When did you start riding?

BobbyM
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BobbyM 7/13/2011 1:47pm
7/13/2011 1:47pm
FreshTopEnd wrote:
Wanting to, 1969. On a friend's bike, 1971. Saved my paper route money and bought a basket case Bultaco Pursang in 1972-73 or so at 15...
Wanting to, 1969. On a friend's bike, 1971. Saved my paper route money and bought a basket case Bultaco Pursang in 1972-73 or so at 15, split the cases and my buddy rebuilt the crank in metal shop, put it together three times before it shifted and then started riding my own bike. My parents told me I was on my own on this one; didn't forbid it, but didn't support it or pay for it beyond helping me pay for a barrel when it turned out the basket wasn't quite full of everything. Bought a used Maico and started racing a year or so later.
when did you meet yer buddy rich i think his name was?
Mstock
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Mstock 7/13/2011 1:53pm
7/13/2011 1:53pm
Started at age 12 on a brand new 1980 YZ250. Dad wanted to get me a YZ400 but they were sold out for the year. WTF was he thinking? I still have nightmares of that year of my life. For xmas I got a 1981 Honda CR450. Oh lucky me.
He is 89 now and stills jokes that I only ride CRF450. Gotta love Dads. No wonder my boys have been on 450's since they were 17 I guess. lol The apple does not fall far from the tree. I love my Dad. We watched one 500cc USGP together on Wide World of Sports and started racing the open class at age 14. The gates were full with 40+ riders. I ran the same rear tire for a full season because "there's still knobs on there".
I still remember watching the 100cc class (full gates) and wishing so bad that I could race that class. I never earned a trophy but Dad always said if I stick with it someday I would. He was right. It took us 5 hard years but we won at Dairy Land Raceway in Verona Wisconsin going 1-1 in open A. We still talk about that day every time we see each other. That trophy is the only thing on top of his tv. And it never collects dust.
308
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308 7/13/2011 2:30pm
7/13/2011 2:30pm Edited Date/Time 7/13/2011 2:46pm
I'm a late bloomer I guess. we've always had quads on our farm sense I was little but I didn't get my first bike until I was 12. I started racing when I was 14.
jakefortyeight 7/13/2011 2:42pm
7/13/2011 2:42pm
1969 - Me and several thousand other little kids on one of these...

The Shop

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adamdf
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adamdf 7/13/2011 2:44pm
7/13/2011 2:44pm Edited Date/Time 7/13/2011 2:46pm
From the time i was 2 years old, i had been begging my parents for a motorcycle as all my uncles rode, i then started reading all their magazines and continued to beg, finally at the age of 6, on Christmas day i finally got my first bike, a Honda Z50, that was back in 1991 if i remember clearly, i have been riding ever since, i have been hooked on motocross since the day i knew what it was, and still am!

Moto East Mag
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Moto East Mag 7/13/2011 2:58pm
7/13/2011 2:58pm
Got my first bike in 1979 at age 12- XR80 that my Dad got me. He still regrets it.
First race was in 1981 on an RM80.

No wonder my back freakin hurts.
realMotocross
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realMotocross 7/13/2011 3:06pm
7/13/2011 3:06pm
Mstock wrote:
Started at age 12 on a brand new 1980 YZ250. Dad wanted to get me a YZ400 but they were sold out for the year. WTF...
Started at age 12 on a brand new 1980 YZ250. Dad wanted to get me a YZ400 but they were sold out for the year. WTF was he thinking? I still have nightmares of that year of my life. For xmas I got a 1981 Honda CR450. Oh lucky me.
He is 89 now and stills jokes that I only ride CRF450. Gotta love Dads. No wonder my boys have been on 450's since they were 17 I guess. lol The apple does not fall far from the tree. I love my Dad. We watched one 500cc USGP together on Wide World of Sports and started racing the open class at age 14. The gates were full with 40+ riders. I ran the same rear tire for a full season because "there's still knobs on there".
I still remember watching the 100cc class (full gates) and wishing so bad that I could race that class. I never earned a trophy but Dad always said if I stick with it someday I would. He was right. It took us 5 hard years but we won at Dairy Land Raceway in Verona Wisconsin going 1-1 in open A. We still talk about that day every time we see each other. That trophy is the only thing on top of his tv. And it never collects dust.
Loved the story.. it is very heart warming and memorable.. I like it when you can bond with your family with the things you really enjoy!
project racer 7/13/2011 3:14pm
7/13/2011 3:14pm
1968 on a first year Honda Mini Trail 50. I still have the bike, but no longer beat the shit out of it like I did until '98, when I parked it for restoration.

Friday
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Friday 7/13/2011 3:34pm
7/13/2011 3:34pm
BobbyM wrote:
7 years old and raced my first race soon after that...1967 [img]http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z235/mardyn/DAB%20Mini%20Bike%20pics/Minibike211-18-08001.jpg[/img]
7 years old and raced my first race soon after that...1967

This was my first bike as well. Started at age 4 or 5 in about 1967. Started racing a Yamaha 60 mini enduro at age 9. Can't believe in a year and a half I'll be racing the 50+ class and my twin boys will just be starting to ride.........maybe.Blink
gsxrcr28
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gsxrcr28 7/13/2011 3:41pm
7/13/2011 3:41pm
In 1976 on a XR75 at 7yrs old, then in a couple months switched to a MR50 to race on cause the XR was too big.
lucero10x
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lucero10x 7/13/2011 3:48pm
7/13/2011 3:48pm
Cool thread, thanks.

1989 age 14 CR80 my brother bought me so I wouldn't have to watch him ride anymore. Pops helped out soon after and we were racing every weekend after that. Raced my ass off until about age 21then I faced facts and went to school. Have raced on and off since then and have always had a bike.

My wife has a TTR 230 and my little boy just got a PW 50. So, now I mostly follow him and help him when he gets in a jam.
dehner47
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dehner47 7/13/2011 4:25pm
7/13/2011 4:25pm
started on my 4th birthday. now 31 ad still goin strong. broken bones, arthritis, metal all over, and flattened bank account do to all the cool stuff they keep coming out with.. and hope to keep it that way for another 27yr..
RMT
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RMT 7/13/2011 4:26pm
7/13/2011 4:26pm
jakefortyeight wrote:
1969 - Me and several thousand other little kids on one of these... [img]https://www.sleeth.us/images/z50.jpg[/img]
1969 - Me and several thousand other little kids on one of these...

Count me as one of the millions. Rode for the first time on that bike at age 4 in 1970. Started flattrack racing the same bike the next year.
sec114
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sec114 7/13/2011 4:29pm
7/13/2011 4:29pm
when i was 11 on a 1981 honda XL80; enduro with headlights. first 2 stroke was 1987 CR80.
JYZ566
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JYZ566 7/13/2011 4:34pm
7/13/2011 4:34pm
Age 16 on a 1996 YZ 250 that we borrowed from one of my dad's old racing buddies. I learned to use a clutch one day. Rode a track the next day, and raced the next weekend. That year I saved up to buy a new 2000 YZ 125 and was MUCH happier. Did all the regional races in 02/03 and LL's. Now I just practice when I can and race a few times a year. Med school is not conducive to shredding.
machine
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machine 7/13/2011 4:35pm
7/13/2011 4:35pm
I think this guy must be doing a marketing study, the last thread he started was titled 'where do you ride?" and now "when did you start riding?"

Suspicious if you ask me.....



I'm going to say Spammer.
Antipodean 7/13/2011 4:39pm
7/13/2011 4:39pm
My first ride was on my uncle's postie bike. Needless to say, it was too big for me and before too long the bike and I were on our sides. Fun, nonetheless.

perumx
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perumx 7/13/2011 4:41pm
7/13/2011 4:41pm
1970, I was 8 years old. Honda Trail 70

Pit Row

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knobby101
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knobby101 7/13/2011 4:43pm
7/13/2011 4:43pm
Started when i was 7.. on a taco 100, my first off-road ride was at saddleback on my taco, one day i was racing into the garage and sliding in the oil and the rear brake cable broke, so it ended up with a cool leading link front suspension... i then had a whole assortment of enduro's.. my first real bike was a 1974 TM125... i've had over 100 bikes to date.. I'm 53 yearsold!
FreshTopEnd
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FreshTopEnd 7/13/2011 4:50pm
7/13/2011 4:50pm Edited Date/Time 7/13/2011 4:53pm
FreshTopEnd wrote:
Wanting to, 1969. On a friend's bike, 1971. Saved my paper route money and bought a basket case Bultaco Pursang in 1972-73 or so at 15...
Wanting to, 1969. On a friend's bike, 1971. Saved my paper route money and bought a basket case Bultaco Pursang in 1972-73 or so at 15, split the cases and my buddy rebuilt the crank in metal shop, put it together three times before it shifted and then started riding my own bike. My parents told me I was on my own on this one; didn't forbid it, but didn't support it or pay for it beyond helping me pay for a barrel when it turned out the basket wasn't quite full of everything. Bought a used Maico and started racing a year or so later.
BobbyM wrote:
when did you meet yer buddy rich i think his name was?
Then. A year older than me, we picked the box up in his purple 64 Chevy van, and he's the one who did the crank. Rich was really patient getting me up to what little speed I had, and his friendship meant a lot to me. Almost everything I did with bikes back then was with him, including wrenching for him at some nationals and the USGP support class in 77. He treated me with respect even though he was incredibly faster than I could ever hope, and I owe him a lot. No dad, earned all his money for bikes from an early age, and made his way in racing pretty well without any real support at all.
Sondy132001
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Sondy132001 7/13/2011 4:52pm
7/13/2011 4:52pm
Antipodean wrote:
My first ride was on my uncle's postie bike. Needless to say, it was too big for me and before too long the bike and I...
My first ride was on my uncle's postie bike. Needless to say, it was too big for me and before too long the bike and I were on our sides. Fun, nonetheless.

So funny you say that, I had a moped when I was 15, it was an Italian model ?? it had pedals too it was so slow, with me and my girlfriend on it, I'd pin it she would pedal lol Then my dad took it to Harry Klemm, damn that thing flew, I had good times on that thing, got me all over Mission Viejo and the race tracks back in the day.

I'm not a racer, but I remember a night that we had a Suzuki with a headlight on it at Sandhill Ranch during a Golden State I think it was, Ronnie Lechien rode myself, and 3 other people on the bike all over the track late on a Saturday night, it was hysterical, we never went down but I was glad I was 2nd in line cause I know a couple people had fallen off a few times, I held on for dear life. In the 90's my family owned a race track, Sunrise Valley Raceway, it was in lovely Adelanto, CA. I lived at the track, good times and people would always stay out there with me. I remember one night we got everyone on their motorcycles, Casey Johnson, Turtle Wikoff, Michael Brandes, I think Travis Preston, Shawn Highland (who I love absolutely the funniest guy ever) and Michael York, they all duct-taped flashlights on the helmets and rode our 1/4 mile Oval, it was hysterical, I rode on the back of a few bikes, but fell off cause I kept laughing so hard. Good times moto is my life and I wouldn't change anything about it or the cool people I have met and the friends I have made.

S
CamP
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CamP 7/13/2011 6:36pm
7/13/2011 6:36pm
jakefortyeight wrote:
1969 - Me and several thousand other little kids on one of these... [img]https://www.sleeth.us/images/z50.jpg[/img]
1969 - Me and several thousand other little kids on one of these...

My first ride was at age 6 on a neighbor's '70 mini trail. Pestered my parents for a year before they caved in for a new SL70.
Camp332
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Camp332 7/13/2011 8:00pm
7/13/2011 8:00pm
1986 on my 86 Honda Z-50
OldGuy
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OldGuy 7/13/2011 8:18pm
7/13/2011 8:18pm
43 years ago. 1968, first trophy 1969. I was 18 years old.
mxb2
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mxb2 7/13/2011 8:35pm
7/13/2011 8:35pm
Mstock wrote:
Started at age 12 on a brand new 1980 YZ250. Dad wanted to get me a YZ400 but they were sold out for the year. WTF...
Started at age 12 on a brand new 1980 YZ250. Dad wanted to get me a YZ400 but they were sold out for the year. WTF was he thinking? I still have nightmares of that year of my life. For xmas I got a 1981 Honda CR450. Oh lucky me.
He is 89 now and stills jokes that I only ride CRF450. Gotta love Dads. No wonder my boys have been on 450's since they were 17 I guess. lol The apple does not fall far from the tree. I love my Dad. We watched one 500cc USGP together on Wide World of Sports and started racing the open class at age 14. The gates were full with 40+ riders. I ran the same rear tire for a full season because "there's still knobs on there".
I still remember watching the 100cc class (full gates) and wishing so bad that I could race that class. I never earned a trophy but Dad always said if I stick with it someday I would. He was right. It took us 5 hard years but we won at Dairy Land Raceway in Verona Wisconsin going 1-1 in open A. We still talk about that day every time we see each other. That trophy is the only thing on top of his tv. And it never collects dust.
Mstock, thats a great story, i love these threads, i started when i was 12, still learning something everyride!, Everytime i fall i thinks of my pops saying ride that bike like you mean it or sell it, lol!, my dad passed away and each day i think of him and what a great man he was,.Love you pops! RIP., Ill never forgot how you helped me get goin on my bike and watch me ride from above!
mcopsey
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mcopsey 7/13/2011 8:41pm
7/13/2011 8:41pm
Dad bought my first bike that was made the same year I was. A 1981 Y-Zinger, I was 2-1/2 when I took my first ride, been riding the last 27-1/2 years and can't imagine anything that will cause me to give it up.
jasonv43
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jasonv43 7/13/2011 9:29pm
7/13/2011 9:29pm
First bike was a Honda Mini Trail 50. Looked a lot like this but not as clean:



Anyways it was around 1979, I was 5 years old. And for months and months my dad would put the bike up on something like this:



And we would run through everything you had to do to start and ride the bike. He would say brake and I would hit the brake. He would say gas, and I would hit the gas. We practiced and praciticed until my dad THOUGHT I had it right.

Well the day finally came and we pulled my mini trail out of the garage and fired it up. Now this thing had an automatic clutch with a three speed and if you revved it up enough and popped it into gear. Well, you would do a sweet wheelie. So when my dad said to put it into gear I did. Only I revved the thing to the moon first and popped the front end up. My dad got thrown off the back and there I went down the street by myself wide open in first gear!!!

No big deal, he just ran his ass off and jumped on the back and thought that was the end of it. So we were riding around in the open field by our house. And we were heading straight for the side of the neighbor's house and my dad kept yelling BRAKE, BRAKE. I don't know what happened but I was just zoned out and we ran head on into the house.

No brakes, no turning, no nothing. Just straight into it.

Nobody got hurt, the house was fine, and from then on I was hooked.Smile
umagumadog 7/13/2011 10:02pm
7/13/2011 10:02pm
englishman wrote:
77 on a TY 80 - my Dad thought riding trials to start with was a good idea and I did always kill it in the...
77 on a TY 80 - my Dad thought riding trials to start with was a good idea and I did always kill it in the mud but I wanted an RM 80 sooooo bad .
I had one just like that. All the kids with xr's laughed until we got out of the fields and in the woods where I schooled their ass on the hills. Man great times brings back a lot of memories.
I started on one of these.

TerryB
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TerryB 7/13/2011 10:27pm
7/13/2011 10:27pm Edited Date/Time 7/13/2011 10:28pm
Don't know why it's not working, I thought I knew how to do this...

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