Big7
The Oracle
Fast Bike!!
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First new motorcycle back in the day
- Thread starter sinclair1
- Start date
Big7
The Oracle
Well, we were talking about very first bikes and it morphed a little so I got another one to post..
I bought a bike exactly like this one in 1983. I bought it off a dude I worked with who bought it new and was scared of it.
It had 4200 miles on it and I bought it for $1000.00 cash.
In that time period, the national speed limit was 55 MPH and it only had 85 MPH on the speedometer and it would bury the needle in SECOND GEAR. No telling what the top end was. Let's just say I'm lucky to be alive.
1981 Yamaha SECA 750. Mind boggling fast.
Had it about 20 years and gave it to a friend.
That In Line 4 Cylinder DOHC was awesome. Rode it stock for a year or 2 and put a 4 into 1 SUPERTRAP Header on it and that was the only thing on it not stock. (Got another story about my V MAX for another post)
I bought a bike exactly like this one in 1983. I bought it off a dude I worked with who bought it new and was scared of it.
It had 4200 miles on it and I bought it for $1000.00 cash.
In that time period, the national speed limit was 55 MPH and it only had 85 MPH on the speedometer and it would bury the needle in SECOND GEAR. No telling what the top end was. Let's just say I'm lucky to be alive.
1981 Yamaha SECA 750. Mind boggling fast.
Had it about 20 years and gave it to a friend.
That In Line 4 Cylinder DOHC was awesome. Rode it stock for a year or 2 and put a 4 into 1 SUPERTRAP Header on it and that was the only thing on it not stock. (Got another story about my V MAX for another post)
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specialk
Senior Member
I have no idea, i got from an older guy that almost killed his self riding mountian trails....i had it 3 yrs until i dropped it on wet pavement and broke my leg....i was 15 and thoughts were toward cars and trucks then....i sold it shortly after that....
natureman
Senior Member
Nice job on the restoration. Back in the day I my daily rider was a 1972 Kawasaki 350 Bighorn and Yamaha 1975 XS500
alphachief
Senior Member
Great little bike with tons of torque. My first was a Kawasaki G5 100 enduro…then a Yamaha RD350…then a Kawasaki H2 750.
mallardsx2
BANNED
I rode a bicycle. My family was too broke to afford any toys that ran on gasoline lol.
I to have morphed a little as well, my current bike.
Baroque Brass
Senior Member
My folks couldn’t buy me a bike either so it was good motivation to get a job and buy it myself. Saved up a little money for down payment and my mom co-signed a loan for me. I think the payment was about $40 a month. At that, I was able to double up on payments and pay it off. I showed my mom I could actually be responsible!
One of the neighborhood kids hit a car head on and was killed. I think he was fifteen, didn’t really know him that well.
My bike history:
1968 Honda CL 125
1972 Honda SL175 (new)
1976 Honda CL 450
1978 Kawasaki 650-4
2006 Kawasaki 650 Vulcan
2012 (I think) Honda ST 1300
That liquid cooled V4 on that last Honda was a sweet running machine and would run like a scalded dog. Weighing in at about 700#, it was actually a little too much bike for me.
Stob
Useles Billy’s Uncle StepDaddy.
1983 Yammy YZinger 80 and then a YZ 125 about '85-'86
o2bfishin
Senior Member
My uncle had an 85 VMax, in 1992 he bought a new one. He worked out a very good deal for me to buy his 85... I couldn't find an insurance company anywhere near reasonable. Some flat out said they wouldn't touch it. I was 17, probably a good thing. Incredible power when the vboost kicked in. If I recall, the 85 would do 0 to 60 in under 3 seconds. I still have the Cycle World somewhere that had the VMax next to a Shelby Cobra on the cover
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Whitefeather
Management Material
I started out on an Honda Elsinore 50 about at 5
Got a Honda XR 75 until about 13
Then graduated to a Yamaha MX 360 and rode it until I found what girls were
Got a Honda XR 75 until about 13
Then graduated to a Yamaha MX 360 and rode it until I found what girls were
Whitefeather
Management Material
My first real job in high school was at the motorcycle dealership in Newnan in 1986-87. My job was to assemble all the new bikes and 3 wheelers from crate to showroom. That was the time when Yamaha came out with the VMax. It came in on a Friday and we, the other mechanics, stayed late to assemble it so we could test ride it on Saturday after the shop closed.
We drew straws to be the first to ride it. I drew 2nd straw. They warned me when I took off but I didn’t listen. I made it to 2nd gear and promised that if I got the front tire back on the ground, I’d never get back on one. The most powerful bike any of us had ever ridden.
That particular bike was already sold when it got delivered. The guy bought it as a HS graduation present for his son. The dealership tried to talk him out of it but he said if I don’t buy it here I’ll buy it somewhere else. I knew the kid that was getting it from HS and I had to show him the presale demo. Brakes, clutch, blinkers, etc. I warned him about it but he didn’t want to listen.
Sale was completed, he took off on it, and never made it home.
The people that owned the dealership felt so bad they sold the dealership and retired because the bikes were getting too fast
Lukikus2
Senior Member
I had the 1100 Virago and went through a back tire every 6 months. It would do burnouts as long as I stayed in it. Always wanted the Vmax and a friend got one. He let me try it out and I flat out told him it was scary fast. Another buddy wanted to ride it and I warned him it was to much for him. It took about 3 seconds and about killing himself to figure out to shut it down.
Didn’t own one but test rode a Kawasaki Eliminator. Bad to the bone bike. Anyone else ride or own one?
Didn’t own one but test rode a Kawasaki Eliminator. Bad to the bone bike. Anyone else ride or own one?
Dad gave me a used Honda 50 he repainted. I was a little old for it but I rode te mess out of it.
Then a Yamaha 175 that I couldn't figure the clutch out on.
Then a RT180, bought new at a dealer in Lithonia, it was from a flooded container, new fluids and all was good. It was stolen from the shed.
Then CB250, CM500 then 2003 Yamaha V-star 650 Silverado.
I haven't rode in about 15 years. Need to get it back on the road.
Then a Yamaha 175 that I couldn't figure the clutch out on.
Then a RT180, bought new at a dealer in Lithonia, it was from a flooded container, new fluids and all was good. It was stolen from the shed.
Then CB250, CM500 then 2003 Yamaha V-star 650 Silverado.
I haven't rode in about 15 years. Need to get it back on the road.
bany
Senior Member
#7 my first new bike in ‘77 the pic is after many years of fun and racing and my brother having it. Previously I had a bushwacker! It was a 5hp torque converter minibike with shocks and forks. Had a TC 175 for awhile before I got the XR.
The Fatboy was my next and current new bike.
The Fatboy was my next and current new bike.
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bany
Senior Member
Lukikus2
Senior Member
Those CB’s were some mean machines. That’s when the COW came out. Fast and scary bike as heavy as it was. The Ninja. All I got to say is buy a life insurance policy.
Trying to remember all this from way back. First bike was a Honda trail 70. Graduated to a Suzuki 185 Enduro my Dad, Brother and I converted into a moto X bike. That thing scared the you know what out of me. Very powerful. Someone said Elsinore, wasn't there a 125 that was a really fast bike ? Was Marty Smith the guy who rode that to fame ? I remember Roger DeCoster was Suzuki for a time, and Tommy Croft rode the Honda 400's. Heiiki Mikola was Husqvarna. Bultaco Pursangs, Hodaka Combat Wombat 125 and a high school buddy had a Penton Jackpiner. Yamaha came out with the mono shock ? Didn't some of the foreign bikes have kick starts on the opposite side that went forward to start not backwards ? Man that was a long time ago. It was a quick phase that I out grew. My Brother still has 3 street bikes.
Redbow
Senior Member
I remember the first 2-cycle Kawasaki motorcycle I ever saw. A friend of mine and I looking to buy a new bike we went over to the bike shop one afternoon in Darlington SC. They had the 4 cylinder 2 cycle machine made by Kawasaki it looked amazing to me and my friend. The guy working at the cycle shop demonstrated the 2-cycle bike for us. He got on that machine started it up and hit the highway in front of the shop. That thing took off like a rocket, he rode it down the road a ways than turned around and came back to the shop. He pulled up beside my friend and I and shut the engine down. He could see that our eyes were bugging out and the guy told us. If you guys are not experienced riders you have no business buying this motorcycle., he went on to say it will get out from under you and kill you. I recommend you start with a smaller bike.
Neither my friend nor I were experienced motorcycle riders at the time and we decided pretty quickly that Kawasaki wasn't for us. It was a good time later b4 either one of us bought a new bike, both of us bought a Yamaha 650, they were fast enough for us.
Neither my friend nor I were experienced motorcycle riders at the time and we decided pretty quickly that Kawasaki wasn't for us. It was a good time later b4 either one of us bought a new bike, both of us bought a Yamaha 650, they were fast enough for us.
Lukikus2
Senior Member
I had a Kawasaki 250 Enduro then got a 250 YZ. It was the difference of riding a fast horse to a rocket. My uncle had a Moto Guzzie he took me to 155 mph on when I was 12 years old. My Virago was around 150 before it would start drifting. The mono shock was a complete game changer on bikes.
