Your first motorbike memory?

[Pwalo]

BSA 650 twin, Kaiwharwhara, 1964. My dad took me for a ride on his mate's bike when I was five.

I think that I remember the smell (you know, Brit bikes - oil) more than anything else.

[idleidolidyll]

Briggs and Stratton powered minibike owned by a met when I was maybe 11

that was my first ride anyway, i think the old man had a vespa for a while but i never really paid any attention

[Bloody Mad Woman (BMW)]

Dad had bought this little 80cc tiny bike - I must have nagged him so much that he eventually let me ride it - no advice nothing. (bout 14) My legs were up round me ears, I can't even remember changing gears but I just gripped that throttle and what I thought was a small turn of throttle, was actually full tit - so I wheelied up the road, don't remember turning around but I was returning to Dad ata great rate of knots (can ya tell my father was a seaman??!!) he was as white as a sheet and I'm yellin at him, how do I stop the bloody thing, he's doing a hand motion - which I later understood - take hand of throttle. I think as I got nearer to him I found the foot brake. That was the end of my so called lesson. We got home and Mum asked how did it go - "She damned near killed herself".

My next memory was my father had forced me to go to the wop wops with the family - except my 17 yr old brother was allowed to stay home - I knew he was havin a party an I wanted to be there - Dad thought I needed peace and quiet so I could swot for 5th form exams! I was in a foul mood - then I saw this 125 dirt bike.

In those days shorts were shorts!! bikini top and jandals, jumped on the bike - hadn't learnt much from previous episode, and went careering towards a brick wall. I do remember thinking oh shit I'm history now, Mum's screaming stop her - I still hadn't learnt where the brakes were - actually - I don't think it had any. Then this piece of rope on end of a piece of wood wrapped round my ankle and I fell off - exhaust pipe burnt the inside of my thigh - fark that hurt!

Finally got my licence at 15 and rode Dad's Honda 125CC - which was brand new at the time and did lots of motocross and trail riding! That bike still goes to this day - god it looks basic but at the time it was state of the art!! lol

[Motu]

My uncle used to keep his Ariel Red Hunter under our house - I used to go down and look at it.It was like looking at a chained up dog - you knew it just wanted to get out and run as fast as it could in wide open spaces.Dark red and shiny alloy,I could just sense the power radiating from it.....it was kinda scary....

[vifferman]

I'm not sure - it's a bit vague.
My father gave me some old 50s or 60s books with pictures of motorcycle racing in them when I was little.
There were some brothers who lived across the road that had a succession of old cars and bikes. The bikes were Ariels and Matchlesses and that sort of thing.
First "up close" experience was watching my best friend at a park near his home, practice riding a BSA 250 Star his dad bought for $50. I spent a lot of hours/miles pillioning on that bike.
The first bike I rode was a Kawasaki 175 dirtbike, when I was 15. I rode it no problems and remember thinking how much less effort it was than a bicycle, and the sensation of speed. I was hooked.
That was the 70s - bikes were everywhere then. My two older sisters both had boyfriends with bikes, and lots of my mates had bikes too, so I got one that year: a CB175. I remember how smooth and quiet it was compared to the dirt bikes and two-smoke roadbikes I'd ridden before that.

[Joni]

I was 5-6ish, my uncle had just got his new race bike, and was going to start prepping it for a run at Kyalami the next week. He asked my mother if he could take me for a spin around the neighbourhood! She said yup... and wheeeeeeeee off we went.

I remember crying when it was time to get off... I just wanted to keep going.

[Goblin]

My first motorbike memory was watching the solo bikes and sidecars at the Speedway....I thought how much fun would that be?
First ride was on my cousin's little Honda50. I stole it because everyone told me I was too small and girls dont ride motorbikes. I eventually graduated to the Yamaha Grasshopper at Phillip's farm.
First road ride was on the back of another cousins XJ550 or something. He took me to Karapiro and the exhaust burnt the sole of my boot off but I didnt care as it was such a sense of freedom I had never felt before. Was truely hooked after that.

[lb99]

it must have been the early eighties, I remember going somewhere on the highway in dads vauhall viva, and asking if motorbikes had a different speed limit to cars, as a group of bikes dissapeared over the horison, my first ride would have been at about 9, the neighbour at our bach had a z50 monkey bike, add a gravel road and no helmets, a recipe for disaster
I remember passing granddad before I realised , and thinking "I'm in trouble now", and taking off.
when I finally got hungry enough to go home and accept my fate, all granddad said was something along the lines of "if youre going to ride like an idiot, then wear a helmet for your mothers sake"

after that it was mates dirtbikes, then one day when I was in the fifth form, my uncle pulled up in his van, and unloaded a mint c50 "I thought you might like this to play with"

the rest is history

[Trudes]

MrsK - *blinks*.......is MrK a mad butcher?!

Nope......

[idleidolidyll]

uncles, dads, grandads, male friends

it seems that gals aint much of an influence for us re bikes

maybe if the question is asked in 20 years........................."oh yeah, my auntie Bill was a raving dyke with a Harley, I just loved that bike"

[-df-]

Can't remember how old I was, but it was a rm50 (a mates one) and went for a ride up a dirt road...tried turning around, accidently wound the throttle back and went flying off a rather large cliff!!! luckily I hit into a tree just down from the edge which saved me.

Hooked ever since.

[hurricane_r]

i was 17

1980 gsx400 soft tail, no wof no reg, missing lots of stuff,
didnt know how to ride a motorbike, bought off trademe and learned riding it
home from the waitakere ranges,

[Goblin]

all dad and grandad eh

where are the mums and nanas?

My kids have mum to thank for their first bike experience. Not many kids around here get to go on the back of "mum's" bike.

[idleidolidyll]

My kids have mum to thank for their first bike experience. Not many kids around here get to go on the back of "mum's" bike.

kids eh?!
ya don't quite fit the picture I painted..................and you don't seem to have a harley

Goblins future rap:

"Yeah man, I had my first ride on my mum's bike. She was a raving nutter and could barely keep the front wheel on the ground. Hell, I could hear HER screaming with excitement when we rode it"

[Goblin]

kids eh?!
ya don't quite fit the picture I painted..................and you don't seem to have a harley

Goblins future rap:

"Yeah man, I had my first ride on my mum's bike. She was a raving nutter and could barely keep the front wheel on the ground. Hell, I could hear HER screaming with excitement when we rode it"

Nah... Me and Harleys dont mix well, although some of my family and friends do own them.

My mum was the one who couldn't keep the front wheel on the ground...she had only one go on the Honda 50. She opened the throttle, front came up and she fixated on the crabapple tree and rode straight up the trunk and flipped it.