I was just readin no more sportys thread {that would suck bigtime] and this prompted me to start a simuler thread of other cool motorcycles I have riddin. The next funnest bike {I dont care if funnest is not a word I am going to use it anyway} was an Enfeild bullet 500. Once you learned the decompression lever they are easy to start, about the same power as a s tock 883 and no pretention. just a motorcycle nuff said The next coolest bike I have pioleted was a198? Honda CBX very fast even with todays standerds, inadequit brakes, soft suspension with a lot of weight backing the horsepower. yeh this was a blast to ride. BMW Fundero the name said it all. more than enough power for the highway, a little heavy offrode but so is my sporty and that has not stopped me either.

I used to have a '74 Harley Sprint 350 that I thought was just a blast to ride around town with. It was loud, vibrated like hell, and man I loved it! As soon as you left town though, and tried to hit the highway...well lets just say the fun factor pretty much was much lower.

Two bikes I rode in the seventies and eighties. Honda CB 400 Supersport and Yamaha RD400. Both bikes very light and super quick for their displacement. Both a lot of fun

In the early 80's I rode a 1971 Kawa H1 500 triple. Had it painted black lacquer. Wish I had a pic! I bought it from a neighbor for 100 dollars. He said the bike was "too fast" for a girl. lol. Made me want to ride it all the more. It was a blast. :)

I had a Honda 350 twin in 1970. The first motorcycle I owned, and I put a bunch of miles on it, including a round trip to Panama City Fla. from Birmingham Ala with my 1st wife on back. Hey, maybe that's why we weren't married too long. I'm glad I figured out why, even if it took 'til now. Of course, I was 22 years old then;somehow I don't see myself repeating that trip on a 350. I did drive it 65 or so most of the way, but it certainly buzzed the grips.

My first "real" motorcycle was a 1971 Honda CB750K1, and I'm thinking about buying one and restoring it. I loved the sound and the feel, even if it was pretty top heavy because that was a tall engine, which of course, you got used to if you rode one awhile, which I absolutely did. I went from Birmingham to Springfield (Northeast of Dayton) Ohio, New Orleans, Panama City, etc., and for awhile it was the only transportation I had.

At the time I was part - time putting vinyl tops on cars, and decided I needed to do something different to the bike, so it ended up with a vinyl covered chain guard and side covers. That was the one that had several paint jobs, including a medium blue hand rubbed lacquer (very similar to HD's current chopper blue) with black pin stripes that would knock your eyes out, and later it was reincarnated as a black cafe racer. Somebody stole my baby, however, and although I replaced her, nothing ever took her place.

From time to time I've quoted some motorcycle writer from way back who said "motorcycles are like lovers, you only have one 'first good one' ". That 750 was mine.

I used to have a '74 Harley Sprint 350 that I thought was just a blast to ride around town with. It was loud, vibrated like hell, and man I loved it! As soon as you left town though, and tried to hit the highway...well lets just say the fun factor pretty much was much lower.



I used to have a 73 Sprint (years ago in another life). I agree. Total blast around town. Did ok on the highway as long as you didn't expect the impossible out of it :laugh My favorite from those years was an old Kmodel 750 Honda. Man did that thing wail. The more you flogged it the more it liked it. Had Kerker four into one header and velocity stacks. Did the twisties like it was on rails.

I think for memory's sake, I'm torn between two of my bikes...I really enjoyed my Cushman Super Eagle when I lived in Sierra Vista, Arizona and my first brand new bike I bought when stationed in Panama, a 1969 BSA 441 Victor! That BSA had so much torque...I actually tried to climb a tree with it once (let's see...was that rum or tequila that did that?) to see how much grunt it had...the front wheel definitely went up the trunk! It was when the rear wheel started to climb it was when I got in trouble! :D Panama and Costa Rica were such nice countries to own a bike...twelve months of perfect weather, lot of twisties everywhere...and in Panama, if I tired of the Pacific Ocean, I was only an hour and half ride to the Atlantic Ocean! The Victor reminds me a lot of a Sportster...torquey, naked, didn't care what type of surface you rode it on...they just want to be rode! Ok, the BSA took the title from my Super Eagle! :tour

!962 (?) or 63. That ol' 45 flathead I of mine had the damndest habit of back firing through the carb. Well, one day, it started on fire and for the month it was in rebuild and paint, I borrowed a 250 NSU. Light weight and highly maueverable. It was a hoot but not enough so to keep me from coming back to Harley's. I nicknamed it Nothing So Useless.

Okay, I'm new here and I'm awaiting the delivery of my '05 XL1200, but I thought you'd all get a kick out of this. I'm currently riding a Daelim VS125 Custom (that's pronounced Day-Lim). Now as you scratch your head and ask yourself, "What the heck is a Daelim?", let me explain. I'm currently stationed in Seoul, South Korea on a two year accompanied tour. That means my wife and son are here with me. The military only allows us 1 car so I've been tooling around on this little Daelim and loving it. In fact I love it so much I decided to upgrade a little to a Sporty (god I can’t wait!). Anyway, back to the Daelim. In Korea, they have some weird laws about bikes and cc's. If a bike or scooter is 125cc or less, it is a different status than anything larger. It's not uncommon to see bikes or scooters on the sidewalks weaving in and out of people.

Granted, just regular driving in Korea is an experience, but even more-so on a bike. Imagine a place where motorcycles are almost above the law (within reason) and are even heavily protected by the law (if you hit a cycle rider you are at fault…period). It's not uncommon for a rider to come to a redlight, look to ensure it's safe and then proceed through.....while a Korean police officer watches. It's chaotic, but dang is it a fun place to ride.

Of course then there are the Korean drivers who load 6 or 7 propane tanks on the back of there bike and deliver them….scary stuff!

-Sting

My first bike was a '73 750 Moto Guzzi that I bought from a friend for $350.00 in '79. Damn that was a Fun bike!!! Put a lot of miles on it, then sold it for $350.00!!! :D

Wish I still had it!!! :(

I did the MSF course on a Chinese Venox. It was kinda neat for a 250. Since I was the big guy the instructors had me ride that bike (the only one), all the rest were Honda Rebel 250's or Suzi Savage 250's. The Venox took its styling cues from the VROD. Watercooled V twin (looked dead on 45*).

Whereas the other riders could get to third gear on the oval part of the course, the Venox would pull thru the rpms and stay strong in first.

I had no opportunity, but I'm sure it would have done 65 no problem.

I got some oohs and ahhs at scraping the pegs onthat thing (took the $100 course mostly to get my endorsement).

These all sound like great bikes. I remember HD sprints. I had a 75 ss175 spagetti hog when I was 13 but always checked other bike shops to see what else was cool. It startles me to think that I remember some of the 70s Hondas when they were brand new in the showroom

In 1959 I rode a Cushman Highlander. I paid $50 for it and pretended that it was a motorcycle.

In 1962 I bought a 1959 Triumph 650 "Bonny". Then Honda's, and later Sportster's.

Billy

My first two street bikes were Kaw's KZ900 then a 1000, back in 82 and 83, I still look back on both of 'em as great bikes...had all Harley's since then, and I'm quite fond of the 74xlh I have now (it's definately a keeper)....but as far as new stuff, I really like the Victoy Vegas

I think a cusman would be a blast to ride. I hope I get an oppertunety someday

Kawaski makes great bikes too. Like the 500 that Xena was telling us about would give some of the new bikes today a run for their money

Kawaski makes great bikes too. Like the 500 that Xena was telling us about would give some of the new bikes today a run for their money


My buddy's Honda '82 CB750 spit me off the back.

He, "Try it out, man"
Me, "Hold my beer and watch this".

It was like I pushed the ejector button. Off it went, without me.

I had a 1970 Triumph Trophy TR6C. It was the 650cc engine but had high mounted pipes, more suspension travel, and a single carb. Sort of an off road Bonneville. Bought it in Engalnd, road it around the countryside for two weeks then brought it back to Fairbanks, Alaska. Rode that thing from there to So Cal, on to the mid west, and back to So Cal a year later. I used to take it off road whenever I could. A beast off road, but a blast.

The Kawasaki KZ900's were great bikes. I had one in the early 80's after riding a Honda 350 for a couple of years. Man, did I get a surprise when I grabbed a handful of throttle on that Kaw the first time!

I had a Honda 350 twin in 1970. The first motorcycle I owned

I still have one

http://the-stable.lancs.ac.uk/~esarie/images/cl350/cl350as.jpg (http://the-stable.lancs.ac.uk/~esarie/images/cl350/)

imported from the USA to the UK complete with Iowa Registration document - so if you know Randall J Johnson of Grinnell, Iowa - tell him it's in safe(ish) hands.

MY first real motorcyle was a Kawasaki 250. It did not go fast but it sure was fun.

I still have one imported from the USA to the UK complete with Iowa Registration document - so if you know Randall J Johnson of Grinnell, Iowa - tell him it's in safe(ish) hands.

Hey! Wait a minute! I'm Randall J Johnson of Grinnell, Iowa!!! My bike was stolen years ago!!! Okay, just kidding, but that would be funny (and I know funny). Bike looks in great shape.

-Sting

Well, prior to my Sportster, all my experience was on dirt bikes. The one that stands out the most is a little Kawasaki KD100. We abused that thing like a five dollar mule on a ten dollar farm and it took everything we could throw at it and came back for more. It was heavy by today's standards but that just meant we needed longer runs and steeper "ramps." I have no idea how mant times we wrecked that motorcycle. From mild lay downs to full on endo's.

My friend and I used to ride out inot the sand hills behind our places two-up. We'd decide on a place to head to as a starting point. Once there, one of us would hop off and the other would go screaming down that set of trails. Make a loop, come back, and the other was off. Of course we'd always have to end the day with a stop at one of our favorite jump hills. On one such day we'd been out just having a blast. And breaking our all-time records. We timed each other on our watches, very official you know, down to around whatever second I think you left (back then we couldn't afford those new-fangled digital watches).

But we kept records of our various "loop tracks" we ran and man we were screaming that day. So we headed over to the baddest of our jump hills and had it. Again wiht our precise method of measurement, this time being our calibrated and ultra-precise eyes, we declared we had obliterated all our previous height and distance records. It was a good day for two butt-kicking studs like us.

So, homeward bound with the sunset, just like The Lone Ranger and Tonto (only on the same horse). And I was the Lone Ranger (I won the coin flip) and Tonto was hanging on behind me. We're feeling so great we decide to take a new path home, one they had been excavating and we decided we were so freaking cool we could fly all the way. We were pro's after all.

So there we were screaming along, two kids on a bike barely big enough for one on a route that had been completely changed and I hit this loose sand that is like a zillion feet deep. Front tire starts to wiggle, weight starts to shift, gravity takes over. Not sure exactly how the wreck went but I do remember my friend going over the top of me as I was chewing on the front fender. That little KD ended up way down from us and was still sputtering and coughing. We were beat to hell, bleeding and bruised but amazingly nothing broken. We laughed and laughed and rode the bike home, albeit slower. Other than cosmetic stuff, like the fenders and such the only real damage was seriously bent and tweaked controls (hand and foot). Fuel system got all messed up but I don't recall what it was or how we fixed it but we did and were back out riding just as soon as we could.

That was one tough motorcycle and we were two very lucky kids.

Other than that, the only other that really stands out is a Hodaka. And I never rode that. Was too little. It was my brothers. I remember it because it kick started on the left side (a point my brother always felt the need to point out for some reason), he had a big yellow flag with a green frog and the name Hodaka on it on his wall, and that the name was Hodaka. Don't know another thing about them.

I'd have to say that my old H2 was pretty fun, I also had a neighbor that had an old RD400 yamaha and that thing was a blast too. I have always had a softspot for two strokes.

This was my favorite. My Yamaha TZ250J. She was sweet! She shock and wiggled around Daytona's infield like a main street stripper. Only threw me on my butt once. Guess I disrepected her! Even made a few bucks with her. Yeah, she was a real lady! :D

My first bike was an old minibike of unknown linage, with a Techumseh 4hp flathead. If you didn't burn your leg on the muffler, you didn't have a right leg. After that, came my Tomos moped... to have one of those at 14 was a big deal- could ride to town! Stupid thing had a tendency to seize for no apparent reason.

Your 350 is the same year as mine was, but you've got the CL(scrambler, I believe it was called?) mine was the CB (street) with the low pipes, one on each side. Red. Don't ever get rid of your bike.

Your pic brought back some memories, like the time me and my buddy Jack Daniels got on that 350 and tried to climb a drainage culvert up the side of a huge hill on an unopened stretch of interstate. It was a strange experience, me and Jack tryin' to balance comin' down that hill backwards. Oh, the good 'ol days(shudder). May they never come again.

Some scrapes, bruises, and a new clutch lever later, I was back in business.

My first 'real' bike was an early 60's Gilera 124 Sport. PO had removed the kick starter and covered the case where it had been...so it was always a 'run and bump' starting system...kinda cool, tho' at 16. Next up was a new Sears 106 Gilera...what a dog. The difference between the two was way more than 18cc of displacement. Unfortunately, the 124 came to an untimely demise...Had a lot of fun on a friend's '62 250 Sprint...had the short glass pack and it sounded huge!
Got a '56 AJS 500cc Scrambler...a big honkin' single with a gorgeous alloy tank. Rode most of the available Japanese singles and twins of the era...you could tell that the motorcycle world was changing rapidly. I, as many, stuck my head in the sand and refused to believe it, though. I still chose to stay aligned with European bikes. Babysat a '68 Royal Enfield 750 Interceptor II...very nice bike-the 'neutral-finder' was a blessing, given the finicky nature of British clutches of the era. Silly chrome tank would actually blind you depending on the angle of the sun :yikes . Got a '67 Triumph TR6R 'Tiger'...one of my all time favorites, in 1970. Beautiful to look at. Great handling...I think it had brakes ;) ...loved the sound. My brother had a '69 BSA 441 Victor...the only bike that I have repeatedly burned my ear on the exhaust pipe...If you had one, you'll know exactly where I did it :) Rode Norton Atlases, Electras and a P11. BSA Thunderbolts and Lightnings, the small Ducati singles, Benelli 2 and 4 strokes, as well as assorted Guzzis. A friend had a Laverda 750 that looked for all the world like a 305 Honda motor on steroids. Had a 360 degree crank so it had the Britbike note to it. Fast and a good handler, too. I was surprised by the stability and torque of the original Triumph Tridents. Way funky exhaust note, and it definitely lost some of the 'flickability' of its twin breathren. Got out of bikes around '73 to purchase my first airplane. When I no longer could afford to be an airplane owner...my consolation was a used Honda 500/4. I really loved that Honda. Had a Hooker 4:1 with a real reverse cone megaphone...it made these glorious sounds echoing off the buildings in the wee hours. Then I got into the dirt bike thing...this was a pretty sparsely inhabited area in those days. My favorite, hands down was my Bultaco Alpina. It did absolutely nothing great...but it did everything well. It was a cross between an enduro and a trials style bike. Stable at below walking speed and not totally squirrely at 60mph. It would climb up and over things that I did not think were possible. Then a new Husky 250CR came calling. Great bike, but not as fun for me because it didn't like to take it easy in the woods...it was always wanting to accelerate and wasn't at all happy unless you had a handful of throttle. Back into streeters with the first '77 GS750 Suzuki in the area. Very competent bike-yet bland, to me. It was only a grin for me if I was wickin' it good...not a good combo after crawling out of a bar and blasting through downtown traffic at 9pm on a Friday night. Realized I was destined to kill myself on that thing and just wanted to slow down some...go back to a pushrod twin. It was
'78 and the contenders were the Sportster, Triumph 750 and BMW 80/7. Triumph was on its way out. The Sportster still had a chain and I just moved a mile and a half down a sand road. Got the BMW. I loved that bike, but not in the way I had loved my TR6. The BMW was a close friend. Reliable to a fault, but different in the way that you consider a best friend rather than a lover. Towards the end of '89 I had a wreck that should have been fatal, but it wasn't my time. This chain of events lead to discovery of my wife's cancer. The uncertainty of the time led me to evaluate my situation and I decided to forgo getting another bike until my 8 year old daughter reached adulthood.
That brings me to my new Sportster. I am back. The passion is back.

Kim

Your 350 is the same year as mine was, but you've got the CL(scrambler, I believe it was called?) mine was the CB (street) with the low pipes, one on each side. Red.

street scrambler or some such -

Don't ever get rid of your bike. .

just had the head off for helicoil plug threads - engine back in next weekend. Then there's a new engine to find for the Bonnie - present one has one too many holes in it.

Oh, the good 'ol days(shudder). May they never come again.

recall believing if I was co-ordinated enough to kickstart my T110 Triumph cafe racer I was fit to ride it .....Party 7 balanced between knees .... oh so so so wrong.

My 1200R reminds me most of the A65 BSA Spitfires I had. I'm still running in though ..... all that over 3000rpm still to come :-)

My first "two wheels with a motor" was a mini bike. Turned it into a chopper with steel pipe for fork legs (12'' over stock) and rebar ape hangers(about 20'' high as I recall).This was in 1969. I was 13 or 14. My Dad bought a 1971 Electra Glide and I rode that on the highway at 15. Sort of legal as I had a learner's permit.I made sure I conned someone with a valid license to get on the back. My favorite was a 1972 BMW R50/5 (500cc). Great bike especially compared to the '71 HD which was perhaps their worst year ever. That Electra Glide broke down all the time, the carb split right down the middle during one ride.Anyway, I rode that BMW right into the ground and it never complained. Maintenance on my part was just about nil. It would still be running today probably if I had ever been sober in the '70s.Drove it everywhere in all states of intoxication, never wrecked it although I did drop it on occasion when blitzed. Wish I had one today. Just glad I became a Christian in the late '70s and sobered up. Now when I ride I remember where I went and what I did.

Hey, I started out with a 1959 Maico street bike that, due to timing problems, spit fire out the exhaust. Traded it for a 65 Bridgestone 90, then got a 67 BSA 441 Victor Special that I put 5000 miles on in 2 months of driving around the south and midwest. I'll never complain about vibrations from my Sportster after riding that thumper. But what fun....

My first bike was a Honda 360. It was a dual purpose dirt or street bike which meant it wasn't really that good at either one! The bike that was the most fun to ride is my Norton 750 Comando. It ws quick for is day and man could it go fast through the twisty's! It ws also fun to work on and modify. There were lots of things that could be modified to increase performance too. The stock rocker arms looked like the Flintstones had made them so grinding and polishing them really helped. The bike looke cool too Black and Gold with some chrome. Here is and ad for the bike when it was new.

4773

In the early 80's I rode a 1971 Kawa H1 500 triple. Had it painted black lacquer. Wish I had a pic! I bought it from a neighbor for 100 dollars. He said the bike was "too fast" for a girl. lol. Made me want to ride it all the more. It was a blast. :)


Oh man.....I LOVE the Kawasaki Triple's from the 70's.....always looking for one I can afford...


LUCKY! :smoke

Cool old thread... funny though most people talked about older, classic stuff from the past.

How about current production stuff????

ME?

BMW - R1150R rockster
Ducati - Monster
Moto Guzzi - Breva 1100, Griso, California EV (I like em all)
Triumph - Bonneville Black (or the T100 or Thruxton I've ridden em all and like em a lot) - Speed Triple too, but I'm not mature enough for that yet (and I do detest water-cooling)
Victory - 8-Ball
Yamaha - if pushed came to shove the Warrior and the Vmax are cool (except the Vmax is water cooled)
Honda - never again
Suzuki - SV650 maybe, but, have you heard, I do detest water-cooling
Kawi - ZRX is kinda cool, but I do detest water-cooling

I think if push came to shove I COULD find something I liked from anyone (maybe even the Honda 919 if I HAD TOO), but my preferences still lie with

Harley, Guzzi and BMW...

Kev

Grew up racing motocross... first a Honda XR-75, then a few CR-125's. That four stroke XR-75 was bullet proof... you could run it with no oil and still not destroy it! As for road bikes... a 1982 Honda CX-500 Custom and a Honda CBR-600 Hurricane. Then 3 Harley's... all Sportsters (1996, 2000, and 2004).

If money grew on tree's, I'd find a good used Valkrie. A six cylinder Valkrie with a nice aftermarket exhaust is an wicked sounding beast! :D

My first bike was a 1959 Adler which was a 2 cycle German bike, if I recall it was 500cc, then bought a new 1962 250cc Harley Sprint made in Italy, had a great time with that bike, from then till now sportsters, current 04 1200 Custom.

Wait I also had a 1973 Honds CB 350 and my wife had a 185 CC Honda, I forget what year.

A Hodaka Combat Wombat 125.The one with the huge chrome toaster gas tank!Absolutely a bullet proof bike.American made also.

My first bike was a 1973 Honda CL 350 "Street Scrambler" purchased in 1990 for $100. Awful little thing, but parts were around (at junk yards) an they were cheap. Then, a year later, I bought an '82 honda 650 nighthawk -- that thing was great.

first Bike I owned was a Suzuki 550 78, most memorable, there are 2. When I was doing time as a mech at the local suzuki honda dealer . factory reps would come by with "new" bikes, and of course we checked them out, the one that really impressed me was a toad looking water buffalo 650, they made one they called they silverwing, Boring. But this deveation a CSX, Bsx , I can't remember. was on the cusp of the superbikes. it was a water cooled V-twin, and the jugs stuck out left and right. this plastic covered beast had one thing going for it, a Turbo. we would pull out on dixie hiway and run north past the gold vault at Ft. KNox and back to road test customers bikes. The rep was running his mouth, When Phil came back. He had a grin as wide as his helmet, and all he could say was oh shit. It was my turn. i pulled out, nothing new, weird riding postion, typical shaft drive torque, light was red at knox blvd. so I couldn't "try It out". I was out front, light turned green and I rolled into the throttle, At 3500 rpm this little light came on that said turbo, and I was gone. Whatta a rush, like jumping into hyper space. a BIG noticable change of attitude. Don't remember selling any of them or ever seen another. That was one Badass little water Buffalo. the second scared the crap outta me , and it was a Honda 1100 F, couldn't keep the front wheel down in the first three gears, went by the Gold vault at 147mph and was still coming on. made me say uncle.. Those we sold a bunch of.couldn't keep clutches in them or back tires. That thing to me was scary..