What motorcycles are in our group

[p246]

I still ride street bikes, and use to have a nasty dirt bike habit. Unfortunately air time kept resulting in injuries and broken bones....more the landing. The last RM 250 I had had a 310 big bore kit that ran on race gas and a full race tech suspension. Some times I passed it while skidding on the ground, some times it rode me. Eventually I realized it was taking a lot longer to heel and the wife was getting pissy so I sold it. It was known for kicking back when kick starting and throwing the rider about half way over the handle bars.

[Allen]

My brother used to be a cop. He bought a used police cycle for his own use, a Harley Electroglide. One day while driving, the sun was setting and blinding him. He pulled out in front of a Chevy pickup and was hit. He was thrown clear and escaped major injury as a result. The frame, gas tank and other stuff was replaced on the cycle and made good again while the truck was totaled. Don't know if it was a C-10 or S-10 since I wasn't there. Anyway he would not drive it again after that so I did about once a week to keep the battery up. I had to keep it on the back roads though because it had a full set of blue lights on it. I didn't like it. It reminded me of balancing a school bus on 2 wheels. As much as I despise foreign cars I prefer the Japanese bikes over the Harley's for my personal preference. I can drive them most anywhere. Great on the pavement and dirt roads. See something interesting out in the middle of a field?---run through the ditch and drive out to look at it (try that with a Hog). Also, they're easier to work on. In my younger day I had a Yamaha RD350 and drove my bothers Honda 305 SuperHawk. Both of which we wished we still had.

During my cycling days I discovered just how many idiots are on the highways. I always used my headlight so they knew of my presence, they just didn't care. Many would pull right out in front of you some would make deliberate dives at you to see if you would wreck. Then, while cruising residential areas you had to watch out for dogs that would chase you. Hitting one would most certainly cause you to flip. Then there is the rain--you drive slow you get soaked. You drive fast and the rain feels like needles hitting you and while driving down wet highways you can't see the pot holes. If they are full of water then they disappear. Not a good thing to hit.

I still love cycles. I think it is something that doesn't go away once you've owned one. If availability and $ had been present in my cycling days I would have bought a Triumph Bonneville, a Z1 Kaw, Yamaha 1100, or some of the larger Honda's.

To me (.02 worth) the best looking cycle ever was the Honda CB450 with the bombardier fuel tank made back in the mid '60's. They were as hard to find then as they are now and best represented the Jap bikes of the times.

At 64 years of age, very crowded highways, most of the motorist not being from here and other experiences, my cycling days are over. If I ever get the "hankering" for the open air drives again I will get a nice convertible.

[barretcreek]

73 Duc 750, 74 Laverda 750, 75 Duc 500 vertical twin. Lady on her way to church tried to use my Triumph TT600 for a hood ornament while heading north out of Augusta. I was lucky to walk out of the hospital 3&1/2 weeks later. And that was before texting and driving. Haven't ridden much since.
The Laverda looks like a Honda Dream 305 and doesn't even become alive until 85 or so.

[ray55classic]

That's an Iconic list there.

You go thru a few bikes when you've rode for 50 years .
I've been riding since I was 13 and I'm 63 now.

[Gary and Karen]

I started out on mini-bikes with my Dad and two brothers. Graduated to dirt bikes. Had a Honda 55 and then a Yamaha DT1. Damn thing tried to kill me a time or two.
Fast forward to age 19. Got married and one of the first things we bought was a Honda Scrambler. My MIL thought I was a Hell's Angel (sure...brown leather jacket with fur collar and an orange helmet). Once the kids came along, there went the bikes.
Second marriage...Gary had owned a Honda GoldWing. Got rid of it just before I came into his life. We decided to start riding again and he got me a small Honda to practice with until I felt comfortable. Then he got a Honda Magna V45 and I got a Honda Shadow V45. Did a bit of riding here and there. Had a short riding season living at Lake Tahoe. Eventually sold both of the bikes and gave up riding for a while.
Then we got a Roketa scooter. It was supposed to be for me to ride to work. Gary was riding it when it had a front blowout. 9 broken ribs, a broken finger and a (thankfully) minor head injury along with a bit of road rash. I declared that to be the end of our 2 wheeled adventures.
Now that I live in Bend, Oregon, there is just too darn much traffic to feel safe on 2 wheels.
Do I miss it, yes! Do I want to get another bike, no! Lots of good memories.

Karen

[gwp]

A '74 Kaw 900 would have been a Z1, probably the fastest cycle made during its time. A friend of mine had a new one at the time. He could shift into 2nd, stand it up and pull a wheely all the way through TOWN while shifting. He would usually put the nose down at around 120mph with plenty of throttle left and maybe another gear to go. He later became a motorcycle cop and was issued a Moto Guzzi. He tried pulling that stunt with that heavy bike and just blew the clutch.

I had a 74 Z1 (Fastest Production Bike at that time) for a while but I found a Rickman CR chassis with a ATP turbo 1015 Kawasaki engine. The Rickman was a great bike but it required a lot of maintenance. I got tired of working on the motor more than riding. I purchased a 81 Suzuki GS 1100 which was the fastest production motorcycle at that time. The GS 1100 had a lot of torque even at low rpm and it returned gas mileage in the 40 to 50 mpg range. It was the best motorcycle I have ever owned.

[k arga]

65 flh, 66flh and 1980 fxs lowrider, older bikes are stock.

[free1954]

did you ever notice motorcycles are like toothaches, you tell someone you have one and they want to tell you about all the bad things that happened when they had one.
like LEO's won't talk about partners who were shot while on duty, bikers don't talk about bad ending rides, at least not around here, and I've been riding since 1964.
and you never ever say the F word. [flat]

[barretcreek]

A guy offered me his 275 GTB back in the '70s. I had the money but fortunately for me and the car he backed out of the deal.

[aintright]

Those 900 and 1000 KZ S are in big demand here. There's a speed shop that makes drag bikes down the road out of them. They don't look like KZ S once he gets done with them.

I lived at the top of hill in a country bumpkin town , about a block down a steep grade . Friend of mine came by and wanted to take it for a spin . Hey drank a lot and I told him it would get away from him , went back to working on my car , next thing I hear it crank , down the hill the dam fool goes slamming gears . I don't remember if he got out of second or not before he tried braking . The road teed at the bottom , the other side was a ditch about eight ft or so wide and three , four feet deep lined in rip rap . He didn't get stopped and hit the ditch pretty hard . Needless to say it made a mess out of my bike and Ricky . Bent the frame as you can imagine , pretty severe , busted the crank case and he had I forget , but a lot of stitches , a few clamps , really buggered up arms and elbows and a few fractured ribs . He also got a DUI and lost his CDL . Life was pretty rough for him for some time . I lost a nice bike and a half assed friend . He never learned anything from it and never offered anything toward the bike , so I figured he was one I could do without .
Kenneth

[clintonhater]

Then, while cruising residential areas you had to watch out for dogs that would chase you. Hitting one would most certainly cause you to flip.

Problem on my 5 HP Cushman was less about being chased then passed & circled like Injuns around a wagon train. One of my "flips" put me in the ER with a concussion and a goose-egg on my forehead that lasted over 10 yrs.

[remus]

I have a Yamaha 2008 650 vstar, and a 2008 Kawasaki 1500 Vulcan. I rode then daily until I got this cotton picken osteo arthritis in my left knee. I would ride more than just stir up the oil and keep the batteries up some but I have trouble with the kickstand and my knee. I really struggle with this part of riding. Stopping I can do, kick stand is a b#tch. I'm 73 and I'm sure I'm going to have to give them up completely pretty soon due to age and co-ordination. Such is life.

[Bill D]

I have an old GS1000 Suzuki somewhere in the back of my shop that hasn’t seen sunlight in over 15 years. Guess I should get rid of the thing since at my age I have no intention of ever riding it again.

[p246]

You go thru a few bikes when you've rode for 50 years .
I've been riding since I was 13 and I'm 63 now.

I'm sure of that, but that list made me drool...

[p246]

I started out on mini-bikes with my Dad and two brothers. Graduated to dirt bikes. Had a Honda 55 and then a Yamaha DT1. Damn thing tried to kill me a time or two.
Fast forward to age 19. Got married and one of the first things we bought was a Honda Scrambler. My MIL thought I was a Hell's Angel (sure...brown leather jacket with fur collar and an orange helmet). Once the kids came along, there went the bikes.
Second marriage...Gary had owned a Honda GoldWing. Got rid of it just before I came into his life. We decided to start riding again and he got me a small Honda to practice with until I felt comfortable. Then he got a Honda Magna V45 and I got a Honda Shadow V45. Did a bit of riding here and there. Had a short riding season living at Lake Tahoe. Eventually sold both of the bikes and gave up riding for a while.
Then we got a Roketa scooter. It was supposed to be for me to ride to work. Gary was riding it when it had a front blowout. 9 broken ribs, a broken finger and a (thankfully) minor head injury along with a bit of road rash. I declared that to be the end of our 2 wheeled adventures.
Now that I live in Bend, Oregon, there is just too darn much traffic to feel safe on 2 wheels.
Do I miss it, yes! Do I want to get another bike, no! Lots of good memories.

Karen

At 48 I know one day I will have to had it up. Like you hopefully the memories will be enough to get me by. My wife loves to ride but does not want her own bike. When we had the gold wing she called her seat the "tractor seat" When I bought the Moto Guzzi she said, "As long as it has a tractor seat"