Who or What Inspired You to Ride

[drgibson]

I was thinking about this the other day, why do I feel compelled to ride and be a part of the Motorcycle community?

Well for me it was my dad as far back as I can remember he always had a motorcycle usually more than one at least up until we moved to Oregon in 1976. I think it was at that time that he grew tired of fighting mom about it. When we moved back to Texas a year later I went into the military and bought a bike, now it was my turn to fight mom. Good thing I lived five hours away in San Antonio. Any way about my dad, he loves racing and he instilled the love of motor sports in me. I remember spending most weekends at the Moto X track, dad raced and kept winning well into his forties. He was a great inspiration. Even now at 75 if he thought mom wouldn't kill him he'd be on the track or at least riding. We still attend races as we can.

[geoffsimpson]

The Movie Tron...I wanted one of those light bike lookin' things real bad when I was little....now I hate neon lights on motorcycles....go figure.

[Jerryzuki]

I got the bug as a 10 year old in 1965. My cousin had a 3.5 HP minibike. Got my frist very own bike in 1973.

[bat4255]

When I was about 8 years old, we lived in the country, and had horses. My friends did also, and we did quite a bit of riding. It was my first taste of freedom and independence.
When I was 14, I bought a Bridgestone 90 cc, along with some friends, what a ball (off road only). In winter we wrapped rope around our rear wheel, to chase snowmobiles. They just came out (1967) and were very primitive by today's standards. I just kept upgrading from there, both, dirt and road bikes.

I guess bikes replaced the horse, they go a lot faster But I still have the same feeling I had @14 yrs old.

Jeezz, been 40 years already?

[robertc729]

When I was about 8, my uncle had a motorcycle and took me for a ride, it felt great being on the back of a bike for the first time. Then at 14 I got my second ever motorcycle ride. Those 2 experiences got me wanting to ride, unfortunately for me until 3 years ago I didn't have the funds available to buy a one.

[geoffsimpson]

WHERE ARE THESE GUYS COMING FROM!!! The interweb must be broken

[D_Klein]

My dad had a '47 Knucklehead that he took apart in '86, and it's been in boxes ever since (I've been nagging him to give/sell it to me for the last year). He was always talking about motorcycles, and as badly as I wanted one, Mom said "No way as long as you live in this house!" She worked in a hospital and saw brains leaking out of noses due to motorcycle wrecks, so I understood.

I bought my first house at age 21, and a few months after that, my dad called me to tell me that he found a smokin' deal on a bike... '82 Suzuki GS450L at a garage sale for $500. SOLD!!! I put about 1,500 miles on that bike before I sold it and moved to Phoenix. Since then I've REALLY gotten into bikes; I bought my current Gixxer and have averaged about 1k a month since I got it.

[Don M50limited]

drgibson, our reasons sound similar.....my dad was racing flat track and enduros back in the 50s. He stopped racing when I was about 2 or 3 (early 60s) but kept riding as we grew up. I was riding a little yamaha 60 just about the same time I learned how to ride a pedal bike. There was even a club of the families of all the guys he raced with that every summer we'd all go camping/riding together and on occasion just the men would go out for a weekend of trail riding and I went along on a number of those outings as well but still young enough that we'd take the less crazy trails and meet up with the rest at camp. I wanted to get into racing as a teenager but with memories of some of dad's crashes, mom wouldn't have it. But yeah, I grew up with it and wish dad still rode today but age/bypass surgery/kidney cancer....keeps him off two wheels these days. My avatar is a pic of him.

[drgibson]

That is my dad in my avatar as well. I did git to race at least untill I fell and broke my arm and elbow.

[Louis]

Not sure exactly what. I've been interested in bikes for a while. At 18, I had decided to take my bike permit before the age of 25, it didn't happen, but I got it before I was 30.

[DragonRider]

My Dad had a 1947 Indian that he sold to my uncle before I was born,when I was about 11 he told me, because we seen my uncle pretty regularly,he still had it and rode it. I always wanted to ride that bike,it was so cool,never did. My brother got a CB160 Honda when I was 16 and he went into the army,I rode the bike I was hooked. Got my first bike in 1978 when I was 25,bought a new Honda Hawk CB 400 TII twin,had a 10,000 redilne and was so much fun I couldn't stand it. I still have it back in Michigan. Needs the starter fixed. Bought my second new bike ,the M50 and I Love it.

[omegajim]

Dear old dad bought us (my sister and I) a little scooter (low-hi automatic 50 cc, top speed of maybe 25) when I was 8. No brakes, wore out a couple pair of shoes stopping. The bike lasted us 6 years until a throttle cable broke. Not knowing how to fix it, (my dad is no mechanical genius, and much of what I have learned I learned since I bought my first bike years later) the bike was sold.

Have only owned a few bikes since then, and the average age of these bikes is about 15 years. Driving is half of the enjoyment, knowing that you can do and have learned how to repair the machine you are driving: priceless. My scooters have only broke down a few times, and every time I could perform the job to repair the scooter. Sometimes logistics became a problem, but I learned.

I get off the soapbox now.

[introriff]

In 1978-79, my Dad bought a 75cc suzuki dirt bike from a kid down the road who was scared of it, and gave it to me under the condition that I would wear a helmet, and use my allowance or obtain a job, to pay for the fuel, 2stroke oil, and motor oil to maintain it.

Allowance was hard work then. I also worked for .50USD per hour on my best friends grandfather's farm, who also rode an old honda 70cc. We lived near a lake, and had PLENTY of Corp of Engineer property, neighborhood streets, and gapped and unfenced farm land, to ride most of the day without ever seeing the same trail twice. I would have to say that most of the trails were cattle paths or rabbit trails.

I was hooked. Thanks Dad!

[Apertureguy]

Just seeing them on the road was all it took.

I've been staring at them in wonder...ever since I could see out a car window.

[inspiron]

Oooh. Good question!

I guess I always had a desire to ride. As a kid, one of my neighbors was a former stock car driver ("Dandy" D!ck Landy ... stupid word filter!). His two sons were a couple of years older than me, and both had a bunch of motorcycles - noisy, 2-stroke 125's and 250's. I was always fascinated by the bikes, watching them work on them, and watching them ride.

But my parents didn't want me to have one - too dangerous. (Ha!)

When I moved to Europe, we only had one car, and I didn't have a parking space at work, so I decided to get a scooter (Piaggio Vespa, 50ccm). I commuted to and from the office with that Vespa (top speed 35mph) from Spring to Fall, for 10 years.

After my divorce, I moved from Germany to Switzerland, and decided to move up to a "real" motorcycle. I bought a 125ccm V-2, took the MC license test, and was happy.

Two years later, I moved about 20 miles outside of the city, and needed a bigger bike to keep up with traffic on the motorway - so I traded in the 125 for my 1400, took the "unlimited" MC tests. I got my "big" motorcycle license a week before my 40th birthday!

[ChicsterMG]

I love vehicles. I like cars, trucks, combat vehicles, motorcycles. Always have. Alway been a kind of gatget guy. I didn't really have a desire to ride, I just liked the concept. Had a friend of mine get a HD 1200 and took me for a ride. What a feeling. For those of you who know, you just can't explain it.
Within a month I had a HD 883 and was learning to ride. Yeah, I know. It was a mistake, I should have started smaller.
I have always love the look, feel, and sound of Harley's, not neccessarily the image, just the bikes. I still do, I am just more pratical now.

[4dtvman]

I worked a Honda motorcycle dealership and kind of fiqure I should ride.

[Gixxerman]

My bro.... touché !

I've been thinking about such things alot the past years, and compared to people I know, and the pattern is right there to see.
It's so obvious it hurts

A friend of mine had an older brother who listened to Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne etc. He did the same thing.

A(nother) friend of mine has a mother who tidies up all the time. He does the same thing.

A(nother) friend of mine hates anything but Mercedes. His father runs a Mercedes store.

... and so on and so on.

That's life, really. We get so posessed by people we look up to that we live long periods of our lives, or a whole life, just like them. If my brother did get a Harley instead, when I was at the same age(13), I probably would have ridden a Harley instead of this rice rocket now hehe.

But at the end, I believe everything happens for a reason GSXR rules btw (oh I'm such a fool lol)






*Blinded by ignorance. Amen!*

[Freakinout]

I can't say I had anything in particular motivating me to ride, I just wanted to. After getting a bike, and taking the MSF course I got on the road.

And now I'm hooked, there is no turning back

[JRoc]

My Mom used to love telling this story!

When I was a kid, about 6 or 7 years old, my Mom and I were walking down the block when all of a sudden a big o' harley came roaring down the street I turned and stared at it approach, then rolled past us, I turned to my Mom with my jaw on the ground and said "What was that"??? She replied, that was a motorcycle, Harley Davidson I think I replied "I gotta get one of those"!!! She responded only if you get me one too! I said, absolutely Mom! She said she always knew that I'd be on one one day, and she was absolutely right! I never did get to buy her one though...