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I posted this on a forum well known for bashing every other type and kind of bike, except the one the posters rides. I also know most Harley boards have very little "bashing" of the "other guy".
But I thought I would still share my several years experience of riding motorcycles and here is a post on mine from that "other" board.
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In 1963 I was twelve years old. My father bought me a Yamaha 80 road bike! I rode it at my grandparents property “UP NORTH” in the woods. By the time I was 15 (old enough to get an under 50cc license) I had a Yamaha 100 twin! My best friend had a Suzuki 50.( and rode without a license at 14!) His brother had a Suzuki 80. We rode all over the country side. We were so happy to see another motorcycle we waved. And if we saw another bike stopped at a gas station we might even stop and have a look!
We spent our youthful summers working (to get bigger bikes) and hanging around the two local motorcycle dealers. One was a joint Yamaha/ Murushko I may have misspelled that name, but it was a Japanese BMW copy, and the other was a Honda/Suzuki dealer.
By the time I was in high school I had had a 250 Big Bear scrambler (my first “big” bike),a 305 Big Bear and a 441 BSA Victor, and several used dirt bikes. Basically these were road bikes with high pipes. My best friend, that was one year behind me in high school, had a Suzuki T10 250 (he rode that bike on a under 50 cc license.) And we had spent time on the side of the road explaining to the local Chief of Police that those “250” numbers on the side of the head were really 25cc EACH SIDE so it was an under 50cc bike. His comment was “well, it looks bigger than that”, But as there were few bikes on the road, he couldn’t tell off we went. We were still happy to see another guy on a bike and waved and stopped to ogle a different bike. Several high school friends also had huge 250 and even 350 motorcycles. The towns folk would call anyone on a motorcycle a Hell’s Angel.
My friend having been working two jobs and attending High School, ( and also lived far too close to the EDGE) fell asleep at 2 A.M., on his way home from his second job ( so we could buy bigger bikes!) and the T10 did several ground loops. My friend was relatively uninjured and his parents allowed him to buy an X6 Hustler just like his big brother. We were still enthralled to see another rider and waved and stopped to look at their bike.
I had by now worked my way out of the BSA 441 and bought a “lightly” used BSA 650. I was working a summer job between semesters of college and thinking about which bike I might get next. A guy at “work” bought a used Harley and another bought a nice Triumph that had questionable intent to RUN. We all learned to KICK that Triumph, and also on some occasions my BSA, until we all walked with a limp. Another friend bought a DT250 Yamaha scrambler. We all rode around town and country, and the towns folks were sure we were Hell’s Angels! We however were still happy to not only wave at every other guy we met on the road, but we would ride with any guy our age that bought a bike! (we really didn’t care WHAT type of bike, just that he had a BIKE!)
By my second year in college I had enough with British bikes and purchased a Kawasaki 500 triple. Over time I had expansion chambers and racing rotary valves (more fuel for a two stroke) and learned all about the term “TANK SLAPPER” at over 100 MPH! I still rode with most of the guys from the summer before, a Harley, a Triumph, a DT250 and My friend that now had a Suzuki 500. We all waved and stopped to ogle all the new models of motorcycles that were now being seen on the road!
As I was a sophomore in college, EVEN I was smart enough know that if I kept that *(&E#^E% 500 triple Kawasaki it would kill ME! So I bought a Kawasaki 650 W1. It was really just the old BSA unit transmission/engine after BSA had gone with a combination crankcase transmission “new” engine. Kawasaki had purchased the tooling added a second carb and they (Kawasaki) were in the “four stroke” business. So was I.
I REALLY learned all about KICK START, as most bike still didn’t have starter motors.
Needless to say we rode with an eclectic group of motorcycles. Waved at the increasing number of bikes on the road and still remained enthraller with every NEW motorcycle introduced. And new bikes were coming out every year. Amazingly there were more multicylinder bikes coming out from every manufacturer. Honda’s 750 4, Triumph and BSA tridents, Kawasaki and the mighty 900 Z1! We were also suprised to learn, multicylinder motor had been offered many years before! Ariel square fours and Indians with four cyclinders! Amazing, we had been ring-dinging around on two strokes and these old bikes had already been there years before!!
We waved at every bike on the road and every stop was an adventure to see these new machines on the road.
My best friend and I had covered every road within miles over those early years and even talked a few GIRLS into going on dates on the back of those bikes! Their mother sure they were dating Hell’s Angels.
When I was in my third year of college I received a call and my mother told me, my best friend and died. He was working on his first car and as he always lived on the edge, no one is sure how, but he was asphyxiated by a running engine in a closed garaged.
Riding has never been quite the same for me, but I often think as I ride, how lucky I am to still be on the road, and riding a MOTORCYLE, while my best friend cannot. I still wave and look at other bikes, no matter what type.
I feel a little sorry for all of the folks that missed those early years of riding and now only know “Us vs. Them” mentality of Motorcycle riding!
I do know if Peter ( my best friend ) came back today he would wonder what all the fuss is about, for he too only saw a motorcycle, NOT a brand/style/type of bike that wasn’t what he rode. For we all rode motorcycles.
But I thought I would still share my several years experience of riding motorcycles and here is a post on mine from that "other" board.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 1963 I was twelve years old. My father bought me a Yamaha 80 road bike! I rode it at my grandparents property “UP NORTH” in the woods. By the time I was 15 (old enough to get an under 50cc license) I had a Yamaha 100 twin! My best friend had a Suzuki 50.( and rode without a license at 14!) His brother had a Suzuki 80. We rode all over the country side. We were so happy to see another motorcycle we waved. And if we saw another bike stopped at a gas station we might even stop and have a look!
We spent our youthful summers working (to get bigger bikes) and hanging around the two local motorcycle dealers. One was a joint Yamaha/ Murushko I may have misspelled that name, but it was a Japanese BMW copy, and the other was a Honda/Suzuki dealer.
By the time I was in high school I had had a 250 Big Bear scrambler (my first “big” bike),a 305 Big Bear and a 441 BSA Victor, and several used dirt bikes. Basically these were road bikes with high pipes. My best friend, that was one year behind me in high school, had a Suzuki T10 250 (he rode that bike on a under 50 cc license.) And we had spent time on the side of the road explaining to the local Chief of Police that those “250” numbers on the side of the head were really 25cc EACH SIDE so it was an under 50cc bike. His comment was “well, it looks bigger than that”, But as there were few bikes on the road, he couldn’t tell off we went. We were still happy to see another guy on a bike and waved and stopped to ogle a different bike. Several high school friends also had huge 250 and even 350 motorcycles. The towns folk would call anyone on a motorcycle a Hell’s Angel.
My friend having been working two jobs and attending High School, ( and also lived far too close to the EDGE) fell asleep at 2 A.M., on his way home from his second job ( so we could buy bigger bikes!) and the T10 did several ground loops. My friend was relatively uninjured and his parents allowed him to buy an X6 Hustler just like his big brother. We were still enthralled to see another rider and waved and stopped to look at their bike.
I had by now worked my way out of the BSA 441 and bought a “lightly” used BSA 650. I was working a summer job between semesters of college and thinking about which bike I might get next. A guy at “work” bought a used Harley and another bought a nice Triumph that had questionable intent to RUN. We all learned to KICK that Triumph, and also on some occasions my BSA, until we all walked with a limp. Another friend bought a DT250 Yamaha scrambler. We all rode around town and country, and the towns folks were sure we were Hell’s Angels! We however were still happy to not only wave at every other guy we met on the road, but we would ride with any guy our age that bought a bike! (we really didn’t care WHAT type of bike, just that he had a BIKE!)
By my second year in college I had enough with British bikes and purchased a Kawasaki 500 triple. Over time I had expansion chambers and racing rotary valves (more fuel for a two stroke) and learned all about the term “TANK SLAPPER” at over 100 MPH! I still rode with most of the guys from the summer before, a Harley, a Triumph, a DT250 and My friend that now had a Suzuki 500. We all waved and stopped to ogle all the new models of motorcycles that were now being seen on the road!
As I was a sophomore in college, EVEN I was smart enough know that if I kept that *(&E#^E% 500 triple Kawasaki it would kill ME! So I bought a Kawasaki 650 W1. It was really just the old BSA unit transmission/engine after BSA had gone with a combination crankcase transmission “new” engine. Kawasaki had purchased the tooling added a second carb and they (Kawasaki) were in the “four stroke” business. So was I.
I REALLY learned all about KICK START, as most bike still didn’t have starter motors.
Needless to say we rode with an eclectic group of motorcycles. Waved at the increasing number of bikes on the road and still remained enthraller with every NEW motorcycle introduced. And new bikes were coming out every year. Amazingly there were more multicylinder bikes coming out from every manufacturer. Honda’s 750 4, Triumph and BSA tridents, Kawasaki and the mighty 900 Z1! We were also suprised to learn, multicylinder motor had been offered many years before! Ariel square fours and Indians with four cyclinders! Amazing, we had been ring-dinging around on two strokes and these old bikes had already been there years before!!
We waved at every bike on the road and every stop was an adventure to see these new machines on the road.
My best friend and I had covered every road within miles over those early years and even talked a few GIRLS into going on dates on the back of those bikes! Their mother sure they were dating Hell’s Angels.
When I was in my third year of college I received a call and my mother told me, my best friend and died. He was working on his first car and as he always lived on the edge, no one is sure how, but he was asphyxiated by a running engine in a closed garaged.
Riding has never been quite the same for me, but I often think as I ride, how lucky I am to still be on the road, and riding a MOTORCYLE, while my best friend cannot. I still wave and look at other bikes, no matter what type.
I feel a little sorry for all of the folks that missed those early years of riding and now only know “Us vs. Them” mentality of Motorcycle riding!
I do know if Peter ( my best friend ) came back today he would wonder what all the fuss is about, for he too only saw a motorcycle, NOT a brand/style/type of bike that wasn’t what he rode. For we all rode motorcycles.
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