The worst first bike?

[shrub]

I'm curious where we all started. I look at learners today with some very nice machines, and look back to my first bike.

It was an RD200 that I bought off a mate. It had no power until it hit the power band, then everything went crazy for about 2 seconds. The brakes were big ugly drums that were either on or off, and the frame twisted and weaved. It also had really cool tyres that were square and hard as rocks, but still passed a WOF so they stayed. It seized every now and again and the electrics were mostly insulating tape and bits of speaker wire, so charging was variable - another reason I pushed it home on a regular basis. And it had solid footpegs, so every time I went fast round a corner the rear wheel lifted off and I fell off.

But on the Greenhithe bridge it could hit 150 (using both lanes) and it sounded really cool when I took the baffles out and accelerated faster than any of my mates carts. And most of all it had two wheels, I could ride it and I loved it. I rode everywhere on that thing, fell off regularly, fixed it all the time and shed a tear or two when the bike wrecker came to collect it when I bought my shiny and nearly new DT250. Which I only ever binned off-road.

[Corse1]

hey we started of differently but ended up with the same second bike. My first was an XL175 that never stopped running. Was gutless as all shit and had an annoying leak from the gear shift shaft seal but still have good memories. The DT250 next bike did not leave the same good memories. Got stolen and recovered etc etc. Was the first monoshock model.

[Paul in NZ]

The Ariel Colt..... shudder.....

[neels]

My first bike was a TC100, just kept going and going even after I'd crashed it numerous times playing down the river, lost count of how many number plates and indicators I replaced and how many times the clutch housing was welded up when it cracked.

Eventually ended up unwarrantable when the back mudguard fell off where it had rusted through, at about the same time as I lost the end of the exhaust and the baffles from inside it somewhere in the waimak river bed and the seat fell off because the steel underside had rusted away.

Sold it to a mate for a crate of piss, don't know what happened to it after that.

[Jackal]

Had a Yamaha AG100. Road legal for the most part and had it for years. It took me all places. Up 90 mile beach and back in the 80's. Had an old 20 litre drench container with the top cut out bolted to the carrier. Often had one of the kids sitting in that, one on the tank and one behind me. All 4 of us would get around Taihape and then Kaikoura. The thing was an old shitter and slow as a wet week but it would not die. Finally gave it to a friends son. Only fell of it once on the road, (hit some loose gravel on the way to rugby practice in Taupo) Came off plenty in other places! The bloody thing is probable still going somewhere in Blenheim...........

[T.W.R]

First bike I learnt to ride was a BSA D3 Bantam 150 rough as guts painted gloss black & with a sloppy gear lever & knarly clutch, spent hours riding that around the house section and at the Vintage car club grounds at Mcleans Island when the old man was involved with the PVMC.

Then progressed to a one season old YZ80 and got involved in Junior MX for a few seasons until an accident the caused me to sever nerves in my right knee and the doctor said no more MX

First roadbike was a 76 Suzuki GT125 spent a few months ripping around the canterbury district imitating a gorilla on a tonka toy until one arvo I holed a piston whilst 2up squeezing out every last ounce of go it had left in it :slap: pushed it home (Prebbleton to Lower Riccarton....roughly 16kms) took it to the shop to get repaired and once fixed Traded it in on a 1owner, 5k old, 85 CB250rs without even taking the GT out of Doug Creswell's workshop.

[Headbanger]

I started on dirt bikes at an early age, so it was a natural progression at about 14 to simply ride it on the road to my riding spot, and after you have taken that step you might as well just carry on riding it on the road.

First semi-legal bike was a Honda XR200, semi-legal in that it had a headlight, no indicators, no mirrors, no wof, no rego, and the number plate I stole off my old-boys bike trailer.

First road bike was a 1987 Sportster.....woot woot. Best bike I have ever owned.

[Katman]

Z250C.

I often wonder whatever became of it and would buy it back in a flash if I got the chance.

[GOONR]

One of the old twin shock DT125's in the uk 18 odd years ago. It was rubbish so I didn't keep it long, threw it in the bin and bought a RD125 then a NSR125. Then stopped riding for about 16 years.

The one's in the link's didn't belong to me, just random photo's

[Blackshear]

First bike was an RM80. That thing was a fierce motherfucker.
Then it hit the powerband.

[slofox]

1953 350cc Ariel - "Red Hunter" although mine was kind of black and rust coloured. Bought for $100 in 1968. On the excuse of "needing transport because the bus timetable did not suit lecture times and venues". Actually because I just wanted a motorbike...

Went out to pick it up. Paid over the money and got aboard to ride it home. Got 100 metres down the road and the clutch cable let go...somewhere down on the inside of the primary chain cover IIRC...looked inside said chain cover to find it filled with grease, not oil. Because, as I found out later, the primary case was about as capable of keeping oil in as a broken sieve...oh and when you applied the rear brake the whole back wheel locked up. No matter how gently you applied the pressure. Went back to confront the seller who more or less said "tough luck sonny now fuck off..."

So me mate nursed it home while I rode his speed twin back. Looked at the rear brake next day to find that the back suspension (kind of suspension anyway - very primitive) was so shagged that whenever you applied rear brake, the whole thing lurched and pulled the brake cable real tight real quick. Which explained the lock-up...so stopped using the back brake and only used the front.

Eventually got the back end sorted so could use back brake without arsing off. Suspension was still totally rubbish. No compliance at all - may as well have had a rigid back end.

About two days after I got it sorted, I went for a spin one night around Christchurch city. Heard some sod up close behind me on a bike - thought he was buzzing me so hurled round a corner to get away. It was a copper on a bike, wannit? Who promptly ticketed me for cutting the corner. And despite lying in my teeth I got done for no licence as well...

About two weeks after that, some old loony in a car ran into me by turning across my right of way in an intersection. Bike went crash. I went crash. Landing on the helmet I had only bought that morning...lesson there. Bike was fucked for many weeks until we discovered there was an air leak in the inlet (between carb and flange). Once fixed bike went again.

Spent many many hours on that old thing. Learned how engines and gearboxes were put together as well. The hard way. When I took the gearbox apart to see why it jumped out of top gear, I carefully laid everything out in order so I could put it together again. Took it to the wrecker dude to see what was wrong. He tipped the box upside down, rummaged through all the components, thoroughly mixing them up (I was going white about now), lifted up the final gear and said "the dogs are worn. Stick a spacer between this gear and the bearing and you'll be sweet!". He then shoveled all the bits back into the box and sent me on my way. i was too embarrassed to say "How the hell does all this go back together?" Just slunk off home. As it turned out, there was only one way it could go together - the right way - so all was good eventually. And the spacer worked as well...

Eventually sold it. But it always went. Not very fast, but it went...

[Big Col]

A yamaha dt360, It handled like a small tavern.

[marty]

Yamaha XS250 - like a small XV400/550. Well not physically smaller, just more gutless. Was an overweight, gutless parallel twin. Lent it to a 'mate' and he biffed it - never paid for it to be fixed. I rode it with duct tape and RTV'd up instrument cluster, but never really enjoyed it. Did I mention it was gutless?

And I have never lent a bike out again without making it clear what the consequences of scratching it are.

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/mod...xs250%2082.htm

[pzkpfw]

RD250LC that had had a half-arsed 350 "upgrade". It had become a pre-mix, still had single front disk. Rode around for half a year then wen toverseas. Had to sell it when my Sisters Husbands Mother decided it couldn't live in her farm shed any more. Found it outside a shop a few years later when I came back to N.Z. Someone had fixed it up a bit, but it was still my spray-can blue. Had zero money so sadly couldn't re-buy it.


Thread title says "worst" but most of us seem to have fond memories.

[sugilite:Me]

Suzuki TS185ER - looked mint when I got it-trashed in a few short weeks.
It was an immaculate red happy sweet innocent bike, pity it took me only 6 weeks to crush it's soul!

Funniest moment - Getting suckered along a steep, soggy, slimy pine tree infested hill by my mates.
I was on trail tyres, fell over at low speed and crunch went the indicators on the right.
Unbeknown to me the front brake lever had broken inside the rubber boot, I get bike up, it's ass facing down hill, go for said brake lever and no ones home, the bike rolls down hill hits tree with a brake light destroying crunch, in it's final act, the bike then falls over crunching the left hand indicators this time and burying it's foot peg into my poorly protected left foot, completing a 30 second concerto of destruction!
After that, I took safety gear very seriously. Also about that time shares increased in value for accessory indicator and brake lever companies!