The beginning

Honda CG125
Honda CB45DX-K(33BHP)
Yamaha Diversion 600
Honda Hornet 900
Yamaha XT600 Tenere
and as of today a Yamaha TDM 850 :)
 
You can tell the old gits from the amount of 2 strokes in the list :D

Kawasaki KE100
Yamaha DT 125
Yamaha RD 350 vpvs
GPz 900 R
KTM 625 smc
CBR600
 
Started out on:-
FS1E (1986)
AR50
RD125 (put hole in piston)
TZR125
RGV250
TZR250 (reverse barrel import)
RD350 YPVS
CBR600 (1990, I think)
18 years away then 1999 GSXR 750 Srad

Also had a play on an X7, quick machines back then.
2 strokes just hit the spot then.
 
You can tell the old gits from the amount of 2 strokes in the list :D
Ain't that the truth.

There's one bike I really regret not buying but I just couldn't afford one at the time - the RD350LC. Still something very special about those bikes.

rd350lc.jpg
 
Ahhh the above pic is exactly the same as my RD except mine was stage 2 tuned with micron exhausts :D Did someone say Redex before, that smell alone would re-kindle my biking lusts.

You could easily grind the pegs around roundabouts. Thought at the time it was the best bike ever. Wasn't till I got to experience biker bikes then borrowed a mates LC that I realised how light and unstable they were, great memories though.

Full list:
GP100
RD125
RD350LC as above
CBR600
GSX-R750

Still got the gixxer but hardly use it these days. Wife, kids, mortgage time etc...
 
Stand in the corner of the classroom, put your hands on your head and say out loud 100 times - "I am a biker and must find time to ride, ....." :p

I fess up to being in the same boat, I love having mine in the garage but in the last 2 years must have used it less than 10 times, including taking it for an MOT. Hard tofind the time, with work and young kids who I throughly enjoy being with. When they are older and hate me, I'll have more time!!:)
 
RD350's are best left as fond memories...

they where awesome back in the day, but having been on two restored ones in the last 2-3 years, they just feel hopelessly out of their depth compared to modern machinery, it sort of burst a bubble for me, Still an awesome iconic machine though..

My biking history is

Yamaha TY80 Aged 6
Yamaha TY175 Aged 9
RG125 Aged 17
TS125X
TZR125 (Brand new)
Bit of a gap, took the DAS..
GSXR600-WY
GSXR600K1
GSXR1000K3

When I had my 125's all my mates had 250's/400's, and luckily they wanted me to have a go.. I remember the sheer adrenaline rush of a KR1-S coming into the powerband, compare to my standard 125's, it was a rocket ship!!

The trials riding at an early age was nice, and the 125's taught me how to get the most out of a bike, how to grind footpegs off and all the other stupid things you do, the fact I didn't kill myself somehow made me feel I must have been doing something right, so did the DAS and got a sports 600 to really have a go at killing myself, when that didn't work I went for the 1000, when I failed on that, I sold it and am wondering what next to push my luck on ;)
 
Watching Barry Sheene in the 70's as a lad is what got my interest in bikes 'kickstarted' :D

I learnt how to ride on a Honda off roader, 50cc and it was used to ride around orchards to 'birdscare'. I was 13 and the lad who owned it was 15, he got his petrol filled and £5 for doing this on a Saturday afternoon! It was early 80's tho.

Yamaha RD125LC Mk1
Yamaha RD250LC
Yamaha RD350YPVS N1
Yamaha RD125LC Mk1 (cheap project bike)
Yamaha RD350YPVS N2

Bought a house, went without for a few years, then..

Honda CBR600FX (first time I bought a brand new bike)
Yamaha R1 2000
Suzuki DR-Z400

And currently a GSXR 1000 K6 in stealth black :)


To say I get misty eyed about 2 strokes especially RD's, great to see and read up about others who still have the 2 stroke buzz.
 
I'd always looked at bikes as a kid and remember getting very excited at an old nail of an NSR125 that I walked past regularly. Then I saw a picture of the upcoming Cagiva Mito II in a mag in the early 90's and lusted after that for a while.
Then my mum saw me reading a bike mag and read me the riot act - it was clear that I would never own a bike whilst living with her!

Fast forward to 2003 when my wife casually commented that my commute would probably be faster on a bike and it might be worth looking at. Less than 3 weeks later I'd done DAS and bought my first bike!!!
The list isn't large:

Kawasaki GPZ500S
Honda Transalp 650
Suzuki DL1000
Kawasaki ZZR1100

If I changed my bike again anytime soon I might look for a decent Africa Twin. Slow but with some mysterious appeal I cannot seem to shake!
 
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