What did you start out on (or what are you riding now)

[redxz550inoz]

first bike I ever rode was the instructors suzuki GN250 - even managed to drop it on the first lesson  :-\
bought myself a kwaka GPX250 (for the compulsory 12 months we have to hold a restricted - up to 250cc - license for), passed my test and away I went. That little bike was just so much fun!! She was lite and pretty well bullet proof.

While still on this restricted license, my boyfriend at the time (now hubby) came home with this neglected, obviously loved yamaha. The only thing I knew about bikes back then was where the fuel went, where to put the key and which button to press to make her start. If it didn't go, I was lost!

A few years later, after finding no bike mechanic wants to touch my baby, I discover this fabulous forum - a whole wealth of information and support for what would have to be one of the most fun bikes ever built.
While I'll never be a mechanic, I'm more than happy to have a go at doing anything this great little bike needs to get her running again. Other bikes may come and go, but my '82 (s) are here to stay.

AND
I now also have my lil Ninja (600) just for something to get me by till my red beastie is up 'n running again.

[gbranche]

I started by borrowing friends' mini bikes (QA 50) and dirt bikes in my teen years, but was never allowed to buy one of my own. That had to wait until I moved out on my own.

My first street bike was a 1976 KZ400, purchased in 1978. That little KZ was absolutely bullet-proof. I put a lot of miles on that bike, exploring all over southern Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana.

I got married at the end of 1979, and the 400 just wasn't big enough any more. Graduated to a brand-new 1980 KZ750 (the standard style, not the custom). Had that for three months before a left turning cager totaled it for me. Being so new, and knowing that their client was totally at fault, State Farm offered to replace the bike with another new one, along with two new helmets, gloves, etc.

Instead of a direct replacement, I purchased a Suzuki GS750E. I have many fond memories of that bike. Over the four years I owned it, I installed a Windjammer, hard saddlebags, luggage rack/backrest combo, smaller rear sprocket (can you believe 60 MPG from a 750?), etc. I put 45k miles on it (including 1.5 cross country jaunts) before the top right side of the engine experienced a clogged oil passage and re-machined the cams. This happened while I was 3000 miles from home, with only a couple of days left of my vacation before I had to hit the road again.

I bought a Honda CB650C Nighthawk to ride back to Arizona (from northern New York). The reviews all said it would be a great bike. The reviews never compared it to my beloved GS750. Gas mileage was terrible (35MPG average, but many times it was worse. Once it was so bad that the bike sputtered to a stop in west Texas in I-20 with less than 100 miles on the tripmeter.) The seat was hard, the bars were in the wrong position, and the rear tire was as hard as the tires on my kid's tricycles. I sold it to a poor, unsuspecting U of A student six months later, so that I could return to Suzuki.

That was a 1980 GS1000G. Yet another great bike. Big, heavy, very comfortable, and handled well enough for me. I had that for about 2 1/2 years before moving on to a...

1985 BMW K100RS, purchased new in 1986. What can one say that hasn't already been said about Beemers? It was the first inline-four that BMW produced, and they got it right (except for the oil seepage past the rings when parked on the sidestand). It had a tractor engine that would run forever with very little maintenance necessary. I just sold that a couple of months ago with 77,000 miles on it. The only reason I sold it is because I realized that I just wasn't riding it too often, and it deserved the care and attention that I was no longer providing.

Which brings us to my current ride, a 1993 Yamaha GTS 1000, purchased new in 1996. (Well, "new" is relative, I guess. It had been a demo machine at the dealer, and had less than 500 miles on it, and I got it for cost.) Until a couple of years ago I had been using it mostly for commuting. I finally added luggage, a Corbin seat, an intercom, and an electronic cruise contol, and I've now got it set up just the way I like it, and use it every day for just about any kind of riding. (I shy away from motocross and enduro stuff...)

I bought the '83 Vision about 2.5 years ago, primarily as a starter bike for my (then) 18-year-old son. Since then, I've bought three more - an '82, and two '83s. I intend to get at least one, and possibly two, of them road-worthy for another (now) 18-year-old son.

So, there you have it, my history with motorcycles. Further details can be extracted over a pizza and some beer at a CROV gathering...

Greg

[darkvision]

My first m/c was a used 1963 Yamaha YDS2 , a 250cc 2-stroke parelell twin. Other bikes Ive owned since then:   Yamaha YM1 305 cc twin,  Suzuki X6 Hustler 250CC twin,
Benelli 175cc single ( 2 of them , they dirt cheap ), 2- Hionda 350cc @1976 , then the 1982 Yamaha Vision I bought new in 1984 after selling the 2 Hondas.  I loved the Vision and have kept it going since.

[Kalle]

My first bike is the Vision ?82.

[silicon_toad2000]

started out on an 80cc farm bike when i was a little tacker.

first road bike was a honda cbx 250 single, i think i blew the ingnition module jump starting it from a car.

next was going to be suzi gsx 750 naked bike, but going from a 250 single to a 750 4cyl was too much of a jump for me (and im a shorty and couldn't touch the ground on the suzi)

so i found the v in a yamaha dealership and eventually bought it. sometimes i wish I either didn't buy the bike or I had more time to work on it.

next im dreaming about a hyabusa for no particular reason than its fast. but thats a few payrises away yet.

[Lead_Deficiency]

Suzuki TS400
Yam 82 Vision
Yam 82 Seca 650 turbo
Yam 85 750 Virago (sold it to pay for a driveway)

Back to an 82 Vision

[VisionaryDan]

When I was 14,  started out on a 50cc Bennelli mini cycle
At the age of 21 I bought a 1968 180 Yamaha street bike (2 stroke twin)traded the 180 for a new 1980 400 Yamaha Special II,
traded the 400 in 1983 for my first 82 Vision that I still own
Recently bought my second "V" 82.

I have also through the years owned

380 Suzuki 3 cylinder, 2 stroke
350 Honda twin
100 Honda (street bike)
250 Suzuki (dirt bike) I still have this

Dan

[SJB]

The first bike was a 1972 DT 250 at age 14.
In 83, I bought an 82 Honda Nighthawk 650.
I sold that to buy an 86 XT 350 which I owned for 2 years.
Then in 93, I bought  the Vision from my brother but it wasn't running.
I spent the next 10 years pulling my hair out trying to keep it on the road.
I found this forum and did all of the upgrades that were recommended and now I am very happy with the bike. (Thank you to all who have put so much time and effort into these bikes and share what you have learned!!!!!!!).
I also own an 81 KE 100 for the kids, and an 84 XL 350R.
I also have about half the money I need to buy an FJR 1300, hopefully in the spring.  I still plan on keeping the Vision, of course. 

[steve]

My first bike was a brand new suzuki gt185.  I rode it up on the sidewalk and over someone's lawn while learning to ride the thing but I was hooked!  Then came a honda 65cc, a honda cb350, suzuki gt550e, and a yamaha moped.  That was all in the 1970's to early 80's.  I've been without until now and I love my 82 vision.  It is the perfect machine for my commute.  Hilly, winding back roads.  It really doesn't matter whether the bike is big, little or fast or slow, I just like being out on a two wheeler!

[Jimmy C.]

The first bike I bought was a ratty 1980 Honda CBX 1000. I used to terrorize my schoolmates with it's sawed-off six-piped demeanor. If that engine was any bigger, it could have been pulled from an old Chrysler.
The second bike I got hold of was a 1978 Kawasaki KZ650. That bike had no problems whatsoever the summer I rode it.
Sold it in the winter to put a down payment on a 1997 Kawasaki ZX-12 in the spring. Didn't get the ZX-12, so I settled for an '89 Yamaha "fizzer" 600. Traded that bike six months later for round-trip tickets for me and the lady to Europe.
Now I have a black '82 Vision. Ibought it because it had a V-twin, and because nobody else around me has one. Thanks to the forum, I now know that there are a few folks around me that have a vision. But the bike is still a rarity.
I'd love to powdercoat it up, and modify it to look like a new V-max.
Or maybe I should just buy a V-max too...   

[Riche]

These are the bikes that got tags to be road legal even if they saw very limited road use. No MX bikes or those not registered are listed.

BSA Victor 441, 1969, purchased new, sold fall 1971
OSSA 250 SDR, 1974, purchased new, sold 1979
Yamaha IT175, 1977, purchased new, sold 1980
Yamaha IT175, 1980, purchased new, sold 1983
Kawasaki GPZ550, 1981, purchased new, resting in my garage
Yamaha 550 Vision, 1982, purchased at garage sale 10/02, currently being enjoyed

I am the second owner of my Vision.

edit: forgot this one, Sears by Puch 250cc, forget the year it was my brothers bike. 1975 an injury keept me out of work for 9 weeks. During that time I fixed this up with one arm :) and rode it the rest of the summer as payment for my efforts. It started out purple with gold pinstripe (LOL) with lots of running/charging/etc problems. I liked the bike and would have purchased it from my brother except for not being able to find parts. Needed: sprokets/cut out relay for regulator (always stuck), headlight lense, etc.

[Rick G]

                     Allstate (Puch) 1958 moped, 50cc
                     Harley Davidson 1948 125cc
                      Honda C100  1961   50cc
                      Allstate (Puch) 1959 175cc
                      Puch 250cc  Gelande sport 1958(scrambler) 
                      BSA 650cc 1949 Chopper
                      Jawa 125 cc 1956 converted to a dirt bike
                       Jawa 175 cc 1957   put the engine into the 125 frame
                       BSA 500 cc single 1948.
                        Vespa 180 cc scooter 1965
                       Yamaha 80cc trail bike 1965
                        Cyurus 50cc ?
                         Lambretta 125cc scooter 1956
                         Testi telstar 50 cc  used it as a production road racer. 1966
                          Mondial 50 cc  production road racer
                          Yamaha  LT2c 100 cc trail bike 1967
                          Suzuki 250cc X6  250 cc two stroke twin, used as a production Road racer
                         Kawasaki Bushwacker 175 cc  1969
                          Suzuki 200 cc twin   1970
                         Jawa 250cc ISDT 1970
                         Ducati 250 cc scrambler 1966
                          Jawa 250 cc motocross  1964
                          Honda 100 cc  SL 1971
                           Triumph 250 cc single 1968
                           Triumph  250  cc single 1971
                            Yamaha  YG1  80 CC  1966
                            16 years pass  and I trade a N scale model railroad engine for  a Honda CB 100 with 1900 miles on it  I caught the bug again!
                            Honda CB160  twin  1968
                            Honda GL1000 Gold wing  1975
                             Kawasaki  400 cc twin 1978
                             Yamaha 400 cc twin 1978
                              Yamaha  xz500 vision 550 cc 1982
                              Yamaha  YG1T 80cc trail bike 1967
                              Yamaha xz500 Vision  actually I have 8 and a half  , but only 2 and complete the rest are for parts.
I included  dirt and  Road race bikes ,because for many years ,I only road on the street while  road testing a bike at work.
I've probably forgotten a bunch  of bikes  But  these are the ones I remember.



                               

[raub]

My first bike was my 82 vision. I bought from a friend for $40 (!), but then had to get little things like stator and forks (the ones on the bike were bent). I rebuilt its carbs, fought with it, and eventually passed my motorcycle exam in it. Later on I bought an old KZ750 to put alive but just shoved it in my storage unit and forgot about it. Then I bought a 83 VF750F, got it alive, but never rode it. By then the Vision tank was leaking bad.  I bought then a 82 CB900C and rode it for a while.  Then for three years I stopped riding because of other things happening in my life.  Now I recently started riding again.  Right now it is just the CB900, but I plan on this week to fire up the Vision.  Once it is alive I will be going after a tank.

[kiawrench]

i started on a rust bucket honda dream, then moved up in life to a 1968 triumph 650 bonnie, 24 in stretch forks, full springer neck/head,a 3 gallon coffin type tank, king/queen seat with full sissy bar(high rise of course , shotgun pipes and a lot of "noise "violations from the military police. I rode her until 1985 when the Army decided i would be of more use overseas, and when i returned in 1994 ,the bike had been listed as missing in transit -in 1986!!. i figure it was misplaced in transit,then sold as junk .
   i switched to harley sportser,,traded to a ultra glide and after coming to the thought that i may be too small to hold it up,i traded it for a 1990 dodge 4x4, got my vision last, wont trade it or offer it up as parts.  i had a deal for a new v-start 650 classic, but after playing the finance game for two weeks, i just let it go. will ride my lil V til she chokes on her own antiquity.

[QBS]

1956, age 11, new Fugi Industries powered, bicycle, imported directly from Japan, Top speed: 26 mph.  lost it in a ditch on the very first turn.  Later parted out.

1958, age 13, new Vespa 150, Lost it in the same ditch on the first turn.  Died 6 months later due to left turning '58 Chevrolet station wagon.  Me and my passenger both flew over the top.  Not a scratch on either of us.  No helmets in use.

1958, age 13, insurance replacement, new Vespa 150.

1960, age 15, 1959 Vespa GS.  Took first of many M/C tours, Houston TX to San Antonio TX.

1965, New Honda 50 Cub step through, with ELECTRIC STARTER, Imported directly from Japan.

1968, New Honda CB350, met the love of my life and future wife, we took the first of many thousands of miles of rides on this bike.

1969, New Honda CB350, totally stock except for Norris racing cam.  Incredable engine, absolutely screamed, tach red lined at 10k.  I got cold feet at 14K and the bike was ready for more.

1970, used 1966 Honda CB450, my first "big" bike,  I can still feel the rush I experianced the first time I nailed it for max excelleration. Put '70 carbs on it and rode it until '74, in '72 wife and I spent 6 months and 9000 miles touring Europe on this bike while pulling a camping gear filled cargo trailer.  Later toured the Rocky Mountains one up.

1974, used 1970 R60/5 BMW, Wife found it and bought it for me(us?).  Full blown Sport Tourer with beautiful  Avon full fairing, Wixom hard saddle bags and matching tail trunk.  10 year daily driver, Many two up and solo tours of the USA.

1984, used '83 Vision, Wife was now a Mom and stopped riding.  Many solo tours of the West and Southwest  USA.  Not for sale, will never be for sale, the perfect bike for me.

Cheers.