My dad 'shared' his dirt bikes with me when I was a kid , but the first bike I ever purchased on my own was a 2003 DRZ400S. That bike gave me the 'street riding bug' and I just purchased my first street bike in June. That, of course, is my modified orange 1998 GS500E.  I love them both!  :mrgreen:

Quote from: perfdrugi was definatly exaggerating. i replaced the head gasket, did a crummy job (my first time. i just wanted to get it done) and now i've gotta re-do it it looks like. i'm actually kinda looking forward to re-tearing it down. just sucks cause i'm always so strapped for time.

it's a 96. i'm probably getting something new next spring, but the gs will be in great working order when i get rid of it. i wouldn't wish my frustration on my worst enemies. i may keep it tho, if i decide to invest in an autox car instead. otherwise i'm looking at everything from a sv650 to a speed four to something with a fairing (but insurance would suck balls).

i know i would have fixed it all up by now if there was any motivation. it was the worst rainy summer ever (serious, it's official). so i'd prolly be leaving my bike home most days anyways.

I was talking to some guys about the eli 900 I am doing some head replacement crap on... and they said they should be decked... the cylinders and head were so bad from the factory that we should deck them for better seal... dont know if it applies to a GS... but couldn't hurt.
Cool.
Srinath.

First bike was a 1965 Yamaha YG1K (80cc), given to me by my grandpa and restored to working order by my dad and I.   That was a great little bike, I'm sad that it's gone, but I have nowhere to store it.  See pics on website below

My gs is my first bike. I bought it in the end of april and started riding when I finished my MSF at the end of may.

My first bike was a 1996 Yamaha Seca II.

Picked it up in Jan '03, dumped it in Jun '03 ( tankslapper )

Coincidentally enough ( and there's more than just this one ) the day I bought the GS500 ( which still isn't put back together ) was exactly one year after I dropped the Seca.

My first bike was a 20" foot brake...oh you mean motorbike. First was a Harley Davidson Sprint 250. Kick-start on the left side, felt heavy as truck and was a barrell of fun to ride. Second bike was a '68 triumph TR-6 single Amal carb, 6-volt Lucas electrics that I bought for 200$ in a basket. I had a lot of fun building the thing. I put 6-over tubes in the front which made it handle like wheelbarrow, but It was a lot of fun. You can learn a lot about motorcycles by riding an old Triumph or BSA. My third bike was a '73 FLH bought from a police auction. I tore the bike down and rebuilt it from the ground up. Named it Spooky. That was undoubtedly the most fun, most reliable, most comfortable bike I have ever owned or rode. I really wish I could get another. People who cut down Harleys have probably never owned one of those because they are so simple and easy to maintain. My third bike was a '79 Honda SS750 which was a piece of crap. I rebuilt It also, but something was always tearing up on it. I finally sold it to my Brother who didn't have much more luck with it. The fourth scoot was a '77 XLCH which (yes again) I tore down and rebuilt. I went whole hog (no pun intended) with the motor and drivetrain on that bike. S&S bottom-end, Andrews gears, Barnett clutch, ported heads, S&S carb, PB+ cams...everything. Plus we lightened the thing up about 40-50 pounds or so. That was one good running Sportster and It surprised many a KZ and GS (not 500's, the big ones) in a straight line run. It handled OK for a Sporty but It definitely wasn't a corner carver. My last bike before the current White Owl was a '48 Pan-head FL with no front brake and a mouse-trap eliminator clutch. Now that was one cantankerous motorcycle. Sometimes you could kick for 10-20 minutes without so much as a burp from It. But It was fun and drew a crowd wherever it was parked. It may have been a little better If I had converted It to 12-volt electrics. Now, after a 9 year hiatus I have the White Owl, thanks to my Bebe. I don't get to ride much because of my medical condition, but even If I get to ride one day a week I'm happy. Oh, BTW, I finally made a crutch holder for the bike so when I stop somewhere I can get off and walk. Oh I love that little GS500 and the forum dedicated to It.

C.......

Well......., here's my first bike.


Ooops!  Wrong photo.  Actually,
the GS is my first.

My first bike was a 1971 Honda CB350 Super Sport like the one below, only red and white - and much, much dirtier.

 NO! I didn't buy it new. I had ridden minibikes and friends' dirtbikes as a kid and my Dad would take my brother and me to the local Honda shop in New Orleans in the late Sixties seemingly every Saturday. The three of us would drool on tanks, (just like today), but we never had the money or Mom's "go-ahead" to get one. Anyway, fast forward to 1982 and I was a newlywedded 20 year-old. A friend at church said he had this old Honda in his carport and I could have it for 200 bucks. I had to take 3 or 4 paydays but I finally got him his money and rode the thing home under cover of darkness with my wife following closely behind in the car. You see, the tabs were several years expired and I still didn't have a MC endorsement. That Summer ranks among the best in my life. I think the joy and the sense of freedom that I felt, finally getting to ride after waiting 10 years or so, was incredible. I rode that thing around for a month or two and decided I should tune it up. While replacing the points, (anybody remember those?), I discovered that one set, (yes, one set for each cylinder), was wired incorrectly causing them to simply ground out. - I had been riding it around on one cylinder!! Since I had never ridden one before, I had no way of knowing this. My first ever, (could be my last I don't remember), wheelie was right after that. I took off the way I had become accustomed to while it was a "CB175" and, with the newly doubled horsepower, the front wheel came right up. I have had many, many bikes since then but I don't think I loved any of them any more than that old CB. My owning that bike inspired my Dad to finally get a bike, an older Kawasaki 650CSR. We took many enjoyable rides together on the various bikes we owned during those years before Mortgages and children righfully took priority in my life over toys. It's impossible to say now which is more fun - riding around with my Dad when I was still in my 20's and thought I knew everything or, nowadays, riding around with my adult son, (it hurts to even type that), me in my 40's and knowing only that I am NOT crash-proof. It's funny, he's the same age now as I was when I bought that old Honda.

I'm on my first bike. Will probably ride it for a couple of years, teach my wife to ride on the GS, get a 600 and go for rides together. I might be dreaming but thats my goal...  

My first bike was an Auto Union 75cc scooter which was old when I got it in 1975.  Next was a Yamaha DT125 then a TY250 trials bike.  This was followed by a Kawasaki KZ900 (the only bike I've ever seriously broken) then a KZ650.  6 months without a bike was followed by a Yamaha R5 350 2stroke twin, a Kawasaki 250 triple then a Mach III.  A Honda CB350/4 and a Yamaha XT550 followed in quick succession, then a Kawasaki Z250 and a Honda CB125T (twin).  A second KZ650 helped me pick up a wife, who loved to ride pillion until the kids came along.  A Suzuki GS450 lasted 12 months before it was replaced with a Moto Guzzi V65TT (road/trail, and my favourite of all my bikes) that carried me to university and 185,000km in 6 years.  A brief obsession with a Yamaha SR500 as a project bike eventually led to the GS500 which I have now had for 3 years.  I am thinking of getting something a bit bigger in the next year or so.

My first bike was a 97 KDX200, my second is the brand spanking new 04 GS that should be arriving on my door step next week!

My GS is my first and only bike.

I had an AR125 I used to ride around on (with L-plates) until the piston blew up (2 strokes!)

Then I had a GS125 for a year. Then a break from riding - then I took my Direct Access course et voila - I now have a GS500. I loved it when I was training on it...

The first one I owned was a 88 Kawi KB 100 2 stroke back in India... First in US was a 87 Kawasaki 600 ninja. GS'es are #5 (still own with 45K miles and a shredded magnet), #8, and #15 and #17 I think... or some like that.
Cool.
Srinath.

Quote from: Michaela Honda CB125T (twin)

Not the first bike I ever rode, but this was the kind I used during the MSF course.  (I assumed that the "T" stood for "Trainer" or something.  :lol: )  It seemed pretty gutless, but that was GREAT for the course.

When i was seventeen, I had some very good beer, some very good beer i purchased, with a fake ID......

While my 'rents were on vacay and i worked at Friendly's i bought a then 12 year old 1975 cb400f from a bike mechanic not knowing or caring what caliber machine that was. I just wanted a motorcycle.  I had a permit and i hauled around until i got a ticket and was told the bike would be confiscated unless i got it legal, whatever that meant. I put it in a friend's garage before my parents (who wouldv'e flipped out) came home.  We were in so much trouble with local law enforcement for nightly loud noise and lawn driving at that point i didn't feel it was an appropriate time to bring it up.

1977 CJ360T Honda. Drum brakes and bad handling. I miss that bike.

Your pic reminded me,

I guess my 96 gs is my 2nd. I tooled around for a couple summers in High School on my older brother's 1987 Yamaha Razz. 30mph top speed unless you had a downhill.

That thing was a blast. thanks for the memories

Riz


the gs IS my first bike with a gearshift, however.

my 04 GS500F is my first bike, but hopefully not my last

My GS is my first.  I bought it in '01, and I've put a lot of miles on it, but when someone backs over you're parked bike :guns: you will have a few problems riding.