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Total Years of Riding POLL

Mac2000HS

Member
RULES FOR THIS POLL: Not more than a 3 year skip from first to last ride.

For this poll, motorcycles, motortrikes, motorbikes, and motor- scooters licensed for use on public roads, of any badge, count.

Please state total years of riding and feel free to comment.
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I have been riding 52 years as of May 8th 2008

I started riding on my 14th birthday May 8th 1956. On a '52Simplex Servi Cycle. A 1 cyl. 2 stroke, belt driven, centrifugal clutch bike with huge 24" (I think) wheels, Top speed on level ground, one up w/no wind was approx. 40 mph. Not sure, it had no speedo. I was involved in petition gathering sent to Nashville, Tennessee to pass a law that would allow anyone of age 14 to 16 to get a limited drivers license to operate a motor driven cycle of 5BHP or less. Could not travel more than 8 miles from your home and could not ride between the hours of 8pm to 6am. I thought I was in heaven. When I was 16 I got a KHK HD and thought I was in?????(HOG heaven)
Mac
 
I rode dirt bikes from the time I was 12 until I could get a license (17 in NJ). I then bought a street bike (Kawasaki 750 2 stroke - Scary fast bike) and rode until my daughter was born, I was 29. I took a few years off, then moved to TX 13 years ago and got the bug again. I am now on my 4th Harley, and 200K miles since the move to TX.

If you don't want to read all that boring stuff the answer is 30 years total, 25 on the street.
 
All the boring stuff is whats interesting about this poll txhawg.That and see if I'm not the one with the most years. If I am then I'll get worried. We don't stop doing things because we get old, we get old because we stop doing things.As long as I can throw my leg over, I'm gonna ride. Thanks for you reply. Mac
 
Can't help you Mac, only 38 years here. Started on a Honda 50 at 12, then went to a Kawi 125, Honda 160, Honda 750, Kawi 900 then a 73 Sportster 900. Went and got my bike license after seven years riding cause of the lawman. Then obtained the 69 Shovel for seven years moved up to a 82 decker and ended up with my 07 EG. Have a little 250 Honda off road I use back in the bush to go fishing.

Proudest thing is I have never had a wreck. Close calls don't count cause I was alert and prepared and managed to avoid the accident. Have booted a couple of doors though when my anger got the best of me.
 
38 Years for me.
I started out racing Moto X when I was 5, have rarely been off a motorcycle since. Over the years I have had 7 Jappas, 2 Ducatis, 1 Triumph (currently still doing up) now I am on my fourth Harley. I have a motorcar to cart the kids around, but my main mode of transport is my Deuce (rain, hail or shine).
This is not including all the moto x bikes which I can not remember how many, maybe 12 or so.
 
25 years of licensed street riding. I got my endorsement the same week I took the test in the car. My 1st was a yamaha 175 enduro.

My first "motorbike" came when I was 5 years old. A Rupp pull start. Been on 2 wheels ever since, with a half dozen quads in the mix too.

Total would be 36 years.
 
Yeah man! Thought I was Joe Cool!

I still remeber my dad unloading it from the pick up, I took off down the driveway and ran smack into the side of the garage. I put a hole clear thru the old lap siding, fell off, and a wrench fell out of the side cover from the cytrifigal cluch cover!!!!!!!!!
 
29 Years of riding for me with a reluctant 1 year break due to a crash with a cage. I have been riding street bikes since I was 14. Started with a CL125s Honda.
 
The short answer is 35 years. My first was a Honda CB-100 that I bought when I was 21. I was married, broke, and my job required me to drive about 30 miles round trip. That Honda got much better gas mileage than the 1970 Mustang I owned. Among the stranger things I did on the bike was ride from Austin to Gonzales, Texas with my very pregnant wife on the back. And I do mean back. My unborn daughter occupied most of the seat. My wife was sitting on the tail light and I was on the gas tank. We got there.

The CB-100 eventually became a CB-450. That one went for a Honda Elsinore 125 street/dirt bike. Then I really hit the big time when I bought a 1975 Moto Guzzi El Dorado Police Model. The decal said that it was a 750. The previous owner had swapped out the jugs and pistons to make it a 1000. That bike would flat move. I put over 100,000 miles on it before I sold it. Other than standard maintenance things like tires, etc the only things I ever had to replace were a broken clutch cable and the ignition coil. Last I heard the bike was still running.

I went from absolute reliability to the extreme opposite when I bought a Russian Ural. For those who doen't know, it is a knock-off of the BMW. Don't buy one. Next was a Royal Enfield Bullet 500. These are 1960's classics that are still made in India today. One heck of a fun ride. Be prepared to learn about things like valve adjustment. It's a hands-on kind of bike. You will also get used to getting a lot of attention when riding it. It does draw a crowd.

The Bullet got traded in when my wife (different one) decided she liked riding with me enough that she wanted to make road trips. The idea of spending entire days in the saddle of a 500 cc single wasn't real appealing to me for some reason. I traded the Enfield in on a Yamaha V-Star 1100 Classic.

The V-Star got a lot of miles put on it. Then came a single month when it seemed that every cage driver on the road was out to get me. I had three extremely near misses. Up until then I had been lucky. I'd gotten a few scrapes and bruises on the dirt bikes but never injured on pavement. It looked like it was only a matter of time. I was in my 50's and figured I was too old to get busted up. I sold the bike and quit riding.

One year after selling the V-Star I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Kind of ironic, don't you think? I was a paramedic for 26 years with stints as a firefighter and deputy sheriff thrown in for good measure. I had ridden bikes, horses and one bull, flown planes, skydived, and generally tried my hand at anything that looked interesting. Then at fifty-something I decided to grow up and be safe only to be blind-sided by cancer. Well, the dance ain't over yet thanks to a couple of great doctors. I've been cancer-free for about a year now. The experience did make me realise that I'm going to go eventually so why not enjoy life while I can? I bought another bike.

This one was a Kawasaki Nomad 1200. Had I been able to ride one before I signed on the dotted line I would have kept looking. Unfortunately the dealer didn't have demo bike I could try. Almost from the minute I rode away from the dealership I started to think I had made a mistake in trying to go back to riding. I felt like I was fighting the bike when starting off, stopping, or at low speeds in general. Add my wife behind me and the top-heavy feel was worse. I blamed myself, thinking that my balance wasn't as good as it used to be, my legs were probably weaker, and so on. I was fairly sure that eventually the bike would get away from me and I'd drop it. I just hoped my wife wasn't aboard when it happened.

Then on a whim we stopped one day at Cowboy HD here in Austin. I sat on an Electra Glide and it sure seemed like it was easier to hold up. My wife sat on back (and fell in love with the seat and the back rest provided by the tour pak) and the bike still felt good to me. I left the HD place wondering if it was me being old and decrepit or the Nomad being really top-heavy. A week or so later I went and did a test ride on a EG at Gruene HD. Man, talk about a revelation. I could do U-turns, tight circles, and ride at a walking pace without feeling like the bike was going to go down. In other words, I could ride like I knew I was supposed to be able to. I told Chris Baumbach of Gruene HD that I wanted the bike but needed to let my wife try riding with me to seal the deal. He sent me home on the EG. Home was 55 miles away. It was a good move on his part. By the time I got home I knew I really wanted the bike. By the time I rode back with my wife aboard she was in agreement.

So that's it. Kind of a long tale but it's done. I've got what may well be the last motorcycle I'll ever need. I'll ride it until I can't ride anymore.

Storm
 
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