How did you learn to ride?

When I purchased my first bike in 1972 (a 1968 BSA Shooting Star) I had


absolutely no riding experience except for about an hour riding in a parking lot on a buddies Honda 70.


I was working 85 miles from the dealer. The purchase was made over the phone and payment was by mail.


The dealer left the bike outside his shop, deposited the keys and ownership at a restaurant next door and I picked up the bike on a Sunday.


Took me an hour to kick start it because I did not know what a fuel petcock was. The owner of the restaurant finally took pity on me and came out to assist me.


Drove the bike 85 miles back to my workplace that day.


Took three months of riding before I went for my license. And I only did that because I got nicked for speeding and the cops gave me a week to produce a valid license.


At the time I would have been labelled a "squid" or worse. A lot has changed in 30 years but I still own a BSA 441 (not the original - it's long gone) and I ride it 5-6 hours weekly.
How did you learn to ride?
Wow...thats...awesome in my opinion...learn by experience...unfortunately I have no experience yet and its kind of sad the way people answer questions in here..if youre not middle aged buying a flipping Harley the answer is youre going to kill yourself...I'm 18 hoping to get a YZF-R6 to ride and I saw a question similar to mine where the kid just got attacked...all they said was no you're too young and its too much power..kill a dream why dont you.... nice story though...cool to just pick up something out of nowhere...must have been a hard but fun 85 miles haha.
How did you learn to ride?
I started on a 5 horse tecumseh mini bike when i was 6...





when i turned 8, i traded it for a Kawasaki 550 LTD, rode that bike all summer around the yard for 7 years





when i turned 15, I traded it for some truck parts, then when i turned 17, i got a 1977 Honda CB750FourK...





i got my permit, and i've been riding ever since (that was 6 years ago)





now i have a Honda CBR1100XX, and i ride it regularly...
Reply:learnt to ride down the river with mates on an old honda 70 stepper.great fun we would ride for hours on a 拢1 of petrol .you couldnt cut your lawn for that nowadays
Reply:Bought a Honda XR 75 off of a mate when I was 11 and he showed me the basics. On the road my dad taught me the basics.
Reply:@ drumgod - I wouldn't take those comments as an attack, it's more likely that those people shudder to think of the ways they almost killed themselves. The death rates for sportbike riders is high and it's possible someone knows someone who got hurt badly or even died.





I learned on a YZ125 dirtbike from the age of 15. We lived just outside the city and I drove that thing everywhere.
Reply:I learned at the school of hard knocks. My first bike was a 1970 cb750 honda I bought in 1975. I didn't know I was supposed to learn anything, just how to shift the gears. Fortunately I never had an accident but back to your question, I just jumped on and started riding.
Reply:near enough the same as you bought bought a mate's nsu 19 69-70insured it bought provisional licence %26amp; then went straight out on the road %26amp; road that for about a year never droped that one took my test about 1975 failed going through an unmarked cross roads, ( my street) "lol" perfect pass second time a few month later in the snow bloody freezing %26amp; all electrics were packing up 6volt system had to use hand signals,
Reply:I learned on a dragstrip and after awhile got a street bike a305 honda it was fun so I moved up to a KZ1000 LTD over the years. I have had Honda's , Yamaha's and Kawasaki also Kymco and Harley. I have ridden everything from superstock Honda to Blown Top Fuel Harley and we did not put wheelie bars on them then you had to ride it. Still have the KZ and a Kymco Venox. I never took a saftey course but I would have you new guys should what I see out there now is not good for the sport. It will only bring trouble down on all off us.
Reply:I was 13 when i convinced my folks i had to have a dirt bike.They bought me a new 1968 Suzuki 100 which wasn't made for dirt but i got by til i learned to ride it,then i traded up to a Bultaco motocrosser.At 18 i got an old BSA M22 which i rode til i was 21.Then i bought a 1956 Panhead which i still own.Had a few other bikes through the years too.I'm like you though ,nobody taught me,i just got on a started riding.My main ride now is a 2002 Electraglide Classic.I almost bought an old BSA Victor recently.I still love those old thumpers.
Reply:Great stories here! I first learned by begging rides on my friend's '83 Yamaha Virago 750. It was a Harley clone with a v-twin engine. I just remember how HUGE it seemed... and the giddy laughter that bubbles up from piloting something way more powerful than a normal car.





Riding in a big city I had no helmet, no leathers, no license, and shudder to think about it now... my buddy soon picked up all three though and was a very safe rider. That Virago was a pretty reliable bike too, except for the stupid starter that kept breaking.





I remember him letting another friend of ours have a ride. That guy was used to much smaller engines. First time on -- wouldn't you know it -- whacked open the throttle, the bike roared and wheelied up like a wild horse and dumped him off on his knees. The bike drifted into some brush and had almost no damage, while our friend slid JUST enough on the concrete to tear through his jeans, but no real blood was drawn. Lucky as hell...





Somehow I didn't ride for seven years after those great summers. But the bug bit again hard after college. I picked up a Honda Shadow and took the MSF class. Four bikes later I'm still riding and even doing long trips, but I can't seem to talk my old friend back into it. He actually still has the mighty Virago, but after years of sitting it's become a conversation piece in back of his garage. One day, I'll hook him again, I know it. I can tell from the way he looks at new bikes that the next tiny push could be the one...
Reply:Moved to florida after graduating high school and needed a way to get around other than friends. They did not require insurance if your finance company did not. So went and looked at a few and got one from a used dealer with payments of about 50 a week. Drove till i got caught with no liesen and let go. Required at that age in florida to take a msf course before you can get liesen and then not to even have to take a driving test so finally got my liesen. Bought a few, few hundred buck bikes and a few used from dealers too. None over 1500 bucks. One day would like a new one but will keep getting used or even good used bike though. Started riding 1989-90.





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Reply:My riding start sounds like a comic strip, but ended well. Just before I finished high school (1952), I bought a 1942 Harley 45. The owner rode it out, but told me it needed rod bearings, as it was knocking. Price was right, so I took it. I was a farm boy, had already rebuilt hay baler and tractor engines, without assistance, and the ols owner loaned me a book, "Nicholsons Motorcycle Repair" or close name. I read it, and tore into the engine. Jury rigged a bit of a lapping setup, my Dad got me a new set of bearings, and gaskets. After a few evenings work, it was back together, and IT RAN!


My little shop was about 50 yards from the front gate, so thought I would ride there and back, almost ran over a side delivery rake and a mower on that trip, Next day, rode to the road, and about 1/4 mile up the road, and turned around in a church yard. There and back - OK. Next day, something broke on one of our machines, a small part, but had top go to town to be welded. So, I got on the bike, and away we go! About 1/2 mile toward town,was a creek, a small bridge, with a bend in the road, right in the middle of the bridge. So, I got there, slowly, and since it was a RH bend, pulled the RH bar, to take the bend. Almost hit the LH side of the bridge. Reaction was to get away, so I leaned right, and the bike followed, and I missed the bridge. Other than killing it a a few stoplights, the rest of the trip was uneventfull. The next ride was on Sunday, a couple of days later, I rode 40-50 miles or so, without incident. Rode the bike the rest of the sumer, sold it before leaving for college, then in the spring, bought an Indian Chief. That was the longest time I did not have a bike, since 1952. In Tennessee, in those days, to get a license, all you needed to do was type "Motorcycle Also" on your drivers license. When you renewed your license, the new license would have "Motorcycle Also" printed on it.





Now, about 1/2 million miles later, still riding. Have done some competition stuff, dirt, a bit of road racing, a lot of drag racing, and land speed trials. Would not trade the experience for all the money in the world!





Tomcotexas.

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