Do you remember your first ride?

[Itchy]

I like reading other people's biking stories, so I thought I'd start a thread to catch some.

I remember my first ride.

Not my first time on two wheels, nothing to do with L-plates (although I do have a couple of L-plate stories for another time) but the first time after I passed my Direct Access and swung a leg over my Daytona 600.

Me and my mate fired up our respective beasts and headed out on to the open road. A few miles, some sweeping bends and us wobbling around like a pair of... well, novices.

Then we came up behind a line of 3 cars. I was up first, and looked ahead. In my mind, I had space and time to overtake one car and move back in with enough space to be comfortable.

Indicate.

Life-saver.

Move out.

Throttle.





By the time my tiny mind had comprehended what was going on, I had already overtaken the first 2 cars and was well on my way to taking the 3rd.

I just wasn't prepared for how quickly the bike accelerated compared to my 1.25 Fiesta, and as I flew past the 3rd car and hauled the bike back into the left hand lane with less space than I wanted to spare, I realised my heart was pumping, the adrenaline was flowing and I was having a little giggle to myself. (Well, in been gasps!)

This is one of my biking memories that I expect to take to my grave. It's etched into my soul, there for me to laugh about for the rest of my days.

That trip was going to town to get bike tax. The guy at the post office wouldn't take my email confirmation of insurance as proof of insurance, so wouldn't tax my bike.

My mate looked at me dejectedly and said
"We going home then?"

Says me
"Are we bollocks, get your helmet on!"

[Kwacky]

Her name was Mandy. I was 15, she was 17.....

My first ride on my own bike was on my zzr600. I asked the dealer to take the bike around the back as I had a fear of binning it in front of all the bikers parked there. Perky had dropped me off and was waiting for me.

He pulled out of the car park and I followed. I was behind him until we got to a dual carriageway, where I opened it up

fffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck! Hold on, hold on, hold on. I slid down the seat onto the passenger seat. I gripped the bars for dear life but was giggling like a loon.

[Bratty]

Cb600f my first big bike 78bhp but when your used to 15bhp fecking hell it felt like a rocket, had some fun on that bike.

[Tricky]

riding around a field on a honda c50 at 7 years old.

[duke63]

I remember my first ever ride on any bike. My cousin had a KH400 Kawasaki ( 2 stroke triple) and at my dad's request he took me off down this country lane at warp speed ****-know's-what. I can stilll hear that screaming engine and smell of two stroke oil.

I was hooked from that day on.

[duke63]

As a follow on from that, i still get amazed at how much better new bikes are and can still get totally blown away by the acceleartion and also the stopping ability of new bikes...even after all these years.

That 1199 Panigale test ride just a few weeks back being a case in point.

[Blade]

Road a 954 blade back home from Silverstone after only 8 months back on a bike which was a sh1t slow BMW pipe and slippers boxer. Scared myself sh1tless the whole way home. Felt like a tiny race jockey perched on top of a missile. I genuinely couldn't comprehend the acceleration and violence of the thing. Genuinely petrified but also laughing my head off. Took it straight round my old mans and said have a go on this its totally bonkers. At the time he thought riding my brother in laws vfr800 was the ultimate in speed. Needless to say he came back just like me shaking and laughing, and this was a man who could ride a bike and was a advanced car driving instructor for years.

[D6Nutz]

I remember years back passing my CBT getting a 50cc step through get promptly getting bored with it, then just riding my mates TZR125 and 250's..

There was a long break and finally I got my arse into gear and did my DAS.. 1 day 50cc, 1 day 125cc, 3 days GS500, I passed and was fully prepared for the next step. Enter the Daytona 600, was I ready ??? was I f#%k.

I didn't have the same sense as Kwacky and was dropped off at the dealer in a taxi and my first experience of the bike was turning right onto a very busy main road.. Well, I survived it and embarked on the rest of the ride home... How much difference can 100cc really make ??? A hell of a difference as I found out the first time I got a chance to open it wide, fooking hell I think I shat a brick, nearly fell off the back, and screamed like a girl for the few seconds that it took to break the ton......

Do you know what though.. I still get that same thrill and excitement every time I sling my leg over the bike..

[kiwikrasher]

I went on the back of the old mans bikes a fair bit as a kid, but my first attempt at riding solo was at 10 on my mates farm in shorts and jandals (flip flops) on a Honda XL 185 and I couldn't get a handle of the whole gears concept, jagged third somehow after a rolling start down a slope, thought "this will do me" had a careful tootle, came in to stop, no idea of clutch at all, stalled it still in third and dropped the exposed end of the handle bars right onto my RH side big toe, complete mashed it to bits, blood everywhere. My toe nail grew back deformed is still a mangled mess to this day...

Same bike, my mate fell off it, got his leg trapped under it and the engine cover burnt "HONDA" backwards into his leg no lasting scars luckily!

[Monty]

First I can remember is my mates 350LC. Just got of a 125 and took his out for a spin around some back lanes. Remember thinking where is all the power, this is a bit pap. Cogged it down two gears and opened it up, it hit the power band and everything went Buck Rogers!

[rocket]

Gsxr400 had it before my test and used to run it on a local private road to make sure it went ok. I had to push start it as the battery was dead I was shagged running up and down the road trying to get it to start. Up the road wind it on and it felt great 12,000rpm and I down shifted I'm sure the back end over took me but I managed to hold my nerve and ride the storm. I pulled into a farmers lane to turn round, going down the lane I noticed a car I peaked in to see a nurse pleasuring a man. Oh shit its a dead end I have to turn round and go back again passed the car I think I was more embarrassed than they were .

[Jimmy Mc]

Opening up the ZX7R for the first time after derestricting it. 33bhp to 120 odd. Wound it up in 3rd to the red line and simultaneously laughed my head off and sh*t my pants! Considered restricting it again as my brain didn't know what was going on! Fantastic.

[Blade]

Gsxr400 had it before my test and used to run it on a local private road to make sure it went ok. I had to push start it as the battery was dead I was shagged running up and down the road trying to get it to start. Up the road wind it on and it felt great 12,000rpm and I down shifted I'm sure the back end over took me but I managed to hold my nerve and ride the storm. I pulled into a farmers lane to turn round, going down the lane I noticed a car I peaked in to see a nurse pleasuring a man. Oh shit its a dead end I have to turn round and go back again passed the car I think I was more embarrassed than they were .

You should have stopped and tapped on the window and asked for directions or something

[rocket]

Gsxr400 had it before my test and used to run it on a local private road to make sure it went ok. I had to push start it as the battery was dead I was shagged running up and down the road trying to get it to start. Up the road wind it on and it felt great 12,000rpm and I down shifted I'm sure the back end over took me but I managed to hold my nerve and ride the storm. I pulled into a farmers lane to turn round, going down the lane I noticed a car I peaked in to see a nurse pleasuring a man. Oh shit its a dead end I have to turn round and go back again passed the car I think I was more embarrassed than they were .

You should have stopped and tapped on the window and asked for directions or something

Lol it's not like i Could have zipped passed them the road was in a bad way so I had to take it steady. Thank god I had a dark visor on so they could not see my face.

[Norfolknchance]

My old CBR6F shortly after I passed my test. Picked it up on what must have been one of the most windy days ever, gingerly rode the thing from Wrightington nr. Wigan to Southport, crapping myself all the way.
I did have some fun on that bike, but in hindsight a bike with about 100bhp on tap may not have been an ideal first bike.

[Perkles]

honda nsr 125 flat out on a dual carriage way,i later tuned it to the max and thought i was mick doohan on it my 1st proper bike was a r6 ,i crapped myself riding it home from the sellers house but soon got to grips with it,it was a fantastic bike and did everything well,i did a lot of track days on it

[Kwacky]

R6 DUD. I liked that bike.

[Perkles]

R6 DUD. I liked that bike.

yea you liked it that much you stole it for a day when i was on holiday

[Kwacky]

I was gentle with her

[Cavetroll87]

my 1st ride not on a 125cc was my DAS on a cb600f, I was expecting a little of road taster to get used to the bigger bikes power, not just chucked straight on the road but oh well, I didnt die so all seemed to be going well, already had a deposit down on a cbr600f for the day after my test so no pressure. Passed, went to pick up the CBR, how much different can it be, its still an inline 4 600, I remember the short ride back from the dealer, wobbling along at slow speed until I came up behind a fiesta and though I can over take that.... well, the power of the thing, was so fast to everything I had ever driven/ridden before and that was it, best decision ever (well apart from on weeks like this when the bikes still in the garage in pieces and its sunny and all I wanna do is spend some time fixing and riding it!!!GRRR)