Thread: What was your first motorbike?

I do believe you have to dress like one of the Village People to ride that bike like you're meant to MeMock.

30 years ago I purchased my 1st road bike (after riding and racing dirt bikes for about 8 years )

I paid $2000.au for a 1977 Kawasaki Z1000 A2 red ,second hand form a car dealer with no rego, and 1900k's..It was as new..
This is the last of the tear drop tank models , from the Z1 900

Can somebody post a pic as i can not.

I sold it to a guy who had to own it more than me.. that was in 1997

$ 5000 12 monts rego, !00,000 + K's , motor old enough to smoke.
The bike was sill in very original cond. The old Z was not my daily rider as I always had a late model Kawasaki to for runs and scratching.

I made a gentleman's agreement that when he wanted to sell the bike he would talk to me first..He rang me last night and is giving me 1st option at buying back my beloved Z1000..

I offered him his money back $5000 as he did rebuild the top end..

He has been looking on scam bay and the asking prices are more than double that he said
I am to scared to look at what they are asking and what they are getting.

I'm off to buy some lottery tickets as I can not spare the cash

Sombody want a 1967 pontiac bonneyville 2 door ??

BB

Originally Posted by BUGBEAR

Can somebody post a pic as i can not.

Why not?

First bike was a late 70's vintage Honda 350...forget the model but it was on/off road - I remember the muffler was high off the ground and expensive as hell to replace, which is why I kept brazing patches on it :-).

My next bike was a 1982 Kawasaki KZ750....bought in 1986 for $500. It was a great bike that I loved, but sold in 96 when I started to build a house (no time or money) - got my $500 back!

Thanks MTD for the Z1000 pic , thanks for the memories.

where is the bike mate, [what country]

Originally Posted by nedwalk

where is the bike mate, [what country]

The Z1000 is north of newcastle australia


sorry for the late reply

be worth getting your hands on it, port mcquarie? or up the hunter?

Bugbear, got any pics of that Bonny?

Nifty thriefty honda 50 in '62 for $200-.................

Suzuki 125GT I thought it was so cool

Well my first bike was a yamaha fizzy 49cc lol then i had a kwaka kh250 then a suzi x7 250 then i got a GPZ1100 now back to a 750 sabre

i also had many moto x bikes

I bought my first bike in 1973, a Honda CB 350 twin. If I had more than five posts you would note the upright, good comfortable all around seating position with the handlebars straight across from the driver that offers the driver good control in most situations. Not to mention the straight seat that allows the driver to change position for himself or his passenger. 36 horsepower. Not as good cruising interstates as the CB 450 I traded it in for but definitely adequate. Mine was green however.

1976 Yamaha RD250. The picture is off the net, mine was dark blue and had spoked wheels.
At the time it was the fastest production 250 in the world, or, so I was told.
At the time you only needed a provisional license, L-plates and off you went. No lessons needed. The bike killed a lot of teenagers.

Originally Posted by Attilla the Hen

The bike killed a lot of teenagers

yep, i knew one of em

Talking about deadly bikes, I reckon the Kawasaki Mach 111 500 probably killed the most on a per rider basis back in the early '70s.
500cc 3 cylinder twostroke. Very fast in a straight line but didn't handle and didn't stop well.

^
The same could be said of the Kawasaki 750 H3, also a 2-stroke.

Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton

My first bike was a Triumph Tiger T-110, which I bought off the wall of the Super Star Bar in Pat Pong in 1988. I used it in Aranyaprathet until 1990, when I took it with me to the Philippines. After some more trips, it eventually ended up back in Bangkok with me in 1993. It stayed there when I left in 1996, and since I ended up living in the Philippines in 1998, and not Thailand, it was turned over to a friend in Pattaya, where it resides today.

Trumpy's where for milk bar cowboys and looked at with contempt by "real" M/C men ( but oh god I would have liked one) - great chick magnets but couldn't hold a candle to the real stuff against the electric timer.
My first was a BSA Bantam ( oh my God I hear you say ? ) shaved head , race piston , sealed crankcase and a touch of nitro through a 29 type carby - result 88mph electric - but had to stop it in a pile of gravel at the end of the airstrip - those were the days[at]!

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

Originally Posted by the dogcatcher

Come on fave rave bikes and why? CX 500 for me. Armchair on wheels and non too shabby in the corners.

Start your own thread.

Ah you young fellas in the good old days we had real bikes -here's my line up ( sorry can't find pics ) Owned and raced ( sometimes beat ) the following :
Bsa Bantam ( worked a little to do 88 mph electric) Francis Barnet 197cc - Excelsior Talisman Twin 250cc ( christ it could go !) 49 Matcho 500 , 54 Matcho 500 ( both trial bikes ) and Velocette KTT 350 bored out to 500 ( 132 mph - but didn't like to stop , nearly killed a mate of mine) - always wanted a Vincent Shadow went to buy it after a year of hard saving and they went up from around 550 quid to a bit over 600 , didn't have the extra , still crying about it.

Originally Posted by dave humphreys

Originally Posted by the dogcatcher

First bike Suzuki TS 100, crap rust bucket. Last bike before coming here ZX9R.
Like your bike marmite, sort of baby VMAX.

my first bike was a bsa c15 ,
then a matchie 250 ,
then a royal enfield continental ,
then , a ariel arrow , 250 cc villiers engine ...

then, creme creme de la creme , 500 cc bsa gold star ,,
those were the days , when british was best ..
and you youngsters , were just a twinkle ,,,

27 years inn uniform , dame vera forever,,

Ah Yes , the BSA 500cc Gold Star or 350 - Oh Indeed a delightful piece of machinery!

First was a about a 194? Powell , not sure of the date but was near new, Then a real bike was a 1938 Indian Scout, then a Triumph Tiger 100, then a Triumph Tbird 650, then a Gold Star 500 cc thumper.
Then if I would have had $1800 in 1953 I would have bought the most beautiful bike ever built, A 1953 Indian Bonneville Chief 80.

First m/c was a BSA Gold Star. Not a good bike for a beginner. I pushed it more than I drove it. Lucas electrical system. I ran it off the road coming down Boulder Canyon at 55 mph. Lucky to be alive...no helmet and no boots. Best m/c I've ever owned.
Honda Silver Wing. Bought it new in 81 Halloween Day. Never should have sold it. It was incredibly dependable.

Being well into my sixties, my first bike at age 18, was a 1949 Harley Pan Head... Bought it from a Hell's Angel looking guy who spent about an hour teaching me how to ride it.... Still remember his last words of advice, "if you ever get to the point where you are not Scared Shitless getting on it, sell it and never ride again".... Dumped that bike at least six times in the first two weeks of riding, and had two trips to the hospital, but nothing too serious....

Over the years have had everything from an old Honda Trail 50 up....

Pianoman

Originally Posted by Pianoman

Being well into my sixties, my first bike at age 18, was a 1949 Harley Pan Head... Bought it from a Hell's Angel looking guy who spent about an hour teaching me how to ride it.... Still remember his last words of advice, "if you ever get to the point where you are not Scared Shitless getting on it, sell it and never ride again".... Dumped that bike at least six times in the first two weeks of riding, and had two trips to the hospital, but nothing too serious....

Over the years have had everything from an old Honda Trail 50 up....

Pianoman

A Honda Trail 50, if it is the one I am thinking of with the big fat tires, is one of the easiest bikes in the world to crash.