Was there a point in your life when you had no interest in motorcycles and...

[RamblinBoy]

Back in the mid 1940s, when I was lad of five, my father used to take me walking down the back alleys in the Springfield section of Jacksonvllle, FL. We'd walk to the railyard and watch the locomotives (mostly steam) get turned around on the "roundhouse" table. Along the way we'd look at cars and motorcycles and he would ask me to name them for him. There was an old piece of crap abandoned Indian frame with part of the motor, and a torn up seat, sitting on rusty wheels. He always sat me on the seat and I pretended I was riding. He never owned a motorcycle. He had a $100 Ford for a few months. when I was about 10 years old. But he loved "anything that would get you out of town."

 

That was the year I got my first bicycle and the year I went to work Gunking Cushman scooters for the dealer on the corner. I got to ride them around the block.

 

There has never been a day in my life since that I haven't thought about motorcycles. I'm 67 now, and when they finally ship my butt off to the old folks home and take away my license, I'm gonna have a black Norton (electric start) and a never-run-dry can of wax. I'll sneak out on 'em when I can and I will never admit that I have taken my last ride.

[JDog]

I feel rather dull around all of these cool stories----the only contraption that I had when a kid was a an old three wheeled riding lawnmower with a large tractor-type wheel in the back. My dad put a B & S engine on it, and away I went over empty lots at about 2 MPH! I think that was my dad's way of saying no go kart. Did a little bicycle camping in high school but that was it on two wheels.

 

When I moved back to LA in 1979, I had a moped or two for getting around and to work, and my wife had her car. Then we bought a Honda 50 Passport, which she also rode. Unfortunately, the scooter got run over with her on it one day.

 

Then, I met a lady who had hots for motorcycles, so I bought a '79 (I think) Yamaha 650 which did the trick. Then a 750 Seca which I put over 100,000 miles on (the odometer went out around then!). I remember making a promise to myself that I would always have a motorcycle. But like many others, those dang kids put a damper on it, and I was without till a few years ago. Now that I have my BMW, it is a true joy, and keeps me busy, especially now that I am on my own again. My son wants to get a motorcycle, and I can't wait to get him up to speed so we can ride side by side and take some trips.

 

John C.

'04 R1150RT (black is beautiful!)

 

 

[wbrissette]

I got my license for a 100cc motorcycle when I was 15. I still have fond memories of that bike (Yamaha DT100). What a ride... Then I moved up to a larger Suzuki 450L, that bike and I had loads of fun, that is until some idiot turned in front of me and I ended up in hospital with broken collarbone, and fingers. I was 17 at the time and my parents wouldn't allow me to get another bike. I waited until I was out of their house and within days bought a new Honda SilverWing. I rode that 500 cc bike everywhere. After I joined the Marines, I ended up selling it. I'm not sure what happened, but I kind of lost the passion for bikes. Fast forward nearly 20 years and I was bit by the bug to ride again. I bought a used 1150RT, and once again fell in love with riding. Since that time, I have bought another bike to compliment my RT because I was simply putting to many miles on the RT. My wife decided to learn to ride and now we both love the idea of simply riding... anywhere, anytime, for any distance.

 

Wayne

[Stokes]

Yes, just recently as a matter of fact. I bought a 350Z in 2004, I love that car, and stopped riding my R100RT. I didn't ride it for a year and eventually sold it. After a 4 year hiatus I decided I missed riding and got the R1100RT, very happy now and I still have the 350Z; best of both worlds.

 

The only other interruption in my riding since my first bike at 16 (Honda 305 Scrambler) was enforced by my wife when our first child was born. She insisted I sell my beloved R80/7. That dry spell lasted almost 20 years but it wasn't because of lack of interesting.

 

 

[outpost22]

Loved riding mini bikes as a kid. Bought a real dirt bike at 18 (1972) and ended up racing until 1987. David Bailey and Magoo Chandler helped make my decision to "retire". Too many "close calls" with pines and oaks at 60+ mph in ISDE's, Hare Scrambles and Enduro's and MX was becoming a jumping contest.

My then spouse "wouldn't stand for" a street bike. Changed spouses to one who loves to ride with me in 2005 and have been riding since. I don't plan on quitting. 18 years was too long to not ride ('88-'05), and golf just wasn't cutting it.

[gmarktbone]

I rode back seat on my friend's dirt bike when I was in Jr. High. So, 20 years later, I started looking for a bike. I test rode a Yamaha 750 street bike about 8 years ago but I couldn't figure out how to turn it, so I put off the dream a few more years. I started thinking about getting a Harley shortly after that. I finally decided to make the move and buy a small Suzuki GZ250 to learn how to ride on, with the intention of buying a Harley after I learned to ride. The people I bought my Suzuki from had BMWs and I fell in love. I started doing research and after a few months, spent the next two years trying to decide which BMW to buy. Have never looked back.

[techammer]

Saw The Great Escape when I was 14 and was hooked. Rode Suzukis until I blew a tire going around a curve on the Interstate at 65 mph, slit my throat, broke my arm and lost some skin. Stopped riding for three years until I found an old ('51) BMW in a barn in upstate New York, bought it for $85, stuffed it in the back of a VW microbus and brought it back to MN. Couldn't get it running (although I sold it to a friend who cherried it out right down to the pinstriping), so I bought the first of a series of British bikes--Beezer, Triumph and two Nortons. Trying to keep those running eventually led to the second time I quit riding for a number of years. (Q: Why do the Brits drink warm beer? A: Lucas refrigerators.)

 

Then, about 10 years ago, a friend in Vail CO lent me his BMW R80RT for a long-way-round ride to Aspen. I bought my own R100 shortly thereafter, followed by an R100RT and my current R1100RT. Now that I've found (again) the true path, I see no reason to ever stop riding (except in the dead of MN winter, but that couldn't be called a loss of interest).

[AviP]

The answer to the subject line is yes: when I was <6 years old.

[jbim]

I sold my first bike when I was 25 and didn't think much of bikes for 20 years. Around 45 I started to buy mags and go to motorcycle shows. Eventually I took an MSF course and bought a new bike. I now have two bikes in the garage and loving every minute I ride.

[Kitsap]

Very simple for me.

 

My appendix ruptured one night while sleeping. Some hours later after surgery the doc said I was lucky to be around. So having put my final journey on hold I decided to do what I wanted while I still had the ability to make the choice.

 

My wife fully supported the decision.

 

 

[velomoto]

Yup when life got too busy (starting career, new home, babies, too many other things going on... Then life slowed a bit and I realized something was missing. With my first bikes there was never enough $$$ to "do it right". In that I mean, I couldn't get the bike I wanted AND all the gear to be comfortable and safe in all conditions.