I did a search to see if this topic had been posted and couldn't find it, so I'll start what will hopefully be the next five page thread.

WHY DID YOU START RIDING / WHAT GOT YOU INTO MOTORCYCLES / MOTORCYCLING?

I'll start.  (Clears throat, takes deep breath)

I found myself in Ft. Huachuca, AZ in school for the army.  I was planning on getting a cheap vehicle soon so I could run around after classes, go out on the weekends, whatever.  One day I saw a bike parked in the lot in front of the building I lived in.  Just had a passing thought, something along the lines of, "hmm, that's kinda cool looking..."  The next thing I know I'm buying cycle traders, going to dealers, searching on the internet, etc.  Found out from my roommate about MSF.  Checked it out, reserved a spot, took it.  Had tons of fun.  Got my license two days later.  Got my bike the next weekend.  The same bike I have now.  my '95 metallic purple GS.  Had 7760 miles at the time, bought it April 7, 2002.  Cost me almost $3000 with helmet, gloves, and AGV textile jacket.  I did not know that this site existed.  All I knew was that a new one cost $5K.  I was very happy with my choice, though.  And still am.  I am going to be buying a 600 class when i get home from Iraq, but the GS will still be mine.  It will still be ridden on the track, and on some nice, twisty Sunday rides.

(exhale)

Your turn!

Highschool freinds wanted to tour the U.S. after we all graduated, but I was the only one who purchased a bike for that reason.

Good Post!

Well, lets see now.... I started riding because my dad thought it would be cool. He wasnt allowed a bike (my mom said), so he started to get me more and more intrested in a street bike. I really had never considered getting a motorcycle before. I was too enthralled with cars. I had done dirt biking and stuff before, and am an avid cyclist (downhill, road, x-country), so this was the logical next step. I decided to take my riding course, and got my license after a couple weeks of training. I didnt have any $$$, so I couldnt buy a bike. Than, I graduated high school, broke up with my girl friend of many years, and next thing I know, I am at a motorcycle dealership with my dad near our cabin and he hands me the keys to my '02 GS. That was that. I have been hooked for a year and a half now. Its time, as I have stated many times, for a larger bike, so I think I am getting a ZX9R. I love motorcycles!!!  

Let's see... I missed for three days in a row the last bus going to my home. I had to walk 45 mins each time, in the dark. The last time I said: that's it, I am buying a scooter. Then I thought: why a scooter when I can buy a real bike? So the next week-end I checked the classified and bought my 93 GS.
That was two years ago. I was back riding after 11 years. I had sold my last bike in 1990, just before leaving for college.

Since I was little I always liked fast things on wheels. Got into working on cars at a young age. College roomate had a couple of dirt bikes and lived in rural Vermont - put me on a bike, showed me how to shift and stop and told me if I couldn't keep up he was leaving me in the woods. We ran the wooded trails and then tore up an old abandoned mining quarry. I learned the hard way that going too slow up a steep hill hurts and that leaning back when you come off the crest of a jump is a bad thing to do. We did that every couple of weekends. After college I moved back to L.I., saved some money and went to buy a brand new leftover EX500 at a local dealership. It was sweet - dark metallic blue with the half fairing - 0 miles, and the price was killer.  When I called to insure the bike to close the deal and found out that my annual insurance bill was going to cost more than the bike I walked out of the dealership. 3 months later I took the bike money and moved to Virginia with my old college roomie. 3 months after that he bought a '91 Bandit 400. 2 weeks later I picked up my GS. Been riding it for almost 8 years.

My Dad has ridden motorcycles since he was a teenager.  We usually had more than one, and sometimes SEVERAL, bikes around when I was growing up.

When I was about 12 my Dad forced/tricked me into learning to ride one of my older brothers' Kawasaki 100 on/off road bikes.  Yeah, it was actually somewhat against my will.  (I've always been more of the "bookish" type.)  I put maybe a few dozen miles on before we moved, and those Kawi 100s eventually disappeared.

Fast forward 26 years to 2000.  At this point, I've been living in Utah since I came out to go to school at BYU in 1980.  My Dad's been living in Arkansas since he retired from the Air Force around 1983.  We're separated by 1300 miles and completely different personalities.  When I call home I usually talk to Mom.  It's not that I'm antagonistic about my Dad - I just don't have much in common with him.  I even feel kinda bad about it, see?

OK, now a coworker tells me his neighbor just took some course called "MSF" and got a motorcycle, and wants HIM to do the same so they can ride together.  BING!  A light goes off in my head - this could be a way to establish some common ground with my Dad!

According to plan, I take the MSF course, get my UT license, fly to Arkansas for a 1-week visit, and put 600 miles on one of my Dad's 6 or 7 bikes as we ride around together.  I fly back home - plan complete.

But my Dad has other ideas.  Soon he's calling me (which is good, right?) and asking what kind of bike I'm looking for.  Huh?  Own a bike?  Never occurred to me!

Before you know it, he finds a 1999 GS500E back in AR with 1700 miles on it for a killer price ($2750 in early 2000) and hauls it out to UT for me!

And that's all it took.  I turned from homebody into Explorer Extraordinaire and 26,000+ miles (and one 45 mph collision with a cow) later I still haven't looked back.

My dad was the culprit for me too.  He gave me my 1st helmet at age 7.  Taught me to ride when I could flatfoot the Suzuki 185 trail bike.  Got to ride some and was hooked.  My mother on the other hand forbid me to ride... well not totally, but I grew up in "suberbia" so there was no where for me to ride.
I moved to VA and became independent.  Thought about getting a bike a lot but never did it.  Moved back to MA and decided it was time.  Started with fixing the old 185 then when I couldn't register it I did some research and bought my GS.

And now here I am...totally addicted!
:mrgreen:

Great stories.

Hey Kerry I think it's awesome that this was a way for you to connect with your dad.  I remember you mentioning your father/son road trip too.  Very cool.

Both of my brothers ride and one of them even races.  Then my husband Ken finally got a bike.  He had always wanted one but never seriously looked into getting one.  Shortly after his 37th birthday he became the proud owner of his very own moto.  After he got some experience and mileage under his belt I went on some rides with him (2-up) and it was fun but I thought it would be more fun if I had my own bike.   My first bike was a Suzuki Savage and it was good to learn on but I was having some problems with it and didn't want to spend the time and money to fix anything so I sold it.  A few months later my brother called me and asked if I wanted another bike.  I said sure but I didn't want to spend a lot of money.  His co-worker's girlfriend had bought a '96 GS that she rode once in a parking lot, dropped and then never touched it again.  It was in great shape (sans minor rash on the grabrail) and just needed some minor work and new tires (since it was sitting in a garage for over a year).  I got it for $900 and spent a few hundred on a new exhaust, air filter, windscreen, and tires.  I didn't realize what a deal I had gotten until I saw how much other used GS's were going for.  

I love my bike!

P.S. After I bought the bike it was in my brother's garage while he worked on it.  I had found this board and was planning on doing a fenderectomy once I got the bike.  Apparently, my brother beat me to it and had already done the fenderectomy!

Blame it on my dad too.  I was 3 years old & I asked him for a mini bike.  He said that I could have one when I was 6.  Unbelieveably enough, when I turned 6 the old man came through.  I'm 37 now & can tell you about that day like it just happened.  Rode mini bikes for a few years, got my first motorcycle at 16.  My son is almost 3 now.  I take him for short rides, but he'll be a lot older than 6 before he gets one of his own.

John.

My uncle raced Suzukis in the '70s and one of my earliest memories is watching those guys fly around the track in West Virginia.  Fast forward to my teenage years and I'm spending my summers visiting relatives in France, riding the hell out of their mopeds.  Always wanted a bike, but the parents wouldn't help with the cash and when I got my first car at 16, dreams of motorcycle glory faded quick.  Fast forward to this summer... My brother-in-law buys a Suzuki Intruder Volusia seemingly out of the blue.  I take one look at that sweet machine and 10 years of dormant motorcycle lust come roaring back to life.  I've been devouring all the m/c info I can get my hands on since and have started a bike fund.  I'm planning on taking the MSF next spring and hopefully buying a GS next summer/fall if all goes according to plan...

Quote from: jgaryMy son is almost 3 now.  I take him for short rides, but he'll be a lot older than 6 before he gets one of his own.

Yeah, that's what you say now....  

I have noticed at an age of 12 that my head was involuntarly moving to watch everytime a motorcycle rode by. i didn't have any motorised vehicle before i bought my bike, so for almost 8 years i was going crazy about bikes (still do) and my head still turns. to have a family that's against motorcycles is really annoying  :x  if i'm gonna have a kid in the far future he/she going to learn how to ride a bike for sure

Oh yah, I wanted to pick up more girls too. That definatley helped.
Nothing gets the ladies like a 400lb vibrator

I basically picked up because I was overworking and sorely needed a hobby to get me some balance in my life.  Nobody in my family and none of my friends rode at the time (I have since converted a few pals)... also...

1. Gas mileage
2. Chicks dig it
3. Parking sucks in college towns and motorcycles are easier to find spaces for
4. Chicks dig it
5. Other motorcyclists are usually cool people and fun to hang out with
6. Chicks dig it
7. I wanted to start learning bout engines, and bikes seemed the best place to start
8. Chicks dig it

did I forget anything?

hmm, the chicks dig it part hasn't worked for me yet.

always wanted a bike, always talked about getting a bike, and always thought of owning a bike.  between myself and my circle of friends, everyone thought for sure that i would be the first to get it, plus i had taken the course already.  turns out, two of my buddies got it before i did and they started giving me sheat... all talks. so i started looking for a gs or seca ii, and found an amazing deal with my gs, and the rest is history.

The chicks dig it thing never really got me going either. Maybe I just never found the right passenger, but I never had as much fun with a lady on the back. My current (and probably last!) gf won't get on the bike (single mama), which is fine with me. Got the solo seat on there and hacked the rear pegs off anyhow.

But I can relate to Jundie. My lady's dad is a medical examiner and every time he sees me on the bike I have to hear..."Let me tell you what a motorcycle accident victim looks like on the autopsy table..." It gets old quick.

I am probably the newest member, just getting my permit like 3 weeks ago, but it all startted a while back

Always wanted a dirtbike as a kid, and rode my friends every now and then.

then last year I came across a old Honda Express that was not running, being the car freek/mechanic that I am I took her all apart, and fixed the kickstart and carburator to make her run like a champ.
rode the hell out of that w/o lisence, registration, insurance, or plates, not gonna spend $$ on a bike that had a please take sign on it.

Then she was stolen, I am still mad about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next a friend of a frien heard I fix old bikes and gave me his CT90 to fix and  I just got it tio run athis summer, needed carb cleaned and points adjusted. It still has horrible compression and needs a new top end, and maybe some tranny adjustments(gets stuck in gear and its an Auto)

Then this year, living off campus and too far to bike w/ parking soooooooooo bad, I had no other choice  

Now I love it, and want a dirtbike too,.
And I have turned from a car freak into a cycle freak too.  Already modding the bike every chance I get

and thats the story

Fathers My old man took me on like 5 rides when I was eight. That was when we lived Georgia. Then he sold the bike after only a month.

Bike 01
When I was 15 a few of my buddies got bikes but would never let me drive. So I got a job as a fry cook at Captain D's.
$200 later, I owned a 10 year old 77 KZ400 ex race bike. Everything on that bike broke but the engine. No MSF, no M liscence. I high sided it in three months. Dad helped me buy a car if I would lose the bike.

Bike 02
In college I had an 82 Yamaha 440 that I paid $400 for. It stopped running after about a year and a half . I abandoned it in a school parking lot because I couldn't afford to pay a mechanic and I had bought a 69 Ford Van. This was in Denver and I was cold

Bike 03
In Orlando in the summer of 93, I signed my name on the dotted line for a 600cc 87 Yamaha Radian for $3000. I wrecked it two days later on one of the three curvy roads in Central Florida. A little duct tape and I was good for about 2 and a half years of abuse before a mechanic messed up my carbs and I ended up sending a piston through the engine block at 80mph.

Bike 04
Bought a mint looking 1991 Honda Knighthawk 250 with 7000 miles for $800 in 1995 from a co-worker.
Broke the whole speedo the first time a I changed the front brake pads. Something to do with the cable that attached to the drum brake housing. It had 12K miles on it in 95 when cable broke. So I don't know its final milage.
I brought that bike with me to LA in the back of a U-haul.
I ended up giving it to a Suzuki parts kid in Feb 2002, when I bought my first new bike my GS. The knighthawk was on its last leg. It was knocking and close to seizing. It looked like hell but it did run. I also had no parking for a second bike. So I was glad to not to have to abandon it.
In 1998 I finally got a ticket for no M liscence. I took the test and luckily passed the first time.
Bike 05
Today my Saturn Black 2002  GS saw 10k on its odometer

Cool stories!

My parents were totally against me getting a bike. In college, I had a couple of friends who rode, and took a few spins on the back of their bikes. I hated not seeing where I was going or being in control, so I picked up a 1979 Honda CB400 (this was 1993). I liked it, and taught myself to ride it, but not having the MSF course under my belt (or a license or insurance), I was hesitant to ride it much. Plus, my parents found out and freaked. I had it for a summer and sold it in the fall.

Nine years later (2002), I started meeting bikers again. After hearing me go on and on about how great bikes are, my SV-riding friend said, "why don't you get a bike?" Ding - lightbulb went off! I did things right this time. took the course, bought full gear (and insurance), and bought a 1979 Yamaha XS650. But it was a big, heavy bike, and I'm not a tinkerer - it seemed to always need fixing. After three months on that, I found a 2000 GS500 and have been riding constantly ever since (with the exception of the horrible mechanic story some of you have heard about - but from end of July till last week, I've been riding every day...it's a bit cold this week, but I plan to ride through the winter).

As a bonus, my husband followed my lead and bought himself a bike (a Ninja 500). Plus, I've met so many great people...fellow riders. Great hobby/form of transportation/lifestyle - I'm in it for the long-haul.

Okay, this is going to be slightly embarrassing...

What first got me looking at motorcycles:  Reading Oh My Goddess manga  
The artist is obviously a cycle freak, between drawing the bikes, stories about racing and riding, and all the little knowledge bits he puts in.  I do eventually want to get myself a R90S (that's what I think it is) just like Keiichi, but without the sidecar.

Other than that, I have a trike for tooling around the mountains, but my dad never did any motorcycling, cause he had a bad enough time with bike riding (unlicensed drivers hitting him from behind... not good)

I got to grad school and a friend i met had his CBR, and after a year of chatting about it, i sprung for the bike  I really like having a much better feel for the road, instead of being in an insulated car, but it can be scary too.