So how did you get into this lovely sport? [Archive]

Pierce

19th December 2008, 10:59

Just curious as to how you got into the sport of off road biking. Who do you take your hat off to for introducing you to the sport?

For me and my bro it was our Crazy trail riding grandfather. Bought and did up a couple of bikes for us when we were probably 8 and 10yrs old. XR100 and XR200. Rode them for about a year then didn't ride for another 14yrs. Bought a near new bike in August last year and have been going "kinda" hard ever since (minus the 9months I had off due to injury haha).

So Hat's off to Bill for getting us bikes as kids and also a mate who let me on his brand new CRF250 back in August last year cos without riding a bike recently i'd still be dreaming bout bikes.:niceone:

barty5

19th December 2008, 11:58

My parents split up dads new bits kid had a bike so as to even it up he bought me a RM80 twin shocker bit of a shocker to learn on but it was way quicker than his and my mate bike down the road ( ever since i have had nothing but shit from my father in a good way though re my choise of sport hell he started it). That was 23 years ago

cheese

19th December 2008, 13:27

Dad rode so I did. I stopped when I was 16 cause my IT175 was a heap of shit, only ever went to the river in Napier and mucked around really. Got a RM that was a heap of shit about 3 years ago. now have a CR and love it.

B0000M

19th December 2008, 13:56

it all started when i was about 7, being at a country school most of the other boys had bikes of some sort or lt50s or just dads quad lol, i nagged the old man a bit and one day an old honda Z50 showed up at home, the good old 3 speed!

that lasted about a year of hooning around then onto an xr100, started getting my hands on old mx magazines, out grew the xr,
dad again sorted me out a CR80 and it all began from there, racing mx, tt & beach racing in gisborne and whakatane and the occaisonal trip to hawkes bay
went from there to a CR80 big wheel - 1997, the 2nd year of the big wheel CR80, progressed to 8nz on that in whatever the class was,
then out grew that, onto a 125, got the hang of that progressing to 10nz in that class - (even beat the famous b.t a couple of times!),
then got bored with mx, did a couple of cross countrys, then kinda lost interest in bikes for a good 6-7 years and probably did about 2-3 hours riding in that time.
then jan 07 decided to get back into it so bought a 06 cr250 and am currently trying to work back up to where i was speed-wise as well as trying to get out in the trails and enduros as much as my credit card will let me. meanwhile my sideaffect is providing scott411 a living :confused:

so really the biggest person to thank would be my dad. cheers

on that note, id like to thank my sponsors of today:

if only i had some... :no:

TLDV8

19th December 2008, 13:57

I saw Gaston Rahier,i caught the train into Auckland then a bus up to Colemans Suzuki $300 deposit in hand.

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/a575_3.jpg>

BM-GS

19th December 2008, 14:03

Lived in a place where everybody got a moped at 16, then a mate at a holiday job got me into bikes - and I always thought cars sucked...

I got the Mrs into bikes 10 yrs ago (not that she needed much convincing) and we've ridden roadbikes for ages, then moved we here & had kids and thought we could all do this together, so the kids got quad/50/etc. Just hope the kids don't get really into something which stops "playtime"!

My mother said she'd disown me if I ever got a bike in the UK and that was a PITA, shifting the thing round to a mates, having to work out how to get to work, etc, on occasion! Dad was the one who slipped me the difference between purchase price & bank-balance for my first big (350 YPVS) roadbike.

scott411

19th December 2008, 14:06

my Dad (who was a motorcycle shop owner) brought me a JR50 with training wheels when i was 2, have ridden drit bikes ever since,

B0000M

19th December 2008, 14:07

my Dad (who was a motorcycle shop owner) brought me a JR50 with training wheels when i was 2, have ridden drit bikes ever since,

every father should take that leaf from your dad's book!

Ride it till the red

19th December 2008, 14:16

It's all the old mans fault aswell....

He raced a million years ago, on and off road and wasn't too bad I hear. Some of my earliest memories are of being on the front of his 500 smoker through the Aka's (on the back wheel climbing out from Norm's crossing especially).

At four years old I decided I should have one! But allas the "other parent" stepped in.... apparently "you have to be ten to ride dirt bikes so you can have one then". And that was the end of that, dads bikes were sold shortly after and i went on with riding my bmx.

About a month before my 10th birthday much to mothers disgust I bought home a motorbike catalogue....

A brand spankers DS80 was outside when I woke up "double digits" and it spiralled out of control from there.

Thanks Dad!

vazza

19th December 2008, 14:55

Big ups to my dad buying me a PW80 back in the day.. Was so awesome :D Never stopped riding after that pretty much.

chop

19th December 2008, 14:55

trying to live the dream... oldman was a top enduro rider (isde's etc) so thought id give it a crack also it kinda explains the huskies his last sponcered ride was a husky and got talked into mine.. Mates with scotts oldman too... Did some cool things with kx250s together

scott411

19th December 2008, 14:57

every father should take that leaf from your dad's book!

he turns 60 next year, and we still go riding together, best family sport thier is,

Pierce

19th December 2008, 15:23

he turns 60 next year, and we still go riding together, best family sport thier is,

Yep my grandfather sold his bike a few years back at the ripe OLD age of 73:Punk:

telliman

19th December 2008, 15:28

iv raced bmx all my life so was always gonna play the hole dirtbike thing at some stage, came home from living on the gold coast a couple of years ago and some mates from the beach talked me into getting a bike so i did,problem was they all decided to sell theres shortly after and i was stuck with this addiction i now have! its thanx to this cool KB community that we have here that iv been able to learn how to ride, where to ride, and how to fix and maintain my ride:beer:
now i live for the day that me and my son(or my daughter) are hitting table tops together like you guys and your dads!!!

all i wanted as akid was "one of those green bikes with that power thingy".

B0000M

19th December 2008, 15:33

all i wanted as akid was "one of those green bikes with that power thingy".

haha, the famous "power band" everyone wanted one of them, and for a while a lot of people were convinced thats what the button on the bars was for!

clmintie

19th December 2008, 17:22

My mum and Dad helped me buy my first bike (Suzuki TS 100 '73) near the end of 5th form, purely as a means of getting to school and then to work. Several of my class mates did the same and as we had access to heaps of good offroad riding areas, it soon developed into "races". Within a year I'd bought a TM125 and was totally addicted. While they never really approved of racing, they did help a bit. I, as a parent however, may be going over the top with my girls, the inside of my garage is beginning to look like Mr Motorcycles... :eek5::woohoo::woohoo:

oldskool

19th December 2008, 17:23

Lived in Malaysia when I was 14 and had nothing to do so bought myself an old suzy A100 and learnt how to ride and pull apart bikes on that. Moved up to an RM125 2 shocker, then to a XL250 motorsport then a PE175 then saw the light and moved back over to 4 strokes with a XLS250, XR250, TT500, XR500 then a big break while I did the marriage thing and had tiddlywinks. Now enjoying the novelty of tinkering with a 22 yr old bike and just maybe this may evolve into getting a CRF250 or something of the sort...or maybe even a 300 2-stroker seeing as I hear they have good low end grunt.

noobi

19th December 2008, 21:16

Dad makes sure that everytime we go riding that I know that "he never did this as a kid and hid dad would never approve, and something with a motor was just a way of getting from A to B", anyway
We got a 90something xr100 from counties honda 2 years ago, for my brother and I. I moved onto a CRF150 and my brother sort of stopped which is a shame, ahwell, dad got a XR200 after not riding for x number of years because of not having any money. When we had both outriden the farm bikes, dad bought himself a 2005 250exc with a 350 kit, and this year he bought me a ec125 gasgas, and we still angue over which type of engine is better:blink:
I just hope that I can continue to ride through university in a few years:bye:
Thats my storey up to now

warewolf

19th December 2008, 21:46

Grew up riding pushbikes in the dirt, then came the bmx craze (which I couldn't afford). Finally late high school managed to blag a few rides on various mates' farm bikes. Didn't take long to convert the skills.

One long-time school mate and neighbour -Anthony- bought himself a Yammie DT100 new, I thought that was the coolest thing ever (to be able to buy yourself a bike!!), he was probably 12 at the time. Towards the end of high school he picked up a YZ250. Wagging school one day, we all headed out bush with the bikes. I had a very memorable first ride on the YZ, crossed up, front wheel floating, drifting on the power... man I loved that feeling! Awwwwwwesome!! :scooter:

I'd have to credit Anthony for causing the seed to germinate. My dad rode scooters and road bikes (trumpies) as transport but gave it up before I can remember. My maternal grandfather rode bikes in his youth, which I was told after he passed away, he never talked about it because he gave it up when his best mate died in a bike crash. One of my dad's mates raced enduros and would occasionally ride his monstrous tall bike to our house, wheelie off down the street when he left. So although I wasn't surrounded by bikes, I was aware of them.

At uni I bought a road bike as cheap transport and thrills; a full 80L tank in the V8 was costing $50 and wouldn't last a week. Cars have only been secondary ever since, and my bikes have been getting dirtier and dirtier... mwahahahahaha!!!!

kevfromcoro

19th December 2008, 22:05

Got hold of a TS 125....Years ago ... met a bloke who was a worker on a farm out in East Tamaki.....
Took the bike .and went for a ride
was hooked
he had a DT 360, what a beast ... handled like a pig
another guy turned up on TM 125.
The one before the RM.
we rode many enduros after that
changed bikes every few months
my mate was one out of the box
i could never get near him
done a ride with him once , as usuall he was out in front
we stopped for a smoke , and i hid his crash helmet , started my bike , and fucked off , snigering to myself< finally got the old cunt>
haha.... 100 mtrs from the van 1 creek crossing.
half way through the creek he passed me on his back wheel.
pulled up . and he said to me
your going to have to ride faster than that Kev if you want to ride enduro
well 35 yrs latter , and many bikes
the offroad still comes back
i have an aventure bike now
no more enduros.
but i think every biker should ride off.
Just for the eXperiance
KEV

4stroke

20th December 2008, 04:50

grew up on a dairy farm, so it was gona happen really, the olds arent that keen on me riding, sothing about broken bone n all....
apart from the farm quads, my first bike was a honda superfarmer 185, that was after it had been sitting in the shed for a few years after dad got his quads, i dug it out pulled it apart, got it going and yeah that was it, i was set.

CHOPPA

20th December 2008, 13:59

My old lady used the power bill money to buy me a QR50 when i was 2, been broke every since!

xen

20th December 2008, 14:14

Used to ride mountain bikes 10 years ago and loved it, always wanted a dirt bike but thought they were too expensive. After awhile lost interest in pedaling (and got lazy) and then 8 months ago I got the craving and saw that bike prices weren't out of reach. Was surprised you could get an older dirt bike for the same price as a good mtn bike.

Love riding trails but never thought you had to be so fit to ride, at the end of the day knackered as but wanna keep riding :). Now I'm slowly gaining speed & confidence, and its awesome to see progress! Always abit envious when I see kids on rides haha.

Hemex

20th December 2008, 15:05

Always followed off road and MX events... especially the AMA... Never had the dough to buy myself a bike and neither did the folks... unlike Choppa my folks were'nt as willing to spend money alloted for other stuff... lol... Rode a few friends bikes but when its not yours your never at peace... Finally bit the bullet 4 months ago and im still struggling to go out and ride often coz I have to sort myself out with a towbar!

Cheese dont even think of saying anything!!

theblacksmith

20th December 2008, 15:54

I grew up on a farm in North Wales,UK and a lot of the neighbouring farms had bikes so thats how I got into it. My father hated seeing me on a dirt bike - he saw me pull a wheelie up a hill once and threatened to put a sledge hammer through the cylinder of my TS250! I was 13 at the time. After leaving school I had very little contact with motorcycles for years until I came to this country and saw all the trail rides that we have here and decided i didnt want to miss any more rides.Now the damn things have taken over my life! I just bought a road bike as well.:headbang:

Ktmboy

20th December 2008, 18:59

I saw Gaston Rahier,i caught the train into Auckland then a bus up to Colemans Suzuki $300 deposit in hand.

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/a575_3.jpg>

That is a beautiful bike!:yes:

Ktmboy

20th December 2008, 19:20

Well back in the old days..up north.. in the clay..in the shire:violin::violin::violin:
My first experience was riding my bros home made bike. A pugh water pump motor(started by winding a starting rope around a pully) in a home made frame with limited brakes. Needless to say it turned to custard, no helmet and 3 front teeth on the road.
So he then saved for a TS90, but this got left at home while he was sent to boarding school in Kaikohe of all places. Yeah ha, free bike to ride around the streets of Paihia and the surrounding forest. Not bad for a 10 yr old.
So we then ventured into the farming business and I worked my butt off to buy a SL100. My first bike.

Did a few races here and there and did well at the South Island MX champs while in the RNZAF back in the 80's on a YZ400. (Thanks Seddon M/cycles for the help). Then I found that sex, beer and rugby went well together:laugh:

So for 20 years I didn't really ride a bike until Logan came around and we got him his first JR50.

Fuckin lovin it now though!!! greatest family sport out.

DEATH_INC.

20th December 2008, 19:33

I grew up on a farm, Had horses, and BMX bikes 'till I could borrow some cash to get a trailie. My mad cousins got me into it really, learnt to ride on a KL250, then it all went downhill from there.... :doh:

oldskool

20th December 2008, 19:34

flyingcr250

20th December 2008, 20:16

my mate had an old 1972 TS250 that we used to ride on the NEIGHBOURS property, we used to rip the shit out of his paddocks with it. i think we were 12 at the time. then came the XT200 4-stroke machine, cool bike but just too small for me , so then i bought my bosses old 1993 KDX250, that was a good bike, then bought the bike i have now from brand new my 2001 CR250.

camchain

21st December 2008, 00:23

Good idea for a thread. Interesting comparing bike beginnings.

My first ride was on a cow cockie's Honda CT90. Fell off, got pinned under it and burned my leg on the exhaust. I was hooked. Couldn't get the grin off my face for the rest of the day.

Saved my guts out working a milk run every night after school and became proud owner of my first bike at 14 - a used silver '74 Zook TS 185.

That sweet RM above brings back fond memories ('A' or maybe 'B' model? The 'C' model in '78 was first to have alloy swingarm). I had dozens of dirt bike brochures taped to ceiling in my room. MX really took off as a sport in the 70's thanks to the new japanese machines.