Just thought it would be interesting to hear how people got started in biking and why
so to start of here is my story.
I needed a means of transport when i left school to get to work so i bought myself a brand new dt125r from Roy Smiths in New Malden, i really loved that bike went everywhere on it , till some scrot stole it from outside my girlfriends house.
I then took my test at csm in wimbledon (part1 &part2) in them days! on a hired rxs100
bought myself a red and black rd350, which i blew up racing a mr2 on the a3 to guildford.which turned into a fzr600 loctite rep.
Then along came a mean green zxr750h, girlfriend at the time who is now the wife wasnt to keen so that got sold to go towards the deposit on a flat, we then enter a long 5yr barren period of no bikes till one day enough is a enough and i won an ebay auction for a gsxr slingshot.
Which brings us up to date with the purchase and subsaquant trade in of a drz400 supermotard for gsxr60k3.
1997 and I’m waiting in WH Smith at Newcastle station for train to somewhere, bored with all the usual car mags so I picked up a copy of Ride with the new launch of the Fazer600 on the cover.
Read it on the train and felt a bolt of fate hit me. That’s what I’ve gotta do.
4 months on the test is history, and I’m picking up a Red Fazer600 S955PTY if memory serves from Ken’s on 'the Hill in the toon. It was one of the first in the NE if not the country and I loved it.
18 months and 22000 miles later I’m lying in a ditch wishing I’d paid more attention to the target fixation article after panic braking at some gravel on the entrance to a bend - convincing myself that I wasn’t gonna make the corner - and of course not.
4 months later I pick up my new BMW R1100s Sport (X604WBB) from the dealer in Sunderland and I’m back on the roads. 3 years, two race schools, 3 track days, one trip to IOM and 46000 miles later it eats it’s second gearbox and I donate it to the repair guy. New boxes are £2500 and I’d had enough of the damn thing breaking down all the time and costing a fortune everytime.
So I swear “no more new bikes” and decide that a ZX7R will give me the classic sportbike look, enough performance and importantly real world affordability. Spot my 7 in MCN with 4200 miles on a '98 plate! and not green hurrah!
Since the age of which I cannot remember when my dad was very much into Motorbikes, I used to love being around them and hearing the relaxing noise of an engine idling. Then as I became a bit older, my dad bought my a Kawasaki KX125 on which I praticed around the fields nearby and took up motorcross…
Nothing major, just a bit of a fun sorta environment not proper racing. Then 3 years down the line when I was about 12 I had a nasty crash resulting in a bit of shrapnel had lodged through my throat, hitting no major arteries or piecing the trachea thankfully!
Then mother asked me to stop as she didn’t enjoy the fact that I could have died, lol! What are mums like eh?
So when I turned 17, I got my CBT license, woohoo and bought myself a 2002 Aprilia RS125 which I enjoyed fixing for about 8 months until some women decided she wanted to take me and the bike out. Then whilst in the stage of rehabilitating from the crash out from work, I decided to do my A2 Full Restricted License with a mashed up leg… Great Idea!!
So passed that, and bought my loving 2004 Yamaha R6 at the age of 18… Hoping to get into racing sometime soon as I love the sport so much! Let’s see what happens?
i was never really into bike’s, but i guess it was my nephew mostly who used to ride back in 89, a yamaha tzr125 that got me thinking.
ten long years later! in 2000, i bought a used honda CG125 when i passed my CBT. i thought that would be it. no more. but no, i wanted and went on and passed my full bike test in 2003 and never looked back. what a great feeling
i wish i only had taken the initiative when i was 17 back in 89.
& i loved the 80’s series ‘CHiPs’ too!- thought i was officer poncherello
i think things were a lot easier back in the day when i did my test none of this ‘cbt direct access, restricted licence stuff’
i remember picking my 1st bike up early one saturday morning just been given the keys and away you went,then you had two years valid on your provisional licence which you had to take your full bike test in, then you could just jump on the 1st big superbike you wanted which back in 89 was probably an exup!
Mine started when i was 17 waiting for a bus in thick fog waiting for over an hour then finding out there was none running! Had very little money got a pouh50 no gears first time on it wheeled! then several bikes with a few downs!!! some my faults some not then had a Honda cb175 that was a lovely bike till i hit diesel on a bend going down hill, hit a tree no more bike and no more bikes for a while. then got kawa gpz175 then a kawa gt350 but had to give up bikes to pay for my flat. then a friend told me shes past her test i said wicked let me know when you get one I’ll come down for a ride, then was told get my self down there shes got a fazer 600 and i did and was hook again so got my VFR800 I’ve got a doggy back so can’t get a sport bike can’t bend over for long period time!
So Henessey is the R6 restricted, or is it a case of ‘yes officer, ofcourse it is’
Enjoyed watching the sport as a kid, had a poster of Barry on my wall (7 is still mylucky number) and yeah I watched Chips and Street Hawk as well
Then 5 years ago I met my fiance who’s family are big bike fans, sidecar trials, drag racing, track racing, and a shop in kentish town (Maitland Racing & North Weald if anyone knows them). Came into a spare £500, and decided I wanted a go so booked my DAS.
Had never ridden before, apart from a scoot on holiday. Passed and bought a Thundercat, year later bought a new 02 R6 (stolen after 6 months), bought a CBR (yawn) and yep you guessed it year after that bought a Gixxer600K4.
Managed to stay upright so far apart from two slow speed spills, and the disc lock dance. 3 track days, trip down to Spain, 45k miles and a commute into work everyday in all weathers and I still love it.
Still trying to make my mind up if I’m looking forward to this winter on the CB250 Superdream that I just bought
I worked with a lad who had a K1 gsxr1000 and always talked to him about doin my test (but never did). I used to watch him wheelie away from work in the summer thinkin “thats the dogs bits”, then the next year just as the weather is getting better i’m sittin in the canten with him, i was sayin what a nice day it was and will he get his bike out soon? He’s sayin he cant wait. thats all i see of him that day, then i come into work the next day to here he left work early yesterday and went out on his bike. He was wheeling past a bus when a car pulled out in front witch he hit. He died at the sean.
Anyway, about a month later i was booked in for my test and had a VFR400 NC30, witch i had for a year, then got a brand new gsxr600, then got into stuntin and the rest is history.
Every time i ride past the spot where he crashed i always say in my head “Told you i’ll past my test”
I remember it clearly. I was only 3 (seems strange I can remember but it was such a big point of my life) I remember being introduced to this motorbike sitting in our dinning room (Pw50). My dad sat me on it and said happy b day son. I was the most excited little boy and the luckiest in the world. I couldn’t wait to ride it. The second I managed to ride it and slowly bimble across the field wobbling with my feet down I knew that motorbikes were for me!
I then progressed to a PW80 some years later always road offroad. Then learnt to ride a KH100 with a clutch at 11 at various car parks and would blag a ride whenever I could. Then used to ride my Dad’s Suzuki GS450 in carparks. Then brought my 50cc at 14 Derbi Senda motard used to ride that in carparks till I did my CBT at 16. After a year on the road with the 50 passed my test and road my dad’s GS450 with restrictors. After a year brought a Bandit 600 which I had for a year then I brought my ZX6!
Please guys take care as it has been many cases that what people write on public places like this one been used in court! It’s an extreme situation and very rare but, as we say in Brazil 'don’t give any oportunities to the ‘Unlucky’ ’ . If you know what I mean…
25 years ago, Cumbrian field, Honda C90, coursing cows like you do, farmer appeared, high speed chase - fat wellied farmer vs hotshot C90 pilot, no contest.
Got grassed of course and suffered the eternal humiliation of getting sent over to apologise. Figured bikes owe me something back for this, so just ride them in the vain hope of evening up the score.
Mucked around on mates dirt bikes across fields - falling off didn’t seem to hurt when i was 14/15! Fun was short lived as the lad who had the bikes & the land moved away.
I had a Saturday job when i was 17 and couple of the girls at work had fellas with bikes. One of them had a brand new blade, must have been one of the original ones as this was about 1992; scorching pillion ride round Bromley on the back of the blade and my 2 wheeled cherry it was popped! A trip to the Isle of Man during GP week the following year had me hooked.
Didn’t have the money to buy/run a bike all the time I was studying, left uni, got married & the Mrs wasn’t having any of it, so no bike til I got rid of her 3 years ago did CBT & DAS 2 1/2 years ago and went out and bought the CB1300 that i still have now. Would love an original blade now as a 2nd bike if i could find a nice one
I always had a fascination with bikes, but when I was breaking into my teens, a member of LB was racing for Honda in the Supersport series, and I took a liking to his race bikes which were always being worked on in the street near my house, so I badgered him, and after some time things developed to a level where he took me down our residential road on the back of his bike at all of 30mph. I was blown away by this and screamed my head off all the way down the road and back again.
Then he started taking me on jaunts around town, and that’s where I was introduced to the art of mono-wheeling, always on one wheel, on the back of a rather nice Fireblade in ‘fox’ colours. When I was comfortable enough to support my own lifestyle in my 20’s I decided I wanted to ride a bike, so I didn’t tell anybody, especially not my mother, and went and did the CBT!
I was hooked, went and bought some gear, then started the DAS training and bought a VFR 400 NC24 as my first bike before I passed the test. My friends said I was mad, but I’m not conventional and impatience has a big part to play in my decision making processes I passed after a few goes at the test (first time I stalled it three times, through nerves, then the second time I failed because some twat pulled out on me from a driveway and I used the horn first, then braked, when I should have done it the other way around!), and from there the passion has developed.
It’s warming to come full circle and do trackdays with the very man that introduced me to bikes 15 years ago! Who is this man? It’s B! Thanks B!
Ok…must have been 8/9 yrs old. Dad had very sensible vespa 90 for commuting (no style!) unbeknown to him I used to ride it round the garden, then started practising wheelies…yep flipped it, throttle side down, stuck in the ground then proceeded to carve a deep vespa size hole in parents perfect lawn!! Somehow with various divots and bending said vespa straight, got away with it…hooked!!! Then offroading at relatives farms, then magic 16…:here we go:
2MB50’s,TY80,DT50mx(soon a ‘sleeper’ version with malossi big bore…almost 90mph on clock!)blew up a lot, kh250,250lc/350lc2,2ypvs350, 3xj650’s,xt250,xt350,fz750, current GSXR750L. In between was lucky enough to work in a Yamaha dealership, rode what I liked…exup’s etc and also later(1yr ago) worked at BMW dealer. Good to ride different bikes(ie BM’s) and quite good at what they are supposed to do but didn’t quite light my fire…can’t wait to justify buying more modern tackle to add to the list!
I had an 80 in my early 20’s, took my test and failed, then got offer a load of cash for the bike. we’ll enough to cover the running costs of the 6 months I had it. I swore to get back on 2 wheels.
Years later, I went on an around the world trip. Anyway, when I got back I got a job and paid off the travel dept. Then took an other job and had a week off between the 2, and thought feck it, booked my CBT, bought a bike and I was back on 2 wheels. That was Nov 2003. The bike was nicked in Jan 2004, and ther was no way i was buying an other 125. I’d already taken the theory test so booked my DSA. I failed the first time and went to put a deposit on a CBR6, 2 weeks later I’d passed and was out on the 6. Shortly followed with lots of advanced training, which I’m still doing. Had the 6 for a year and swaped it for a blade, and got a KTM earlier this year to.
Bikes a now my hobby and passion, I’m in the fortunate position to be able to afford what I want, and my girlfriend rides, so I don’t have to go thought the questions and justifications. Life is great.
thought i was officer poncherello 
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’ Andrew&7 .