How did you learn to ride?

[Fred W]

I went through a few more dirt bikes and seven-years later with a drivers license in hand, bought a kawasaki H2 750

Ahhhh, man, a widowmaker! The H2 was awesome.

In high school, one of my closest, gear-head friends bought a used one. We stripped it down over the winter and restored it frame up, replacing stock parts with performance oriented stuff along the way. Carbs, chambers, Koni shocks, better rubber. This was in 1974 so other than a few Harleys and Honda 750's there weren't many bigger bikes around town. The sound of that 3 cylinder 2-smoke fitted with expansion chambers was spine tingling. And it was fast as hell. Even with the Konis it didn't handle all that well. I wonder what even happened to that bike...

 

[jekirby]

Short and sweet story. I was 17 or 18, borrowed a Honda Elite scooter to get my liscense and a few month later went to the Honda dealership and bought a VTR250. I showed the dealer my license and answered "Sure I can ride. One down and four up right?" B) I spent about 20 minutes on the lot trying to figure it out and then off I went.......I have improved since then.

I wonder how many wonder how we didn't kill ourselves back then.

 

[otrfjr]

Having a father who sold motorcycles and whose first bike was an Indian Four, I didn't stand much of a chance. Probably 10 or so, and I was zipping around on my mom's Riva and Elite scooters (I think I was 13 when she had the Honda 250 Elite--I was king of the world riding around on that thing). When I was 15, my dad bought me a Yamaha Virago 500. His basic instructions were "Around the block for the first month, around the next block for the second month, any back road within three miles after that. If you dump it, you pay to fix it." (Oddly enough, I never dumped it in the two years I had it.) My real riding lessons came when I was 16. Dad put me on his Honda V65 Magna while he and mom rode a Suzuki Cavalcade, and we did a 5,000 mile, three-week trip from FL to TX to KS to NE to IA to IL to MI to NC back to FL. I could barely tippy toe on that top-heavy, fire-breathing V-4, and I lived in perpetual fear of dropping it--especially on sandy ruts leading to an abandoned farmhouse outside Dodge City where dad used to fly from Michigan with his Cessna 150 to help a cousin with harvests. Most of my early "real" riding/touring lessons came from that trip: paying close attention to road conditions/riding lanes (tippy toes and slick surfaces do not mix), eternal vigilance/dealing with fatigue, how to pass efficiently on two lane roads with hills and curves, why to assume that no one could see me and the potentially fatal ramifications of being invisible, why not to lay rubber while pulling out so that the bike fishtails and a soft saddle bag swings out to add a little inertial wobble when I thought dad wasn't looking ("If you do that again, I'll take the key and you will walk home"), the incomparable joy of wind, sun, and stunning vistas at speed (I still remember being waved at by a conductor on what had to be the very last red caboose in America while we were in Mississippi).

I hope and pray that some day I will have the same opportunity with my son (who never got to meet his grandpa). I can't imagine a better way to train a rider: 5,000 miles of supervised riding with specific discussions about riding at every water/fuel stop and at the end of each day. I was old enough to be scared shitless of embarrassing myself, disappointing my father, dying--maybe in that order--but young enough not to be distracted by all the complications that come with adulthood. That ride still stands as the most memorable and fulfilling motorcycling experience of my life.

Here's to my dad, lover of speed and safety.

 

[madmike2]

My dad owned a '47 HD (Yep..foot clutch, side shift, studded saddlebags, etc., etc.) and came home with a "basket case" Triumph Tiger Cub. He got the Cub running and that was his "fun" bike while the Harley was his freeway commuter (Yes...even in the early 60's he commuted on freeways).

One day, in 1963, it came my turn to learn to ride. Actually, it was he who did the infamous wheelie down the street. Because I kept stalling the bike trying to master the clutch/throttle interface, he got on the bike and twisted the throttle....saying, "Give it some gas"....vrrooooom...."and let out the clutch!"

Since he'd just gotten it back together and painted it he was holding the handlebars and running behind it so it wouldn't fall sideways. :rofl:

After mom and I got him and the bike picked up (no damage to either, thank God) I finally got to ride the Cub. I rode that bike for a month or so and one day dad came home with a Parilla 250 Scrambler for me. He and his friend (Wally Cluff, who owned a 650 Matchless single) were my riding buddies as we explored the river trails (that are now off limits for motor vehicles) along the American River in East Sacramento County. We also had family friends who had Honda 50 street bikes (the step-over style) they'd ride on the dirt roads, etc.

So when I was riding the Parilla to high school, most of my friends had Honda trail 50s and 90s. One other guy had a Harley dirt bike (2-stroke, as I remember). He and I were the kings of our high school biking community.

I still remember dad's rules about riding:

1.) I'm not going to tell you how to ride or what to wear.

2.) I think you should wear a helmet (3/4 style were all that were available then), leather gloves and a jacket.

3.) You wear whatever you want but, if I see you riding without a helmet and gloves or riding "stupid", I'll take the bike away.

 

[rogdeb]

It's been really good reading all these stories. All those memories dug up from the past -- wish I'd started when I was a kid.

Good topic Rick :clapping:

 

[fjrb0]

Ahhhh, man, a widowmaker! The H2 was awesome.

In high school, one of my closest, gear-head friends bought a used one. We stripped it down over the winter and restored it frame up, replacing stock parts with performance oriented stuff along the way. Carbs, chambers, Koni shocks, better rubber. This was in 1974 so other than a few Harleys and Honda 750's there weren't many bigger bikes around town. The sound of that 3 cylinder 2-smoke fitted with expansion chambers was spine tingling. And it was fast as hell. Even with the Konis it didn't handle all that well. I wonder what even happened to that bike...

Think I saw one of those mounted to the back of the mosquitoe control truck here the other day!!! Those things were fast, but could put out some kinda smoke!!!

 

[Fred W]

Ahhhh, man, a widowmaker! The H2 was awesome.

In high school, one of my closest, gear-head friends bought a used one. We stripped it down over the winter and restored it frame up, replacing stock parts with performance oriented stuff along the way. Carbs, chambers, Koni shocks, better rubber. This was in 1974 so other than a few Harleys and Honda 750's there weren't many bigger bikes around town. The sound of that 3 cylinder 2-smoke fitted with expansion chambers was spine tingling. And it was fast as hell. Even with the Konis it didn't handle all that well. I wonder what even happened to that bike...

Think I saw one of those mounted to the back of the mosquitoe control truck here the other day!!! Those things were fast, but could put out some kinda smoke!!!

That was only the 2 smokes that were owned by goobers that couldn't figure out fluid ratios. The H2, as well as my mini widowmaker (I had a zook GT550) were oil injected. So long as you didn't **** up the oil injection pump they ran fairly smoke free. But that "ring-ading-ding-ding". There was no cure for that.

Talk about Oil threads, just imagine if we were still riding 2-strokes. That was when oil really mattered.

 

[gregory]

Started off riding a Yamaha 75cc Trials bike at 8. Learned to ride "traps" before anything else. Second bike was a '76 Yamaha 175 Trials bike. Third bike was a 70 something KTM with a Sachs 125cc that was built by satan himself. That bike had 2 speeds, dead stop and once you got it on the pipe, holy testicle---I'm gonna die

Greg

 

[El Toro]

Old guy dealership owner took me across the street to a large parking lot. Gave me a few pointers on shift pattern and location of clutch and brakes. 10 minutes later I was an accomplished motorcyclist . The rest of the learning was "the hard way" via OBT (on the bike training). Still learnin' stuff.

Eventually went to work for the guy and became great friends. Really miss him (been dead a long time.... and second generation owners ran dealership into ground within a few years of their gaining control). We had Honda, Bultaco, Kawasaki, and Triumph, and later the northeast distributorship for a lower level marque, and a wide range of accessory manufacturers.

There for the intro of all the neat things that came out in the late 60's and early 70's. Funny how things change. ATGATT meant you wore leather shoes, blue jeans, shirt, and a 3/4 helmet (probably from Bell).

 

[Tenchi]

One night before my first lesson, my buddy took me out on the ZZR250. No words of advice, no nothing.

"Hold on, we should take a photo to remember this moment."



Yeah, I forgot to remove the safety sticker off my visor before putting the helmet on. I would have worked it out pretty quickly though.

Everything from there on was smooth sailing. Almost dropped the bike coming slowly around a right handed 15 degree incline in a car park that night; admittedly even now I approach such a corner warily, but other than that it was smooth sailing all the way.

Not nearly as entertaining as some of the stories you guys have, but the facilities to learn how to ride just weren't there for anyone older than 40. They're there now, teaching young bloods like myself how to avoid the mistakes made by people in the past. Nothing ever prepares you for "Oh hey, my heated grips ARE ON FIRE" though.

 

[Khunajawdge]

What a topic!

OK, when I was 8 (in 1958) I moved to Freedom CA. from San Francisco, CA where I was a-borned!

Living near a rural area called 5 Mile House, I rode my old direct drive Columbia, foot braked balloon tired bicycle long distances, because I didn't have any kids near by home to play with. Sometimes I would ride 20 miles RT. When I couldn’t find them kids, I‘d ride to fish and plink with my BB gun. Never told mom how far I had rode neither. <_<

In 1959, I decided I needed one of those "new fangled" 3-speeds, so I asked my mom to see if she had any idears how I could get me one? She said I could pick berries at the Parra berry farm (paid by piece work = $.35/crate) on Amnesti road, or I could sell Xmas cards to earn credits toward a Royce Union 3 speed pictured in the Xmas card sales rewards brochure. I decided to do both. I earned enough credits and cash to buy the Royce Union the second year of my pledge toward my goal.

In the summer of 1960, I rode my “new” bike 3 miles to Parra's farm and rekindled my earnings of $3.00/day. One of the benefits of the ride was a hill, still known as Varni Road. I would struggle to peddle the new bike up in low gear, until I could head south another 1 1/2 miles on the plateau on Amnesti Rd. toward Parra's farm. I'd pick my berries then head back to Varni Road for the downhill run. I began to so look forward to this ride home after I learned to not use the brakes at all. On this relatively steep (8% grade) downhill run with a right hand sweeper at the bottom where it crossed the bridge on Corralitos Creek, I was cookin'. In fact before descent, I gave the run a full pedal burst in high gear before my legs had to quit ‘cause they were out of steam. Then I would tuck up cannonball style, put my chin on the handle bars, and point that bike downhill toward the sweeper at the bottom. :yahoo:

After a couple of weeks of adrenelin building moments, I decided that I really wanted to know how fast I was going down this hill, so I talked my mom into letting me buy a $6.00 speedometer at the sporting goods store in town with some of my earnings. After attaching the speedo cable to the front wheel and the meter to the steering stem nut, I was ready for another test run after my first day back a work. Holy Smokes… 47 MPH and… I was practically at a 60 degree body lean angle at the apex of the sweeper. That is how I got hooked on speed and cornering a two wheeled vehicle. :dribble:

My first legally registered motorized vehicle on the road at 15 ½ was a Honda Dream 250. It would do 60 MPH but the suspension sucked. Traded it in for a CB 350 and really began to feel invincible. A couple of close calls and a fiance’ (who I am still married to) all began to convince me that I better give this 2 wheeled motorcycling up or I may not live to see my first born. I was crazy for speed! Guess what? 30+ years later, 2 children raised, partially retired from a full career, 6 bikes later, I am the same nut. ****, I’m still addicted to two wheeled speed, it is in my blood. Heaven help me!

 

[Recreate]

I got a bicycle for Christmas at age 6 and learned to ride it. My parents did not allow me to have a motorcycle because they considered them too dangerous. Good thing they didn't know about the risks boys take on bicycles. :dribble:

In 1969, at age 21 after a hitch in the military, I purchased a Honda CB350 from the local Honda dealer in Dallas. I checked out on my new bike in the parking lot wearing my matching red 3/4 helmet and rode it home without any mishaps. Although I often rode "under the influence" back then I somehow got away with it. :crazy: "You meet the nicest people on a Honda."

I sold my Honda after starting a family and didn't ride for 27 years until I bought a 2006 Suzuki GS500F this year. I took a MSF class and bought good protective gear before riding again and so far I have managed to ride with the shiny side up. :bike:

 

[MotorToad]

... and next to it, for only a few hundred bucks more, was an H1 500 triple 2 stroke. I left a deposit on that H1 and headed home to break the news and see what happens.

Best. First. Bike. EVER! Congratulations on your survival.

Step one: Make sure the bike is in neutral and start it up. No problem.
Step two: "Rev the engine and let out the clutch". [notice he did not say, "Let out the clutch s l o w l y"]

I rev'd the engine and followed his instructions to a "T". I let go of the clutch . . .

Add two stalls before the launch, and that's my first motorcycle experience. It was a Honda dual sport in '83 or '84. I had a Yamaha QT50 in high school but I didn't understand how to ride. Well, that and scooter suspension resulted in an off or two at remarkably low speed. I can't remember if the dirt bike was before or after the QT.

I learned shifting and clutching on a friend's Yamaha sport quad in '90 or so and successfully, but slowly, rode a dirt bike around the same time, both untutored in any form.

Come '96 and I got my first bike, a '90 GS-500. Shoei RF-800, boat shoes and board shorts, I was all about the safety! Somehow I passed the DMV test, though even at the time I thought she was stupid for passing me. The GS had sticky floats so it was pissing fuel down the engine and stalling. A year or two later a guy introduced me to the word "countersteering" and I began to ride the bike. From there it took two or so years and I'd pretty much learned what you'd have learned in a BRC. It was a miracle I actually survived on my own.

 

[Rolavine]

We were 12 and my friend bought a brand-new Allstate scooter from Sears......

I started on an Allstate scooter too, my older brother got a used one that got left in the garage. Well I couldn't resist and so just started riding it. My instruction consisted of running into the house to ask my bro what the level near the right hand did. In Wisconsin, at that time, a learners permit allowed you to ride a motorcycle during daylight hours. The scooter was a bit fancier than flying junior's, it was an Itallian Vespa Clone. That thing tried to kill me on a regular basis. One day I saw something fly out of the front suspension, about the time I realzed it was a spring the entire weight of the bike came down on the front tire locking it in place. I went flying up over the handlebars and hit the road head first with the bike saving itself by using me as a sort of cushion. Lucky enough I was wearing sturdy cutoffs and a t-shirt with no helmet, so I bounced right back up, stuck the spring back in place and crawled home ignoring the blood while wondering if bailing wire could be fabricated into a suitable retainer.

That was 42 years ago and I'm still kuckleheaded enough to be riding a bike. It is possible had I been wearing a helmet during that first mishap I would have retained enough brain cells to have hung up my spurs right there and then.

 

[vabrzn]

I went through a few more dirt bikes and seven-years later with a drivers license in hand, bought a kawasaki H2 750

Ahhhh, man, a widowmaker! The H2 was awesome.

In high school, one of my closest, gear-head friends bought a used one. We stripped it down over the winter and restored it frame up, replacing stock parts with performance oriented stuff along the way. Carbs, chambers, Koni shocks, better rubber. This was in 1974 so other than a few Harleys and Honda 750's there weren't many bigger bikes around town. The sound of that 3 cylinder 2-smoke fitted with expansion chambers was spine tingling. And it was fast as hell. Even with the Konis it didn't handle all that well. I wonder what even happened to that bike...

I didn’t make too many improvements to mine other than expansion chambers and I took the turn signals off; an improvement at the time I had a lot of fun on that bike even with the mid corner wallow and high speed wobbles. I can vividly hear that whaaaaaa intack sound from the carbs when the throttle was rolled on below the power band……….

 

[bikerskier]

I went through a few more dirt bikes and seven-years later with a drivers license in hand, bought a kawasaki H2 750

Ahhhh, man, a widowmaker! The H2 was awesome.

In high school, one of my closest, gear-head friends bought a used one. We stripped it down over the winter and restored it frame up, replacing stock parts with performance oriented stuff along the way. Carbs, chambers, Koni shocks, better rubber. This was in 1974 so other than a few Harleys and Honda 750's there weren't many bigger bikes around town. The sound of that 3 cylinder 2-smoke fitted with expansion chambers was spine tingling. And it was fast as hell. Even with the Konis it didn't handle all that well. I wonder what even happened to that bike...

I didn’t make too many improvements to mine other than expansion chambers and I took the turn signals off; an improvement at the time I had a lot of fun on that bike even with the mid corner wallow and high speed wobbles. I can vividly hear that whaaaaaa intack sound from the carbs when the throttle was rolled on below the power band……….

Here are a couple of pics of my '73 H2, that I bought new, and then traded for a '75 900 Z1 . What an insane bike! The frame gusset welds were so light that the first few corners I took, I could have sworn the seat was coming apart and I was going to die. Took some getting used when hard cornering that little smoke belching *******. There are many other times when I rode that bike rather silly and probably should have gone down. Making bad choices frequently in those days!

Medicine Lake Jasper Nat Park

Banff - Jasper Hwy

Between Lake Louise and Field

 

[dcarver]

I went through a few more dirt bikes and seven-years later with a drivers license in hand, bought a kawasaki H2 750

Ahhhh, man, a widowmaker! The H2 was awesome.

In high school, one of my closest, gear-head friends bought a used one. We stripped it down over the winter and restored it frame up, replacing stock parts with performance oriented stuff along the way. Carbs, chambers, Koni shocks, better rubber. This was in 1974 so other than a few Harleys and Honda 750's there weren't many bigger bikes around town. The sound of that 3 cylinder 2-smoke fitted with expansion chambers was spine tingling. And it was fast as hell. Even with the Konis it didn't handle all that well. I wonder what even happened to that bike...

I didn't make too many improvements to mine other than expansion chambers and I took the turn signals off; an improvement at the time I had a lot of fun on that bike even with the mid corner wallow and high speed wobbles. I can vividly hear that whaaaaaa intack sound from the carbs when the throttle was rolled on below the power band……….

Here are a couple of pics of my '73 H2, that I bought new, and then traded for a '75 900 Z1 . What an insane bike! The frame gusset welds were so light that the first few corners I took, I could have sworn the seat was coming apart and I was going to die. Took some getting used when hard cornering that little smoke belching *******. There are many other times when I rode that bike rather silly and probably should have gone down.

Medicine Lake Jasper Nat Park

Banff - Jasper Hwy

Between Lake Louise and Field

Sweet.

 

[McRide]

Started at 4 yrs old riding to kindergarten sitting on the tank and my brother on the rear... 1959 ish. My Dad, who is now 83 still rides and still has that bike, a 1946 Triumph Tiger 100 (500cc). He's rebuilt it a few times and now it's in museum shape. He looks at it a lot but does not ride it anymore. Fires right up everytime! His curent ride is mid 80's Honda. Got my first at 19 after rolling into town with a pocket full of logging camp money. 1972 Yamaha 650 twin. Took me through university and beyond. Long break from bikes (20+ years) then into the FJR and there's no looking back!

 

[Silver Penguin]

Started at 4 yrs old riding to kindergarten sitting on the tank and my brother on the rear... 1959 ish.

Had to smile at that thought, because it awakened long dormant memories. When I was somewhere between three and four years old, I would wait at the end of the driveway for Dad to come home from work. He'd put me on the tank of his Arial Leader to ride to the garage. A couple of years later, I had to share the privilege with little brother but by then I was old enough to ride on the back seat.

Jill

 

[joeR6]

First motorcycle I ever rode was in 2003, on my dad's '98 V-MAX! I had ridden 4-wheelers as a kid but my mom forbade me from ever riding a 2-wheeler, so 4 wheels was somehow acceptable.

Went to an empty parking lot, got the feel for how a bike handles, in a parking lot, - always remembering to put your feet down and be straght when you stop , yada yada - when do we get to ride dad? Now a Yamaha V-MAX is probably not the best bike to learn how to ride a motorcyle on, but having ridden 4-wheelers and having the clutch/gear action setup being the same I think really helped. I think that is half the battle when riding for the first time. So long story short after I rode around the parking lot with my dad watching me, and seeing that I didn't drop the bike he decided it was time (even though I didn't have a lisc. yet)

Took Madmax out on the open road - after a few hours of riding, got the hang of it - riding sensation was really cool, leaning into the corners, using your body to steer the bike. I guess it kind of came naturally to me. So later that same day I wanted to see what this awesome sounding V-MAX could do. Was in the middle of nowhere on an open road - I cracked the throttle open - Vboost kicked in - engine roaring, body thrown back, arms stretched, never had such big grin on my face from ear to ear traveling at warp speed! :lmaosmiley: - I was hooked ever since.

Took the MSF course immediately after that, bought a used R6 (which pissed off the wife), and am currently riding an FJR. I'm 29, am I the youngest person on this forum? I see you other guys with your first bikes being from 1946, 1959. God willing I'll be riding as loooong as you old farts are. - just messin with ya - I still ride with my old man, he is 66 years young and also owns an FJR.