1982 Suzuki GS400E, bought used in spring of 1986. I was 16.
I had 6 years dirt bike experience off and on.
I rode it for 1 year. Sold it for more than I paid and bought a brand new 1986 Honda VFR750 Interceptor when I was 17.
It was a great 1st bike. I rode it like a madman constantly at redline, and learning traction control on the pavement. It had sporty looks, and did everything I wanted it to.
Bike 3? You're pretty restrained. I am on bike 22. None wrecked but 2 were stolen (3 actually but 1 was recovered). I would be on at least bike 26 but my wife has slowed me down on flipping vehicles.
First bike was a 2000 zx12r - I figured I had been riding my dad's 1100 XS special how much faster or dangerous could a 1200 be...... Boy was I wrong, thankfully I'd been riding bike since before I could touch the ground ( my dad would have to come out and stop me or I would have just fallen over)
learned to to respect the power and know my limits had the bike for 8-9 years and then "downsized" to a 1098.... What a trip
What was your first street bike?
1982 Suzuki GS400T
How much riding experience did you have before acquiring that bike?
Grew up on a farm, had been riding dirt since I was about 10 and was 19 when I bought the GS...
Owned YZ80 and IT175 dirt bikes before the GS. Still have the YZ!
How long did you ride it for/why are you no longer riding it?
Owned/rode it for three years. I'm 6'1" so was a bit cramped...sold it to buy a bigger bike (Honda CB650).
Do you feel it was a good first bike? Please explain.
Great first bike and would reco it in a heartbeat for a new rider...if they still made them. They are over 30 years old now so reliability and parts availability would be a problem. Lots of newer sub-500cc bikes out there for beginners now.
I bough my first street bike just days after my 16th birthday a 2007 ZX-6R traded in my 2006 RZ250 and the rest of my life savings at the time for it but it was the best purchase I ever made. Tho I did grow up on a farm and have been riding dirt-bikes for longer then I can remember.
What was your first street bike? 2004 Suzuki Gs500F
How much riding experience did you have before acquiring that bike? Almost none besides the M2 Course
How long did you ride it for/why are you no longer riding it? Rode it for 1 season I sold it and upgraded to a zx6r cause I like green and love the handling and power of the new bike, I still loved my first bike it was great to learn on I would have kept it if I could keep 2
Great first bike for learning very light and agile, upright position great gas mileage
What was your first street bike?
1992 Kawi ZX7
How much riding experience did you have before acquiring that bike?
Didn't have a clue which control was where
How long did you ride it for/why are you no longer riding it?
A month, if that, tops. Was nineteen with the reasoning of a nine year old. Wrong plates, no insurance, ended up having it impounded by the OPP and "sold" my friend a "free" bike for $1000, which was the tow bill that I couldn't afford to pay at the time. It served as a first bike again for him, who learned how to ride, and sold it for more than I bought it for!
Do you feel it was a good first bike? Please explain.
Not really. Neither I nor my friend crashed it but being on my third bike now, I'm not one to recommend supersport for someone that has no experience with two wheeled vehicles. Even at it's 1992 spec of 100hp, a new-to-motorcycling rider will do a lot more hanging onto the bike rather than telling it what to do.
Seems a bit more reasonable for those with dirtbike etc experience to hop on a supersport...My second bike was the cruiser mentioned in my sig and I was a lot more comfortable REALLY learning how to ride on that!
* 2001 Katana 750
* dirt bike as a kid, and friend's zx6
* had it for 3 years and 25k -- moved to Yukon and DL1000 was better fit there (and had a bit more grunt) -- moved back to Toronto and upgraded to the ZX14
* was big enough for a big and tall guy, comfortable for long distance touring (1000km days), handled two-up ok -- and not enough power down low to get into trouble before developing good throttle control
- 1990 Yamaha RZ350
- When I was 16 Not much experience, familiar with dirt bikes but just enough to know how to work a clutch.
- Rode and rebuilt it for 3 years, put about 70,000km on it...I learned a lot from that bike, many hours of working on it. Some guy turned left out in front of me and clipped the rear tire.
- Wouldnt recommend it for the majority of people. Its light, its snappy, and it needs all your love and attention.
I honestly wish I still had one. It was a lot of fun and such great memories...The smell of 2 stroke exhaust in the morning brings me back to a happy place. A couple mods to suspension and tires and its a great vintage track weapon.
I've only ever had 2 bikes in my life. The second I still have.
I got hold of an '81 RD350LC in 1985. I wanted an MG Sportscar, but could only afford a bike.
This wasn't mine, but looked just like it.
Didn't know FA about riding bikes. Ran it off the road and almost killed myself the first week. Downshifted too many gears at once and locked the back tire.
I thought that it was a great bike to learn on. Plenty nimble and fast. Definitely labour intensive, but worth it. Could wheelie it for days.
How much riding experience did you have before acquiring that bike? Not much, a DMP minibike and my little brother's dirt bike.
How long did you ride it for/why are you no longer riding it? 2 years. It wasn't manufactured for very lone and was not a Honda, so parts were hard to come by.
I snapped a clutch line, and found that there weren't any available from Kawasaki for it, so I had to find one at the wreckers that was the same length and type, which wasn't much fun.
Do you feel it was a good first bike? Please explain. It was an awesome first bike, tiny, light, single cylinder, open access to all parts, great on gas mileage, top speed was around 70 mph (~110 kph), so enough to get you into serious trouble, but not too quickly, easy to park. I parked it beside 600cc supersports, so it wasn't likely to be stolen.
For commuting along the Lakeshore it was great. I did avoid the 400 series highways, though.
It scared the life out of me. It smelled of Turtle Wax and late 80s high test, made a fantastic sound. I was 14 when I traded my '87 XR250R for it. Sold it after shopping around for insurance rates.
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