How I got started!

[1tinindian]

Here are the actual bikes that lead me here! I enjoyed every one, well, maybe not the Virago). But motorcycles in one form or another have always been a part of my life!

[Bill_Rockoff]

That's awesome!

And this is a great idea for a thread.

[1tinindian]

The Rupp minibike was a theft recovery that my dad bought and rebuilt for me. The 2.5 hp motor didn't last long, so my grandpa installed a 5 hp Sear Roebuck engine(more power/ Tim Allen).

The Honda XR-75 was bought new and I loved that thing!

The Yamaha 750 Virago was a 1982 that I bought new in the fall of 1981. The starter sucked in that thing, only rode it 1 year/ 5000 miles and traded it in on my 1979 Trans Am, which I still have, was a great choice.

The 1982 Suzuki GS1100L was bought new in 1985 while I was in Texas, totaled in a bad wreck in 1987 with 9000 miles, my dad and I rebuilt in over the winter of 87-88, rode it from Iowa to Minnesota in March of 1988 and still have it today with just over 23K miles.

And my beloved 1991 FJ1200 was bought used in 2010 with 33K miles, mostly stock, but with this forums help, has been modded and updated to my liking, now with over 50k miles and has taken me to more places than I ever imagined and introduced me to some of my dearest and close friends!.

[Bill_Rockoff]

I don't know why I never took any photos of my first bike, a Suzuki TS185. This one's not mine, mine was never this clean when I had it, but mine was closer to this than you'd have a right to expect for $350....



Similarly, I briefly had an XS650, but I tried to ride it 240 miles up the highway from Atlanta to visit a college girlfriend in Charlotte, approximately two hours after I "fixed" the charging system, and it quit charging itself right around where "the Peach" is in Gaffney. (Water tower painted to look like a peach, or a butt.) Also not my bike, mine was never this clean, although it was pretty close for $100.



The bike I bought that finally SUCCESSFULLY got me 240 miles up the road to visit that girlfriend was a KZ750 twin like the one below. This one is also not mine, mine spent most of its time with a Vetter-type fairing on the front, painted the same color. I may actually have a picture of my KZ750 around somewhere, but since I'll probably never find it, here's one that looked like mine did when I was fixing crash damage to my "bat-girl fairing."



The Suzuki TS185 belonged to a college friend who lived in the same fraternity house I did. It was parked out back, and he let me ride it a few times. I asked to ride it a little more often than was really appropriate, though, and he finally said "look, why don't you just buy it?"

However, I had a girlfriend or two out of state, and the TS185 could barely make it up the highway to the edge of town, let alone two or three states away. So I bought the Yamaha XS650, for sale around the corner from where i lived off-campus. The XS 650 was $100 because the previous owner couldn't figure out why the rear wheel wouldn't turn and why the bike wouldn't start. The drum brake shoe had come apart and jammed itself stuck, so I fixed that and replaced the rear tire, and then it wasn't charging its own battery, so I replaced the battery and built my own rectifier with six diodes and some breadboard. It worked, too, but the face towel I used for an insulator didn't keep it insulated that well, and it quit charging halfway to North Carolina.

The KZ750 needs its own post; it was my only bike for 3 years and I rode it in every state on the Atlantic except for Rhode Island, and put about 50,000 miles on it.

[Millietant]

OK, this could be a long one !!!!

First rides were in the fields at school on a Honda C90 that we'd stripped and then subsequently rebuilt into a new school-made frame as our "metalwork class project".

It looked basically the same as this when we first got it.



Then my dad bought a Fantichino mini bike for my younger brother - which I ragged the wheels off despite it being way too small for me.



Just before my 16th birthday, dad bought me my first road bike (the only thing I could legally ride was a moped) - the ubiquitous "sixteener special" of the 1970's, a Popsicle Purple Yamaha FS1E - capable of 55mph , down a very steep hill with the wind behind me !!



At 17, I was allowed to ride on a "proper" motorbike and being young and impressionable, I wanted as many cylinders as possible - hence the 1977 KH 250 B2 (I'm sat on it here, aged 17, with my kid brother, the Fantichino rider, sat behind me).



I rode that 250 for 5 years and 72,000 miles, without a rebore (but with regular new rings and decokes), toured mainland Europe a couple of times, taking it to France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland etc.

At 21, I finally got a decently powerful bike, a Honda CB 650. I attached the fairing from the KH 250 onto it (painted black) and rode it like a race bike, when it wasn't being toured. It ended up with a top box and part metal/part leather panniers and made a really great tourer (a couple of pictures here). Eventually, I swapped the wheels for the "Reverse Comstar" wheels from a later model CX 500 and CB 750, but have no pictures.



Again, with my little bro on pillion (touring in the Black Forest)







The 650 was my daily ride, but after having it about a year or so, a friend had the chance to get a CB 500/4 and so we clubbed together for a "sharing" bike, to modify. At the time I was a trainee engineer and draughtsman and we really wanted to bring the 1973 bike up to date - so we cut the back end off the frame and fabricated a mono-shock conversion, based around the RD 350 LC design principles. All that was left of the original machine after our modifications were part of the frame, the side panels, the bottom end of the engine/gearbox and the cylinder head - pretty much everything else had been swapped or modified. Over about 4 years, the 500 again morphed from sit-up-and-beg style to cafe racer style.

Version 1





And....after morphing into Version 2





While I had the CB 650, I also really got into dirt bikes, starting with a Yamaha YZ400, which I had for 4 or 5 years and that was followed by a Husqvarna WR 430.

On the YZ.



(Still looking for pics of the old Husky !!)

Then at the end of 1985, I got my first job with a company car...which meant I could sell my Celica 2000 GT and with the cash, I went to Queens Park Motorcycles, early 1986 with a wad of cash and asked "what's the biggest, fastest, best bike I can buy?" - the salesman showed me to the FJ 1200 1TX and that was it, I had my very first FJ and my very first "superbike".

I kept the CB 650 as a "spare" bike which my dad could use to ride with me) and also so that my brother had his first "big" bike ready and waiting for when he passed his bike test.









Despite having a load of other bikes since '86, I've never been without at least one FJ1200 and the rest as they say is history - many more bikes and many more adventures.

[Millietant]

I would have thought that with all of this "lockdown time", a few more might have added their stories to this........come on folks, I for one am interested in getting to know a bit more about my fellow FJ lovers and how you came to this particular motorcycling icon.

[PaulG]

I would have thought that with all of this "lockdown time", a few more might have added their stories to this........come on folks, I for one am interested in getting to know a bit more about my fellow FJ lovers and how you came to this particular motorcycling icon.

Had to search back in my posts for this

Do you see a trend here....?   



Like millions of others it all started with the a Honda Cub   
I'm on the right c1968-70 ??






A brief foray into four wheels.  Dig the AGAT man...     (And those pants!  )
  I'm sitting down c1972-73??






Then came The Puddle Jumper (as we called them).  My older brother once again refitting the chain... 
c1976 ??







Now we finally get to grips with a real man's bike...     (one of my other older brother's 500 Triumph gas spitting-oil squirting-bone shaker)
me on the front c1975-76 ??






Fast forward 15 yrs and two bikes later... probably the best bike I've owned, next to the FJ   







Then I stupidly traded it in for a new GS...    It was a good bike ('til I T-boned a car), but hands off any maintenance.  Dealer only 






+40 yrs later from that original Cub, I'm nearing my last one.  Couldn't go out a better way with an FJ!!!  She ain't perfect, nor shiny.  She's like that old couch that the wife wants to throw out but it fits every roll on your body... and at times seems more conmfortable than the bed...    (don't fret about the stain, it's just water from the incessant rains we've had)





If you have any blasts from the past in faded Kodachrome or B&W (or even digital) let's see them.  It's always interesting exploring where we came from.   

My first real bike was a 1982? Yamaha 750 Seca, bought in '85 which ended in tears in '87.  While my arm still in a cast I bought a 1980 Kawasaki KZ750. Had that from '87-'89 (gave it away) when I bought the 1978 BMW R80/7S.

[Troyskie]

My introduction to riding was from my brother.
All my first bike rides were from him. My first bikes were his hand-me-downs and loans.
Here they are in no particular order, but the actual order of ownership was, LTD 250, Superchook, Rollerdoor, FJ, then a long break & back to the FJ.

[fj-f3a]

   My introduction to Motorcycles was in 1978 when I purchased a Honda XL185S from a workmate. I road this motorcycle for about a year, when I purchased a Yamaha SR500, again, from a workmate.
   
   I road this motorcycle for seven years. The biggest adventure I undertook on the SR500 was to ride it from Halls Creek in Western Australia, to home in Sydney over an eight day period in 1986.

   In June 1985, I flew to the Kimberly region of Western Australia with the hopes of becoming a Helicopter Mustering Pilot. Although I did do some Heli Mustering, most of my flying was fixed wing.

   After about three months, it became apparent that being on a huge cattle station hundreds of kilometres from any township without ones own transportation was not desirable so, I asked my Mum and Dad to enquirer into the possibility of having my SR500 freighted to Halls Creek and the price. Possible, yes. Price $850.00. I gave the go ahead.

   Although a lot of money back then, when the bike arrived in Halls Creek I was greatly relived. I even got a wage rise.

   After fourteen months, I decided that life on a cattle station was not for me. Not enough flying and not enough money so, I headed for home on the SR500.

   The trip home took eight day of easy riding along Hwy 1. I must admit that these eight days were some of the best day I have had. The weather, except for the final day, was perfect and sleeping under the stars every night in my swag was to die for. From memory, the old girl returned about 76mpg.

   Some photos of this bike follow.



My Late Mother


My Late Father


The next two photos do not show the full extent of what happened here.
While riding into Mount Isa, I spotted an Emu in a paddock off to my right.
This emu started to run towards the road so I slowed down to allow it to pass well in front of me.
Good in theory except, the pantech driving in the opposite did not slow down and collected the emu, pushing onto me.
The emu passed down the left hand side of the bike. Some how, I managed to stay on and continue to Mount Isa.


Upon reaching Mount Isa, I want to shift down but, there was nothing there.
The gear shifter was bent 180deg. Stupid me, at the time, did not photograph the shifter before I straightened it.
The feathers show the impact. I was truly lucky not to be killed by this incident.








   Upon arrival back home, I cleaned up the old girl and sold her. (Big mistake) I then purchased my "Dream Bike", a BMW R80RT. What a disaster. Enough said. In 1992 while riding home from work, a driver cut from the right lane to make a left turn and collected me. The BMW was written off (no great loss) but importantly, I was lucky to come out unscathed.

   While ringing motorcycle dealers from the Yellow Pages, I contacted Scotts Honda and explained my predicament. The person on the other end informed he had just the bike, a Yamaha FJ1200. "A 1200, you have to be joking" was my reply. "Get you ass down here and have a look see" was his reply, literally.

   Hesitantly, I caught the bus into Ultimo, they had moved from Goulburn St, to have a look. Upon arrival, the person I spoke to asked his assistant to get me a jacket and helmet.
Go out here, turn left, ride around Harold Park and where ever you want and take as long as you desire. I climbed aboard. This thing felt huge and heavy and the riding position, it felt like I was going to fall onto the tank, compared to the Beamers Bolt Upright Position.

   I headed down the driveway, carefully turned left and headed up Harris St. Within 100 metres, my mind was made up. I arrived back at Scotts Honda and uttered one word, Sold. The rest, as they say, is history.
   Now, I also own a BMW R1200RS, but please don't hold that against me.

Gavin




   

[ribbert]

What a great yarn and photos Gav, man, you really made that 500 work hard!

It doesn't get any more Aussie than the enamel mug, thongs and beach towel strapped to the top of your gear, side swiping an Emu while crossing the Nullarbor then parking in front of the Kombi when you get home, Slim Dusty could've written a song about it. That's a great soft luggage set-up and I love the pannier racks, I've never seen anything like them, a great bit of lateral thinking, but I imagine it would have required a gentle touch letting out the clutch.

Hmm, 25HP of single banger 500 with all that gear and camping right across Australia? Sounds like a young blokes ride now.

It's interesting that even with a new RS in the shed, your FJ still gets so much use, says a lot about the ol' girls.

I love these stories, the account of your trip certainly stirred up some great memories Gav, keep 'em coming everyone.

Noel




   

[Motofun]

I may have told this story before.....I'm old and I forget things....
I was riding a Honda V45 Saber at the time when I stopped by at my local Yamaha/Harley dealer to just window shop.  They were having a "dollar a cc" sale so I spied a brand new FJ1100 and asked to take it out for a spin.  My impression while riding it was that it was like riding a milk stool at 120 mph....SOLD.  Still have it.

[Millietant]

Great stories, really helps make an impression of the person behind the "username"

Thanks guys.

Gav, your SR 500 reminds me of the touring I did on my KH 250 - a 30 bhp 2 stroke triple, covering 3,500 miles in 2 weeks with all my belongings and tent wrapped up in bags and bungee'd to the bike behind me.

Those trips gave me an appreciation of how capable those little 250's really were, much your trip did with the SR 500