Credit where credit is due (Who/what got you in to bikes?)

[Conquiztador]

This is where you have the chance to praise the ones/what got you in to bikes.
Who was it that made the difference and got you on the right track?
What was that deciding moment when you knew where you belonged?
And was it mum and dad who paid for it all???

So I start:

It was 1969 and I had been riding mopeds. Fun. And I had some of mine doing 80K+. But they were only a way of getting from A to B witout pedalling (and I was young).
Then I did see Easy Rider at the movies. And it changed everyting. I wanted a Panhead. No, I NEEDED a Panhead. I did see that movie over 10 times. And that was before I got it on Video (for those of U who remember a video..)

My first real bike was a Royal Enfield. Then a BSA, then a Triumph and THEN the 48 Panhead. I did some "minor" modifications. Extended the forks to 21 inch over, fitted a proper "leaver" to them. Modified and painted the frame, and did my first wheel by fitting a VW 15 inch rim to the HD hub.

As much as you will always regret selling any of the bikes, she is the one I can still shead a tear over (when properly un-sober).

And no, I never had a help re paying any of my bikes, re fixing them or re wrecking them... I am solely responsible for it all.

Attached some pics of the Panhead. Sorry re quality, but my scanner is limping.

[Big Dave]

The grandfather built me my first mini bike at 2 years old - he was an engineer at the Steelworks - to young to remember anything about first getting it but burning myself on the exhaust and the exposed centrifugal clutch.
Had it till he bought me the Deckson 125 when I was 8.

Bought my first bike on newspaper money, a CL90 when I was 14.

a CB450 was first road bike at 16 at school. Already been riding 14 years.

[babyblade250rr]

my best friend Geordie (who now lives in Canda) :crybaby: got me into the luv of bikes at 15 after he let me test pilot his nsr250r mannn i'll never forget it!! was just the best feeling ever!! absolutely no idea how to ride a cycle he gave me the basic clutch breaks throttle gear pattern and away i went in utter stupidity.


One of the Kodak moments of mylife:Punk: never really looked back!

[Mr. Peanut]

my best friend Geordie (who now lives in Canda) :crybaby: got me into the luv of bikes at 15 after he let me test pilot his nsr250r mannn i'll never forget it!! was just the best feeling ever!! absolutely no idea how to ride a cycle he gave me the basic clutch breaks throttle gear pattern and away i went in utter stupidity.


I know what you mean, the first time I rode my NSR is burned into my mind, like a drug it was never the same after the first time. The power, the utterly incomprehensible feeling of acceleration.

I've always wanted a bike. Ever since I could ride a bicycle.

I taught two of my friends to ride my NSR, and they're both into bikes now. Nightstalker and Smokey Moe. I may or may not have influenced Chrislost, and he in turn probably made his friend Alex get into bikes!

[JimO]

i went and saw "on any sunday" when i was a lad

[chanceyy]

brother got into motox .. even let me ride it when he was too stuffed to go round the track anymore (when i was about 15).. friends all had road bikes .. other freinds had harley's .. on the back of all of them(from about 18 -30) .. it never occurred to me to get one ..

the sugi introduced me to this site .. AJ pillioned me to welly two days in a row .. & she was all over .. I had to have a bike ...

[phantom]

Mum and dad both rode bikes , dad competitively and he instructed at weekends at the motorcycle training school in Palmy in the very early 60s so it was a foregone conclusion. It was Sarah, the love of my life :love:, who professes to hate bikes that encouraged me to get back into bikes a couple of years ago

[Zuki Bandit]

I remember as a young fella (five years old or so), my dad taking us on family outings and eventually ending up looking in motorbike stores. Mum was bored shitless and would stay in the car but I remember being blown away by the rocket ship like lines and shiney bits on the bikes.
Another thing that really sticks in my memories is seeing my older brother riding down our drive on a rumbling untuned sounding matt black gsx1100.
I think my family planted the seed when it came to bikes, but it was just a matter of time before I had to have one.

Cheers All:Punk:

[breakaway]

I decided on a Monday, that I wanted a bike. A few searches later, I found KB. I then found the Online Trading section. Then on friday @ 11:09PM, I had a filty two smoker in the garage. I still miss it :bye:, but I see the guy that I sold it to every now and then at uni.

[Oakie]

A guy I used to work with (Stephen Parker) told me he was selling his bike (Kawaski G5 ...100cc off road type thing) and asked if I wanted it. I thought "sure beats peddling my pushbike" and that was it. No real pre-thought. Then I just head to learn how to ride.

[jeremysprite]

yeah, i was looking for transport, then I looked at bikes, saw a KR250 i think it was, $1600 in white and red. I wanted that soooo much.
Probably a good thing i never got that though - they're like 45 hp, and i'd never ridden a bike before!

[Skunk]

yeah, i was looking for transport, then I looked at bikes, saw a KR250 i think it was, $1600 in white and red. I wanted that soooo much.
Probably a good thing i never got that though - they're like 45 hp, and i'd never ridden a bike before!
Ahhh, my first bike! Black and red. My wife (girlfriend then) was bored with it (not enough power) and I decided to give it a try.

She taught me to ride as well.

[Edbear]

Can't perzackly remember when, (late '60's?), but my Mum had a BSA Bantam 125, black, and I fell in love with it the first time I saw it! Eventually, at 12, I was allowed to ride it around the section.

First vehicle was a 1950 Bradford then a '59 CA Bedford before getting my first bike, a '51 B31 BSA 350. The pic is of a later model, mine had the plunger rear suspension, (and was definitely not in this condition!). Next was the T500 Suzuki, ('73), and was a revelation compared to the BSA! Mum loved to ride it, too! (And sometimes I even washed it..) Sold that to get married in '77.

Can't load the Bradford or the BSA pics as I'm told I've already posted them in the threads, "What was your first bike?", and "My best ride ever". How can I repost them?

[RantyDave]

Whoever nicked my scooter. I moped around for a few months, caught the bus, made people's lives hell. Then I decided I had to get another one, but wanted a 125 and had to get a learners ticket to have one.

So I did the one day learners thing and though "Hmmmm, perhaps I get a bike instead, no".

Dave

[Edbear]

Well, I got the Bradford, didn't work on the BSA, I'll try again...

[Blair-SV]

It was my girlfriend that got me into it, when I met her she had an SV400 and took me pillion once. Said I was too heavy to do it again. So long story short I thought I better ride myself around, got the GSX250, got the licence...then got the big bike. 2 weeks later she upgraded to an SV1000 as well. The pair look awesome in the garage together.

[Keystone19]

Well, I'd like to say I've been riding since I could walk but my story is recent... a couple of years ago a friend took me for a ride on the back of his VTR1000. Two rides later I was hooked. Went and got my learners license, a week after that I bought a VTR250 in Wanganui, pillioned down from Auckland to get it and rode it home.

The other defining moment was about 6 weeks after I got my VTR250 when Frosty gave me a ride on his SV650 at Pukekohe.

The rest is history...:innocent:

[Edbear]

If at first you don't succeed...! Thanks a lot, Pete!

[Mom]

Met a boy when I was 15, he was a bit older and into bikes. Friday nights were hanging out at the bike shop when my Mom thought I was ballroom dancing........ooops, needed transport when I left home.....bike was cheap to own, cheap to run.....PERFECT! The end.

Stopped riding for years while raising kids, as you do.....must thank that boyfriend really *shakes head*

but best thanks goes to Maha man for having his mid-life crisis......:yes:

[pritch]

Waay back before I even want to remember, like in the fourth form at Avondale College, a guy called Phil Holt who later did a m/c mechanic apprenticeship in Auckland got me interested in bikes. I last saw him on a bus in Wellington one Friday night in 1965.

A very trusting man, he let me have about my first three rides, all on different steeds of his: a 1955 Speed Twin, 1959 T110, and a similar vintage T120C. A nice start.

Have looked for him in the Whitepages on occasion in recent years thus far without success.

[roadracingoldfart]

My sister was dating a guy from a bike shop called Whites Yamaha in Wgtn and my mum made her drag me to the bike racing at Porirua street circuit. I saw Greame Crosby on a Kawasaki Z9 come round the last corner on the last lap and he ran wide into the crowd .
He kept it up and nailed it for the finish line, he was 1st and 2nd, 3rd , & 4th were the 44 gallon drums he dragged the last bit of track. I was hooked from then on. I got a AG100 and stuffed that , got a G5 kwaka 100 and an ashole stole that a KE 250 Kwaka and that was just a shit cart .So i got road bikes from then on. I had a CB 400/4 i covered over 250.000 kms on and rebuilt the motor 3 times lol, i finally sold the engine for that bike 2 yrs ago as a runner.
Ohhh the good old days. Dont get me started. :yes: :shutup:
Robert Holden got me into road racing and he was my hero RIP matey.

[Sanx]

My inspiration came from my dad and then the shame of having my kid sister get a bike and a licence before me. I knew how to ride a bike (practicing on my dad's old CX500 when I was about 15), but hadn't got on one in about 14 years.

Then, some *searches for the correct phrasing* scum-sucking mutant tea-leaf fuckwit wanker (hmm, that'll do) went and stole my car. My lovely turbo-charged Mitsubishi GTO, that cost a fortune to run and went wrong every other week. So ... with the pittance the insurance company paid out, I went and bought a bike. And then another. And then another. And the rest is history.

Now I've got the 'Blade, it's amusing I used to consider the GTO a quick vehicle.

[SARGE]

i was conceived on a Cushman and born on an Indian

[tri boy]

Trumpy's going flat out, up the GT NTH RD outa Wanganui. I was about ten yrs old........Its all your fault:shit:

[jumma]

Went for a pillion ride on my flatmates bike not long after he got his full. Was all the convincing i needed plus he managed to convince 2 others to get their license/bikes as well. A rather successful weekend for him

[Deviant Esq]

Went to Rarotonga, hired a scooter to get around the island. Spent the week buzzing around the place two up (girlfriend on the back), t-shirt, shorts, jandels on a good day, no gloves, no lids. At the time it didn't seem dangerous... :mellow: Changed my thinking quite drastically since then!

I decided before we left Raro that I'd be getting a bike once I got back to New Zealand. I wanted a Honda Cub or a CG125 or something... boy am I glad I wound up with the NZ250 instead! KB has taught me much and helped me meet so many people I'd have never otherwise met... and I'd have never got my licence and bike so quick or easily if it hadn't been for KB. In fact it might have never happened.

[N4CR]

this ****in *** called john lmao. he's on here sometimes real occasionally.

he got me into bikes cus i couldnt be ****e dwaiting 5 motnhs for a car restricted. ****in glad i didn't get a cage, i woul d have got an r32 skyline and put a **** can on it and put a loud bov and thaught it was fast. lol..... 10r for the win.

[Karma]

When I was younger I pillioned on the back of my dads bike from London to Exeter and was interested in the brothership with the waving and that.

As I got old I caught the speed bug and moving to NZ meant I needed new transport so used it as an excuse for a bike.

[skidMark]

Loosebruce got me onto 250's before that i was on a 50cc commuter and the shear thought of riding a 250 gave me the shits, he told me to stop being a pussy LOL

[justsomeguy]

Bikes go fast.

[Fryin Finn]

In 1967 a friend took me for a ride on a scooter - but that didn't get me into bikes
In 1970 I had a ride on a friends Yamaha 50 step through - but that didn't get me into bikes.
In 1972 my father bought a bike back from Japan - a Honda SS50 - and even though I got a provisional license - that didn't get me into bikes.
Later in 1972 I had a ride on my brothers mates trail bike - a Yamaha 175 CT3 - and that got me hooked.
I saved furiously for six months and bought my first bike - a Yamaha 360 RT3 - that really got me into bikes.

[Beemer]

My brother had bikes when I was a kid and I used to beg him to take me for a ride. He caught on pretty quickly and would get me to polish the bike in return for a ride around the block!

When I was a teenager I went out with a few guys who owned bikes and two female friends at school had 125s but my mother refused to let me have a bike so I gave up on the idea.

Fast forward to my late 30s - I was writing and taking photos for Kiwi Rider and was a non-riding member of the Vic Club when Mike Esdaile (then editor of KR) rang to ask me to test ride a used bike. I had to confess I didn't have a licence - and I didn't actually ride - but a few days later there was an ad in the paper for free introductory motorcycle lessons.

I learned to ride, bought a bike and then felt totally out of my depth. That's when Alan Kirk offered to give me some lessons. He then put me onto Andrew and Lynne Templeton, who introduced me to WIMA. The girls there were great - Loopy, Sally, Cathy, Vicki, Deirdre - and many others whose names escape me. Another one who helped out while I was gaining my confidence was Brendan Keogh.

While at the first WIMA rally I met my husband-to-be and as a rider he also inspired me to improve my skills. I may have been a late starter but being involved in motorcycling has changed my life for the better.

Before bikes - broke, unemployed, bored, living at home - after bikes - still broke, self-employed, there are five bikes in the shed, I own a home and I have a husband and I'm not bored any more!

[ManDownUnder]

My uncle on his farm... my cousin and I were welcome to ride the bike all day if we wanted to (an old Yamaha Grasshopper 100cc)... brilliant little thing too - climbed like a goat!

Not too fast - and not too dangerous but hell it was fun.

One thing lead to another (as it tends to do in this life) and voila - here I am a few years later on a steed of my very own.

Ironically I prefer road riding to dirt but anything on two wheels is good.

[vifferman]

It was the '70s, BikesWereBig, and I had several friends with bikes. One of them came from a biking family: his dad raced bikes in the '50s, and all three boys had bikes. I spent many hours on the back of my friend's BSA 250 Star, which they'd bought for $50: all it needed to get it roadworthy was the forks straightened, and the soot cleaned out of the zorst (along with all the baffles - so I could hear it approaching from a mile away!)

I can't recall the first bike I rode in 1974 - it was either a Yamaha 90 trailbike, or a Kawasaki F7. Either way, I just got on and rode, and that was that: I was hooked. My first bike was a two-year-old CB175, which belonged to a workmate of my father. She'd been cleaned up on it by an old lady who'd driven straight through a stop sign, breaking her leg in 6 places. She was in a cast for 6 months: first one up to her chest, then a full-leg one, then she had calipers, then walked with a stick, then just a limp. My parents helped finance me (once my Dad, who'd owned a Douglas when he was younger, talked Mum around). I got a job after school for about 80 cents/hour (later $1 - woohoo!) at a furniture shop, delivering furniture and that sort of thing, to pay off the bike.

The CB175 had been fully rebuilt, so it was like new. When I'd finished with it, it was FUKT. But the guy who bought the wreck rebuilt it, using CD175 (:sick:) parts.
Once I'd got the money side of things sorted (courtesy of Paul East, lawyer, before he became a politician), and recovered from my bruises, abrasions and traveling on the bus for months, I bought an MT250 Elsinore.
Sold that when I was at uni, when I ran out of money. Etc etc blah blah...

Interestingly (or not), despite there being up to 6 bikes (including a Manx Norton, a TZ250, and what was the fastest production RD350 in NZ at the time) in their garge, none of the biking family that introduced me to bikes still ride.

[Macktheknife]

My Dad used to ride in the UK and told us kids amazing stories of his adventures with mates. Then my older brothers got into bikes in their teens, I couldn't wait to get on one, so my brothers decided to let me have a go round the back yard. Almost disastrous ending, but the bug was planted. Only got better from there.

[Unit]

My daughters father bought a bike after a long time off them, and Id never had anything to do with them. Was a brand new Laverda SFC1000 in 1985. He was such a scary bastard though I decided I needed my own ride from a safety point of view. First bike, Norton 850 Commando, never looked back

[onearmedbandit]

My brothers and their mates all rode bikes. I looked up to them, it was natural that I'd end up on a bike. Now I'm the only one I know from those days that still rides. Oh my eldest brother is now a HD freak.

[discotex]

This is where you have the chance to praise the ones/what got you in to bikes.
Who was it that made the difference and got you on the right track?
What was that deciding moment when you knew where you belonged?
And was it mum and dad who paid for it all???


I'd ridden mates Honda stepthroughs and Vespas in my teens but never thought of owning my own bike until a mate at work took me for a spin on the back of his CBR. Having never been on a sport bike I had no idea how fast they really were and it blew me away. Made any of the jap cars I've been in feel slow - and some were bloody quick.

The deciding moment was riding up mountain rd carving up the twisty bits and getting in the flow. I don't push it hard but when you get the turns linked and smooth it's like carving on a snowboard or skis.

The other thing I love is that riding pulls you into the moment. There's no time for daydreaming about trouble at work or worrying about paying the bills or whatever. It's just you and reality, right here, right now.

[swbarnett]

My father rode Thriumphs in his youth and, when I started University in '83 I needed my own transport. Took to it like a duck to water and only stopped when I went to live in Europe. Got back on about a year ago cause I just started to miss the bike.

[janno]

My husband got a motorcycle after a seven year break - I'd met him when he didn't have a bike.

I then encouraged him to get a decent one, so we got a comfy BMW R1150RS. (Which he then bust - hooray for full insurance!)

I then got REALLY frustrated going pillion, as he was deciding where we parked . . . yes, really!!

Actually, I knew women have ridden bikes since they were invented, but somehow hadn't clicked that I could too. Husband got me a virago 250 and I got hooked. Ditched the virago though, not a cruiser person at all.

Now in Brisbane, I'm surrounded by women who ride big bore sports bikes, do long distance touring, track days, racing etc. Very inspiring and encouraging. Women riding hard out on large capacity bikes aint a rare sight over here by any means - yay for that!

[Stirts]

My Dad mostly......

Way WAY back.....riding pillion on a "Chook Chaser" burnt my leg on the exhaust going round our house...."faster Dad faster, go faster!"

Later he got a Fat Boy......feel the roar!!.........then a Soft Tail......Fark me feel the POWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! like a V8 really
.......GRRRRRRROOWWWLLLLLLLLL.....he gave his life to his bike (but now....I kinda understand what he was on about)

A Flat-mate "Chopper Reid"/Ruffery" you INSANE fucker....surprised you still alive the stunts pulled!! 260kph+ with pillion, & pullin wheelies on Pare Rd ?????......u silly farker!!....but your zest for life....unfarkenmatchable!

Had the opp to ride pillion to the Paeroa Road Races this year.......and decided.....fark this is what I want, but I want me own bike!!

[quallman1234]

2006 - Road my Ex ex ex gf's bike TF125
2007 - Managed to buy a DT175
2007 - Got the Vic Scholarship :D
2007 - Started doing trial riding, VMCC and Bucket racing.

All in all my ex got me interested :P.
However ive always been interested and my dad used to ride trial bikes, i wanted a road bike but he insisted on a dirt bike dont regret it now :) alot more confident on the road than i would ever be if i didnt ride on the dirt.

[crshbndct]

watching kevin schwantz win at hockenheim in 1993.

and my dad.

[007XX]

Both my Dad and my Mum...Mum started it, cos she was the kind of woman to go scuba diving, sky diving, biking...you get the drift. A 5 foot nothing thrill seeker...I take a lot after her, only taller:innocent:

They both had bikes and used to be part of a club overseas where they were touring around and doing accrobatic shows in schools and town centres...As I was the smallest (about 5 years old then), I was always the "monkey" on everyone's shoulders.

When my parents split, I went to live with my dad, and his bike was our only vehicle, so we went everywhere on it....

He actually reminded me last year of this one time when we even went to get our Christmas Tree on the bike!!!...

So yeah, my folks rock...

[more_fasterer]

While on holiday in sydney when I was 16 my uncle offered me the opportunity to cruise around town for a day on the back of his Thunderarse. I jumped at the opportunity... weather was mint, riding over the ANZAC bridge gave this immense feeling of being so much closer to your environment than any cage (soft or tin-top) could provide. Parking up at Bondi felt great. What sealed the deal was a 911 Turbo trying to line us up at a set of traffic lights going into the eastern tunnel. Almost falling off the back while the front wheel lifted and the Porker disappeared behind us was a unique experience!

About a year later one of my close mates bought an FXR150. Perfect bike to learn on, I spent almost as much time on that as he did. License followed shortly after...


Since then I've successfully managed to get my cousin into bikes (his is the RGV pictured with my NC30 in my gallery) as well as my girlfriend. Pay it forward is the term, I believe... kinda like being a missionary for all things with 2 wheels & an engine

[zeocen]

It would have to be my old man, watching him getting back into his old passion, buying a zephyr 750, then a zzr1100... the zzr1100 was the best thing I had ever seen back then (kind of still is hehe), a good few years on I thought fuck it.. only live once, I want to see if I can do this motorcycle thing to.

Next person who kept me into bikes would be FireFight, purely because he gave me a great learner bike at a great price, if it wasn't for him, I bet I would still be looking for a 250 with my budget!

Now because of my father I have an affinity for kawasaki motorcycles, particularly zephyrs and early ZZR's, because when he rode them they didn't just look like motorcycles, they looked like life itself. Pretty gay I know, but yeah.. I see other bikes and they're awesome, but the zephyr and ZZR have a soft spot and is what kept me going to keep practicing in hopes that one day I'll have one of them!

[CM2005]

the old man and his old bike stories... i've never owned a car!

[Goblin]

I stole my first ever ride on a motorbike. 'Twas a Honda 50 mini thing. They all told me I was too small and girls dont ride motorbikes...you should stick to horses bla bla so i nicked it and promptly crashed into the blackberry bush. Didnt put me off tho. Only made me more determined to do better next time.:yes:

[Mom]

girls dont ride motorbikes... Only made me more determined to do better next time.:yes:

Girls can do anything.......specially when they are told they can't :innocent:

[Conquiztador]

Girls can do anything.......specially when they are told they can't :innocent:

My best friend is a girl. :-)

[swbarnett]

Girls can do anything.......specially when they are told they can't :innocent:

That goes equally for most people. Reverse psychology is a wonderful motivator (something the LTNZ needs to learn - I feel like screaming off at a great rate of knots every time I see an anti-speed ad.)

[swbarnett]

My best friend is a girl. :-)

Mine too. I married her :love:

[sugilite]

My mother suggested I get a little motorbike to commute on after I was winging about having to catch two buses to get to my first job. Does she regret that now :lol:

[Matt]

Gotta be Hang On, then Super Hang On just sealed my fate (still get the theme tune running through my head over the 'takas!)

Matt

[Arthur]

In the beginning, it was dad. The joy of growing up on a farm...
I was about 4 1/2, and me and dad were going around the sheep on the quad one day, when he got off and told me to ride it by myself. It grew on me, and I was happy with the quad for about ten years. My first experience with the two wheeled variety was ten years after my first with the quad, and dad asked me what sounded like 'Do you want a ride home', as we were bringing a mob of sheep home. What I didn't realise for a couple of seconds was that he had asked me if I wanted to ride the bike home - and there was no backing down cos I had already given my answer. Between the initial instruction I had that afternnon, and some tips from mates who rode motocross, I was hooked. Beginning of '05, I started saving for my first road bike, and when I went in to hand over my hard earned cash for a lovely bandit 250, once again, dad stepped in - he paid for the bike I had saved up for! Unfortunately, that bike was written off the beggining of this year due to the lack of attention of a cager, but I'm back on another bandit, counting down the days till my full... Thanks dad

[Insanity_rules]

I was 8 and my mother got me a gemini 50 mini dirtbike. Got too big for it! then in intermediate a fellow inmate/ Kber who shall remain nameless showed me you could have a whale of a time on knuckled old road bikes with knobblys, then as it progressed real dirtbikes, then onto slightly less knuckled roadbikes and here we are today.

Thanks MD, now the tick has fully burrowed in to the point I'll never be without a bike! And thanks to Wasp I'll never be without a riding buddy or 12.

[buellbabe]

My brother and I always modified our trikes/pushbikes/go-carts...everything was always 2nd-hand... so I guess it was lurking in me from a young age...

When I was 16/17 one of the printers at work (known as Dunny) gave me a lift home on the back his bike and I absolutely hated it.
Yet somehow I knew it would be different on the front.
6 months later I was at Crosbys with a mate who was picking up his TT250 and by the time I walked out of the shop I had signed an HP agreement on a Yamaha DT175... so thanks to Dunny for making me realise that the business end of a motorbike was where I wanted to be and also cheers to Dale for getting me into a bike shop!

[Kflasher]

My dad;

He patrolled the motorways years ago on an Arial square four, and then later on the Yamaha’s.
As a kid I would sit on the fence and wait for him to round the corner into our street, he would scrape the main stand just about each and every time.
To a kid like me it was so cool watching your old man ride like that, knowing now that is not hard to scrape the main stand but it still look so cool, I just wanted to ride like him.