Your First Bike - Your Best Bike

[dui546]

I thought it would be interesting to reminisce abit and talk about the first bike you owned, what bike you got your motorcycle license on, and which one is your favorite motorcycle and why? I am certain this topic will date some of you.

My first street bike was a 1974 Honda CB360 and I got my motorcycle license on that 1 month after I got my driver's license at age 16. My uncle bought a new Yamaha Heritage 650 Special in the spring of 1981 and he let me ride it my senior year of high school. I was later able to purchase that same bike and I still have it in my garage today. I have it registered as an antique and I see lots of memories when I look at it. My 2007 Nomad is the first motorcycle I have purchased new and I am very happy I picked it as my new memory maker. This cruiser is a perfect fit for my wife and I at this stage of our lives.

I have only owned a Honda Shadow Spirit 1100 and the Nomad. I started riding in 2004. After I got back from Iraq I took a sociology class in the fall of 2003. I had a great teacher who was in his 60's and he was full of wisdom and knowledge. One day he told us that the elderly have the highest suicide rate. He told us to keep from getting depressed you need to learn something new or try a new hobbie every year. He says "every year" because some things you might try and not really like and other things will stick. That will keep you from getting bored with life. He challenged all of us to pick something new we wanted to learn how to do. I decided I wanted to learn how to ride. So in the spring I signed up for an MSF course and I bought a 1999 Honda shadow Spirit 1100 used for $4200. I was tutored by my best friend who is 70 and has ridden motorcycles his whole life. Its funny that 2 guys with such an age difference could be such good friends but I guess we had a little in common. He was also in the Marines and did 3 tours in Vietnam and just lived a couple houses down from me. He's retired and I usually get home from work around noon so everyday after work I'd head over to his house and we would talk bikes etc. I think it was a perfect bike to learn on and quite capable of freeway speeds. When I found out my wife was pregnant with our 1st son I went into nesting/panic mode and thought I needed the money more than the bike so I sold it for 4500. I went a year without a bike and really missed it so I found another one just like it on ebay for 4000 and had it shipped to my house. I prbobably put 4-5,000 miles on each of the shadows. Last winter I pulled the dipstick on the shadow and there was ice on it. I don't know if it was condensation or if there was coolant in the oil and I didn't want to chance it with a trip coming up that my friend and I had planned so it gave me a good excuse to trade it in on the nomad. I did a lot of reasearch on the nomad and only heard good reviews about it. Even though I'm hardly an experienced biker with different brands I feel like I got the best bike. Its kind of an "old mans bike" but hey, the old guys are smart! what's a sport bike gonna do for me? Its uncomfortable for the wife and I'll just get speeding tickets on it. Plus I fell in love with the nomad at first sight - I thought it looked awesome. The nomad is suited for my type of riding -get on the road and do a few hundred miles comfortably!

Its kind of an "old mans bike&quot

oh oh....I'd duck if i were you...when those 'old guys' read this.....

I call em old farts all the time. Look at their age! I don't even think there is a single member here in their 30's! Thats ok. I get along better with older people than with punk kids with no sense.

[Todd]

Hey, I'm only 43.....I'm not an old man......just ask my 15 year old daughter and my 14 year old son.......oh...wait...........NEVERMIND......

Me too Wolfie....Nico's 4 yrs older than i

[tex]

I have been riding since I was 16 and got my first license started small and worked my way up to a Z110A Shaft drive tourer (1981) Had a long break kids mortgage etc. . When my suggested I should get another bike about 5 years ago I got an old XS1100RH Yamaha real cheap so i could get used to the bikes again. That didn't last too long before I traded it against the CBR1100XX Honda Blackbird. After a 2 years with that I decided my body would prefer the cruiser position and I looked around and decided on the Vulcan and grabbed the current ride as soon as I test rode it. Never looked back Love it.....

[Idaho]

Bought my fist bike in 1969, it was a Honda 175 Scrambler. Road that thing all over Ohio. Sold it before I went to boot camp to make sure that my wife did not ride it while I was gone. Next bike was a Honda 350 while I was stationed at Cherry Point in North Carolina. Sold that one when I got orders to DI school at Parris Island for the same reason. Did not have another until the Volusia 5 years ago. Traded that one in on the Nomad. Nomad is the best yet.

[nsmorgan]

When I was 13, I took a riding course at the YMCA. We road Honda 50cc minibikes. I decided I needed something bigger, sold one of my cow's calves and bought a 1972 Honda Trail 70. Rode that bike with a friend who had one too all over the Hunt County (Texas) roads. My parents hated it, worried about me every time I went out. I never told them about all the times I laid it down trying to slide around a corner. Dad offered to take it in the truck to get the maintenance done, but he took it and sold it when I was 15, almost 16, and bought me a truck.

I bought another bike when I was in my late 30s, a (used) 1981 KZ750. Parked it in the Minister's parking spot and watched the eyebrows stick to wigs. Got my license on that bike, rode it to work and back mostly, had a great time. When we were moving from Colorado back to Texas, the realtor offered me more for it than I had paid, so I sold it instead of moving it. When I got to TX, found a red 94 Honda Magna 750. Nice bike. Took on a great big mortgage and sold it. Bought a 2004 1100 Spirit summer of 2006, rode it until last month when I took a 300 mile trip on it and decided it was time to get what I really wanted. I had ridden my brother-in-law's Vulcan, so I traded for the 2006 black Nomad Sept. 14. Best bike I've ever ridden. If my Dad were alive, he would offer to take it in to get it serviced. My mother hates it. My wife tolerates it, my daughters love it.

[dui546]

Wolfman...for the record...I am exactly 43.5 and I only suffer from sometimers every once in a while (I can't remember the last time I forgot something) It is funny that you mention sociology. I have a bachelors in it and some of those professors really challenged me to think as well. The Nomad commands respect as a cruiser and I find that it really turns heads at stop lights. Lots of guys (my generation) look at it and temporarily dream about it. I say...GO GETYA ONE!

Morgan -- I rode a 1972 Honda Trail 70 for abit as a kid! I believe it was tan or bronze in color ??? I only dumped it a couple of times in wet grass -- then a spoilt wealthy neighbor kid bought a Yamaha YZ 80 and that changed the format in farm land. From then it was a 125 and then my street machines.

Hey Todd! I am 43 and my daughters are 23 and 21. GET THIS! My GRANDSON is 3! He is my little buddy. And Todd...when it comes to teenagers, the journey is all up hill from here my friend.

One of my favorite bikes over the years was a Honda Silver Wing (chocolate color). It was only 500 CC but had hard luggage bags and a fairing and looked much bigger than it was. That motorcycle was a great smooth single rider commuting bike. It was a baby gold wing...so to speak.

[bobzinger]

At 14 I had an old 1960ish Suzuki 80cc basket case given to me. The tank was all rust, so I put a bunch of gravel and diesel fuel in it and shook it till the loose stuff fell off, then I just changed a cheap fuel filter every other week. Whoever had it before me cut the wire harness off with only am inch of wire sticking out, so I used a test light and found one that lighted when I kicked it over. I ran that to a tractor coil and grounded the other side. Darn thing actually ran! I rode that bike all over the Maryland countryside till I bought a CL175 Honda two years later. then 69 Yamaha 360, 74 Yamaha TX500, In the early 80's another TX500, didn't ride for 15 years, then 99 Roadking, my current 05 Nomad

Wolfman...for the record...I am exactly 43.5 and I only suffer from sometimers every once in a while (I can't remember the last time I forgot something) ; I believe it was tan or bronze in color ???

Hey...DUI...was this a sometimers episode?

[ccmjr77]

Easy for me.
2005 Suzuki C50 was my first bike.
This was not the first bike I ever rode, but the first I ever owned.

The best bike is definately the 2007 Nomad 1600. (so far)

ya I actually bought a 70 something Honda 175 scrambler when I was 15 and dumped it on wet grass and broke my wrist - But I don't really count that as my first bike since I really had no idea how to ride, it wasn't legal, I wasn't legal, and I sold it right after I crashed it (for twice as much as I paid for it I might add) I guess thats when I first got the motorcycle bug.

[dan]

Ya Know What Wolfman. I detect a bit of wisdom and depth of character in your words. You may be young but by the time you are my age I suspect you will be far more wise than a lot of people. I have met a lot of people my age that have less character and wisdom than a rock. Pleased to make your aquaintance.