Bikes have changed my life....

[sAsLEX]

parents would let me have a bike
shipped out and joined the Navy, and after training had a go at some Woodhill riding on a clapped out XR250 that needs a stator still if anyone knows of one??
that was fun I thought then K14 was bringing in a cbr thingo from japan would I like one??

Well the CBR was fun and I had a ball on it and no bins and only a couple of tickets, but the scum have it now and I have jumped up to a 400 and its a ball!

[sels1]

I guess in short I'd have to say that riding a bike defines who and what I am, at least in a large measure..............

I love being a biker.

Yeah....sheer poetry. Well put.

My big brother and his mates had trail bikes and I learnt to ride on them. Saved up my $ from my after school job and bought a DT100 trail bike to ride college. This uped my social standing - from being invisible I was then only one of about 6 guys with bikes at school. We used to go trail riding at lunch times and hoon around new sub divisions etc. Lived on that bike until I started work and could afford a car (more seats/room/stereo etc - was living@home so car was like, private space) but still kept owning a bike (250 trail bikes mostly) until I sold up everything to go on O.E. After that came marriage, house, kids and 20 yrs go by and then the kids start going and, with a little more time+$ the old urges were awakened and I went out and bought an XT400. I live about 45min from the bike shop but it took me 3 hours to get home that day - took every side road and dirt track I could find. I was happy to ride to wk every day and do a bit of trail riding on the weekends. I was surfing the net one day and found KB. Reading other peoples stories has inspired me to take the next step - just bought an F650 and some proper riding gear so I can now get out on the open road and enjoy.
Thanks to the KBers I have meet who are so friendly and encouraging - looking forward to meeting more of you on the road.

[aff-man]

Hmmmmmmmm where to start. First and formost i still only have my learners for a car. The reason being that i feel very very uncomfortable behind the wheel of a rolling deathtrap.... But enough about cages i suppose i started on the mighty 4 wheel bikes that my mate had when i was little. As soon as i jumped on it was like a duck to water. But after moving to this country i hadn't done anything for a couple of years. I had known CK for a while and when he bought his first bike and i saw it i knew that it was for me. It took a couple of years but after 7th form i worked my ass off over summer to get enough cash for a bike. My mom wasn't really worried (except for telling CK that if i ever bought a bike she would ring his neck) untill i have the cold hard cash to do it. So after buying the local TE i headed out to the wap-waps and bought my first bike the one the only the mighty VT250FG Special Edition (yes the baby blue one). So then in parking lots Ck taught me to ride the beast (took all of 5 minutes) it was like nothing i've ever experienced and will never stop doing. Got the handelling cirtificate and learners, slapped on the L plate and away i went................. Crashing twice in the first two weeks of riding.......... it didn't rattle me in the least but i think my mom's nerves were running thin. I rode the beast hard and managed to blow up the engine, so had a crash course in bike mechanisms while relacing the engine. From there i bought CK's old zxr250 and learnt to ride that quite effectivley. From there i got my full and the current zxr400. I have poured hours and heaps of cash into bikes and don't regret 1 minute of it. Ck aso introduced me to this site and big ups to everyone who made it happen and continue to make it a great thing to be apart of. I have met some very cool people and the wealth of knowlege and experience is irreplacable.. Something i wrote in after a big ride and have on my door .....

As i crest the rise,just me and my bike, the sight amazes me yet again. The crystal blue sky, the smooth calm sea and a glimpse of the road as it winds in and out of the coves along the coast. In the hustle and bustle of today's society i experience a moment like no other. I am alive and at this moment life couldn't be better. GOD I LOVE MY BIKE

[erik]

There's some neat stories here

I haven't got much of a story yet.

I got my bike in february 2003, I found KB before buying my bike, and I think it probably helped my decision to get one. My younger brother got a bike a few months before me, so before I got my own bike, I had bought gear and practiced riding his zzr250 a bit.
I've mostly been using my bike to ride to and from AUT, the free parking is great, and the ride is usually fun.
I've been on a few rides, only had one coulda-been-serious-I-was-bloody-lucky accident (had another minor low speed low-side).
Met a few people and made a few friends.
In short, it's been good.
I can't wait to get my bike back together and go on a few more rides!

[Hitcher]

It is spiritual, and for me a religeon

Careful, least Bob closes off another thread...

[Hitcher]

There ends my story so far.
What's next... nobody knows

And surely that's the magic of being a biker. The ride in search of what is around that next perfectly-carved corner!

[slob]

It's funny how one's former bikes keep popping up every now! This 'lil baby was my first sports bike which I later sold to MR, who sold it to KK to sold it to? Anyway, rewind a bit (say 1990?) - I was 15 and my dad had a 100cc Indian-built Honda (branded "Hero Honda"). I knew where he kept the keys so I slyly nicked them when he was away on a trip and ventured on my first ride (no license, no experience - hell I didn't really even know how to start the thing properly! All I knew was that you pull the clutch thingy before you change gears). I didn't get very far - only up to the first corner in fact. As I reached for the front brake, I inadvertently rolled on the throttle and accelerated into a wall! Fortunately, damage was minimal - thanks to the fact that a lot of roads in 3rd world countries like Nepal are still dirt roads. All I had to do was change an indicator lens. After that incident (which my Dad never found out - I had threatened to do something gruesome to MR if he ever snitched on me..), Dad finally came around to teaching me to ride and I basically commuted for a couple of years on his bike. While overseas (US, Aus, NZ), I didn't ride at all until I started uni in Auckland. Got a GN125 coz it was cheap, looked like an HD (I was into big, bad cruisers at the time) and was easy to ride. First ride was a bit scarey - had to do a 200km trip to Grahams Beach for the weekend. I'd never been in control of a vehicle on the motorway before so it was sort of a "crash" course in learning to ride again. Anyway, after uni I gave up riding for a bit, but after sampling MR's SRX250 - I got the bug again. Went out and bought the ZXR400 in the pic above and finally discovered what sport bikes were about! Since then it's been a steady diet of a different bike every 1.5 years or so - FZR600, KLX650, TL1000S, FZR400, XR600. After the TL, I stopped moving upwards towards bigger more powerful bikes and decided to mix it up a bit with lighter, nimbler bikes (FZR400) and "alternative" bikes (XR600 supermoto project - still in progress). Through the years my attachment to bikes has essentially taken on the form of an "obsessive addiction". I doodle bikes at work, read bike mags, dream of cool bike projects, check out bike gear sales, and check out 2nd hand bike prices all the time. Oh yeah, I occasionally go for a blat in the countryside and the odd track day too. For me, riding is an awesome form of meditation - you lose yourself completely when you're riding. All that matters are the forces of nature that you are trying to balance as you scythe through a bend and glide on to the next one. Honestly, the only thing that could top this is having my own acrobatic aeroplane (I wonder if those NZAF skyhawks are going for cheap these days..).

[Shade]

Some cool stories!

Mine goes like this -

My dads always been into motorbikes, he grew up with an rd350 (apparently it might have been some national champs one or something, but will have to check that out..) then when i was 6, Dad came home with a Honda VTF1000. I remember thinking it was the coolest bike I had ever seen.

I used to jump on the back and go for a ride with dad, every now and then I would pat him on the leg when my neck got too sore from holding the weight of the helmet up. He'd pull over and we'd rest, then off we'd go. I used to love it.

Mums dad got cancer and died, so dad sold the bike so she could travel over seas to go to the funeral.

From that moment on I knew I wanted to get a bike one day. I remember dreaming about that 'feeling' you get when tipping into a corner and gliding around it.

Finally , when I moved up to Auckland I saw a beautiful CBR250RR for sale at Mt Eden Motorcycles. Didnt have a licence or anything, had never ridden before, but I went in and bought it anyway. Dad came up from Hamilton and rode it back down, with me following in the car.

When we got back down there, I started practicing in a carpark. Got the hang of it quickly and after 30 mins practice and one small bin, (no damage), I set off by myself for Auckland. I had to leave quickly as I had work the next day, and a storm was coming and I was trying to beat it.

I remember pulling out of mum and dads house and setting off up the road. As i had never been over 20k's before on the bike, 50ks felt amazingly fast. When I hit the first set of 100k corners it poured down. I couldnt see anything. I remember tipping into the corner thinking what a great and wierd feeling. I ran it wide. Straight over the white line. I learnt quickly from that and had no other dramas on the way home.

2 Months later I met Kwaka Kid who introduced me to this site. We went on a ride together , I was thinking I was going to waste him and be way faster. Oh how wrong I was. We set off and I never saw him again from the first corner. He taught me tonnes and long story short, ive got a GSXR 600 K2 now, riding heaps and loving it. Been riding about 18 months and having a blast.

[guzzi_nz]

Every one got some thing to say when it comes to there first ride
what a good pick for a thread

[Juan]

Started on bikes from the age of ten-ish, Dad used to take me on the back of his DMW, loved it..
Grew up a mile from Ballacraine corner on the TT course, and as TT week is a school holiday spent most of my days at Ballacraine, this was in the sixties by the way, the era of Ago, Hailwood etc... my just explain my infatuation with MV's... still can remember the noise

Bought my first bike at 15... DT 125 Yamaha trail... we can ride on the road at 16 over here, left my house at midnight on my birthday

Never been without a bike since then (43 now)

It is without doubt in my blood...

In 1979 Mike Hailwood made a comeback to the TT.. wot a year I chased him along Douglas prom and got his picture....COOL

Have raced (1983) have toured, have done trackdays, watched the best in the world on various tracks, had the pleasure of seeing Joey, DJ on the roads..CLOSE and I mean reach out and touch CLOSE... Rossi and co at Donnington....wot a noise....

Lost afew good mate on bikes... My mate Tom still I love riding tho...

Sometimes it's good to be a biker

Things such as this above make me proud to be a Biker.....

Nothing like the rush of speed and "getting it right"...

Some good stories... keep em coming

Juan

[Two Smoker]

2 Months later I met Kwaka Kid who introduced me to this site. We went on a ride together , I was thinking I was going to waste him and be way faster. Oh how wrong I was. We set off and I never saw him again from the first corner. He taught me tonnes and long story short, ive got a GSXR 600 K2 now, riding heaps and loving it. Been riding about 18 months and having a blast.

LMAO, i havnt met many people that are quicking than KK...... awesome to see such great stories keep them flowing

Hey SpeedMedic, i was talking to Kiwistorm about his old TLR, i didnt realise it was yours!!!....

[Kwaka-Kid]

2 Months later I met Kwaka Kid who introduced me to this site.

whachu ben smokin recently billy bob?

Dude i met you before that when u first moved to aucks i turned up on that ZXR400 pictured above (only by then it had its nice blue fairings on it) and talked to you and kerran about getting a motorcycle and thought u was both just bluffing! told you about mt eden being about the closest to you etc and blah blah. sheesh! i remember riding hte GS1000 with kerran on the back and you on ur new bike, our first ride together, only thru the city, and i remember you asking how i went faster thru tight corners like 90degrees into a different street etc, you was having trouble turning the bike in the slow stuff, hehehe. Now look how far youve come! wicked eh boys!

[bear]

I just got the vibe and taught myself how to ride, bloody brilliant, got my full finally after pissing around for ages and moved onto a bigger bike after 7 years, bloody brilliant. Bikes are bloody brilliant!!!
No really good stories, happy that the missus is keen on sitting on the back, motorbikes are f-ing cool - until you fall off!

[Coyote]

My mum was getting annoyed with the money being put into the bikes, so my dad says 'so I brought some bikes in my mid life crisis, at least I didn't run off with a blonde bimbo'

[Bonez]

My mum was getting annoyed with the money being put into the bikes, so my dad says 'so I brought some bikes in my mid life crisis, at least I didn't run off with a blonde bimbo'

Must remember that one. No wait............ the wife is blonde...........bugger.
Next! (shit, I was hit on two weeks ago at a pub . The missus loves telling all her workmates-yes I told her What is it with 25-30ish chicks and grey haired blokes?)