Favorite Bikes, Post up your story

Mak10

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Joined
Aug 20, 2018
Messages
2,567
Location
SE Idaho
One of my favorite bikes.

It was the summer of 1989 and I had a good buddy that just bought a Honda Magna 750. He had a Suzuki GN400 prior to this and let me borrow it for a week or so. Having ridden mainly dirt bikes prior to this, I fell in love with that GN. It was so simple. Easy kick start, low seat height, lightweight, fun to hop on and get the mail, run to the store, etc. This was a major factor in me wanting to ride a bike on the street. My friend just bought a Honda Magna 750, and it was a sweet ride. But alas two teenage boys riding two up, was not very high on the cool scale.

I was 19 at the time and still living at home. Looking back I didn't really have any expenses at the time (thanks Mom and Dad). Had a job and started saving my money to buy a bike of my own. After a month of working on a farm, hauling hay, driving truck, spraying weeds, I had saved $1500. Enough to start the search for a suitable bike.

I was watching the classifieds in the local paper daily. And after looking at quite a few bikes. A 1984 Honda Shadow 700 came up for sale. I remember going to look at it. It was a really clean bike, had 7500 miles on it. It belonged to a pilot, who died in a plane crash. His widow was selling the bike. She didn't know much about the bike. I seen it and it was CLEAN. Definitely the best bike I came across in my search. I offered her $1100 cash and bought it.

Now I had the dilemma of explaining my bike purchase to my Mother. My Mother was 100% against motorcycles in general and especially street motorcycles. I stored the bike at my buddy's house for about a week, hiding it from my Mother. After priming my parents about wanting a motorcycle during the week, I summoned up the courage to bring it home.

My Mother was furious. I can remember clearly her saying "You are going to take that back right now". My Dad however seen the bike and rode it around the block and commented on how nice it was. That was my in. I told my Mother that I saved up the money, was an "adult" and I was keeping the bike. The atmosphere in our house was hotter than two rats in a wool sock. She ultimately relented, and told me I could not ride it until I had some proper safety gear. I had enough money to buy a helmet, a leather jacket, and some gloves.

It was one of the funnest summers, I can remember. My buddy and I put many miles on our bikes that summer.

Life happened pretty quickly after that. My riding buddy enlisted with the Marines. I got busy with school, and marriage. I had kids, and it got pretty hard to ride a street bike with small kids. I kept that Shadow inside and in excellent shape. My oldest boy got into racing pee wee motocross, and my hobbies changed to ones that I could do with all of my family.

I ended up selling that Honda Shadow, in 2003 when I needed some money to build a house. I had that bike 14 years and 30,000 miles and sold it for $2200. The memories now are priceless.

My Children are all adults now, and here's to finding some new memories on the Super Tenere!

What is the bike that got you into Motorcycling?
 

SHUMBA

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2018
Messages
1,242
Location
ONTARIO, CANADA
One of my favorite bikes.

It was the summer of 1989 and I had a good buddy that just bought a Honda Magna 750. He had a Suzuki GN400 prior to this and let me borrow it for a week or so. Having ridden mainly dirt bikes prior to this, I fell in love with that GN. It was so simple. Easy kick start, low seat height, lightweight, fun to hop on and get the mail, run to the store, etc. This was a major factor in me wanting to ride a bike on the street. My friend just bought a Honda Magna 750, and it was a sweet ride. But alas two teenage boys riding two up, was not very high on the cool scale.

I was 19 at the time and still living at home. Looking back I didn't really have any expenses at the time (thanks Mom and Dad). Had a job and started saving my money to buy a bike of my own. After a month of working on a farm, hauling hay, driving truck, spraying weeds, I had saved $1500. Enough to start the search for a suitable bike.

I was watching the classifieds in the local paper daily. And after looking at quite a few bikes. A 1984 Honda Shadow 700 came up for sale. I remember going to look at it. It was a really clean bike, had 7500 miles on it. It belonged to a pilot, who died in a plane crash. His widow was selling the bike. She didn't know much about the bike. I seen it and it was CLEAN. Definitely the best bike I came across in my search. I offered her $1100 cash and bought it.

Now I had the dilemma of explaining my bike purchase to my Mother. My Mother was 100% against motorcycles in general and especially street motorcycles. I stored the bike at my buddy's house for about a week, hiding it from my Mother. After priming my parents about wanting a motorcycle during the week, I summoned up the courage to bring it home.

My Mother was furious. I can remember clearly her saying "You are going to take that back right now". My Dad however seen the bike and rode it around the block and commented on how nice it was. That was my in. I told my Mother that I saved up the money, was an "adult" and I was keeping the bike. The atmosphere in our house was hotter than two rats in a wool sock. She ultimately relented, and told me I could not ride it until I had some proper safety gear. I had enough money to buy a helmet, a leather jacket, and some gloves.

It was one of the funnest summers, I can remember. My buddy and I put many miles on our bikes that summer.

Life happened pretty quickly after that. My riding buddy enlisted with the Marines. I got busy with school, and marriage. I had kids, and it got pretty hard to ride a street bike with small kids. I kept that Shadow inside and in excellent shape. My oldest boy got into racing pee wee motocross, and my hobbies changed to ones that I could do with all of my family.

I ended up selling that Honda Shadow, in 2003 when I needed some money to build a house. I had that bike 14 years and 30,000 miles and sold it for $2200. The memories now are priceless.

My Children are all adults now, and here's to finding some new memories on the Super Tenere!

What is the bike that got you into Motorcycling?
My first bike
Honda 55 cc 3 speed transmission, red with grey plastic knee covers.
SHUMBA

Sent from my SM-T380 using Tapatalk
 

gv550

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2016
Messages
1,335
Location
Listowel, Ontario, Canada
I was prohibited from owning a motorcycle while living with my parents, and didn't have the money anyway. After graduating from college in 1977 I started my first job, and a co-worker mentioned he knew of a bike for sale, a big one with shaft drive. I followed up his lead and phoned about the bike, the seller only said it was a big one, with shaft drive, and $2000. He was selling for his son who needed the funds for an upcoming divorce, I went to look at it the next day. It was a BMW R60/6 Nuremberg green with Windjammer fairing, Bates panniers, engine guards, fog lights and had 10,000 miles on it. I borrowed the money from my brother and girlfriend and stored it inside my home until spring.
I began riding in early spring, unlicensed until the test facility opened in June, then a buddy and I headed out on a 2 week cross-Canada trip. Saw the top of Superior, prairie provinces, and those wonderful Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. I was hooked on motorcycle touring and subsequent trips to the Maritimes and numerous BMW rallies rolled over 100k on that bike. I did remove the Windjammer and mounted a BMW 'S' fairing, then Krauser saddlebags and other euro-type accessories.
In 1982 I traded it for a new R100RS in smoked red, rode it 300k, traded it for a new 1994 BMW R1100RS, then a new 1997 R1100RT. Those 2 oilheads cured me of BMW disease, and I bought my first Japanese bike in 2002, a Kawasaki, then 3 more Kawasakis now my 2 Yamahas.
 

Sierra1

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Joined
Nov 7, 2016
Messages
14,819
Location
Joshua TX
....What is the bike that got you into Motorcycling?
That got me INTO motorcycling? My mom's '75ish Honda Hobbit moped. Favorite bike, for a long time? My FJ1200; big, fast, and comfortable. That being said, the FJ has been replaced by the Tenere as my favorite of all time. But, I still have the FJ, or my kid's FJR, for when I need a missile.
 

Grumpy

Getting old is not for wimps
Joined
May 28, 2013
Messages
411
Location
Surbiton U.K.
The bike that got me on to a motorbike was one I never owned or rode. When I met my (now ex) wife, she had a Honda C70 stepthrough. So to keep up, I went to a local bike garage and bought a very used Yamaha RD200 electric. That was November 1976.
 

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OldRider

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Vendor
Joined
Jun 7, 2013
Messages
2,111
Location
Western Kentucky
I started out as most kids in the 60's did on a Western Auto mini bike with a B&S engine and then moved up the ranks through a few misc dirt bikes. Got my drivers license at 16 and got a 350 Honda and a couple other small street bikes through my teens. Right after I turned 21 I bought a new 76 KZ900 Kawasaki and a week later headed out to Daytona for speed week. I made a two thousand mile trip on my first large street bike and I was hooked. for life. This isn't my bike, but it looked exactly like it.
 

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R

RonH

Guest
My favorite is the 1979 Kawasaki KZ1000MKII. I had got a new 1978 KZ650 when I was 17yrs old, but really fell in love with the KZ1000MKII first time I saw it. It was only made in 1979 and 1980 and they were selling 100 LTD cruisers to every MKII it seemed like so they were not everywhere. Kind of like the super tenere now vs sport bikes and cruisers.
Finally in 1983 I bought one with only 500 miles on it for $2,000. Thing is made like a tank. I did two USA four corners tours on it, over 20,000 miles in 26 days riding among many other trips. I only used it for trips for 7yrs and 80,000 miles and it never let me down.
I always laugh as my dad had a 1984 Goldwing, and my uncle a 1983 Yamaha Venture, and I would take my trips and come home every time, they came home frequently on a bus.
I still have the KZ1000MKII and my KZ650 I got when I was 17, 41yrs ago.
 

Sierra1

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Joined
Nov 7, 2016
Messages
14,819
Location
Joshua TX
The FJ is the only past bike that I've kept; bought brand new in '86. At the time I couldn't believe that I had just paid $4,800.00 (US) for a MOTORCYCLE. I don't have the miles on the FJ that Ron has on the Kawi, but like him, it has never let me down either.
 

Cycledude

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Joined
Jan 29, 2016
Messages
3,999
Location
Rib lake wi
My first motorcycle was a Honda 160 Scrambler when I was 16, bought it used with money I had earned helping my uncles make hay. The 160 was very reliable but eventually it started leaking oil so I had to have it overhauled but that turned out great. Not sure how many miles I put on that 160 but eventually bought a 350 Yamaha 2 stroke and that turned out to be the worst bike I ever owned. About 1976 I bought a brandnew Yamaha 650 and that bike was nearly bulletproof. My all time favorite motorcycle is my 2002 Honda Goldwing which I bought brandnew, it now has 528,000 miles and I’m planning to ride it to Arkansas next month.
 
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