Whoa! First "bike" I had. A Honda Cub 50. I have a black & white pic of me on it somewhere, but this is all I've got right now. Step-thru frame...nasty! A couple friends and I had these monsters. We took off the beige "wings" and removed the muffler's baffles. We thought we were terrorizing the populace. Pitiful little bike, but you gotta start somewhere. Nowadays, folks start out on a Hayabusa and die real quickly. We learned on small ones and worked our way up.
Again, this isn't my bike, but I can't locate the one pic I know I have. Will replace these first 2 with my shots when I locate them. Black and gold Yamaha 250. Bought used. Mine had a ridiculously high sissy bar. 2-stroke screamer. I raced this mutha in a field where we'd built a racetrack for dirt bikes! Many times I'd ride home with turn signals hanging by the wires after dumping it in a turn. But I hung with those dirt bikers! Everybody knew that bike 'cause I'd also take it up the huge hills when they were building the new interstate.
Next up is my beautiful '74 Kawasaki 500 Triple. A two-stroke, 3 cylinder rocket with no suspension and weak brakes. Made to go really fast in a straight line. Pictured is me in my wild days and mom on the bike. I absolutely loved this bike. Wish I had it now. A power company employee caught up with me one afternoon and told me he'd seen me scream by beneath him as he worked on a power line earlier in the day. He wanted to buy the bike right then. And he offered me enough that I parted with it. Like I said, I wish I had it now. Beautiful styling and a crazy fast engine.
The Kaw 750 Triple to the left is exactly like the one that a good friend was killed on. I rode it once and it was dangerous...in a good way. FAST!!! Poor ol' Mike was riding without a helmet, though, when he left the road and hit a tree.
On to my Yamaha 750 Special. Another favorite. Also a triple, but a 4-stroke with shaft drive. Took my first long trip (to Oklahoma, Texas, etc.) on this baby. Had it for years and years. When my wife and I lived in the sticks in Bullock County, I rode it 45 miles to school at Troy State University for 9 months. She and I took it to the Smokies and camped out and then rode on to see a friend in North Carolina. Eventually I slapped a good ol' Vetter Windjammer on it 'cause I was riding so many long rides. That fairing didn't add to the bike's aesthetics at all, but it served its purpose. The aforementioned Mike bought this bike from me and I bought it back a year later.
Here's my oldest son and me with my '79 Suzuki GS850G. I hadn't bought a used bike since the Yamaha 250, but I got this one in Birmingham and thought it was a diamond in the rough. Lotsa rust and wear on it when I got ahold of it, but I had it looking brand new in no time. Excellent machine. Thoroughly enjoyed this one, but didn't keep it long. The boys were young and money was short. Plus, I wanted to be around to see them grow up!
I took the pic below at the farm we lived on in Posey's Crossroads, AL.
I didn't own a bike for quite a while. As the boys grew up and I worked 2 jobs at times, money was tight and time was short. Working a bar job for extra cash also meant too many "extracurricular" activities, so bikes had to wait. My current wife then suggested I should get a bike. WHAT?! A wife suggesting a husband buy a motorcycle?! Has she got insurance on me that I'm unaware of? Who cares?! Yeeha!!! Rushed over to a friend's dealership and plopped down the money for a new Suzuki Volusia, now called a C50. The pic above is of a girl who owned a bar/restaurant in Selma.
The Volusia (at left)was a very good bike. Just a little underpowered. When I was offered virtually what I'd paid for it, I sold it after a year of riding. On the way home after delivering the bike to its new owner, I saw a motorcycle parked at a bank. It was one of those, "Holy crap! What is that?!" moments. i stopped, tracked down the owner and asked him about the bike. It was a black Honda VTX1800. BEEYOOTEEFUL!!!
I had to have one. A couple days later, en route to see my wife's parents, I stopped at a dealership and inquired about a 1300. I'd read enough by this point to realize I didn't need the 1800. Couldn't afford it anyway. The owner took me in the back and showed me a black 1300S in the crate. He told me he'd have it assembled for me to test ride that afternoon.
My wife suggested that I not tell them that day that I wanted it. I rode it, fell in love with it, walked back in the shop and said, "Service it. I'll be back Tuesday to pick it up." Sorry, honey.
Next up is my beautiful '74 Kawasaki 500 Triple. A two-stroke, 3 cylinder rocket with no suspension and weak brakes. Made to go really fast in a straight line. Pictured is me in my wild days and mom on the bike. I absolutely loved this bike. Wish I had it now. A power company employee caught up with me one afternoon and told me he'd seen me scream by beneath him as he worked on a power line earlier in the day. He wanted to buy the bike right then. And he offered me enough that I parted with it. Like I said, I wish I had it now. Beautiful styling and a crazy fast engine.
The Kaw 750 Triple to the left is exactly like the one that a good friend was killed on. I rode it once and it was dangerous...in a good way. FAST!!! Poor ol' Mike was riding without a helmet, though, when he left the road and hit a tree.
On to my Yamaha 750 Special. Another favorite. Also a triple, but a 4-stroke with shaft drive. Took my first long trip (to Oklahoma, Texas, etc.) on this baby. Had it for years and years. When my wife and I lived in the sticks in Bullock County, I rode it 45 miles to school at Troy State University for 9 months. She and I took it to the Smokies and camped out and then rode on to see a friend in North Carolina. Eventually I slapped a good ol' Vetter Windjammer on it 'cause I was riding so many long rides. That fairing didn't add to the bike's aesthetics at all, but it served its purpose. The aforementioned Mike bought this bike from me and I bought it back a year later.
Here's my oldest son and me with my '79 Suzuki GS850G. I hadn't bought a used bike since the Yamaha 250, but I got this one in Birmingham and thought it was a diamond in the rough. Lotsa rust and wear on it when I got ahold of it, but I had it looking brand new in no time. Excellent machine. Thoroughly enjoyed this one, but didn't keep it long. The boys were young and money was short. Plus, I wanted to be around to see them grow up!I took the pic below at the farm we lived on in Posey's Crossroads, AL.
I didn't own a bike for quite a while. As the boys grew up and I worked 2 jobs at times, money was tight and time was short. Working a bar job for extra cash also meant too many "extracurricular" activities, so bikes had to wait. My current wife then suggested I should get a bike. WHAT?! A wife suggesting a husband buy a motorcycle?! Has she got insurance on me that I'm unaware of? Who cares?! Yeeha!!! Rushed over to a friend's dealership and plopped down the money for a new Suzuki Volusia, now called a C50. The pic above is of a girl who owned a bar/restaurant in Selma.
The Volusia (at left)was a very good bike. Just a little underpowered. When I was offered virtually what I'd paid for it, I sold it after a year of riding. On the way home after delivering the bike to its new owner, I saw a motorcycle parked at a bank. It was one of those, "Holy crap! What is that?!" moments. i stopped, tracked down the owner and asked him about the bike. It was a black Honda VTX1800. BEEYOOTEEFUL!!!I had to have one. A couple days later, en route to see my wife's parents, I stopped at a dealership and inquired about a 1300. I'd read enough by this point to realize I didn't need the 1800. Couldn't afford it anyway. The owner took me in the back and showed me a black 1300S in the crate. He told me he'd have it assembled for me to test ride that afternoon.
My wife suggested that I not tell them that day that I wanted it. I rode it, fell in love with it, walked back in the shop and said, "Service it. I'll be back Tuesday to pick it up." Sorry, honey.
Honda VTX1300S - packed and ready to roll to North Carolina in '06. She now has over 47,000 miles on her. I may keep this one forever.
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