WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST MOTORCYCLE RIDE?

[Bikenstein]

Everyone has had their first experience ridin a bike solo and I thought it would be interestin' to hear about their first time. I was involved with teaching many people or should I say instructing them on their first ride as I worked for several motorcycle shops in the 60's and 70's. So tell us about your first ride!

[JATO]

My first motorcycle experience was on my cousin's Honda Trial 50 when I was five or six years old.  After that, it was when I was 12 and I paid $50 for a 1974 Honda CB360 that came with a 1973 CL360 for parts.  I had those 360s apart and together so many times that buy the time I could've ridden them legally there was nothing fixable on them.  I learned a lot about electrical and mechanical work from those 360s.  After the Hondas, it wasn't unitl I was 19 in college that I bought my next bike, that was my 1978 Suzuki GS1000 which I bought from a farmer for $500 in non running condition, spent 20 minutes on it, and then rode it off of his property.  He was pissed that he signed the title over before he could get more money out of me, he never thought the bike could actually run.

[rwgibbon]

The first motorcycle I drove legally on the road was a Sears 124 made by Gilera.
It was a single cylinder, five speed, four stroke. ( I recently purchased one to
restore) It had a top speed on the level around 65-67 mph.

It was a great little bike and I drove it for a year before getting my
Bridgestone 350 GTR.

Randy

[Bikenstein]

I was 13 or 14 years old. One day a guy from my class ( he was 16 had failed a couple of times)rode up in my yard on a Bridgestone 50, I believe. Anyway it was a small Bridgestone bought from the local feed store. He asked me if I wanted to ride it. I said sure, but he wanted to sit on the back. After killing the motor twice with him pointin and goin "Too much throttle, give it some more, let the clutch out, no not that much, etc., I just sorta popped the clutch and pulled off with a low to medium wheelie and I was ridin a motorcycle. The whole ride only lasted about two minutes. I did good, I thought, except for the wheelies especially when I speed shifted to second. I totally ignored Charles behind me screamin and yellin. Finally, all white in the face, he got me to stop, and left pretty quick. I was hooked at that point. The next ridin I did was on a Honda 305 Superhawk that my Uncle bought down from Atlanta for about 6 or 8 months to "cool off". I learned to ride on that bike. But I'll never forget that first ride. Glad it was on a Bridgestone

[ziggy stardust]

My first ride was a disaster, I bought a brand new Honda 125SS and had it delivered. I couldn't wait for the guy from the shop to show me how to ride it so had a go myself. Some how it threw me off and slid down the road.

Z

[Bikenstein]

Ziggy, over half the people I showed how to ride messed up on their first try. It got to where I could almost tell what was gonna happen. Quite a few just dumped the clutch and the bike shot out from under them. Others got goin but started wobbling and crashed. And then there were those that did pretty good until they got close to somethin like one of my sisters. She did ok in the backyard on her Honda CA160 until she got too close to a fence and just rammed it good. I asked her why she opened the throttle just before she crashed and she said she wanted to hurry up and get it over with. . I noticed a lot of people would do the same thing. It was like all of a sudden they forgot all the controls and just cranked the throttle open. Sometimes I used to hate showin people their first ride. But most of em got back on and eventually made it. Except that one sister. We ended up with five riders in the family.

[steve]

My first ride was on a Honda C70 and I'm slightly embarrassed to say, this was also my first bike (we all have to start somewhere!). As a keen cyclist when I was a teenager, I thought it would be easy peasy...but even with this small capacity bike with its clutchless gear changes, I was surprised that it wasn't quite as straightforward as I thought. A guy who worked in the shop I bought it from gave me an hour tuition down a nearby side street, which I remember being a great help. However, on the ride home, I was trundling along and remember seeing the brake lights come on from a queue of cars in front of me...unfortunately, I didn't quite stop in time and went into the back of one of the cars, although thankfully not hard enough to do any damage...a very embarrassing moment! I kept the bike for two years and did about 16,000 miles and loved the sense of freedom it gave me 

[coxy]

my very first ride was on a monkey bike i was about the same size as the bike .i stopped the bike with a sandstone fence . not a very good start

[66DT175]

'72 Honda trail 50 automatic with stars and stripes helmet. Nice Christmas present!

[CL-100]

This was my first bike.  I had only ridden a mini-bike before getting this.  It is a 1966 Yamaha 60 that I paid $135.00 for at the local Bridgestone dealer.  I earned the money cutting lawns one summer.  I rode this bike to school and got a part-time job at a car wash which allowed me to save the money to buy a new Bridgestone 100 GP about a year later.  I still regret selling the Bridgestone after I got my first car. 

[Bikenstein]

This was my first bike.  I had only ridden a mini-bike before getting this.  It is a 1966 Yamaha 60 that I paid $135.00 for at the local Bridgestone dealer.  I earned the money cutting lawns one summer.  I rode this bike to school and got a part-time job at a car wash which allowed me to save the money to buy a new Bridgestone 100 GP about a year later.  I still regret selling the Bridgestone after I got my first car. 

Thanks for sharing the pictures. Did your first ride on the minibike go well?

[Bikenstein]

As a reminder, when you post here not only tell about your first bike but what your first ride was like. It's that first time experience that I'd like to hear about, whether it was on your bike or someone elses. Minibike, scooter, moped, or motorcycle. Thanks to everybody for sharing.

[janejack]

Some time back I tried to ride a Yamaha motorcycle and it was my very first riding experience. Unfortunately bike was out of my control and I fell down.

[oldstarfire]

New Hudson Autocycle.... 57 years ago!

[deisher6]

1957 we lived in Orleans France, my brother had a Mobillette.(sp?) It had to be pedaled to start, but you could start it on the kickstand with the back wheel off the ground, then tip it forward.  It taught me my first lessons on speed vs brakes on gravel.
regards charlie

[bryano]

   I'm new to the list, this thread happens to be timely to me.  I belong to a vintage group and mention of Bridgestone came across recently.  My first ride was a rental in Lake Geneva. WI.  I rented a Bridgestone 90 in 1966.  Went back several times over the next two summers and rode the hell out of that renter's bikes.  Eventually he got rid of them and went to Honda 90's...I had to learn how to shift all over again.  Currently own a 2008 Electra Glide, 1981 Virago, 1967 Black Bomber Honda 450, 1973 Yamaha DT250 (undergoing a change to cafe-racer from dirt-bike), and a 1986 Yamaha YT175 trike. 
   I have a fond place in my heart for Bs bikes.  Maybe you'll influence me to buy one.  ---Bryan O

[Mike Anderson]

Welcome to the site, hopefully you will get a Bridgestone. There are several available on the site.
Later Mike

[Bikenstein]

Bryan, great to hear from you! I had a new  66 "Bomber"(purchased new in 68). Back then we called em Guppy tank 450's. I had a 350 GTR before that and really loved that bike more. You can't beat a GTR in my opinion, for style, performance and technology for the time. Welcome to the site

[rocketman]

First ride I got was on the tank of a Harley Hummer my father had repaired for someone. Then another couple of "tank rides" on his Aermacchi 125's and our 100SR. The SR's dead man switch was an old points breaker set fixed to the handlebar. It would shock you good if you got your hand on it while hanging on. My first bike I could ride myself was an Arctic cat mini bike. At a certain point I was riding the SR around the property by myself before I could touch the ground and had to either be caught on final approach or pull up next to the picnic table etc to get stopped. Just before I started racing it, I got a Tora 60 for trail riding and field events. The tora gets a bad rap sometimes but I couldn't kill it and it was still running when we sold it to a neighbor several years later.  Mark.

[jd50i]

My older brother had bought a 1969 Honda QA 50 and a 1970 Chibi, both used. I was 12 and I rode the QA 50. I had no problems at first, it was like riding a bicycle. It was later when I thought myself a pro when it threw me. I still have both bikes.