What did you ride in your day?

[Iceman]

As a 50 something biker I grew up in the 70s and seeing as there are some other "seniors" here would ask"what did you ride back then and what what fond memories do you have of your mispent youth?"
My first bike at 15 was a Vespa125 circa 58 model.But just as I got her the new law age restrictions came in and I was forced to settle for a Honda PC50.No gears and you peddaled to get her going.On the straight it would hit 25mph and boy,At that time I was "King of the road".lol. 2 years later and I got a Lambretta SX200.Thought it was great and would sit it on its side scraping the exhaust away! Next was a brief period with a Suzuki GT250A, a 2 stroker that was considered great then. Other bikes I briefly had encounters with were a Bonneville 650, Honda CB125SS,CB200 ,CB250T,Yamaha RD200 and RD250DX. Alas,I got married,had family etc etc "You know the story"! I've got some great memories of the things I got up to on my bikes,like riding into the supermarket,Gorsehill to impress a girl at the till and riding through a school corridor at Kingsdown school,again to impress the ladies! I've ridden 3 up before,wore only a T-shirt and thought I was invincible! One day I was riding along Queens drive cruising at Ahem speed and hit a moped rider who moved into my lane. Flying through the air I remembered thinking about the cars all around me on that dual carriageway.I bounced and rolled and Yes,that T-shirt soon dissapeared as I removed a fair bit of my shoulder! Another time I raced an MGB sportscar up to a roundabout beating him easily but forgot to slow down and again put on my superman wings! Of course that was nearly 30 years ago and I have grown up and matured but still look back and laugh at how I thought I was invulnerable and had no fear!
Funnily enough riding a lambretta I used to get laughed at by"real bikers". How things have changed as Lambrettas and Vespas command high prices now! Quadraphenia anyone?? I've got loads more memories and tales to tell but maybe I should give the other Seniors here a chance to tell their tales!

[BoatingBiker]

Back in early 70's, on my 16th Birthday I was the proud owner of a Francis Barnett single cylinder two stroke 125 or 150cc Villiers engine, which I took out on the road before school and the date was mid November ! It was cold but I was on the road.

Later followed a BSA C11G -250cc single with a buckled rear wheel

I traded the BSA in for a Triumph T21 - 350cc with the bathtub removed which was joined by Triumph Tigel Cub 200cc Trials, and an original 500cc Royal Enfield Bullet (A restoration project) , - all at the same time and failed my early college exams. Unable to ignore the bikes I sold the Enfield in boxes (what a mistake!)

The Tiger Cub was replaced by a new WSK trail bike (Polish made -metal soft as ****) shortened the wheel base by 2 inches when the car in front suddendly stopped on an open road, briefly took up somersaulting with an ambulance ride to follow. Arrived home with just the mudguard (as my mother still reminds me today!) repaired it and traded it in for 250cc Bultaco Trials which I rode for a number of years in competition and until I met the wife! and it was replaced by a car, well it had taken 5 years to find 4 wheels.

A few years later (mid 1980's) I purchased a Yamaha XJ650, a 4 cylinder 650cc engined unit ( i really wanted a Honda Four at the time but there were no good ones around) I sold the Yammy a year ago in favour of a 2 year old Triumph Bonneville T100, 865 cc Modern Classic in Black and White! But repurchased the same XJ650 back again last month, not that I dislike the Bonnie but they are very different bikes to ride and the XJ is now a classic in the true sense.

Watch out for them at Poole on a tuesday night as I tend to ride them alturnative weeks when I can !

Looking for bike No 3, (or a 58 foot long narrowboat!) but don't tell the wife LOL ;D ;D

[Iceman]

The yamaha 650 was the bike I wanted back then! I remember it being a vertical twin like the Triumphs though,not a 4 cyclinder.Maybe it was an XS? Anyway,thought that bike was wicked when I had my 250 stroker. I also fancied a H1 kwacker just for the "newspaper reports of frightening power".How things have changed since then! The CB750 was also my envy but the bike that knocked me out was when the Z1 was released. 900cc with a massive 80bhp. I sat on it and fell in love but alas never got to ride it. The baby Z650 however was considered a better bike in the handling stakes though.

[Sue600]

Still remember my little FS1E! (and putting it in the hedge on my first day out!) Honda C90, that was fun. The worst thing I had was a new Honda MB50 thought it was really cool til I rode it to the coast! Ended up with a great Cagiva 125 - went like hell.... then life changed, career and kids and no bike for years! :(

[Iceman]

Gosh, the little fizzies.They were everywhere when I had my scooter and bigger bikes. The first "real" motorcycle feel I remember the ads would say.The first ones had lockable pedals,4 speed and would reach 45-50 mph. Swindon had hundreds of them racing around at night. lol
In them days for you youngsters on here the bike was the thing,not hot hatches of Today. Times were really magic for me when I was 17 then. Sigh!!
Still,with the rideouts coming up and meeting at Sallys every week I can capture some of that old magic spark I had then,only older unfortunately but much much wiser and safer!!!! :)

[hotdog]

I always wanted to be different and my AP50 would give any Fizzy a run for its money :)

That explains why my next bike was a Kawasaki KH250 and not the compulsory RD250 lol.

Then a Honda CB550K4... lovely 4 into 4 exhaust.

Then some bikes I can't remember the right sequence of... A Suzuki GSX550, a Kawasaki GPZ550 and one of the most thrilling bikes I've ever owned... a Suzuki XN85 turbo... It was sort of the predecessor to the Katana. A 650 with a turbo so with the performance of a much bigger bike. The day the turbo waste gate got stuck closed was very interesting lol.

Then I had a couple of Kawasaki GPZ750R's. These and the 900R were really the birth of todays superbikes and it's great to see so many still being run around...

Yep, those were the days ;D

There's a couple of pics in my blog for anyone interested...

http://www.dandmbr.co.uk/goldwing/?page_id=36

[alanTDM]

See if i can remember
1966 had a Lambretta scooter got that for £5 and passed my test think it cost £2 then Sold that and got my self a...
1959 Triumph Thunderbird 650 geared to pull a side car,solo it would lift front wheel off the ground in third but top speed was 80mph kept that for a two years sold it then bought it back by which time it was Cafe racer with clip-ons and a big alloy 5gallon tank got stripped and turned into a semi chopper.
sold that after 2 years then got a 1955 Triumph Speed Twin which the engine was rebuilt and i rode that to Morrocco in 1972 and was away for about 4 months or was it 5 .
When got back i sold that and mate took it back to Morrocco where it broke down and was dumped somewhere between Tangier and Rabat.
Then i got a Triumph TR6 650 what a load of crap nothing but problems so got rid of that
Then i got the 1979Triumph Bonniville T140D special but i got side swiped on that.
after i got a BMW100RS brill bike dont make fairings like that any more built for autubanns, doing 120mph it felt like you were in a car going along no wind at all,sold that got into Off road
so got a new KMX200 which i went to N Spain, Picos de Europa trail riding with Bike Magazine.
sold that and had two Honda XL185's over a period of 3 years
Then got a XT600 TenereZE overlander had that for 7 years brill bike that was.23ltrs tank 276miles per tank full,
PX that for a Import Enduro TT350
Then got a New 2002 Yamaha Thundercat 600.had that for 2 years and done 28K on that then PX it for a Enduro TT600RE ,(The Thundercat is still unsold at Richard Stevens In Devizes dont know how much he wants for it now))
The TT600RE got PX for the Yamaha TDM850 which i have now had for 3 years.
So been riding bikes since 1966 wonder how many miles iv clocked up all that time riding bikes

[Kevinb]

I started out on a Suzuki AP50 which I saved up for working at a local petrol station (when it was around 75 pence a gallon). My mum also helped as I didn't quite have enough.
Next was a Honda SS50, CB125, MZ125 (which I bought new and took my test on), I remeber riding home from the test centre opening the garage and taking out the GS550 I had already bought. Next was a Suzuki GS850 single seat followed by a DR750 (sold to put a down payment on a house) :'(
I then had a break for quite a few years and got back into biking about four years a go. In the last four years I have had a Trophy 1200, GPZ1000RX and have now got the MT-01 and Hinkley Bonnie. My wife has also got her 1982 Honda CM250.

[Amante_271]

I started off with a Yamaha RS100 (called Floyd after a Tv advert!!), I then "progressed"?? to a Suzuki GP100 (Called Fred) on which I got a slapped wrist for "racing" another GP100 that was 3 numbers different on the reg owned by a girl called Tracy (Hmmm! Tho shes put on a few pounds since those days.... sigh!) and I was asked if I was "Barry Sheene?" Ba*tards put the full Blues & Twos on as I went to pull into my house. This DIDNT impress my father who ran the local newsagents... especially as it was 3.30am!!

I had by this time also got my beloved Suzi GT250 X7, which I bought for £250 INCLUDING a new set of Micron expansion chmbers!!! It was totally standard until I got my grubby mitts on it...

ENGINE :

Put Ts125 1st over size pistons & rings in to the re-bored barrels to take it from 247 to 271cc. Had to take 4mm of the piston skirt!

Modified the Microns by removing about a foot of tubing from the baffles to let the engine use the full rear cone of the "spannies".

2 base gaskets to raise the ports & by splitting the top gasket into 5 sleeves and only putting 2 back regain the compression that was up due to the home made big bore kit.

S&B air filters with 102.5 main jets instead of 95 & 2 notches down on the needle.

Corrillo rods & pinned crank. It would rev round to 11,000 rpm!

NGK Racing plugs

FRAME :

Shortend to fit a Yam TZ350 prody racer fiberglass seat, Triumph Tiger rear light, & home made padding

Kwaka KH400 clocks

80 watt low beam & 120 high beam in Halfords spot lights one above the other on a home made bracket

Mele-moto rear sets

Dog leg power levers

Kwaka 7 position streering damper

Under tank lighting (car reversing light 21watt) - bearing in mind this was 1982ish

SERIOUSLY lightened the rest of the bike... center stand & OE seat were 44lb combined!!

I RAISED the gearing by +1 tooth on the front & -3 on the rear and it would STILL lift the front wheel & spin the rear in 1st!!!! Front wheel went balistic in the first 3 gears if too much throttle was applied!

RESULT: 137.4mph tested at MIRA & standing 1/4 of 12.94 - standard was 16.94!

I called her Amante 271!! Heard that name before??

I sold her because I was a TWAT! and chose a girlfriend, who became my wife & now my Ex-wife!!!! PREGNANT DOG!!!

I did flirt with an awesome piece of kit that I managed to wear thru the center stand and the exaust by cranking it over on right handed bends... What was it I hear you ask.... A HONDA MELODY DELUXE!!! Called Willy - Willy make it up the hill or not?

I now have a Kwaka GPX250 as an on going project and a Yam YB100 that will be a donor bike for an off road buggy project I intend to put together!

[Hunar]

I now have a Kwaka GPX250 as an on going project and a Yam YB100 that will be a donor bike for an off road buggy project I intend to put together!

Sell the CAR, and sort the bike out!

[KP]

gosh.... im not as old as some but it got me thinking back..... i had an ER50 suzuki... then an mtx 200 R... then the RD LC`S range lol gosh the good old days bless them ;D

[Snowy]

Bought a Honda 250 Superdream in 1978 having never ridden before, one year later bought a Honda 550F and a year after that a CB900F which I still have and maybe will run again one day. I have had my Beemer since 1999 and can't find a good enough reason to change it.

[Iceman]

Quote;"Bought a Honda 250 Superdream in 1978 having never ridden before"

Rode a dream a few times.I thought it was better styled than the superdream.Problem was,all the 2strokers would waste you every which way! Still,it did have mag wheels and elctric start,something the strokers never had and you got over 50mpg.

[Kevinb]

I thought the Dream was much better styled. My brother had a 400cc.
I think they did the 400 as an automatic as well?

[BoatingBiker]

Forgot to say my very fisrt solo ride was on a mate's old 500cc single Matchless across a field, lost it doing an unexpected wheelie, my mate was not too amused and did let me have another go...what fun when your'e young, so many years ago ;D

[Amante_271]

I think they did the 400 as an automatic as well?
Yes they did altho I know nothing much about it. :(

A mate at the time had a "Wet-dream" He took a large hammer to the silencers to remove the baffles (?). It was meant to help the performance, but only helped the pedestrians know when he was 2 miles away so they could get out the way!! :o :o

[Iceman]

Anyone here own or ride a H1 or H2 kawasaki in the 70s' and were they as fast,mean and frighteningly scary as they said they were? I remember the strokers had an on/off powerband so can only imagine what the 500 and 750 2 strokers were like! :o

[igbell]

Bikes in order of owning.
1) Honda CM125
2) Honda CB550 4
3) Yammy Divvy 900
4) Honda CBR600
5) Honda CB500
6) Honda VFR800

[RoadRocket]

My first bike was a Triumph Tiger Cub that I bought in 1974. I was a callow youth living in London at the time.

I paid £5 for it and it got me to work and back for a while. The brakes were completely shot and the head stock bearings were so knackered you could rock the forks back and forward. It was bloody lethal so I rode it very slowly. It was just cheap transport .

It got nicked one Sunday night. A few days later the thieving toe rag was riding it too fast and lost control on a nasty bend in Hounslow. He ploughed into the corner of a stone wall and dislocated his hip and broke his pelvis. He also broke his arm, a few ribs and his jaw. The Police told me that he was in a bad way and that he'd probably limp for the rest of his life. I often wonder if the thieving git is still limping around now.

I got the bike back and it was hardly damaged. Luckily the bloke's left leg took most of the impact. It had blood all down the left hand side of the seat. I cleaned it up and sold it for £4 to a bloke who wanted to rebuild it. It may be still around.

£4 was a lot of money in those days. You could buy 4 pints of Watneys Red Barrel, 20 Players No6, a fishcake and chips and still have change from a quid. Oh No!! I've started to sound like my dad.

I replaced it with a 105E Anglia for £5 that had been badly sprayed in bright orange but that's another story.