When was the 1st time you jumped a dirt bike?

GarySemics
Profile picture for user GarySemics
Posts
435
Joined
12/17/2012
Location
Lisbon, OH US
GarySemics 4/13/2015 2:51pm
4/13/2015 2:51pm
The Rock wrote:
I don't remember the first time I caught air but I do remember the first double I did. Winchester Indiana in 1974 (maybe 75) they put...
I don't remember the first time I caught air but I do remember the first double I did. Winchester Indiana in 1974 (maybe 75) they put in a double at the checkpoint. Took me until the last lap of the first moto but I did it.

Gary Semics-I don't have a problem with jumps or air time. I do have a problem with MX tracks that are more SX than MX. Jumping should be part of the MX experience but not the majority of the MX experience. How many videos of amateurs landing on people do we need to see before this becomes apparent to everyone except of course the "racing is dangerous get used to it" crowd.

I would love to know how many of these "people" even race.
I hear you Rock. Amateur motocross should be tamed down regarding the jumps. Would be a lot safer and keep more riders in the sport.
GarySemics
Profile picture for user GarySemics
Posts
435
Joined
12/17/2012
Location
Lisbon, OH US
GarySemics 4/13/2015 2:59pm
4/13/2015 2:59pm
That is so cool that almost everyone can remember the first time. My 1st time was on my 200 Serpa S Bultaco way back in 1968, I was 14. I had jumped a foot or two before but I'm not counting those as a real jump. This jump was in an old strip mine in Lisbon OH called Marshalics. It was a peaky little, hard packed jump about 3' high. It could really throw you. I started hitting it slow 2 or 3 times and then faster and faster. Probability was only getting about 4' off the ground but I was loving the feeling!
philG
Profile picture for user philG
Posts
10890
Joined
5/12/2012
Location
GB
philG 4/13/2015 3:00pm
4/13/2015 3:00pm
It was a 1973 Casal 75cc , first time i ever practiced jumping , on a bike that had suspension that worked... 9 years old.

I think jumps should be a feature of every track , but they dont need to be a feature of every straight... lets have some turns and some bumps and off cambers . Foxhills that held the 98 Nations hasnt changed much, the jumps that used to wow me are now being cleared by fat kids on 150 Honda's..
AZ35
Profile picture for user AZ35
Posts
2913
Joined
6/1/2008
Location
Peoria, AZ US
Fantasy
899th
AZ35 4/13/2015 4:03pm
4/13/2015 4:03pm
ATKpilot99 wrote:
1980 but it wasn't a motocross bike . My first bike was a Kawasaki KD 100 . Landed like a ton of bricks . I got...
1980 but it wasn't a motocross bike . My first bike was a Kawasaki KD 100 . Landed like a ton of bricks . I got an 81 KX 80 after that.
My first bike was almost the same- 1980 KD80.

Twin shocks with maybe 4" of travel, huge metal gas tank.

I was just learning to ride, had done some small jumps where both wheels left the ground- but probably not at the same time....

We were out at the Scottsdale waterhole, at the time it seemed massive but in reality it is about 20' high. Some friends rode their bicycles out to watch, so the pressure was on to look cool.

At that time, I had never ridden straight up "the wall". I had always went around on the lower side. But now the peer pressure kicked in, so I had to jump "the wall". I was scared shitless, and had no idea how much speed to carry to make it up and over without falling short and looking like a moran.

So I twisted all 10 horsepower that beast had, and as I got to the crest I realized I was carrying too much speed (at least for my beginner skills), jumped what felt like 100' in the air. In actuality I think I was about 5' in the air, but that thing landed like a ton of bricks. Pretty sure the bike bounced I landed so hard. My knee banged against the side of the metal gas tank so hard it hurt for a week.

But I did it, and survived. Will never forget that first jump....

The Shop

See All »
GIwasB4
Profile picture for user GIwasB4
Posts
2584
Joined
7/24/2008
Location
Beverly Hills, CA US
GIwasB4 4/13/2015 4:33pm
4/13/2015 4:33pm
The Rock wrote:
I don't remember the first time I caught air but I do remember the first double I did. Winchester Indiana in 1974 (maybe 75) they put...
I don't remember the first time I caught air but I do remember the first double I did. Winchester Indiana in 1974 (maybe 75) they put in a double at the checkpoint. Took me until the last lap of the first moto but I did it.

Gary Semics-I don't have a problem with jumps or air time. I do have a problem with MX tracks that are more SX than MX. Jumping should be part of the MX experience but not the majority of the MX experience. How many videos of amateurs landing on people do we need to see before this becomes apparent to everyone except of course the "racing is dangerous get used to it" crowd.

I would love to know how many of these "people" even race.
GarySemics wrote:
I hear you Rock. Amateur motocross should be tamed down regarding the jumps. Would be a lot safer and keep more riders in the sport.
I remember the first time I was at your training facility. The jumps were cut in half on the take off-left side normal-right side for the ballz out. Until I saw Jesseman hitting the right side every time, I thought no way.
gwilliams107
Profile picture for user gwilliams107
Posts
78
Joined
12/22/2009
Location
Georgetown, TX US
gwilliams107 4/13/2015 4:40pm
4/13/2015 4:40pm
1975 on a Suzuki TM75. Only took about 24" of air to bottom out those shocks and forks and I only weighed about 80 pounds back then. Wish I would have kept that bike, lots of great memories.
neverwasfastenuf 4/13/2015 4:45pm
4/13/2015 4:45pm
GIwasB4 wrote:
7 yrs old on this [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2015/04/13/87338/s1200_bng.jpg[/img] Off of a 2x6 on a concrete block
7 yrs old on this


Off of a 2x6 on a concrete block

Smile
GarySemics
Profile picture for user GarySemics
Posts
435
Joined
12/17/2012
Location
Lisbon, OH US
GarySemics 4/13/2015 5:05pm
4/13/2015 5:05pm
The Rock wrote:
I don't remember the first time I caught air but I do remember the first double I did. Winchester Indiana in 1974 (maybe 75) they put...
I don't remember the first time I caught air but I do remember the first double I did. Winchester Indiana in 1974 (maybe 75) they put in a double at the checkpoint. Took me until the last lap of the first moto but I did it.

Gary Semics-I don't have a problem with jumps or air time. I do have a problem with MX tracks that are more SX than MX. Jumping should be part of the MX experience but not the majority of the MX experience. How many videos of amateurs landing on people do we need to see before this becomes apparent to everyone except of course the "racing is dangerous get used to it" crowd.

I would love to know how many of these "people" even race.
GarySemics wrote:
I hear you Rock. Amateur motocross should be tamed down regarding the jumps. Would be a lot safer and keep more riders in the sport.
GIwasB4 wrote:
I remember the first time I was at your training facility. The jumps were cut in half on the take off-left side normal-right side for the...
I remember the first time I was at your training facility. The jumps were cut in half on the take off-left side normal-right side for the ballz out. Until I saw Jesseman hitting the right side every time, I thought no way.
Here's a photo of one of the smaller 2 part jumps. It was in April 2007.



backinthesaddleagain 4/13/2015 7:21pm
4/13/2015 7:21pm
ocscottie wrote:
Not the 1st time, but one of the earliest pics i have. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/users/405/photos/25544/s1200_129284810_1270527674.jpg?1294240935[/img]
Not the 1st time, but one of the earliest pics i have.

GIwasB4 wrote:
The good ole days [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2015/04/13/87340/s1200_S6300166.jpg[/img]
The good ole days


Good times. 1974 on the orange mr50. Good times indeed.
Sir Roostsalot 4/13/2015 7:53pm
4/13/2015 7:53pm
I honestly don't remember my first jump. Probably got air for the first time on my first bike, 1980 XR 80. I'm sure it wasn't much maybe a few inches.
GIwasB4
Profile picture for user GIwasB4
Posts
2584
Joined
7/24/2008
Location
Beverly Hills, CA US
GIwasB4 4/13/2015 8:02pm
4/13/2015 8:02pm
GarySemics wrote:
Here's a photo of one of the smaller 2 part jumps. It was in April 2007. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2015/04/13/87350/s1200_GS_School_4_21_07_0014.jpg[/img]
Here's a photo of one of the smaller 2 part jumps. It was in April 2007.



Dig out a pic of 2002/2003. BIG difference G.
GIwasB4
Profile picture for user GIwasB4
Posts
2584
Joined
7/24/2008
Location
Beverly Hills, CA US
GIwasB4 4/13/2015 8:05pm
4/13/2015 8:05pm
GarySemics wrote:
I hear you Rock. Amateur motocross should be tamed down regarding the jumps. Would be a lot safer and keep more riders in the sport.
Post a pic of the 2003 training track.
I'm with you, it's just nobody can back of the throttle.
Slow down to go faster.
liamjumper
Profile picture for user liamjumper
Posts
240
Joined
11/20/2014
Location
Vancouver CA
liamjumper 4/13/2015 8:37pm
4/13/2015 8:37pm
My dad set up a jump in a field with a little piece of plywood while I was riding my cousins xr50 when I was 5 years old. Stuck the landing, then whisky throttle straight into a fence. Bent the forks on it. 12 years later they still have that bike with the bent forks, I always laugh when I see it!
PEPE001
Profile picture for user PEPE001
Posts
708
Joined
3/4/2015
Location
NRW DE
PEPE001 4/13/2015 9:26pm
4/13/2015 9:26pm
My 1st bike was a 1981 KX420 which I bought in 1987.
Killer Bike for a rider with 0 experience.

But I survived.

My parents wouldn't allow me to ride and I bought my 1st bike with 22.
TG130
Profile picture for user TG130
Posts
1246
Joined
4/13/2008
Location
US
TG130 4/13/2015 10:45pm
4/13/2015 10:45pm
Age 15 on a Honda XL 175. Not a real mx bike, but it was stripped of lights and mirrors, etc and was about as "mx" as I could make it.
enketchum
Profile picture for user enketchum
Posts
4397
Joined
2/6/2012
Location
Pasadena, CA US
enketchum 4/13/2015 10:48pm
4/13/2015 10:48pm Edited Date/Time 4/13/2015 10:52pm
I didn't start riding until I was 13. It must have been 2000 on a 1998 CR80 at El Mirage. It was my first time riding it. My dad took me and followed me around in the truck. He hadn't ridden since I was 8 when he sold all his bikes and didn't get a bike until I was 14.

The 'jump' was a pile of dirt with a peak on top. It was like it was dumped off the back of a truck. I rode up one side, got a foot of air and rode down the other side. I had been racing bmx for all my life up to that point so I was seat bouncing it and landing it nose down like I should have been for such a small jump. I really felt the flow and it was very different because of the suspension. I still remember it today.

Actually, I'm not certain that my tires ever came off the ground.... maybe?
GarySemics
Profile picture for user GarySemics
Posts
435
Joined
12/17/2012
Location
Lisbon, OH US
GarySemics 4/14/2015 5:12am
4/14/2015 5:12am
GarySemics wrote:
I hear you Rock. Amateur motocross should be tamed down regarding the jumps. Would be a lot safer and keep more riders in the sport.
GIwasB4 wrote:
Post a pic of the 2003 training track.
I'm with you, it's just nobody can back of the throttle.
Slow down to go faster.
Here's a pic from a 2003 school. Are you in there? Maybe not as I had about 12 two day schools at my track that year .





Micahdogg
Profile picture for user Micahdogg
Posts
1263
Joined
1/3/2011
Location
US
Micahdogg 4/14/2015 9:24am
4/14/2015 9:24am
ocscottie wrote:
Not the 1st time, but one of the earliest pics i have. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/users/405/photos/25544/s1200_129284810_1270527674.jpg?1294240935[/img]
Not the 1st time, but one of the earliest pics i have.

GIwasB4 wrote:
The good ole days [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2015/04/13/87340/s1200_S6300166.jpg[/img]
The good ole days


backinthesaddleagain wrote:
Good times. 1974 on the orange mr50. Good times indeed.


Man seeing that picture just made me think of something.....is seemed so much more FUN to jump a bike that had such limited ability. The first bike I ever LEARNED how to ride was a Rockford Tora 60 like this one (same color). I remember jumping it just like in that picture - same amount of air and everything. The side shocks were so bad that the axle actually bent on that bike. But god can I remember what it was like to approach a hill like that and catch a little air at age 9 or 10.

I think jumping the small bikes was so much more fun. Maybe because I was small and it was all so new.

Pit Row

See All »
Suns_PSD
Profile picture for user Suns_PSD
Posts
989
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Austin, TX US
Suns_PSD 4/14/2015 9:44am
4/14/2015 9:44am
I was a teenager in a field on a crappy bike but I recall my first jumps feeling just like falling backwards off a chair everytime for the entire day. But I did notice as the day wore on it felt more and more normal.

Now I don't get even that funny feeling while nailing a 90' er. Bummer. I still love jumping however.
JPT
Profile picture for user JPT
Posts
7209
Joined
8/15/2006
Location
Cedar Falls, IA US
JPT 4/14/2015 9:59am
4/14/2015 9:59am Edited Date/Time 4/14/2015 10:13am
Not counting hopping my Honda CL125 a few times I got my 500 Triumph airborne on a scrambles track. I thought I was Steve McQueen..



The first time I really got the bug was on my DT1 in a "Street Class" MX. Definitely -front wheel landings were not recommended.



dcg141
Profile picture for user dcg141
Posts
2310
Joined
11/30/2009
Location
MS US
dcg141 4/14/2015 10:04am
4/14/2015 10:04am
GIwasB4 wrote:
7 yrs old on this [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2015/04/13/87338/s1200_bng.jpg[/img] Off of a 2x6 on a concrete block
7 yrs old on this


Off of a 2x6 on a concrete block

Kinda the same thing in 72. Mine actually had rear shocks. I ended up breaking them.
Darryl916
Profile picture for user Darryl916
Posts
1252
Joined
12/19/2013
Location
Budds Creek, MD US
Darryl916 4/14/2015 10:53am
4/14/2015 10:53am
2004 RMZ250 - The Landing MX in Easton Maryland circa 2009. Buddy talking me thru it and making the mini dad throttle signal like I was about to hit the leap at Red Bud. Jump was a table top about 30 feet long. SCARED TO DEATH! lol
dirtnapper
Profile picture for user dirtnapper
Posts
5454
Joined
4/14/2011
Location
Alberta CA
dirtnapper 4/17/2015 5:40pm
4/17/2015 5:40pm
Kind of a funny story, at the farm when I was a kid we had a "jump" at the end of our driveway. It was a natural berm that rose about 5 feet then was pretty flat and gently banked down into some trees about 40 yards away. Sort of just the side of the driveway that was higher than the driveway. Anyway my older brother and I had cut a sweet ramp into it for our BMX bikes and we jumped it all the time.

One weekend a buddy of mine came over and brought his 1984 CR 60. We were about 8 or so at the time, and we were daring him to hit our jump. He rips up to the thing, WAY too fast, launched off the top and fully flipped that little bike right upside down, complete back flip. He flew off it obviously, and wasn't hurt, but I remember his eyes as big as dinner plates, like " WTF just happened??"

Laughing

Thinking about it now, he could have been seriously hurt, but we thought it was so funny at the time.
shmoo 4/17/2015 5:45pm
4/17/2015 5:45pm
ATKpilot99 wrote:
1980 but it wasn't a motocross bike . My first bike was a Kawasaki KD 100 . Landed like a ton of bricks . I got...
1980 but it wasn't a motocross bike . My first bike was a Kawasaki KD 100 . Landed like a ton of bricks . I got an 81 KX 80 after that.
Ditto! Except it was '78, then a '79 KX80 after that...
You're right, the KD100 wasn't up to much!
ButteryWaffles 4/17/2015 5:46pm
4/17/2015 5:46pm
liamjumper wrote:
My dad set up a jump in a field with a little piece of plywood while I was riding my cousins xr50 when I was 5...
My dad set up a jump in a field with a little piece of plywood while I was riding my cousins xr50 when I was 5 years old. Stuck the landing, then whisky throttle straight into a fence. Bent the forks on it. 12 years later they still have that bike with the bent forks, I always laugh when I see it!
Sounds like me. Whiskey throttled my xr70 into a shed.
Bodieg3
Profile picture for user Bodieg3
Posts
144
Joined
2/10/2012
Location
Haleyville, AL US
Bodieg3 4/17/2015 6:04pm
4/17/2015 6:04pm
gsxrcr28 wrote:
1976 - MR50
Right there with you ! Was 76-77 on 74 mr 50 older cousins on their xl 70 n gt 80 to scared to hit it all uncles standing there . Didn't believe we'd hit it so I aired it out big time bottomed so hard !
Pembroke36
Profile picture for user Pembroke36
Posts
828
Joined
6/22/2014
Location
Brick, NJ US
Pembroke36 4/17/2015 6:36pm
4/17/2015 6:36pm
I was 8 and I got my first bike, an 82 Yamaha MX100. There was really cool track in the woods behind our house when I was growing up with two jumps on it. Never got much air on the 3 inches of travel MX100 but I tried all the time. My next bike, 84 XR200 felt like it had works suspension by comparison. Not my actual bike but exactly the same.

jimmie
Profile picture for user jimmie
Posts
2262
Joined
8/21/2008
Location
Huntington Beach, CA US
jimmie 4/17/2015 7:20pm
4/17/2015 7:20pm
Not the first time I jumped, but the earliest photo I have....

Nothing cooler than catching air, but it has been the ruin of my wrist and foot/ankle. No regrets.

mx757
Profile picture for user mx757
Posts
2275
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Pueblo, CO US
mx757 4/17/2015 8:52pm
4/17/2015 8:52pm
My 1st time jumping a motorized vehicle was on a little yamazinger 50 quad my grandpa had for us at his ranch. I think I was probably 8 or so. there was a little hill probably 2 feet tall that me and my cousin would do laps and hit. That thing had 0 suspension, but we didn't care. 1st dirt bike I jumper was my TT-r125l. We took it out to Berthoud and they have a little hardpacked vintage track in the back, and there was a couple small singles. I must have made 50 laps around hitting the jumps on that track
travis-grant 4/17/2015 8:55pm
4/17/2015 8:55pm
GarySemics wrote:
Jumping a motocross bike is one of the most fun and exciting aspects of riding a dirt bike. At 60 years of age I've been jumping...
Jumping a motocross bike is one of the most fun and exciting aspects of riding a dirt bike. At 60 years of age I've been jumping motocross bikes for a half a century and I can still remember the first time I caught air. If you're already jumping you know what I mean. If you're not you don't know what you're missing. Sure many people think it's to dangerous, sure it's not everyone's cup of tea but if it might be yours don't tip toe through life to arrive safely at death.

Read more plus photos.

11 yrs old, 1994 i got about 3 feet of air on my 89 kx80, my dad took pics and it was the best time ever.
Why did summer days just seem to go forever back then, we used to get 5 weeks off school through july/august and i never once remember it raining. Now its a given all summer!

Memories - the best thing we can ever have

Post a reply to: When was the 1st time you jumped a dirt bike?