Your First Motorcycle Was a ............?

[nobbie48]

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First powered two-wheel ride was on the back of a scooter ridden by a friend's slightly older really cute sister. She said hold on. I did, grinning like a fiend.

Mid 1960's I rented a Honda 50cc step-through from a store on Dundas Street near the junction. Back then anything was considered a license. Lessons were "That's the rear brake. That's the front brake and that's the throttle." Helmet? You don't need no stinking helmet.

I got my license on a borrowed Honda cub and then bought a used Yamaha 125 single circa1965 and used it for transportation all year, including winter. My girlfriend had a car. At -10° the seat felt like a log. The big plus was learning to handle the bike in slippery conditions.

Then a couple of decades of life and ~ 20 years ago I got a 1200 Sportster, then GL1200, Connie 1000 followed by a GL1500.

 

[just-me]

1970 Honda CB100
bought from a high school buddy in 1972, $200
insurance was $78 a year

 

[AllistonGT]

Guessing I was about 7 or 8


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[thwak]

1956 Harley hand banger ex-metro police. Started riding it in 1961.

 

[Bobo]

It was either an '88 Yamaha DT200, or the '89 DT200R. I knew squat about bikes, and wasn't into taking pics (of anything) back then. It was the cheapest street-legal bike I could find. I vaguely recall having a friend drive me out to somewhere like Orangeville to pick it up, and I rode it home completely illegally with the seller's plate, no insurance, a fugly yellow beat up oversized motocross helmet without goggles bouncing around on my head, and smiling and giggling the whole way home. I'm pretty sure I didn't actually want a dual-sport, just ended up with one because of the price. What I really wanted was a fully-faired sport bike because of the magazines my friend brough in to school, and then I kept seeing a beautiful bike with a distinctive yellow patch in the school parking lot. So a year later I finally got the bike I really wanted:

1986 Honda NS400R

View attachment 72884

Guessing I was about 7 or 8


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That was my first bike, same colour and everything. I think it was a ‘71 or ‘72. Got it from Sonic Motorcycles in Scarborough.

 

[Baggsy]

KZ250LTD or a DMP Trail Champ depending on what you count.

 

[AllistonGT]

That was my first bike, same colour and everything. I think it was a ‘71 or ‘72. Got it from Sonic Motorcycles in Scarborough.

This would have been 72 - 73

 

[Lash]

1970 first bike was a used Honda S90. Upgraded the next year to a brandy new Yamaha Twin Jet 100 bought at Sears in Edmonton.

 

[Dirty Frank]

A 74 CB360T. After being passed by 3 guys in an old mini it was replaced with a 78 KZ650View attachment 72888View attachment 72889

Is that a Rickman fairing that you got there?
The KZ650 was a solid ride.

 

[Gaoler]

I don't know how/why I came to the impression that GTAM is made up of mostly younger riders... I mean I figured lots of 20-somethings especially, with a respectable number of 30-40 year Olds...
This thread reveals unto me that there is also a fair number of old farts posting as well..

 

[MacDoc]

Only ones that can afford motorcycles. Young riders mostly into bicycles, eSomethings etc.
Barrier to mcycles high and getting higher.
In Aus you need to be accompanied by a licensed driver for the first 3 month. Either riding their own motorcycle or in a car.
In Ontario insurance is a huge barrier.
Coupled with far more restrictive places you can ride off road.

 

[GreyGhost]

I don't know how/why I came to the impression that GTAM is made up of mostly younger riders... I mean I figured lots of 20-somethings especially, with a respectable number of 30-40 year Olds...
This thread reveals unto me that there is also a fair number of old farts posting as well..

Not that long ago we did a poll. Average age was pushing 70. Very few <30.

 

[Lightcycle]

Not that long ago we did a poll. Average age was pushing 70. Very few <30.

To be fair, there are a lot of 20+ year GTAM veterans still on here

We *were* young(ish) 20+ years ago...

 

[PrivatePilot]

Early 70's Trail 70. Rode the wheels off the thing as a kid, I probably put 5000+K on it over many years riding within a 5km radius of the summer RV resort where it was at the the time. I unexpectedly came across the bike again about 10-15 years ago, a friend of my dads still owned it - I got it running (sadly it hadn't been well cared for) and took my daughter for a ride. That was pretty cool.

First real street bike was an 86 Yamaha Seca 900.



Had my first motorcycle wreck on it in 1994. Still have the scars to this day. Rebuilt the bike, amazingly enough Ab's Motorcycle in North Oshawa (for those who remember it) had all the parts I needed stashed away in one of their sheds. Rode it for a few more years.

Took a long break from riding a few years later. Kids. Family. Other priorities.

 

[PrivatePilot]

Not that long ago we did a poll. Average age was pushing 70. Very few <30.

Unfortunately the young crowd don't seem to do forums anymore. Everything is shared mostly 1 way on things like Instagram or Tiktok with comments being mostly fluff and seldom leading to any meaningful back and forth discussion. Reddit to a smaller extent but even that tends to be an older (>30yo) demographic from what I usually see.

 

[timtune]

Is that a Rickman fairing that you got there?
The KZ650 was a solid ride.

Yes. I bought it just as it sits.
And yes they are a solid ride. Years later I had a second one. Although it redlined about 9000 it would pull strong up to 11000.

 

[Gaoler]

Unfortunately the young crowd don't seem to do forums anymore.

'Keen observation...

"Group chats" seem to be a big thing with the younger crowed I know

 

[PrivatePilot]

'Keen observation...

"Group chats" seem to be a big thing with the younger crowed I know

Indeed, which mostly happen amongst a small group of friends with singular or instantaneous topics instead of a place like a forum or Reddit where there might be a ton of topics which they could participate in.

I think the whole short-form writing / texting thing, and in some (many, sadly?) cases where some kids just don't have the ability to write proper sentence structure has a lot to do with this. If someone showed up here and started talking in millenial/alpha slang without the remotest shred of sentence structure or punctuation, they'd probably not fit in well.

 

[GreyGhost]

Indeed, which mostly happen amongst a small group of friends with singular or instantaneous topics instead of a place like a forum or Reddit where there might be a ton of topics which they could participate in.

I think the whole short-form writing / texting thing, and in some (many, sadly?) cases where some kids just don't have the ability to write proper sentence structure has a lot to do with this. If someone showed up here and started talking in millenial/alpha slang without the remotest shred of sentence structure or punctuation, they'd probably not fit in well.

Most people now seem to be on the no-effort, instant gratification path. Why search for an answer when you can post the same question that has been asked ten times today by others? If those people were banned from Facebook groups, most groups wouldn't have anyone left.

 

[PrivatePilot]

Why search for an answer when you can post the same question that has been asked ten times today by others? If those people were banned from Facebook groups, most groups wouldn't have anyone left.

For quite a while FB was way out of vogue with the younger crowd and it seemed like it was all Genx'ers and boomers, but the stats seem have skewed downwards in the last few years. Although I'm not sure where all these 18 to 24 year olds are because I don't really seem them anywhere I hang out on FB. Both of my kids are in the 25-34 age group category now and I know for a fact that they spend very little time on FB, in some cases thinking it's quite uncool for that matter.





<thread derail complete lol>

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