Bandit Alley
GENERAL MOTORCYCLE FORUMS => GENERAL MOTORCYCLE => Topic started by: ZenMan on July 21, 2007, 02:09:25 PM
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What was your first street bike ever?
Mine was a '66 Honda 305 Dream... a lot like this one:
(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/ZenMan33/Honda305k.jpg)
Someday I'd like to find another one. Along with a whole bunch of other old bikes I've ridden or owned in the past.
What was your first street bike? Post a pic of it, or a similar one if you can, or just tell us about it. :wink: :motorsmile:
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Mine was a 82 Honda CB750C Custom. It was gutless for a 750, but it was an experience.
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When I was in my 10's (10-12 years old), my parents had an outdoor sporting good store. They brough home a 100cc bike. It had a Hodaka motor and on the tank, the word "Steen". If I remember correctly, the shifter was on the right and the rear brake was on the left. Of course, at that age I didn't ride on the street other than in our neighborhood...then only to go the short drive to the hills.
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a 2007 Bandit 1250S...the perfect beginner bike.
:motorsmile:
:lol:
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When I was in my 10's (10-12 years old), my parents had an outdoor sporting good store. They brough home a 100cc bike. It had a Hodaka motor and on the tank, the word "Steen". If I remember correctly, the shifter was on the right and the rear brake was on the left. Of course, at that age I didn't ride on the street other than in our neighborhood...then only to go the short drive to the hills.
:stickpoke: Well then, that Steen wouldn't have really been your first street bike then, would it? :lol:
In skyrider's sense, the first bike I rode on the street would have been my first bike, a '66 Suzuki K10P (80cc). What it looked like when I got it (not actually mine):
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/Personal/suzuki_K10Prh.jpg)
What it looked like since I wasn't old enough to ride legally on the street anyway (actually is my bike, picture from 1971):
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/Personal/Suzuki_K10P.jpg)
But my real "first street bike" would have been my second one, a 1971 Yamaha XS-1B (actually is my bike, picture is from 1973):
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/Personal/Yamaha_XS1B_71.jpg)
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I'm sure there were quite a few bikes we've all ridden around the neighborhood or off-road before puberty... :roll:
I was thinking the first bike ya'll ever actually owned and rode licensed on the street. You know, like your first real girlfriend. :bandit:
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A 1981 Suzuki GS450T. I was in the N.C. mountains almost every weekend on that little bike. I put 10,000 miles on it in the 10 months that I had it before trading it in on a new, leftover 550 Katana.
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94 Suzuki Intruder 1400. Forward controls, almost ape hangers, almost straight pipes and harley fat-bob dual tanks. This is why I tell people to not to bother with a 250 to start with... :grin:
Other bikes I've owned (in order...):
Kaw KLR 650 (I thought I might go offroad...never did...sold to buy:)
V-Max (sold because I was done with school and my wife needed a new car BADLY)
2 years later, FZ-6 and wife's Hyosung...then sold the FZ-6 for the ol' :bandit:
When the wife pops out baby #2, getting a v-max or valkyrie for 2-up riding...
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A 2007 Bandit 1250S.
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first bike was a ft 500 ascot (purchased new for $999 and sold 2 yrs later for $900 with 6000 miles )what a dog lol then a brand new rz 350 . in 98 I purchased my 83,gs 750 es then finally my 2000 b 12 s
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1990 Suzuki GSX400F (aka Katana)
I was in Okinawa at time, hence the smaller displacement.
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1964 T20 super sports 250cc Suzuki.
A lot like this.
(http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/9914/1965t20black450pr3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
And pulled an incredible, 105MPH, not bad for stock standard 64, 250cc.
enough to scare the shyte outta me, on more than 1 occasion.
:stfu:
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a 1995 suzuki katana 600 in black and purple. at the time i was 19 and though it was the coolest bike ever. kept it almost 2years then traded it for a 96 gsxr 750, had that for a while then got a magna for a summer and traded those in on the bandit 1200 a 2000 which ended up in a guard rail in southern ohio. then came my 2000 speedtriple. which is getting long in the tooth now with almost 35000 on it so i am looking in the next year or so to get a new ride matbe a 1250 with bags on it? :bandit:
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OK, I'm not strickly following Zen's rules, but my first "steet" bike was Yamaha YG-1 (1963?), c/w GYT kit (modified rotary valve, bigger carb, high expansion chamber and ported cylinder?).
(http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t52/pmackie_photos/70362783.wLY0sm5M.jpg)
Lights were stripped, set up as a dirt bike, but I did ride it on the street on the way to the bush.
1st bike I rode on the street was a 1972 DT-1, orange tank, similar to this:
(http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t52/pmackie_photos/0102050103050104042007070397157b34f.jpg)
But my first REAL street bike was a 1970 H-1 Mach III Kawasaki
(http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t52/pmackie_photos/H-1.jpg)
Mine was a blue tank.
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I didn't start riding until I was 27 or 28. Had wanted a bike forever but couldn't afford it. Friend of a friend was selling his 87 FZR1000. Didn't even want a sport bike, but the guy was only asking $1,000 for it and I had the money for that. Wasn't thrilled about starting out on a litre bike either, but managed to be smart and use some self control.
She doesn't look that bad in the photo, but trust me she was rough. Tails were cracked up along with the front fairing and a billion other things wrong with it. No front fender, actually lost the right fairing cause the mounting holes were toast (were junk aftermarkets anyway).
This is what it looked like when I got it (clicky thumbnails):
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/orionburn/Bike%20Pics/th_bike3.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/orionburn/Bike%20Pics/bike3.jpg)
And after some elbow grease:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/orionburn/Bike%20Pics/th_Picture008.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/orionburn/Bike%20Pics/Picture008.jpg)
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My first bike on the street was a 1986 honda magna v-40 (700 cc). Very good first bike and very easy to take care of. There are days that I miss the old girl and her easy cruising ergo's. Magna's were never really appreciated, much like the bandit is now. Water cooled 80hp, no vibes to speak of with a 6 speed tranny, it was and is a great bike.
:crybaby: [/img]
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Ya know, Zen, this is eerie.... :shock:
You must be that little bit younger than me. My first bike was a Honda Benly 150, which was the "little brother" to the 250/305 Dream and looked exactly like the Dream. Mine was a 1965 model. Two years later I traded up to the 1967 305 Dream. What a mistake, IMO. The Dream was a slug compared to the Benly, etc etc etc. I won't bore you with the comparison.
It's amazing that we both had such bad taste back in the day..... :grin:....although, admittedly, both bikes were chick magnets, what with the glossy black paint and the whitewall tires.
We had been used to everyone riding Honda 50 Cubs with the odd Honda S65, so the Benly looked as big as an HD dresser alongside either of those tiddlers. :lol: :lol: :lol:
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1983 Yamaha 550 Vision
(http://photos.imageevent.com/turbo/88cougarxr7/_xz550rk_07.jpg)
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I donno how to post a pic but mine was a 02 250 ninja I bought new. I layed it down trying to wheelie it from a stop....the only way you could is to dump the clutch....but I wrecked it up a sorority's drive when iI was showing off... :duh: I moved to cinci and sold it cause the roads were shit and drivers were dumb. The next bike was my 01 12s. I really dont feel like its a heavy bike or anything. And since I now have that thing known as self control, i keep the rubber side down.
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First street bike, in fact my first motorcycle, was a GN250.
Oh and for the record bike #2 was a GR650, bike#3 was a GSX600F and bike#4 was (and still is) the 02B12.
Yep that's right I've only ever owned Suzuki's....not for any other reason than they were the best bikes I could afford at the time....
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1967 Honda CL-90 Scrambler, candy apple red, no turn signals. I got it for X-mas present + my life's savings for a total value of $300 new. I got my license in April when I turned 14. I put about 5k miles on the bike in 3 years, sold it to help buy a car.
Didn't own another bike until for another 10 years. Took a ride on mid 70s Suzuki GT-550 and got the bug. Got a 1981 Yamaha Seca 550.
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Ya know, Zen, this is eerie.... :shock:
What else is eerie is our obsession with Kawi triples... I had my share of H1's and H2's back in the day. That's another one I'd like to add to my fantasy collection of all the bikes I once owned. :roll:
If you ever decide to sell your H2, let me know, ok? :bandit:
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My first street bike was a 1974 RD350, then I got a RD400. When the RZ's came out I started rideing thumpers, the old XT's, XT500 then I bought a XT350 my first mono shock! I had a few CB750's and a KZ900. None of the bikes lasted as long as the Bandit that I still have, (almost 12 years). And too think I was planning on selling after a year or two.
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I started out with a Yamaha YCS5E (predecessor to the RD200, a 200cc air-cooled 2-stroke twin).
(http://www.motosclassicas70.com.br/Fotos/Y_CS5_LD_M.jpg)
I then moved to a Yamaha DT125, a Honda CB250 and then a Honda CB400F (400/4) before bowing out of bikes for several years and then returning with a Yamaha Fazer 600, an FJR1300 and now a Bandit 1250.
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(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r67/Dave043/vehicles/150al.jpg)
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r67/Dave043/vehicles/cb450f1.jpg)
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DaveG - are you going to let us guess what these bikes are?
First one looks like a CD175 while the second could be a CB250K2 or thereabouts.
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My dad handed down his 1973 GT550 to me when I turned 16. There have been several others since. I love the sound of those two stroke tripples.
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1975 (or was it 74?) Triumph Trident T150. Very cool bike, I didn't give it the love it deserved. Got pulled over by the police the day I bought it (used). Tail light was out. And of course, I did not yet have a MC license. Great start!
Not my bike, but lifted from the web:
(http://home.comcast.net/~david.turner3/Triumph-Trident-T150V-1975.jpg)
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Ahhh my first street bike. 1975 Honda CB360T. My dad had stored it in a barn for something like 13 years. Only had like 4000 miles on it but was ruined from sitting in the barn. Needed a complete restoration. Needless to say, as a young man, I never completed the restoration and never got to ride it. I still have it and one day hope to find time to make it a cafe racer project.
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My first bike was a '76 KZ400. Great little bike. Wish I'd have kept it!!
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DaveG - are you going to let us guess what these bikes are?
Well, SteelD, what we have there is:
The first one is probably a Honda CA-95 more popularly known as a Benly 150. Vintage is ~1965 which is what my first bike was....only in the much faster high gloss black paint. :lol: :lol:
The second one is a Honda CB450 and that particular version in the pic was made only 1 year....1969. This was the successor to the famous "Black Bomber" which was buit from, if I remember correctly, 1966 - 1968. The Bomber had the long "torpedo" shaped tank much like the Hawk/SuperHawk 250/305 CB72/77 and a four speed tranny. The '69 version in the pic had a much nicer, IMO, teardrop shaped tank and a five speed tranny but retained a lot of the tinware from the Bomber. I owned one of these beasts for awhile, a red one just like in the pic, but a guy came by in 2001 with a fistfull of cash and bye-bye CB450.
This bike was sold in the US as the HellCat but I don't see the HellCat decals on the sidecover so they may have been removed or have worn off or the covers may have been repainted at some time.
For a guy like myself that goes on about the many virtues of 3,4 and 6 cylinder engines, I've owned quite a few twins, now that I think back a little. :embarassed: :lol: :lol:
Thanks for the pics, DaveG.
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If you ever decide to sell your H2, let me know, ok?
OK, Zen, I'll give you a call about 3 days before they come to take me away to the 24/7 care home......cuz that's about when I'll stop riding it. :wink: :lol:
Of course I could be persuaded to part with the H2 if I was offered a nice low mileage original RG500. :wink:
Ahhhh....the days of monster strokers when bikes were made of wood and men were made of iron. :shock: :lol:
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you are correct on the models but off by one yearon the 450.
it is a 1968 HellCat. i thought the decals were gaudy so had the importer not install them.
a story: had a friend at manley and son ( the honda importer and distributor at the time) got for me one of the first and specially prepared new 450's. just a little faster than your off the shelf model. A special very low price too. My instructions were to beat the crap out of any bikes that want to see how fast it is.
drag raceed it and turned consistent 13.5's (advertising hype said 13.0) road raced it too. Had "Mike" Duff pass me at full throttle on the old humpback while i was braking hard wondering how i would get slowed down for the same corner.
new avons showed how flexy the frame was.
sadly it was wrecked in 1973. i repalced it with that year's model but it was never as good as the 1968
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My Bandit 400 is my first bike :motorsmile:
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Ahhhh....the days of monster strokers when bikes were made of wood and men were made of iron. :shock: :lol:
(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/ZenMan33/Woodbike.jpg)
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In 1966 I started riding on a Harley 45, WLA, the main motorcycle used by the U.S. Army in World War II, foot clutch and tank shifter. In 1968 I bought a Honda CL 350, In 1970 I got a Yamaha XS 650 :motorsmile:
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Saved up my money and at 17 bought my first bike a 1982 GS400 'basket case' as the dealer was unable to get it working. No manual, no clue I had that apart and back together a LOT. Learned how to ride on our gravel driveway after somebody gave me the basics on the phone. Loved that little bike, drove it everywhere. Didn't eat so I'd have gas money in college. That little bike taught me how to ride and wrench. Sold it just last year when I realized I'd never rebuild it and I was just doing it injustice sitting in my parents shed. It was the start of my love affair with bikes, I still remember the first time I saw it.
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Ahhhh....the days of monster strokers when bikes were made of wood and men were made of iron. :shock: :lol:
(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/ZenMan33/Woodbike.jpg)
OMG- I bout fell out when I saw the 'Roll Tide' in the background...before I realized that it was a chop(the sign). I was about to say that I wouldn't be suprised if that was in Bama- then I saw the euro tags on the car.:lol