So what was your favorite bike, as a kid, that started the bike fever? This was my favorite bike. I had years of riding and racing on one of these in the Schoolboy class. I went thru several cylinders, bottom ends and this bike was known for the chain coming off, breaking the ignition cover and bending the shifting shaft. Of course it had a flat bottom pipe from all the logs, rocks, etc......
I didn't get my favorite bike. I actually had a lot that I wanted, but this one (in either size) topped my list of dream bikes.
http://motorbike-search-engine.co.uk/classic_bikes/1971-cb100.JPG This was my first "Dirt bike".....we still had some empty (and in use) farm fields around my home in Long Island NY and the gold CB100 was ok against some of my friends real dirtbikes as long as it was like flattracking type no whoop areas. Hey I was all ready dual sporting!! My dream bikes back then were Hodaka's from a nearby moto shop we used to ride our bicycles to. Like this one http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ckzmvc4tkU8/S83dXaK4ryI/AAAAAAAABpc/2PoCDymamSs/s1600/Combat Wombat.jpg this is a cool post, but heck you can really see our age here!!!
Old Bonneville Twin. Friend in HS had one. Howard always had cool stuff. He had a .45 record player in his car...!!
I started off with a couple of Japanese enduro models, then finally I determined that a Penton would be the most sensible racing machine for my needs, but they were too dang expensive....so my first track bike was a left over DKW RT 159 Super.
there was local guy who rode the same areas (farms and woods) as us with DKW125 radial head, earles forks, I remember it being brown color(??). We were all in awe of that fine German machine and his high rpm/jumping/riding style. DD you will trump us all with back in the day shots!!! Nice shot! Something like this one was in my neighborhood, I seem to remember it with an upswept pipe http://motorbike-search-engine.co.uk/classic_bikes/dkw-125.jpg
Yes, the stock tank was chrome and "rootbeer" brown on that model and the stock pipe was an up pipe. I put an aftermarket fiberglass tank designed to fit a Husqvarna on mine along with the Torque brand down pipe. Also replaced the heavy steel channeled Radielli rims with Akronts.
My first bike was a 73 Suzuki TM Challenger...similar in looks as the TM 100 shown on this thread only the stripe in the tank was a littl different. The bike screamed, I blew away a lot of Elsinor's back then.....During my riding years as a youngster and reading cycle news and DB mag I wanted to move up to a Husky 430 desert master...always wanted one but never got one. That is when I first met George (Uptite)...went and priced them, almost pulled the triigger but some family stuff happened and it never came to be...
Hodaka Dirt Squirt. I raced the 100 class. Grew up in a small town with no police. We would just jump on our bikes and ride. Good times.
This was my first Husky. A 1984 WR 240. 6 mths old when I bought it. My first bike was a 1974 Yamaha MX80. Owned a 1979 PE 175 prior to the Husky P.S thats not my Actual 240, mine looked better
in 2nd grade dad bought a 80's 175 kawasaki from the neighbor for me hahaha ya it scared the snot outta me and it was gone the next day it probably wouldnt have been so bad but the seat was about the same height as my shoulders at the time lmao....all the pics ive found have lights on them this one iirc was more of a mx version. then in 4th grade a got a brand new 86 or 87 suzuki enduro, i promptly decided to eat a barbed wire fence a few hours after riding the same day we bought it and that was the end of that one. fast forward to 2011 and i have my nos 09 txc450 im likin it.
all three of my uncles rode, actually a bunch of family did, so bikes were always around but the one i got starry eyed over first was one of their blue Bultacos. think it was a '78 like this one. it seemed HUGE and mean as hell at that age i was riding a friends Briggs powered minibike pretty much daily so that's how we got our early moto fix. my first bike was a 1980 Honda CR80R Elsinore, loved that thing! looked just like this (dont have a pic handy)
Thanks for the pic of the MR 50! The Honda MR 50 was my first bike that got me involved. Feb. 8th at 8:07 p.m. 1975 to be exact as that is when we left the dealership. The bike went right into my room that night and I was out learning how to use a clutch the next day. It was really a great little bike to learn on even now. I have 1 and a half MR 50's still but in very rough shape. Robertaccio it's funny about the CB 100 as I was deep into muscle cars from about age 16-22 and a friend got a used IT 175 and wanted me to get back into riding. I found that same color 1972 CB 100 that needed a fuse. You could really fly on that thing with the street tires dirt tracking. I had no problems keeping up with my friends. I still have that bike but father time has not been good to it.
Started with the XR75 like this... then moved up to a SL125 like this. I learned a ton on this bike. Then and XL 175... As you can see we had only a Honda shop in town as a kid. then I stepped WAY up and got a 1980 YZ465 that really opened my eyes... From there on I was a Yamaha head, YZ's in all sizes. then some Honda CRs, 250 and 480. First new bike was a 98 YZ250. Then husky WR250 and the rest is history.
The little SL70 Hondas were neat, you could use the clutch and cylinder from them, bolt them on the Honda trail 50 and make a neat little ripping pit bike. The bad YZ's!