What was your first street bike?

Forum Sponsor
1984 Honda xl250. Great bike, rode it everywhere, even did a trip to Florida on it. (I75, I was 16 and very dumb) got my fist dirtbike at 6, riding 10 years before I rode on the street(with a lisence).
Following summer I bought a 1983 gs400e, that got stolen so I bought a zx7r.
Any enduro is a great first bike. Cheap and easy to insure/maintain/repair. They're very forgiving if they get dropped( they will). They also have a strong resale.
 
Last edited:
skip said:
What was your first street bike?
'89 XV535

How much riding experience did you have before acquiring that bike?
Some dirt

How long did you ride it for/why are you no longer riding it?
3 years (and many many many km's) kept grinding the pegs off and that was annoying

Do you feel it was a good first bike? Please explain.
yes. shaft drive. easy to ride. handled not bad. shorter range was annoying.
Click to expand...

I made 7 gas stops on the 535 on the way to Montreal, from Toronto. Had a 2 gallon gas can bungied on the back and never would have made it without it.
 
Mine was a 1976 Yamaha DT175 'enduro' as we called D/S bikes back then.

I bought it in 1978, my first time EVER riding a bike was when I paid the guy and then left his place to ride it home. It wasn't far fortunately.

Sold it after 3 months and moved up to bigger, better, faster and more comfortable. That thing could barely break 80kph.
 
2001 Honda F4i
Fantastic bike all around. Good starting SS bike but not necessarily good starter bike depending on the rider. Offers plenty of performance to grow into and is touring-capable.

Sold it after a year for a 2007 600RR. No real reason other than I thought it was sexy. Don't regret my decision but one day would like to have a F4i in the garage again.

First ever ride on a bike was the Honda 125's being used for the MSF course.
 
1983 Honda Nighthawk 650.

Zero experience other than a few times on dirt bikes.

I rode it for a season, well almost; the season was cut short by someone cutting me off to turn into work, which was a hospital, cuz she was a nurse. Good location for it to happen, I guess. The bike (and the car, also a Honda) were write-offs.

Great first bike; low centre of gravity and relatively small frame making it easy to handle. Enough power to be fun but not suicidal. Shaft drive and basic tech making it easy to maintain.

650Nighthawk-1.jpg~original
 
Goodness going back 30 years or so.

A honda 500cc, (can't even remember the model..LOL)

Same as someone above bought it at a guys house waited till he went inside then started it up and rode it home. Had no clue as to gears or shifting but learned within a couple of blocks. Got it home went to MTO the next day and wrote Learners permit, (for Motorcycles), already had my full car licence, (LONG before graduated licencing. Got fully licenced that season.

Kept it for about 3 years then it blew up on me on the 400 southbound by hwy 88. Took plates off her and left her on the shoulder never to be seen or heard from again..lol

It was cheap to insure and good on gas, not overly powerful so good starter bike.
 
Ninja 250r. Loved that bike, easy to ride and nimble! Probably one of the best beginner bikes in terms of power, price, insurance and resale value.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
1974 Honda CB 550 bought brand new at 16 yrs old. Ya no graduated license back then so it was easy to get. Rode a Honda CT 70 off road before that. Sold the 550 in about 1979 and was off bikes till late 80's when I bought Yamaha Virago 1000 and rode that a bit for a couple years. Got into off road again in the 2000's on a Kawi KDX 220 but that was getting hard on the body. So bought an 04 gsxr 1000 in about 07 and did some california superbike school. Changed to an 05 gsxr1000 in late 2012. Been doing more track days every year for the past 4-5 years and loving it.
 
Scudzo_2 said:
1980 Suzuki GS750E, which I rode for three years and put about 40,000 km on it.Took the MSF course in 2002, bought the GS shortly after that.

I had some dirt riding experience as a kid in the 70's.
Click to expand...
That was also my first street bike.I bought it in my last year of high school, brand new from Sonic Motorcycle in Scarborough.I think I paid $3300 out the door for it.I remember lusting after that thing for months and finally went to buy it.I was 18 but looked about 15.The owner was very gracious and took the time to talk to me ,I think his name was Bill Sharpless, a really nice man.As we were standing in front of the 1980 GS750 I was planning to buy he told me what a great bike he thought it was and that his daughter rode one.Best purchase I,ve ever made.
 
2009 Ninja 650R. Zero street experience. Only took the course. Rode it for about 3 years before deciding to try something that would be both cheap on insurance and still be unique and fun.

Old and new.
8tlzVlt.jpg


Crashed the 650R the first day. New owner's friend did the same thing but his was the 2nd day and he smashed the bike and his face into 2 pieces. He never sent me pics of either even though I asked.
 
197? Honda CB350. I think it was a 73. Long time ago in a galaxy far far away...1978. 35+ years ago.

Had 4 years riding a dirt bike at the farm (Kawasaki 90).

Had it for two years until it died (wasn't in great shape to start with). Was commuting to school on it.

It was a good first bike. Not too fast, but enough power for highway riding and in those days was enough for two up with the girlfriend. Got my first speeding ticket on it....lol. Easy to handle the weight - I'm not a big guy. Did my "road" test on it ( very different licensing in those days ) after a weekend course, can't remember who with. Rode it through the winter with chaps on to stay warm. It was just fun to be able to ride it anywhere.

I also had my first and only crash on it and we both survived remarkably well. Just a new brake pedal for her and a new jacket for me. I was sad to see her go as all I could afford was a 125 enduro and that could hardly do highway - like max'ed out at 80kph! It was a lot of fun off the road though.
 
First bike was an 84 RZ 350 wow that's a long time ago I was 17. I had 12 years of off road riding prior in mx. my most missed bike is my 86 rg500 gama and the GSXR i had on juice. My current Busa is faster but not half as fun. Maybe I'm just old.
 
2011 GSX-R750
First and only bike I've ridden, aside from the 250 at the course. Since I've started riding later in life, I figured I could limit my exuberance on this machine. I've lusted after GSX-R750's since they came out in the mid-80's. In my mind, it's the perfect bike....the only thing I could see replacing it with might be a newer version.
 
1950 series C Vincent. Yeah I'm old :)
 
DECIMIS said:
What was your first street bike?

How much riding experience did you have before acquiring that bike?

How long did you ride it for/why are you no longer riding it?

Do you feel it was a good first bike? Please explain.
Click to expand...

1977 CJ360T SuperSport edition. Plastic tail section, 6 speed tranny and twin leading front drum. $375 delivered.

Zero street or dirt experience. Shop owner showed me how to stop start and shift for hours.

2 years year round. Summer and winter. Sold for a modern bike with disc brake and electric start.

Great first bike. Reliable, just fast enough 75 mph and tough for small tip overs on snowy roads.

150106634_HondaCJ360T.jpg
 
IMG_0638.jpg


Used '82 Seca 400. It took me three weeks to put on clipons and bar-ends. Pretty radical for 1982, engine was a stressed member, monoshock rear, YICS intake. Made about 40hp, which was a lot for the weight. Good brakes, completely crap suspension. I sold it a year later for what I bought it for. I should have invested money in fork springs and a better shock, but back in the go-go 80s, that stuff was hard to find.
West-end Flock-of-seagulls haircuts and shoulder pads were a major hinderance in the 80s, while the East end figured it out with mullets and acid washed jeans.
 
Grew up playing in the dirt but the first street ride was a '92 Suzuki Bandit 400. Great little bike!
 
1983 Suzuki GR650 Tempter. Only got it because it was cheap and not fast in any respect. It wasn't in great shape though, and I'm no mechanic, so 6 months later I decided I should get something new, with a warranty and wasn't going to feel like it was shaking apart. So I got an end-of-year clearance 1997 Suzuki GSF1200S Bandit. I would not recommend the Bandit to a beginner!
Forum Sponsor
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom