Wednesday, November 30, 2011

How and why did you get into motorcycles?

Gary at Flies in your Teeth has put it out there to all of us bloggers as to how and why we got into bikes. Here's my reasons....

When my older brother and myself were young kids around 10 years or so(its to long for me to remember properly now) my dad got us a mini bike that we would ride around the back yard for ages. Mum also had a Honda 50 auto that we would also punt around on. After a while this riding went by the wayside as we grew up to be teenagers and went on to do other things.

My brother then around 18 came home one day with a CBX750. I was only about 16. I still remember him taking me for a ride around town on it and it was so cool. He then upgraded to a ZZR600 which i remember him taking me for a ride to Parkes, NSW about a 33km trip. On the way back there was a small down hill section that i told him to go really fast on, which he didn't take much encouraging. I think we saw 160kmh and from that point on i was instantly hooked. I have never been that fast before the speed and acceleration was blinding. Well for a kid that didn't even have a license it was. Any chance that i got from then on i would go for a ride with him if he was willing.

A couple of years down the track after i got my first job i got my first bike. You can read about that here. When I got my first road bike my brother took me for a short ride out to the airport. I was just on my L Plates and still very much a novice. At the airport he said here swap bikes, I'll ride your 250 back into town take my Fireblade. What the heck. I had read lots about  the new Fireblade which was the R1 of its day, light and fast. After turning onto the main road from the airport back into town i slowly accelerated in first short shifted into 2nd then absolutely nailed the throttle to the stop. Holy moley by Jesus this thing nearly ripped my arms out of my sockets it accelerated so damn fast. I saw 210kmh in no time. The sports bike rush had kicked in and i could not stop riding bikes ever since.

I've since gotten married in the last 6 years with one beautiful daughter so the riding had since slowed down.
"Like many others, marriage and children put an end to my early motorcycling days and it wasn't until many years later that I bought my next bike." Gary at Flies in your Teeth
I am absolutely determined to not have this happen to me so i kept the bike through about a 3 year period around the time of the birth of our daughter where I'm sure it only got ridden about 5 or 6 times. I am so glad i didn't sell it as just this year I have started to ride quite a lot again considering that I now have a large mortgage, wife and kids.

Riding bikes still brings a smile to my face after all the years I've been riding. There's always somewhere new to go and something new to see. And a winding road that i need to lay some black lines on......

8 comments:

  1. When I was about 11 or 12, I went with my father to a motocross race. He knew I was interested in motorcycles and thought it would be a fun thing to do. I loved the sound and smell of the 2-stroke bikes. At the time, I was reading motorcycle magazines pretty much non stop. I was mowing my neighbors lawns for money, and I wanted a bike in the worst way. The summer I turned 13, I was able to convince my parents that I wouldn't kill myself on a motorcycle, and was able to buy a very clean '71 Honda SL-70. I had that bike for many years. I rode it all around the neighborhood. I only had contact with police once, they told me to push it home.
    I think I have always been a dreamer. I purchased my first street bike while working with a guy who talked about riding to CA. After I bought a H-D Sportster, he was fired, and I've never seen him since.
    After I got married, I had to stop for a while, But picked up riding again in the late 90's. Since I got divorced, my riding time has increased, and now that I'm retired I can finally ride all I want!
    On my blog I list all the bikes I've owned.

    http://fjr-trips10.blogspot.com/2011/11/40-years-of-motorcycles.html


    Erik.

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  2. It sounds as though you are very passionate about riding. I am glad you didn't have to put it on hold for long. Happy riding.

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  3. Chillertek:
    That's a great history - so glad that you didn't sell your bike. Doing just that nearly stopped me for life!

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  4. Glad to hear that you could stick to riding 'despite having a family'. I guess most of us see that as a reason to weigh safety and responsibility against the assumed risk of riding. Which is nonsense of course, but we try to rationalize it, or our partners talk it out of us, and sometimes it works.

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  5. I knew if i sold the bike i would not be able to afford to buy another one in a couple of years time, it wasn't costing anything except rego so i held onto. I am so glad i did that.

    Sonja - You are so right in what you say, i have thought about giving it away for the responsabilities of been a dad. But i also realised that something bad could happen driving a car as well so i doesn't really make much difference at the end of the day. I try and take as much care as possible now whilst still enjoying the ride. I have even been looking into some upskilling of my riding abilities via some advanced rider training thanks to Geoffs recent blogs on his rider training. Looks like the IAM training is far more advanced than the 1 day track sessions you get here. The only thing now is to save up for the training course they are quite expensive.

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  6. Chillertek,

    That's one of the things that scares me about children, the dependence and altering of priorities. Could I give up my bikes? I don't know, maybe a heavy dose of fuel stabilizer, dry storage and 18 years of valium would do it.

    Brady
    Behind Bars - Motorcycles and Life

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  7. I like the line about your brother that he “...came home one day with a CBX750”. A very brotherly thing to do and then when he swapped your 250 for his Fireblade, well, how could you refuse? LOL. Great story and I too am pleased that you kept your bike when your daughter was born.

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  8. I'm glad you didn't sell it because of the kid, take it easy now, new responsibilities but don't stop riding. I did stop for over 25 years but now will be riding until time allows me.

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