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What was your first bike


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9 hours ago, jhenley17 said:

Haha. In the US, you take a written test, do a figure 8 in the parking lot inside of a certain area, and bam, you're licensed to legally ride a turbocharged Hayabusa if you want to. Alternately, you can take a Motorcycle Safety Foundation course that last for one weekend, as I did, where they teach you very basic skills. The libertarian part of me says fine, but common sense isn't all that common and a lot of people don't know what the crap they're doing.

 

 

WOW !! That is kinda frightening...

 

No wonder you can find so much spare parts in the US :goofy:

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WOW !! That is kinda frightening...

 

No wonder you can find so much spare parts in the US :goofy:

If shipment were cheaper i would be in love with your wrecked bikes

Here in Spain you've got a 3 stage license: A1 for up to 125cc, A2 up to 35KW and A for a busa turbo. You just can't go and get the A. You've got to take a written exam, closed circuit exam, open circuit exam to get the A2, then you wait 2 years, and then you can (optionally to get the A) take another 10 hour speech about crashing etc, and a closed circuit practice with a 600cc or greater bike and then you get the A to drive a busa turbo legally.

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1 hour ago, vegaquark said:

If shipment were cheaper i would be in love with your wrecked bikes emoji23.png

Here in Spain you've got a 3 stage license: A1 for up to 125cc, A2 up to 35KW and A for a busa turbo. You just can't go and get the A. You've got to take a written exam, closed circuit exam, open circuit exam to get the A2, then you wait 2 years, and then you can (optionally to get the A) take another 10 hour speech about crashing etc, and a closed circuit practice with a 600cc or greater bike and then you get the A to drive a busa turbo legally.

This system seems to be an European one.

 

Yo can pass the A1 at 16 and the A2 at 18. Security wise, this system isn't bad but it is REALLY expensive...

count a minimum of 1000€ for the A2 license + 300 for the evolution to A...

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My life and limbs are worth much more, although the licence does not come with a "no accident" guarantee :-)

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18 minutes ago, Dutchy said:

My life and limbs are worth much more, although the licence does not come with a "no accident" guarantee :-)

 I totally agree, but most of the formation is focused on the respect of driving regulations (which are important but you already know them if you drive a car regularly) and not on learning how to handle your bike...

 

So paying this price for 20-30 hours of riding, mostly on a closed course only 4-6 hours on the road, seems a bit harsh to me.

Moreover, you are training only few specific exercises, really far from real-life situations, just to pass the exam.

 

So I think the base principles are good but, as often, the execution lacking....

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Although I like having the ability to pick and chose which bike can be my first bike and that the test is the same, whether I close a 100cc or 1000cc but I like being alive a hell of a lot more! I guess using sane judgement is what is being asked of us here in the States.

 

I actually got my M1 learners permit at 15 1/2 and my M1 license at 16 but didn't get my car license until I was 18. I rode my little 125 on the street, the dirt and in just about any weather too. I made sure I was comfortable with my riding before looking at getting a large cc motorcycle of my own. I will say though, that during this time, I did have use of and did use, the two bikes my father owned. The first was a Honda CB 650 and the other, which was also my first intro to the Honda V4 motor, a V45 Magna. I was given use of these to go to school and the occasional weekend ride but more or less the bikes were shared. Though I did get to use them more than my dad because my mother is the one bought them and restricted my father's use because he didn't have his M1 but I did! See, there was a benefit to getting my M1 first.

 

I have another story about an acquaintance who insisted that his first motorcycle be a GSXR750. Long story short, he bought one and could barely touch the ground with one leg when he was on it and within two weeks it was totaled and he had some severe road rash to deal with for some time. Here is where that sane judgement should have been used! He rejected many of our pleads to get something different and easier to start with but NOPE, he had to have that Suzuki. Hard lesson learned I guess.

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6 hours ago, vegaquark said:

If shipment were cheaper i would be in love with your wrecked bikes emoji23.png

Here in Spain you've got a 3 stage license: A1 for up to 125cc, A2 up to 35KW and A for a busa turbo. You just can't go and get the A. You've got to take a written exam, closed circuit exam, open circuit exam to get the A2, then you wait 2 years, and then you can (optionally to get the A) take another 10 hour speech about crashing etc, and a closed circuit practice with a 600cc or greater bike and then you get the A to drive a busa turbo legally.

 

Yeah, that's the same as the UK. Although my FIRST Bike test way back in 1979 the Driving Examiner followed me on foot, out the test centre three turns down the road, one hill start and an 'mergency stop test' He stepped out from behind a tree for the emergency stop test (I suppose the fact I didn't run him down meant I passed)

 

Second time (Local licensing authority lost my entitlement and refused to believe I had already passed a test) I got in before the two part practical test but after the inclusion of a "Hazard Perception" test.

 

SWiMBO had to take the full "Euro A" test... But she did pass.

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43 minutes ago, Duc2V4 said:

I have another story about an acquaintance who insisted that his first motorcycle be a GSXR750. Long story short, he bought one and could barely touch the ground with one leg when he was on it and within two weeks it was totaled and he had some severe road rash to deal with for some time. Here is where that sane judgement should have been used! He rejected many of our pleads to get something different and easier to start with but NOPE, he had to have that Suzuki. Hard lesson learned I guess.

 

 An acquaintance of mine bought a "Gixxer" as his first bike..... didn't even make it home. He now is 2" shorter and has 2 vertebrae fused..

 

My return to biking came via a 500cc Suzuki GS-twin.

Photo017.jpg

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Jeez, I have no photos of my early bikes and riding days. -- Dirt biking was the thing when I was a young foole. I had several well used Yamaha enduros, 125, 175 and then a 250. Then I grabbed an 84 250 Elsinore. Whoa! That thing would run.. It was my first project bike too. I did port and polish, overbore and piston and the trick suspension of the day. Dayum.... Twist the throttle wide open from idle and the front wheel would stand up!  Anyhoo back then the State of Ohio was deciding to put in I-675 Hwy in, and they started all the bulldozing, then decided that they were out of money. Wow! Instant 20 mile motorcross track! We would hold races on the bulldozed hwy. It wasnt perfectly flat, but did have some good whoops, jumps and stuff.  OMG fun! - That went on for 3 or 4 years before they decided, "Well, maybe we should finish that highway." --- - That's where with the Elsinore I really learned to ride and it sticks with me to this day.... (Thanks, Ohio!) 

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Yeah, judgment is key when choosing your first bike (and how you ride it), jumping on a Panigale might not be the smartest thing to do...

 

That being said, I feel pretty out of place seeing that most of your "first bikes" are older than me...:tongue:

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First bike, Honda SL125, not legal, but hey it was the eighties and only one cop in the whole area. Lusted after VF750 when they came out, still at school, was riding my sister's CB900F though. Got my VF750 in '88 hence why I'm building one now.
Looked like this...had Tomeselli clip-ons and stainless slip-ons.6be0e81c42b132c3be1eef7b302c5c7c.jpg

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Kawasaki 2 stroke triple, it lasted 2 months before I high sided and landed in the oncoming lane. Luckily no cars.

 

Kawi.jpg

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Well, everyone seems to have started off pretty cool. 

 

I, on the other hand, started off with a Honda SS50. No picture of mine but if you take the picture below, throw some mud at it, drag it through a couple of hedges and lob it down the road a few times, you'll get a mental image of what mine looked like...

 

 

SS50.JPG

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35 minutes ago, Katie said:

Well, everyone seems to have started off pretty cool. 

 

I, on the other hand, started off with a Honda SS50. No picture of mine but if you take the picture below, throw some mud at it, drag it through a couple of hedges and lob it down the road a few times, you'll get a mental image of what mine looked like...

 

 

SS50.JPG

 

Same as me, 'cept mine was blue. 

 

For a 16-year old, it was independence a year before you could drive a car.

 

First proper bike was this...

 

1973-gt250k.jpg

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2009 Ninja 250r. Sold it 10k miles later and bought an R6.

Ironically I bought an '08 250r this year (race prepped) for the track. I guess I've gone full circle now.

2011-02-22122543.jpg

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Katie, don't sweat it... I think if someone started a thread on what bikes everyone has ridden I think a few skeletons would come out of the closet! One of my bikes was a MB100 delivery without the box at least. It did have a single seat with metal rack though.
e54684366180d4c46ee9c210bb0208b8.jpg

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Well, my first 2 wheeled conveyance was a scooter, 2004 Honda Reflex:

5978ea2ae8b0e_FirstBike2004Reflex.jpg.50eb1ecbcc896a1d9f602e410bbd763d.jpg

 

That was originally bought for my wife since I had no interest in riding those damned death machines. But less than a year later I bought my first real motorcycle, the venerable 750 Nighthawk:

5978ea76c4903_2ndbike92Nighthawk.jpg.582bef9841d43adc32d334a8ab15ded3.jpg

 

After than I bought my 5th gen and I've been on this site ever since.

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