Motorcycling: What sparked your interest initially?

And what has it done for you?

This is probably not the right topic for this forum so I apologize in advance. You guys talk so much tech that it feels inappropriate to discuss other matters. Not to mention this is my 2nd post...and I've been drinking vodka since 4pm today.

I just wanted to share what motorcyling has done for me. I remember catching an AMA race on TV back in college and thinking how cool the riders look with the leathers with all the endorsements and wishing I'd picked that as a career. I bought my first bike used and had no idea how to ride it. Never have I been so determined to do anything. Jumped on and repeatedly stalled my way up and down the street until I learned.

Since then it has opened doors to the most important friendships I've made. There's something about pulling up to other bikers and the instant comradery shown amongst fellow riders. In my experience it's been almost an immediate bond. It's as if race, politics, beliefs don't come into play. The motorcycle family (at least among sportbikes) seems to be above the nonsense that separates us in our normal lives.

I'm once again living in a new town and looking to establish new friendships. Nothing seems to accomplish that better and quicker than coming across fellow motorcyclists. The non-riders are quick to tell you how dangerous it is and even to go so far as to call us organ donors. Sickens me.

It just feels good to know that no matter (not all cases of course) where you travel in the world, us motorcyclists will always share a common bond above and beyond any of our more obvious differences.

I just wanted to take some time to reflect and to thank the motorcycle community and culture for being my friend and family when I needed it most.

Sorry for the random post. Didn't have anyone else to share with but you guys (gals).

What sparked interest? Imagining my Schwinn Scrambler had an extra 50hp.

I was stopped at a light in Munich when these two very hot women pulled up next to me on a 1954 BMW R68. Next morning, I was off to the Fahrschule.

Power mono's.

I used to use a clothespin to affix a playing card to the frame on the back of my banana seat bike so it would hit the spokes on the rear wheel when I was a kid and jump off plywood propped up on cinder blocks. It kinda sounded like a motorcycle, but my parents would get annoyed when they were missing cards for poker night.

I started going to Starbucks, it was embarassing riding a lowly 175mph Nijna.

My old man was / is a Hell's Angel...was immersed in bikes/choppers since I could walk. It was a natural progression.

(he's still doing time, can't pick your parents)

Getting bored of the time spent commuting in a car and so doing my test in 2004

My dad had a cb750k4 in 1969. 1st year for the superbike and that hooked me

(Sober again) I'd be a complete fraud if I didn't mention the motivation that comes from the way ladies react to motorcycles...especially Ducs. That alone has been worth the money.

From way back as far as i could remember i wanted a motorcycle. i did something like capt cf did but we would step on a soda can and place it on the forks to get the sound. My parents caught me riding a little 50cc dirt bike and flipped out. I was never to get a bike mom wouldnt allow it at all. if i got a bike i had to move out. that kept me not having a bike till about age 28 when i bought my first house. that was in 2003

disposable funds were low after buying a house till about 2007 for me when i bought my first ninja zx10r brand new. loved the bike at first but got bored really quick. sold it in 2010 when i got spooked going to work with all the people doing everything else but driving. (women putting make up on , kids texting, old guy using the steering wheel to support the newspaper while driving) i said im going to get myself killed on one of these. so i sold it. that lasted one season

fast forward 2012 saw the pani at the bike show bought pani.

I too wished my Schwinn had ANY power to it, i rode mini bikes all over town when i was young but it was never enough,

but my real influence was my older brother, i was probably 11 or 12 and thought only Harley Davidson made motorcycles, then my brother bought a Kawasaki, he ket getting new bikes every two years, always looking to go faster. by the time i was 15 or 16, all I wanted was to ride my own. My first bike was a Suzuki GS550E, not the fastest, but it was a great first bike.

i guess I need to call my brother to thank him

As an impressionable 15 year old working my first hourly wage job, I had a 19 year old co-worker who rode a RZ350 and was getting ready to pick up a FZR600. That set the seed. Fast forward to university, and I met two "older" classmates, one who was a former Canadian national road racer, the other a former provincial motocross racer. The seed grew out of control. I graduated, took my motorcycle course, got the license, and started buying bikes.

My earliest memory of my mother driving one to work when I was 4....my interest only grew from there.

My family used to go for breakfast every Sunday, and one of the places we went to was in a neighbouring little town, and to get there you went through some awesome twisty roads through a mountain. Every time we went we got passed by a group of riders who were doing their Sunday morning ride, and we'd see them at breakfast. That's when I knew I wanted to ride bikes when I grew up. It wasn't until I was 21 when I finally got my license, but once I started riding I knew it was meant to be. I did 8,000kms on my first bike in just 2 months.

My family used to go for breakfast every Sunday, and one of the places we went to was in a neighbouring little town

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Tim Horton's?

Capt CF said:

Tim Horton's?

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I'm from South Africa, so no.

Check out dem twisties.

http://goo.gl/maps/RG1SK

Local dealer was 5 mins from my house and I passed his shop everyday on the way to highschool. There was a CB-1 blue and silver in the window. If you recall the bike was not a top seller and sat there for 2-3 yrs.

Never had the coin to cover a bike like that and my folks were anti-bike so I went with the Honda Elite 150 scooter. 30-40-odd bikes later I have never looked back.

My dad who grew up with bikes, worked for the BMF [British Motorcycle Federation] & regularly went to the TT races.

IDK how it started, but the fact my parents forbade me from getting a bike growing up.