What or who got you into riding?

[arai_speed]

For me it was a co-worker.  He showed up to work on a brand new 1999 Yamaha R1 - when I saw it, it was as if I was seeing a motorcycle for the first time.  I was completely taken over by it - later that summer I took the MSF course and purchased a new bike.



The rest is just icing  [moto]

[il d00d]

I had uncles that rode - Uncle Norm, a motorcycle gang member dating back to the 50s, and Uncle Sandy, a salty ex-marine who had my grandmother co-sign on his first Harley.  Uncle Norm, who rocked a handlebar mustache waaay before it was trendy, always had a garage full of BMW parts - I asked him one day why all the parts?  He said he was building a bike, a concept that completely blew my mind.  One person can make something that awesome?  By themselves?  He might as well have told me he was going to build a unicorn or a working light sabre.

But one of my earliest, most indelible memories of bikes was a trip I made to downtown Houston when I was about 10  We were navigating the spaghetti bowl of one of the freeway interchanges, when I happened to look up at one of the flyovers while someone was wheelying their bike going the opposite direction.  I happened to be looking almost directly into the sun at the same angle, so sunlight glimmered off the various parts as he passed by, seemingly in slow motion.  You probably could not have planned a more dramatic wheelie.  I was in awe.  When I got home, I found that the episode had actually given me pubic hair.  True story.

I finally got around to taking the MSF and buying a bike about five years ago, having wanted to do it for years.  To my wife's sizable credit, she said nothing of the dent it was putting in our wedding fund.  When I talked about selling my bike recently, she asked "you're going to buy another Ducati, right?"  She was genuinely worried that I would have to do without one.  I love my wife.

[Betty]

My wife.

Well technically she wasn't my wife at the time, but its still her fault

[redxblack]

My brother and I were on a climbing trip in Joshua Tree right after graduating college.  

My younger brother moved to Europe and left me his M750ie. He encouraged me to give it a go. It did not take but a short trip down the street to get me hooked. He was visiting this summer and I hoped we could ride a bunch while he was in town, but fate bunged it up and either one of our bikes was down at a time. When one was back to operation, something would bung the other. They're both golden now, but he moved south.

[muskrat]

at the age of 5 my Grandfather bought me a Zr50 Honda.  Ever since I've had something to ride.  A brief time in college no wheels because that Ninja almost killed me twice  .  Essentially as of 20 years ago I haven't gone more than a month without riding.  It's my Zanax

[honey_badger]

A big wheel got me started riding, a 1986 Honda XR100 got me hooked on riding, the ducati monster was what got me into motorcycles, and the M796 is what got me on one.

So the evolution:

[DucofWestwood]

I don't know exactly what did it, but the show CHiPs was definitely an influence.  (i did a separate thread about this)  my family claims that when i could barely talk, i would point out the window of the car when one passed by and say "mono-hi-doe". 

anyway, i spent my youth lusting after bikes.  i begged my parents, i selfishly befriended kids who had mini-bikes, but it was all for naught.  my parents wouldn't have it.

after college i lived in nyc for a while, so i didn't need a vehicle.  later the wife and i moved to LA, home of year-round riding.  we had a kid, and around the time he was 5 months old, i decided the bimmer payments were getting too expensive.  so i pitched the idea of a bike to my wife as a financially smart move.  after years of being against it, she gave in.  i bought a 620.  2 years later, we're in the process of buying our first home, and i pitch the idea of upgrading to an S2R1k.  without hesitation, she says go for it. 

i told my dad, and he feigned disapproval.  then every once in a while i'll get an email late at night from him ... "tell me what model of bike you got again ... i'm googling it to see what it looks like." 

now i'm trying to learn as much as possible so that someday my 2-yr old will have a story like many of you ... "my dad got me started working on Duc's as a kid and that's how i became a world-famous custom bike builder and MotoGP racer ..." 

[DucatiSTi]

I'll be honest - midlife crisis

plus now I can afford more toys

[polivo]

I believe it was 2000. iw as walking past a gas station to go to work and I got my first glimpse of the new r1. At that time, NOTHING looked like it. It looked like a missile.. traveling at 1000 miles per hour.. and yet, it was standing still. I didnt realize it.. but I had actually STOPPED walking and was staring at the astronaut fueling for his next mission. he takes off his helmet.. and its my brother in law. 3 months later i had a yzf600. 1 year later, a 929, 4 years later (finally) and r1.. and now, ive got a gorgeous white m1100.

[NoisyDante]

My interests are a topic of discussion in my family, immediate and extended.  I am entirely different from anyone I am related too.  No one else has tattoos, is a musician, works in the entertainment industry, likes movies, enjoys cigars, or rides motorcycles.  At 10, I told my parents, 'I want to play the guitar.'  At 16, I told my parents, 'I want a tattoo, might as well help me find a clean place since you need to sign off on it.' 

But at age 6, I had to give a presentation in my kindergarten class about what I wanted to be when I grew up.  So I put on a baseball batting helmet, cut the fingers off some black cotton gloves, wore jeans, boots, and a fake leather bomber jacket, put on some sunglasses, and told everyone, 'When I grow up, I want to ride motorcycles.  Sometimes I will ride too fast, and sometimes I will ride too slow.'  Got it on tape somewhere.  No clue whatsoever though as to why I was interested in them, my memory is hazy from that age.

At age 11 though I do remember being in Italy looking at Lake Como from my balcony, and a green Kawasaki rode by.  That sparked my interest again, though thankfully my taste improved and I made my first motorcycle a piece of Italian artwork.

Motorcycles are fun.

[Drunken Monkey]

I'd always been semi-interested in bikes (Read "zen and the art of...") and rode bicycles, but never really wanted a motorcycle. Got a scooter in high school, just to get around on, but never really caught the moto bug.

Then I saw this weird, low-budget Australian action movie...




I traded in the stupid make the beast with two backsing scooter for the cheapest sport-bike I could find (a used CB-400F) and the rest is history.

[DoubleEagle]

When I was 5 or 6 , I got a 26" J.C. Higgins Bike .

Also there was a man who lived miles up the road beyond where I lived at age 5 or 6 and he rode a big H-D and every night he would go by our house since we lived across the street from a College ,( now a University ) and between was a 2 lane Highway in this small Town where I spent my 1st 10 years of my life.

So since I put the 1st Popsicle Stick or Putter Tube between my Bicycle spokes to make a noise that I thought sort of sounded like a engine Exhaust, I dreamed of having a Motorcycle.

Not until I was 16 did I get my 1st bike, a Honda Sport 50.

The rest is History 5 decades later.

Now w, a Ducati 1098 R , BMW K1300 GT, BMW S 1000 RR the dream is still alive.

Dolph     

[darthmoto]

  A late friend of mine. I traded him my Fender guitar amp for his 1980 Honda CB400T. He also got me into F1 and MotoGP. Its a bummer cause we were like brothers.

[eichh]

I wanted to ride since my grandparents bought me an Evel Kenevil toy as a kid and I thought Fonzi was cool. I was 14 and my first bike was a Honda 50 or 80cc that I saw in my landlords barn and had sat for 15 years and was basicaly a giant mouse nest. I had no money but said I would work it off. Well he owned a airconditioning company and so I busted ass for 3 weeks trying to work off the $75. Ya the numbers didnt add up, it was summer so I was doing about 6 hour days. but hay I wanted it. Surprisingly enough I put fresh gas in it and after 50 kicks or so it fired up and scared the shit out of me. I invested anout $30 more and rode it to till about everything was broke on it. So I guess Evel and Fonzi got me started and my stepdad bought me my first riding boots that I still have 21 years later (they dont fit their retired).

[bunnyman666]

I had always been around motorcycles. My grandfather, who was a very eccentric individual, had, amongst other things-

1) 42 Volkswagen Beetles, in all stages of repair
2) 1950's Chevy truck
3) 1950's Olds Rocketfire
4) An old Ford Heavy truck
5) About fifteen motorcycles

I got an old 125 Kawa from my grandfather when I was 15. I was run off of the road, then let bikes scare me for another twenty years. I then raced bicycles for about ten years starting in my 20's, even getting into the building of bike frames and parts. I had a few itches to get a bike, but exes and ex-girlfriends would convince me otherwise. Fast-forward to late last year- I put a '77 Kawasaki KZ650 in lay-away. I rode that for a short while, then decided to modify it. New turnsignals ended up showing me what a mess the electrical system REALLY was on that bike. I became a shop rat, hanging out, escorting riders on their rental bikes to the DMV for their motorcycle test, etc., etc. I bought a '95 900ss, which had a bum electrical system. I was on a trip to my cousin's house, and saw what I really wanted: a 2000 Monster Dark 750 with 3K on the clock. I was so excited that I bought it, did some mods to it in his garage, and it's about to come home.