The age you started biking and why...

[rocketman1]

Aged 12, my dads Puch 50cc. then my brothers Jawa 150, 1st bike I bought was a 50cc Zundapp, how many KBs have heard of one of those, it was going good till some mates!! pissed in the petrol tank after a party cos they thought the alcohol would give it some go , never went again.

[Mr Triple]

When I was about 8... Got three older brothers that had bikes so just follow I guess. They made this little mini bike up with a Briggs&Stratten motor what fun if you could keep it going. When I was 15 I got my first road bike and been riding ever since. I'm 41 now and still ride neally every day.

[Beemer]

45. Because the voices told me to.

Gosh, and there I was thinking you were only 21!

I started at 36 - because Mike Esdaile (then editor of Kiwi Rider) gave me a hard time when he discovered I had been doing some work for them for three years and didn't even ride bikes! He made me feel so guilty I went out, learned to ride, got my licence, bought the RG150 and the rest is history! Picked up a husband at a WIMA rally along the way, so it's been pretty good so far! Even picked up a new bike on our honeymoon in 2005 so there's no hope for me now.

[sp3ed]

31... because I had spare money and had split from the missus. I thought that I had got enough driving experience and got over the "must drive like a twat" feeling that afflicts young drivers.

Started slowly with an SV 650 as my first bike. (you can do that in the UK if you do the right test), then a 600 sports bike and now a speed triple. I had all my memorable scary moments on the SV at relatively modest speeds (ie under 80mph)

[ThumperNut]

Started at 16 or so with a Jawa 50 - the ugliest scooter you could find last century. I had to have two spark plugs for it - one for starting and warming up in the morning, and another for actually riding somewhere.

Just to put the record straight Chad, the "Yamaha 350" was a Yamaha XS650, subsequently replaced by the SR500. Also, it wasn't a crisis but a collectibles investment program!

First started when I was bout 19 cos my dad had bit of a crisis and bought an XL250, a XT500, a CB100 and a Yamaha 350 road bike of some sort. And cos heap of my friends all rode as well.
Didn't get own bike till now (23) though.

[Trouser]

At 15.

My stepfather went to the auctions and came back and told me I had to pick up something the next day.

Went to the auction house and there he was with my helmet standing next to a blue 1982 gsx250. I was expecting a shitty old car.

Christ, that was a steep learning curve riding that out of the building. I had never ridden a bike with gears before as I had a worked Honda Beat scooter.

[McJim]

At 14 rode a Puch 50cc across newly dug potato fields in Ayrshire....lasted 2 weeks and didn't get back on a bike until I was 35.

[HTFU]

At 14 rode a Puch 50cc across newly dug potato fields in Ayrshire....lasted 2 weeks and didn't get back on a bike until I was 35.

Was that because you got your ass kicked so hard you couldn't sit down for a decade .

I was pretty similar to Sir McJim. Rode pushies most of my life and didn't get a bike until I was 29.

[Mental Trousers]

21. Was at Uni and parking was so much better for bikes. Always wanted 1 so it was a fantastic excuse.

[Bonez]

18, needed transport, had what was at the time a huge backpay, bought a CJ250, rode it around the block a few times then 3 weeks later rode from Blenheim, ferried across Cook Straight, then on to Auckland via Masterton/Hawkes Bay/Taupo.

[jcupit69]

learned to ride my mums w650 at 14 and never looked back. Had to have a 50cc for a year and onwards and upwards eva since.

On an aprilia rs 250 atm and i will keep it forever even when i get a bigger bike.

Would rather die on a bike than live without one but dont plan on doing either any time soon

[steveb64]

14. I had smashed my knee into a bus stop sign pole while on a pushbike the year before - and after that, any amount of walking/running caused my knee to swell up to a balloon like resemblance. As we were living on a 1500 acre stock farm, a minibike (Honda QA-50) was a good first foot in the door. A couple of years later, when I'd totally outgrown the 50cc minibike, mum got the choice of me on a MX bike, or a hang glider. ...a 2nd hand YZ125A (twin shock) arrived home a few weeks later - NOT paid for by mum...

[Jiminy]

32 after riding as a pillion a couple of times with my ex-girlfriend. It had been in my mind for a few months, though, just wanted the fun of week-end riding.

Had a learner license when I was 18, but not enough money for the bike. Had a few moped before, starting with a legendary Motobecane 40T

[Pwalo]

16. Because I needed my own transport for school. Bikes were cheaper than cars, and my Dad was a rider.

Vespa, T125, CB125, TS125, TS185, XL175, DT175, RD400, FT400, GS500 x 2, SV650S (well those are the ones I owned). Funny how the last 33 years have just flown by.

[headlesschicken]

First was a chinese pit bike at 16 Last year when I was 17 dad got me into the idea of buying a dirtbike, so i did crf230...
Had always wanted a licence, esp because of working on a dairy farm, sat and passed easy. Took my bike for a test ride an hour later and was HOOKED. I think it was the most exhilarating thing I've ever done.