This is my 50th year of being on two wheels. The years of riding have gone by fast but I still enjoy riding and sometimes still feel the need for speed which the FJ does very well.
When I was 15 years old I purchased a Yamaha 180cc Candy apple red Yamaha Bonanza. It was a twin cylinder street bike and would do 90mph downhill with the wind. It was the biggest bike I could afford at the time and both insurance and gas were very cheap. Since I was too young for a license I bought a dark face shield so the police could not see how young I was and rode it all summer long. Luckily I was not stopped. Been addicted to motorcycles ever since.
Starting out with Yamaha I always favored the brand and have owned several different models. However I have also owned Hondas, Suzukis, Kawasakis and unfortunately one Hardley. In my old age I have now settled on the FJ as my favorite. I have other bikes but the FJ is the most fun. So much fun I have more than one.
My only regret is selling any of my previous rides. I wish I still had them all!
Ride safe
Dave
Kudos to you still riding, and doing what you love! i hope i can still be riding in 50 years! :hi:
Awesome milestone!
One could only hope to reach 50-years on 2-wheels!
I started riding in 1969 when my dad brought home a mini bike with a three horse briggs and stratton motor at the age of eight.My first race was shortly after against my friend's 16 year old brother on a ten speed. He beat me.ive had many dirt bikes after until I got my first street bike a 69 cb 350 at seventeen.riding the old underpowered motorcycles of the past got you in the habit of riding full throttle everywhere and i havent been able to shake the habit.The need for speed is ageless.next summer will be my fiftieth year of riding.I still have six cb 750 sohc,two 84 fj1100s' one cb900f,one bultaco frontera 370,one 71 yamaha ct175 and one 78 xl250 not all running currently.my favorite now are definitely the fj1100.Its the first bike I ever had that I cant drive full throttle all the time(maybe the bultaco requires a little throttle restraint also).
T Legg we have similar histories with bikes. I guess I have more than 50yrs on motorized two wheels if I count the Fox minibike I had. Bought it from a neighbor for $50 with paper route money. It had a 3.5 Tecumseh engine, was street legal and would do 40mph. Handed down to my younger brother. My Dad gave it to his brother for his two sons. My Uncle had a jack shaft installed to slow it down. I think this family got their moneys worth out of that bike. Bought that 180 Yamaha and then like you a Honda CB 350 with the high pipes thinking I would have better performance. It didn't and handled worse than the Yamaha. Very quickly sold that for a 1970 Yamaha 350R5. That was a bike with both speed and handling. I have also owned a 1978 Honda CB750F. The last year of the SOHC. That four into one with a megaphone had a very sweet sound. Always wanted a CB900 as I think they are one of the best looking old bikes. My brother also had a Yamaha CT175 as he was into dirt riding. I have never owned a dirt bike but back in my day the Bultaco was the one to have for competition.
Ride Safe
Dave
I guess I'm coming up on my 50th too. If you count the time my older brother put me on his buddies z50. Told me twist this and it'll go. Didn't bother to tell me about the brakes. Or even to twist it back to slow down. Proceeded to go straight down the driveway. Across the highway, in front of a semi, into the ditch on the other side and crashed. My brother and his buddy both laughing their ass off. I think I was 6 or 7... Then my older brothers built a chopper minibike out of a big Wisconsin engine my dad had. Was a direct drive. No clutch. Put the back up on blocks. Start It. Kick it forward off the blocks. Ride it down to the other end of our 3/4 Mile drive and reach down and kill the engine with the metal tab on the spark plug.(an electrifying experience). Turn it around put it back up on blocks and start it and head back. We rode that for several years. Then we moved to southern Indiana 4th grade. I got a real minibike 3 1/2 hp Briggs and Stratton (with a clutch). Could ride all day in the stip mines and hardly ever have to cross a road. Kept riding ever since.
Ahh the old over the spark plug metal tab kill switch,how many of us got our first experience with an ignition coil by a big brother or nasty friend that said here hold this while I pull the starter cord.
Or the contest to see who could pee the longest hitting the fence wire....
...or learning that a piece of 3/4" pipe with NPT threads makes a perfect substitute for a muffler on a Briggs & Stratton engine.
Or that you can change/ eliminate the Rev limiter on a Briggs. And it will go way faster for a short period of time.
...or by taping sandpaper to a glass table you can sand the gasket surface on head of the Briggs ~1/4" to raise the compression.
Wax on, wax off...
....or a Taco 22 mini bike IS NOT designed to go off big jumps...ouch.
(https://02b8057.netsolstores.com/images/products/display/Taco22401.jpg)
.....or your father will notice the Briggs missing off his lawn edger sooner, rather than later.
.....or it's entirely possible to go over a "mile a minute" on a Taco 22 when you put on a McCulloch 101 (if you manage to get it started)
..... or the hard lesson (learned early) that Levis suck when it comes to road rash.
.... or Mini Bike street riding 101: All the pre planned escape trails are futile when the LA County Sheriff's deputy knows who you are and where you live.
.... or Mini Bike street riding 102: Wearing your little brother's Pop Warner football helmet and sunglasses does not make you anonymous to the same LA County Sheriff's deputy.
.... or Mini Bike street riding 103: Keep a clean t shirt stashed to change into before you go home. Adults can tell if you've been riding your mini bike by the vertical stripe of dirt on the back of your t shirt.
...so many lessons learned. I could go on and on...
Like many of you guys, my Dad put me on a Honda mini-bike in the late sixties. After that a Yamaha 80 and then another Yamaha '74 Enduro 100. Still have that one and it doesn't even have enough miles for the first oil change. After the 100 I was on my own. Point is, I started riding way back when too. Many fond memories of that mini-bike and now I see they are soooooo expensive. Too many boomers trying to relive their youth I suppose. Those two Yamaha dirt bikes started a loyalty to the tuning forks company. I even bought Yamaha stereo gear.
Joe
I'm coming up to my 50th year of riding as well, only difference with the rest is I didn't start out on a girly mini bike, it was a 500cc army BSA. An uncle had it sitting for years under chaff bags and bales of hay looking worse for wear with broken forks. The old man talked him around into giving it to him where he welded the forks back together and got it running. I was about 10yrs old and the only instructions he gave were, this is the clutch and that's the throttle, twist that a bit while letting this out slowly, so with a handful of revs, clutch out a bit quicker than slow, took off with a roar and a big rooster tail of dirt, been hooked since.
How old were you when you could kick it over?
Luckily every ride on the BSA the motor was running as the old man always started it. As for kick starting bikes as a kid, I had and still have two strokes so starting one was never a problem. I remember riding a mates Yamaha XT 500 thumper in traffic one day and stalled it at the lights, without thinking, gave it a quick kick and the bloody thing kicked back that hard my knee hit the handlebars and thought I broke my leg. A lesson was learnt that day.
Been at it since 1963, if you count riding home made mini bikes made out of threaded pipe and pipe fittings. We scarfed every vertical Briggs and Stratton engine (from the old power reel mowers) within a 10 mile radius. My friends dad had a Gulf service station with pipe threading tools and an ancient welder...We made some really poor machines and one that hauled ass...Nothing like having the frame break when at speed.
Amazing how similar our two wheel backgrounds are despite where you grew up. I, too, started riding in the mid 60s on a Briggs & Stratton powered scooter similar to the one Pat showed... best I can figure that was 1966. Then went to an Italian made two stroke Harley Davidson 65cc motorcycle. And from there the usual assortment of larger and more powerful Japanese bikes. So I guess I past the 50th anniversary a few years ago and forgot to celebrate. I'll be sure to do that this weekend!
My dad rode a BSA 441 victor.He weighed about 240 lbs.He sold it to a friend who was about 5' 8" and 160 lbs.His friend ended up selling it because he couldn't get it started.
Started riding in the mid sixties. My grandfather had Suzuki 80 that he gave to my brother and I. I believe it was a rotary valve . We rode the hell out of that until it finally gave up and then graduated to a Honda Sport 90. My dad hated that we were riding bikes, he was a dispatch rider in England for a time before D Day and said he hit the only rock wall in England that was over 3 ft. high. That put him in a body cast. After the 90 I had a Kawasaki A7 Avenger, that went like stink until it ran lean and melted a piston. Yamaha DT 1 was next then a 920 Virago, then a GS 1100 Suzuki, then the FJ which I sold a year ago because of my knees. Selling the FJ has been haunting me ever since. Both knees are done and haven't felt this in over 10 yrs. Now looking for another bike. Will be 65 in April and was about 10 when I started. That being said I hope everyone here has a Merry Christmas and a Really great 2019
If i count the very first time i was taken on a bike, I'm at about 54 years now, but as a rider, only around 45, so I really feel a bit of a youngster now :yahoo:
I am really enjoying all the stories contributed to this thread by members here. It is fun to find out how many riders got an early start in motorcycle riding the same way I did. Also how many older fellows still enjoy FJ's like I do.
I want to wish everyone a Merry Xmas and Happy New Year.
Ride safe
Dave
Just realised I've been in continuous ownership of an FJ for 32 years ! - 29 years with my current one.
I didnt really get into dirt bikes until after going to the IOM TT in about '82 and watching "On Any Sunday" on a big screen - before that it was a series of 2 strokes, from FS1E upwards until graduating onto 4 stroke I 4's with my CB650.
Quote from: Millietant on December 21, 2018, 10:28:06 AM
Just realised I've been in continuous ownership of an FJ for 32 years ! - 29 years with my current one.
I didnt really get into dirt bikes until after going to the IOM TT in about '82 and watching "On Any Sunday" on a big screen - before that it was a series of 2 strokes, from FS1E upwards until graduating onto 4 stroke I 4's with my CB650.
I still own a 82 Nighthawk 650SC. Great little bike to ride around town. Last year of the SOHC 650.
Dave
Mine had the same SOHC engine and was indeed a surprisingly good bike. It was a 21st birthday present from my dad (I was at University at the time but worked in my spare time for him, in the family business, unpaid) and I rode it for 5 years and 55,000 (mechanically) uneventfully years. When I got my next bike, I loaned the 650 to my best mate, who couldn't afford a bike, but had passed his test, on the proviso that he gave it back in the same (or better) condition as I gave it to him.
He did so and when he gave it back (to get a FJ1200), I passed it down to my brother who'd just passed his test.
LOL - I rode the CB for 55,000 uneventful miles (not years) :Facepalm:
Upon leaving the Army (MOS 91B20) and returning stateside, immediately buying a $500 used motorcycle, what a pleasant surprise I had when I discovered the joys of my first I-4..... The Honda CB500. What a wonderfully smooth engine that ran like a watch.
No more street twins for me....
(https://www.classicdriver.com/sites/default/files/styles/two_third_slider/public/bike_images/48.jpg?itok=gwbb8WsY)
Count me as almost member of the club. In early '70, my father brought home a slightly used CB 350. It was a little too big for me at the time (I dropped it in the middle of the street attempting a U-turn on my first ride) so my big brother claimed it.
About 6 months later Dad came home with a 1968 Yamaha YL2C. A rotary valve, 100cc enduro with electric start. I rode it until 1972 when I bought a brand new Hodaka 100cc B+ enduro with chrome gas tank and fire-engine red frame. I loved that bike and quickly installed a Super Rat top end and Bassini expansion chamber. I could out run anyone on that bike, until the Elsinore 125 came out, those things were FAST.
From the Hodaka, I bought a used '71 Yamaha DT-1 250 2-stroke, the year before reed valve induction, that had been in a fire. I rebuilt the DT and it was a blast to do long power slides on. Next dirt bike was a '74 Yamaha MX 360 in the original bumble bee colors. That bike was an absolute rocket. That was my last dirt bike as all the local riding areas were getting paved over (and they called that progress). At that point I resigned myself to street riding. I talked my brother into selling the CB and we pooled money for a '78 Yamaha XS 750 shaft-drive triple. By now it's clear that I was a loyal Yamaha owner, they were never in the shop. Any repair was easily accomplished at home.
The 750 was another great ride but by '82 I was looking for more power. Gave the 750 to my brother and bought an XJ1100JR, the last of the XS motor. Never really meshed with that bike. It had the pseudo-cruiser styling (Yamaha called it Special styling) with high bars and a stepped seat. With no wind protection, it caused pain in my back when riding on the highway as I was forced to sit bolt upright with a death grip on the bars to keep from getting blown off.
Then, along came 1984 and the Yamaha FJ 1100. I was smitten and wanted one BAD but I had just started my job and bought a new house so money was too tight. But in 1985 (the BEST year) I made it happen! I was tempted to upgrade to the FJ1200 in '86 but managed to resist the new bike bug. Around '88, I test rode a Honda Hurricane and was impressed enough in the water cooling and 6-speed smoothness that I briefly considered trading the FJ for one. I came to my senses and kept the FJ (WHEW!). When it finally became time to add another bike to the stable, I drove all the way from Dallas to Chicago to pick up a 1993 FJ ABS with 6K on it. Awesome bike! Just ask Joe Berk...
Looked at many other bikes through the years. Seriously considered the Honda SuperHawk and Blackbird, but both were overpriced and on the verge of being discontinued. Really liked the new VFR1200, but again Honda had overpriced it. In '05 I bought a friends '02 FZ-1. Another great bike, very FJ-like in ergos but better (stock) suspension and really impressive motor. The FJ has more torque, but the FZ has a really nice top end hit (but I find that I use the FJ torque far more than the FZ top end).
After 30 years, I finally found another bike that was worth purchasing "brand new." The 2016 BMW S1000XR is an absolute hoot to ride. It does everything incredibly well and always puts a smile on my face. However, as fun as it is, it will NEVER replace the FJ. The FJ is still an amazing ride and I will keep it forever.
After buying the BMW, I sold the '93 FJ to Joe then added an '03 Bumble Bee FZ-1 for my son and even bought Jeff Hoffman's '05 FZ-1 in Atlanta so I can Fly N Ride when I get the chance.
Temperature has been in the 60s the last few days. Managed to get a few rides on the FZ and the FJ. The FJ is like a well broken-in pair of boots, it just feels right.
Jesus, you fuckers are old! Pat, I'll bring your walker to the next rally.
I became a septuagenarian yeaterday and went windsurfing to celebrate. I almost have fifty years up. I didn't start riding bikes until I was 21 and needed cheap transport to night school after my discharge from nasho (2 years National Service - drafted to you northerners).
This is great stuff.
I'm not even close to 50 years of riding.
I took a break from owning a bike when I stacked my FJ in 1994. Although I occasionally rode other peoples bikes I pretty much didn't ride from 94 through to 15, so that will remove 21 years from my riding time.
Mind you.....they all run and do what FJ's do....
Quote from: FJ_Hooligan on December 22, 2018, 09:20:45 PM
.....I rode it until 1972 when I bought a brand new Hodaka 100cc B+ enduro with chrome gas tank and fire-engine red frame....
....After 30 years, I finally found another bike that was worth purchasing "brand new." The 2016 BMW S1000XR is an absolute hoot to ride.
Aaahh, the memories. I too had a Hodaka, a trade-in no one wanted. That bike was more fun per CC than anything else I ever owned.
Like you David, the XR was the first bike in decades that actually had me thinking "new" bike. My jaw must have hit the floor when I first read of their existence. That rocket ship engine in a GS frame, a marriage made in Heaven. I rode one as soon as possible and it was everything you say it is to ride but I realised it was perhaps not the best choice for my sort of riding. Still a hell of a machine though and perfectly befitting someone called "Hooligan"
Noel
Many of you 50 year veterans might remember when new bikes were still being delivered with ribbed front tyres and how weird it looked when treaded front tyres were first introduced, it just didn't look right having a "back" tyre on the front.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ovqS0czBlHM/VvAnKl3sXrI/AAAAAAAAbP4/pVYwub7IqS42hMOmWIaTgbled6f7GTpeQ/s1600/Dunlop_Maxirib.jpg)
Noel
Funny how common some things are. Also had a Hodaka Wombat. Bought it out of some guy's chicken coup...all covered in chicken shit. He wanted $300 but got it for $100. The toaster tank cleaned up beautifully but that transmission was a constant problem.
My brother and I were always the oddballs. Me and the Hodaka and him with an OSSA 175 Pioneer while everyone else had something from the Big 4
I remember when the Hodaka ThunderDog 250 was the rage of the motocross scene. It only lasted about 2 years until the rest of the industry caught up. By that time the company was on the decline. There was also the 50cc RoadToad.
You're right Noel, the XR is not a touring bike. I'm on the 4th set of tires at just under 12 Kmiles. And I remember the front tire on our CB 350 was a ribbed Avon.