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I was in my mid teens and every month there was a race meeting at Aintree,it was only a couple of quid to get in.Seeing all those bikes going so fast was mind blowing especielly the Laverda Jota`s. After school me and a few mates would go on the local field and muck about on an old TS125.Then when I left school and started work,them same mates and I all bought bikes at the same time.I got a CB100N,a pal got a GP1OO and another a AP50,god we had some laughs.Never looked back since(only to see the cages at the lights lol).
my cousin used to race semi pro motocross always went along to the meets and eventually had a few crosser and fieldbikes of my own had my 50cc ready and waiting for when i turned 16 and caned it that much i was rebuilding the top end every week lol
The throbbing exhaust note of my dad’s Puch Maxi used to give me a semi, so I bought a Honda C70 for commuting to work (Digger could never ride that C70). We had our own gang of C70’s with crocheted colours and big busted bike chicks.
I basically got bored with driving and wanted to feel challenged again. Found bikes to the perfect answer for the pursuit of perfection. Also found that I don’t get irritated so much as I can mostly leave the drivers that are stupid or ignorant behind me.
My dad always had them before the kids (me & my brother), then when I was about 10 he got a CD175, I have a photo somewhere of me on the back.. then he got a CB250N, and later in 87 an XBR500. When I left school and started my apprenticeship I saved up enough to buy a bike, we went to a breakers just outside Hemel Hempstead and bought a CB125TB. Did all my tests within 6 months and bought a CB250RS.
Unfortunately I then found the dark side (bought a Ford Capri).. a bit warmer for taking the girls out, and ALOT more comfortable (if you know what I mean!!)
Last January after settling back in the UK and having some spare cash to burn, I felt tempted to return to two wheels.. so I did!!!!! The rest as they say is history.1982 and all my mates had bikes, I didn’t as I was still firmly in the “cars are best” camp. Then one of my apprentice buddies stuck me on the back of his Yamaha RD250E (the legendary “aircooled”) and then proceeded to completely scare the life out of me as he hammered across Birmingham at what seemed crazy speeds at the time. All this was accompanied by a wailing two stroke soundtrack ~ the best music is always mechanical!
In a blur the Birmingham streets hurtled past, it would of felt like a video game if we had them then!! It was a riotous assault on my senses as every car, bus and truck were dispatched with utter contempt, every island was taken with sparks pouring from the centre-stand and footrests as they skimmed the tarmac with the bike twisting and squirming as the RD was banked over as far it would go.
When we got to our destination, the huge bike shop Hailwood and Gould to stare in wonder at the Hesketh V1000 on show there, I virtually feel off the back of the bike a quivering wreck. Scared out of my but totally elated at the same time. From that moment I was I hooked…My Dad used to commute to work on a 250cc Honda. When I was between 3 & 4 years old I used to wait at the bottom of the road for him after work an he would sit me on the petrol tank and ride me up the road home. My Mum still hasn’t forgiven him for getting me into bikes, but for me they offer a unique type of freedom and nothing legal gives the same kind of buzz!
Mines another of the “My Dad” stories, well actually my Grandad had a Motorbike and Sidecar as his only form of transport so we had regular outings in/on the Norton Single. MY DAD was road racing 50’s back in the late 1950’s and then went onto Scrambling (with my Uncle) right through the 1960’s both with the ACU and then AMCA, riding DOTs, Sprites (Built in Halesowen West Mids,) Huskies and AJS,in the 1970′ he went into Trials both Solo and Sidecar riding Bultacos. Many road bikes were owned too along the way, Oh, the first I remember was a BSA sidecar when he was an AA Motorcycle Patrol Man on the A38 covering Birmingham to Gloucester, that was 1958-1960. Its no wonder that I got interested at a very early age, it runs in the family!
I inherited the passion. my dad (whos sadly not with us anymore) had bikes right from an early age, not a clue as to exactly when. my mother used to be a riding instructor. my sister had the passion but doesnt have a licence so she just tinkers with them instead. and i picked it up when i was 14. as soon as i turned 16 i was well away. got my first bike, being a really dodgy Derbi Senda 50cc crosser and have never looked back since, unfortunately my old man passed away just before i got my first bike so i never had the privilidge of a father-son ride-out.
I drive all day, I love driving, but traffic causes me to get annoyed!
I remember the exact moment I decided to learn.
I was sitting in a traffic jam just past the wolverhampton junction of the m6 south. The trafic was barely moving and my clutch was cooking. Just at the point where I was getting fed up, a bike shot past filtering up the road. I picked up the phone, called BSM and booked my CBT/DAS.
Haven’t looked back since.Nobody in my family rides, my dad was scared stiff once on the back of a friend’s bike so he was against them.
At 14 I bought a 2-stroke GT380 with a mate as a field bike (sacrilege I know) to use over the local quarry. That’s where I learned to fall off properly. Then I bought a 50cc road bike at 16, passed my test on a 250 the next year and bought an 1100 the year after and have been a convert ever since.
I guess I’ll be the dad who ‘likes bikes’ for the next generation…..
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