My / Your biking test & bike history ??????

I too was a late starter due to my mum hating bikes after she nearly lost a brother when he was hit by a bus.
So I had to wait and wait but longed for a bike for years
first bike I rode was a Honda C90 aged 16 at school.

Then I did my cbt in 2000. Passed my direct access first time soon after.
First bike was a brand new 2001 Yamaha R6. I hadn't even passed my test and m dad had to ride it home from the showroom. Then I've kind of made up for lost time really
2001 01 Yamaha R6
2001 I bought a ZXR400 to go with the R6
2001 part ex the zxr for rossie rep 01 CBR 600f sport
2002 bought a 2001 Yamaha wr400
2003 bought a new Suzuki DRZ400 to replace the WR that got nicked
2003 part ex the DRZ for a 2000 speed triple in roulette green
2004 march part ex both the R6 and the CBR for a brand new rsv factory(awesome)
2004 second speed triple in black to replace the crashed green one
2005 had to sell the factory and drop down to one bike due to having a wee 1
2006 part ex the speed triple for a 2001 955i daytona.
2007 part ex the daytona for an 04 Yamaha R1.
2009 sold the R1 to fund my latest steed an 07 RSV.

I've always replaced the cans but never felt like changing any other components on all the bikes I've owned. (the 04factory I had a full akra system which was pure art) however I am totally smitten with the rsv and keep saving to buy new parts for it. Carbon fibre bits etc. I don't think I'll ever want to let this one go. I absolutely love it.

CBT at 16 in 1999.

Suzuki ZR50 (revesred into by a lorry while I was on it)
Aprilia Rally 50 (first aprilia, Luckily didn't base my opinion of the brand on this, it was *****)
Suzuki RG125 Wolf
Honda CB500S (Stolen)
Dads old CB500S (Written off)
Honda Hornet 600 (company bikes, had a couple of different ones over 2 years with several accidents)
Triumph Daytona 955i
Now the Ape.:thumbup

Well mine's got to be one of the shortest considering I'm 44 and a half.

July 08 chap I know became a CBT instructor and dragged me along for a go. Hooked!
July 08 bought a Honda Varedero 125 to practise, cracked out 2000 slowwww miles on it. Still hooked!
Sept 08 DAS course (failed) Pissed off!
Sept 08 DAS course (passed) Dog with 2 dicks!
Sept 08 (day after test) part ex'd Vara for a Fireblade 954RR3 - eye-opener! cracked out 11,000 miles on it so far.
Sept 09 RSV1000R - pure ****! only about 3,000 miles so far.
Dec 09 still got both, silly having 2 sports bikes I know, but can't bring myself to sell my first proper bike, anyway it's going to be a classic I tells ya!irate
Still shiney side up still learning. Still hooked!

Another late starter here. :biggrin

I was 29, hadn`t been married too long, had recently moved into a bigger house, and me and the first wife had just had our first child, so money was a bit tight.

At the time, we had two cars (nothing special, just old stuff), and a mate at work suggested selling one of the cars and buying a small bike to commute on.......great mpg, etc.....

FFS, I got totally HOOKED, rode it all through the winter (getting blown backwards when it was windy, etc), and in all sorts of freezing conditions, and still absolutely LOVED it ! Passed my bike test first time, about 6 months later, and bought my first "big" bike - a Yamaha YPVS 350 - and never looked back.

This next bit is the list that followed !.........:biggrin

Yamaha YPVS350
Yamaha FZR600
Kawasaki ZX10 (the first one, obviously, big lumbering ox, but f`kin quick !)
Suzuki GSX750 (kept only 3 weeks, detested it !)
Suzuki RF900
Suzuki GSXR750
Suzukit GSXR750 SRAD
Kawasaki ZX7R (Green)
Suzuki RF600
Honda CBR600
Kawasaki ZX7R (Black)
Kawasaki ZX7R (Red)
Kawasaki ZX9R
Yamaha R1
Honda Firestorm
Suzuki TL1000R
Honda Fireblade
Honda CBR600
Honda Fireblade
Aprilia RSVR `04
Honda Fireblade RR8 (current bike)

Yes, I know the list looks mental, but there are some breaks in there, and I`m ashamed to admit that I`ve lost LOADS of money over the years...........but by the hell-fire............I`ve had a FANTASTIC time on them !!! :biggrin

strongbow said:

Can anyone else put into words, why riding bikes is so enjoyable? I love it.

Click to expand...

I think I can, it's when you get that moment of clarity when man and machine become one. Dosen't always happen but when it does :thumbup



My history
1978 AP50
1979 CB250 wet dream, at 17 passed test after 3 goes 1st attempt got lost, 2nd attempt ran over examiner doing emergency stop 3rd time passed :doug
1980 KH250
1981 TS185
1981 Suzuki super six 250
1982 Z650
1984 Z250
1985 KLR600
1986 to 88 two CX500 despatch riding in London
1989 to 98 XJ550
1998 Harley 1200 sportster, what was I thinking uke
2000 Buell 1200 lightning
2002 Buell 1200 firebolt

2007 RGV250
2008 RD350/RGV hybrid I built
2009 Another RD350/RGV hybrid I built

2004 to when one of us gets mullered my RSVR

:biggrin

strongbow said:

Can anyone else put into words, why riding bikes is so enjoyable? I love it.

Click to expand...

The adrenaline rush, the feel of power as you are (hopefully!!) in complete control of something that could drastically shorten your life if not handled with respect, that moment when you're riding on a perfect summer day, banked right over mid bend on the perfect line- man and machine working together as one.

well, i started riding when i was 12. had three romanian bikes, called "mobra super 50", 50 cc (49.5 actually), two-stroke, 4 gears until i was 16. then, at 16 got my A1 driver's permit (in romania we have two categories, A1 and A) and got myself a minsk 125 cc two stroke russian bike, quite an off-roader even though it was designed as a commuter (ehh, russian roads full of craters, not potholes ) mean that a commuter is actually sort of an enduro bike), then at 17 another minsk, at 18 an 175 two stroke voschod bike. at 19 i bought another russian bike, an izh jupiter 4, (inline twin, 350 cc, two stroke, 4 gears) i think in the uk it was called the cossack but i'm not really sure so don't take it for granted). then at 20 an izh planeta (350 cc, single, two stroke, 4 gears), at 21 a czech jawa 350 ts (two-stroke twin, 4 gears) which was actually relatively a sporty bike, pushing 80 kmph in second gear. well, sporty for the communist-era-built bikes anyway), at 22 i built a hybrid, izh jupiter engine, modified frame and the wheels, brakes, forks, swingarm, rear shock from a 1991 cbr1000f. great handling bike it was, wheighing 152 kgs wet. modified the engine (i was a bit of a two stroke fanatic) massively and got around 45 bhp from it. really fun bike that was. at 23 i bought an rf 600 r, now it is a 750 and this year, at 24 i bought a 2000.5 mille. the only bikes that i still own are the rf and the mille. wish i had more but i have no place for other bikes sadly, maybe in the future.

Here's mine.... early start for me also, passed test at 16 in 1971 this involved riding round a triangle of roads, in Workington as it happens, the examiner could only see you on 2 sides of it

1971 Yamaha 125cc YAS1 (with race fairing mind :thumbup)
1972 Ducati 160cc Monza Junior irate(swore then i'd never get another Ducati) moved onto cars :dunno so no bikes till...
1975 Suzuki GT380
1976 Norton Commando 850 no bikes till
1983-85 Suzuki TS185ER .. commuter bike while stationed in Cyprus
Raced 100cc 2 stroke karts while in the Army and after for best part of 25years, so out of bikes till...
2000 Honda VFR800i.... IAM test
2002 Honda VFR800 Vtec
2005 Triumph Sprint ST1050 Silver
2006 Triumph Sprint ST1050 Graphite
2007 BMW K1200S Grey
2008 BMW K1200S Tricolour
2009 Aprilia RSV Factory Grey... first sports bike:thumbup.... RoSPA Gold award.

Still using the K12 for touring both UK and Europe usually 2 up, annual mileage approx 15k, and all fun miles :doug
Did my first RSV trackday at Cadwell in Nov, awesome handling bike:devious looking forward to a few more next year.

Rode my first bike at 10. A string of field bikes (inc a 440 Maico) followed.

On the road at 16 in 1980 on a Fizzie.

Rode illegally til 1988, then decided to pass my test (mainly cos I was dispatch riding for a living:biggrin).

Since then I reckon I've had about a hundred bikes of every conceivable type. All of which were more reliable starters than the RSV