 8th grade on a hand me down 1949 Cushman Roadking which was quickly replaced by a 8hp '59 Cushman Super Eagle. I graduated high school in 1963 and for the last 60 years I have never been without a bike.
Graduated in 90. Started at 15 with a Honda 90CC scooter actually then updated in high school to an 87 Honda 750 shadow. Kept that all through college until 97. Then I got a Harley "springer" for I was young and dumb and had money. Kept that till the kids came along. Wife didn't want to ride anymore so I sold it in 2013. Bought a Spyder and now my wife love to ride with me again.
And I naively believed that in America in those years traveled only on Harley. And the Japanese began to supply their motorcycles only in the 80's.
The first Japanese motorcycle I remember is the Honda C50 Cub with automatic clutch. A pair of brothers, my friends, got them about 1959 or 1960!
2014 Copper RTS
Tri-Axis bars, CB, BajaRon sway bar & shock adjusters, SpyderPop's Bumpskid, NBV peg brackets, LED headlights and modulator, Wolo trumpet air horns, trailer hitch, custom trailer harness, high mount turn signals, Custom Dynamics brake light, LED turn signal lights on mirrors, LED strip light for a dash light, garage door opener, LED lights in frunk, trunk, and saddlebags, RAM mounts and cradles for tablet (for GPS) and phone (for music), and Smooth Spyder belt tensioner.
And I naively believed that in America in those years traveled only on Harley. And the Japanese began to supply their motorcycles only in the 80's.
In the 50's andearly 60's besides Harley's we were frridinglots of Brits. BSA, Triumph,Matchless,Norton,etc. Also some BMW and a few Italian thrown in for good measure.
Happy TRAils/NSD
Paul
2012 RT L
AMA 25 years Life Member
TRA
PGR
Rhino Riders Plate #83
Venturers #78
TOI
And how reliable were they? Now better Japanese no one technique not makes, and in those years? JAWA CEZET were in USA?
The early Honda motorcycles were extremely reliable. The main problems that came up, was points, condenser, or plugs. Most everybody that rode them carried spares and a spare master link. . Two screws would open the point cover. Often a fingernail file could correct the problem temporarily. The older ones would not go the extreme miles that a lot of the current models can, but for that point in time, they were very reliable.
In mid to late 1970s, I would often ride a Honda 400 half way across the country to go to a service school or some other meeting I was required to attend. 2,000 mile round trip was not ever a problem.
The early Honda motorcycles were extremely reliable. The main problems that came up, was points, condenser, or plugs. Most everybody that rode them carried spares and a spare master link. . Two screws would open the point cover. Often a fingernail file could correct the problem temporarily. The older ones would not go the extreme miles that a lot of the current models can, but for that point in time, they were very reliable.
In mid to late 1970s, I would often ride a Honda 400 half way across the country to go to a service school or some other meeting I was required to attend. 2,000 mile round trip was not ever a problem.
Funny how time and attitudes change so much. I too, rode my CB350 and CB450 on mulitple long trips thinking I had great touring bikes. Now-a-days everyone thinks they need at least a liter bike to go anywhere.
Funny how time and attitudes change so much. I too, rode my CB350 and CB450 on mulitple long trips thinking I had great touring bikes. Now-a-days everyone thinks they need at least a liter bike to go anywhere.
Yeah, now they think they need a full dresser with hard bags, trunk, and full fairing to ride down to Dairy Queen.
They never did just tie a half full duffel bag on the pillion to lean on and take off.
Graduated in 1974. Started riding in 1973 on a Yamaha 175 Enduro. Been riding ever since. Have owned, in no particular order, 650 Yamaha, 920 Virago, my original 175 Enduro, another 650 Yamaha, and a 1985 Yamaha Venture. Went to 3 wheels and onto the 2014 Spyder RTL I'm riding now 4 years ago. Can't imagine what it would like to have never ridden a motorcycle. Are all of us just crazy, or what?!?!?!
2014 Copper RTS
Tri-Axis bars, CB, BajaRon sway bar & shock adjusters, SpyderPop's Bumpskid, NBV peg brackets, LED headlights and modulator, Wolo trumpet air horns, trailer hitch, custom trailer harness, high mount turn signals, Custom Dynamics brake light, LED turn signal lights on mirrors, LED strip light for a dash light, garage door opener, LED lights in frunk, trunk, and saddlebags, RAM mounts and cradles for tablet (for GPS) and phone (for music), and Smooth Spyder belt tensioner.
Honda CG125 and Honda CD175 both in this pic Jos2Bikes.jpg
College was a Triumph 350 side valve inherited from my uncle which I'm guessing was originally ww2 army surplice. Hardtail backend and sprung seat, the springer frontend had been replaced with forks of some small Japanese bike but still handled like a hippo on acid.
No, all of us are doing what everybody else wishes they could do, but they either don't want to spend the money, or they are scared to try it. Some do try it, can't handle it or can't handle being in the elements, and they go back to the comfort of 4 wheels. Most just look at the motorcycles going by and wish it was them, instead of being stuck in the car with the wife, 5 kids and the mother-in-law in the back set telling them how to drive.
Honda S65 way back in the sixties! Soon gave way to a 1949 Pontiac. But now have 5 other bikes licenced for the road and a Spyder just for s..ts and giggles.