CONTESTS= Friday: Nov. 16, 2007 / Friday: Nov. 23, 2007

This contest is for 2 FRIDAYS Friday: Nov. 16, 2007 / Friday: Nov. 23, 2007 RULES: Post stories and pictures of your first bike and or riding experience only one post reply per member. Include links, pictures and info only. Remember only ONE (1) post per member in this contest (you can sign up for other days also), you must reply to THIS thread only. You are encouraged to post up images and stories. The better the presentation the better shot at WINNING! Each post will allow 10 attatchments and you can also use outside image hosting to put up more if needed. Prize: Komodo Ceno Jacket - 2 , one each Friday http://www.tobefast.com/komodo-ceno-leather-jacket-c-52730-p-1-pr-1503.html http://www.tobefast.com/images/W/komodo_05.jpg Winners will be selected by R1-forum.com Administrative staff (everyone else is eligiable to enter). Each winner will and notified accordingly and posted in this first post on each thread. Winners will be able to select bike types and colors available and we reserve the right to replace it with a comparable price items if sizing, colors, types cannot be obtained. PLEASE ONLY REPLY WITH CONTESTS ENTRIES. NO COMMENTING ON OTHERS POSTS (IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING POSTED IN THE CONTESTS DROP A OFF TOPIC OR GENERAL THREAD UP :lol )

My first streetride was a 2002 Roadstart Warrior. I had been wanting a streetbike for years! The warrior came out and I never thought I would get a sportbike so I got the Warrior. I loved that sucker! That was until I rode and FZ1 and the bought my 03 R1:) I did more street riding on that Warrior than any bike I have had. I rode that sucker everywhere! My first read ride on it was an interstate trip to an AMA Flattrack race in Charlotte N.C. I had the bike maybe a month or less and I was off to a 5 hour interstate trip to Charlotte from Atlanta. That was one tough ride but at the same time a ton of fun! I felt like a parachute riding that thing and it was actually alot more difficult that I expected, but I was glad I did it. Riding it back I think we averaged 85-90 mph and that sucker was sucking gas!! hahahaha. I had to fill up every 100 miles or so. Man I miss that bike now. I don't do much street riding anymore and that would be a cool bike to have again. I sold it to get my R6 racebike a couple years ago so I can't complain to much. :) Here are some pics!

when I turned 16 my cousin was selling his cb750f (honda 750 super sport). he witnessed a crash where another rider was run over by a trash truck, said he looked like a skinned rabbit, the guy didn't make it, RIP. since I had motorcycles in the blood (my father was a chp motor cop & would ride my brother & I to preschool on the back of a black & white harley) I had to have it. The first time I rode it I went through the gears at a mild pace & when I looked down at the speedo I was doing 80 mph. I was so excited that when I got off of the bike I was shaking with adrenaline. Isn't that the universal sign that you've got the right bike? well me & my 750, we're about as fast as a stupid kid on a bike could be! I would ride in cut offs! no helmet, no gloves, no shirt, no shoes, no shit! On the freeway I would lay on the tank/seat with my feet hanging off of the back (we called it "doing a superman") & with the better aero dynamics of this "superman" I could get it to 126 mph (sitting up would only get about 115). I remember riding in the rain one night & the speed was constant but the rpm's we're going up & down (can you say hydro planing?) then one day I went riding "the canyon" with more experienced riders, with helmet & t shirt (luckily) no gloves (not so lucky), well I had to be near the front of the pack cause I was on a 750 after all. I think it was the second turn & I saw my chance to pass a pickup truck, so I went for it but then I had to get back into my lane 'cause there was a car coming but at the same time I was into the next left hander :scared ............................. last thing I saw was my front tire about 4 inches from the dirt at the edge of the road (I also saw my speedo at 60 mph). I don't know how many times I rolled but I saw ground/sky/ground/sky/ground/sky. long story short I ended up fixing it about a month later (when I was mostly healed) with jb weld & I actually used black electrical tape to hold the head light on. moral: I decided a long time ago that even if riding could put me in the hospital or worse (I've been down a few times since) I will never stop riding 'cause it's what I love!

my first bike was a hardtail honda 50 in the faster blue. wouldnt run, begged my older brother to buy it for me (50 bucks in 1972). he did, and i can lend him my 1 enough times to repay that kindness. so i learned to do a 4 strroke top end at 8 years old. wish i still had it.

I ran over my brother the first time I rode a motorcycle. I was 14 years old(22 years ago). I had a 4wheeler so I had the basic concept of clutch/gear/braking etc. I really wanted a bike. My brother already had one so Dad went and borrowed a friends. My brother and I went for a ride. I guess I was following too close when he went down, cause the next thing I knew...I felt two bumps, slammed on the brakes, looked back and saw him laying there with two tread marks across his back. Scared the crap out of me. Until he got up laughing and then proceeded to beat the tar out of me. Good times!! Jim

(I need to upload the fotos for this to make sense...) yeah, this is me back in 1981 with my first bike(burning rubber)...a 1979 Honda 350 in which my brother had handed down to me. When he owned the bike, he treated it as if it was made of glass. But once it got into my hands...well, I was a kid! And everthing I owned HAD TO burn rubber:crash What's funny is that my brother didn't see these fotos until like 15 yrs later. He was silent for a bit and turned pale when he saw the the fotos and finally said..."I didn't know my bike could do those things!?" a halarious moment it was. As geeky as the was, all my friends wanted a ride...even if it was late at night at one of our drunken senior parties....crazy times. I've always had a bike since that Honda (28 yrs of riding)...then it was in this order... a 1983 KLR 250, 1983 CB 650, 1984 900 Ninja, 1990 VFR 750, 1994 RF 900, 1991 FZR 1000 (with a big bore kit), and to my present baby...a 2002 R1 (fotos enclosed). I'm so lucky to be alive, and it helps to ALWAYS wear protective gear. Maybe it's because I've escaped death a few times, maybe because I'm alittle older/wiser, maybe both. But I'm a stickler for protective gear since about 1985...so I can have another 28 yrs of riding! Freaks me out now to see riders with nothing on. (now I just gotta figure out how to post my fotos...)

My first bike is/was my current 05 R6. Attached is the photo of the day I brought it home. Friend of mine whos been riding an R1 for years rode it home from the dealership. We went to a huge parking lot to let me get a feel for it. Did ok right out of the box, but then he says "ok, you're riding it back to your house. Brand new R6, no experience whatsoever, probably one of the stupidest things I've done, he tells me I turned pale white when he said it. I made it home ok, but I swear I was shaking the whole time. The worst part was, I pulled up to one of the lights, and you know how sometimes they don't like to go into first at a dead stop without letting out the clutch a little...so I'm sitting at the light in second (it won't go down anymore, I'm a newb and assume it's in first). Stalled it five times, not understanding why the damn thing just wouldn't get off the line the way it's supposed to, and a long line of cars behind me blairing their horns. How embarrasing.

My first sportbike experience still brings a smile to my face. A friend and I both became so engrossed in motorcycle culture, it became more of an obsession than a hobby. We both set out to find older model used bikes in order to avoid squidlyness at all costs. We figured, a drop is inevitable, so let's avoid heartbreak and get something we don't mind beating up. We researched carbon fiber body kits, and were sure that after a couple months, we could change the body up, pristine condition, and be Kings of the town. After about a month of saving, begging my parents, and reassuring everyone around me that at 21, I was mature enough to handle such an activity. I was given the thumbs up. Picked up a 91 Suzuki Katana 600. Cool part about it was that the kid thought he was a stunter, and tried his first stoppie, only to have the entire bike flip over on top of him. He must have known someone with great painting skills, because I still recall the shine of the black fairings. After a days worth of up and down the driveway, learning to feather out the clutch, we finally felt ready to tackle the daunting task of turning. We set off for the local school parking lot, about a mile away. I remember how fast my heart was beating as we took off together. The ride there was perfect, three turns, a stop, and a merge later, we were there. One look at one another, and we knew that the parking lot alone wouldnt satisfy us. So we set off down the road to a friends house. As we arrived, everyone crowded around, admiring our new toys. OooO's and ahh's, me smiling ear to ear, starting her up, dry reving, acting like a typical newbie. As we were saying our goodbyes, we geared up and prepared to travel into town. I started her up, and each and every time I attempted to shift into first from neutral she would stall. Oh man, I bought a lemon was the first thing to pop into my head...after about 10 tries, I knew sometime was wrong. I called my father, who told me it was too late at night to attempt any repair. So I sadly pushed it into my friends garage for the night. In disbelief, I got a ride home from my father. When I returned home, I called the previous owner and asked him if he ever had the problem. He asked me if the kickstand was down, to which I said, umm I dont know. I felt about 2 inches tall when the very next day, the bike shifted perfectly into first without cutting out, due to the fact the kickstand had a safety mechanism on it to not allow the bike to move while it was down. Lesson learned....at the cost of my pride in front of a large group of people. Live and learn I suppose, but never, ever, again.

my first bike is a 02 gixxer 600. as soon as i got my m1 license, the next day i went to the dealer and picked up my gixxer. my parents will never let me own a bike so i had to hide it from them for years. so i had to park it at a friends house. it really sucks that i have to drive to my friends house everytime i wants to ride. i recently sold it and picked up a 07 r1 and they still don't know about it. i'm still trying to hide it from them, so i never invite them to my house. my gixxer http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f383/WAsB16a/bike005-1.jpg my r1 http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f383/WAsB16a/bike001.jpg

I will never forget my first time going to the twisties with my brothers from R1-forum. I was the noob on an R6 swimming in a see of displacement. I met up with Corey(AnalBusR1), Billy(Dr.R1), and Chris(AdrenalinJunkie) at the gas station at the beginning of the Tortilla Flat(Canyon Lake) run. We gassed up and waited for the others (dont know their names, not members) and headed out. After almost running off the road a few times trying to keep up I learned quickly to ride my own pace, and in no time was toward the back of the pack, but matching the pace. I remember seeing Billy at the front dragging knee on these tight, trecherous mountain roads and was filled with amazement, as well as an urge to progress to that level. I was truely experiencing the best parts of riding for the first time, and it was invigorating. About a quarter of the way into the run, with billy still dragging knee and melting his tires to the edge at the front we come around a blind corner to find an Officer in a dark blue unmarked crown vic parked across the road standing with his hands out motioning to stop. He was definately pissed and immediately demanded we all produce our paperwork. Well this was the time when I was in my "f the world rebel stage" and was riding on a suspended license, no ins., no reg. etc. So you can imagine my heart literally stopped. I knew for sure I was going to jail. As the cop takes everyones paperwork moving down the line toward me I try to stall as much as possible the inevitable. Just as he gets to me and begins to get a little angry that I hadnt produced my credentials yet a truck comes around the corner from the opposite direction yelling to the cop that "a biker just flew off the road down at the bridge". He tells us to SLOW DOWN! and gets in his cruiser and speeds off further down the run. It so happens that A squid with a chameleon painted, chromed out GSXR low sided on a decreasing radius and was pitched clear off the road into the water, his bike however was not so lucky and landed on the rocks. He was uninjured. We continued to the top of the run and made a few more passes that day. The day ended with us waiting for 2 tow trucks to pull a new Chevy avalnche out of the canyon that had gone off the road. We then headed home on the freeway where Corey and someone else did a 2 abreast stand up wheelie for miles. It turned out to be the best day of riding of my life. Here is a pic from that day of me and Anubis at the top. Haha, I'm not sure who photochopped that one, but for some reason its the only version I still have, lol damnit. I have a pic of the wrecked chameleon squid gixxer somewhere also, but couldnt find it. There is also onboard video of that day too. So yea, this was my first TRUE riding experience. Ill never forget it, and I wouldnt trade it for the world. Thanks Corey, Billy, and Chris. :makeout :fork http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v456/link80reid/coreychop.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v456/link80reid/canyonlake3.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v456/link80reid/canyonlake1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v456/link80reid/canyonlake4.jpg

My first bike was sosaki Katana 600. When I bought that bike, I thought I was the coolest shit riding around like a squide without a helmet. That was more than 14 years ago. How things are changed now. Never go out with out full gear, helmet, glove, full leathers.

Well, my first real motorcycle ride was a short one, but one that led to me finding a passion in life... Feb. 2000 I pull into my parking space at work in my new Z28 Camaro. Being the proud owner of a new car I step out with a cocky grin and walk towards the restaurant I work at. I can see a blue motorcycle, but not like any I've ever seen before. My friend, Tommy, had just bought himself a 2000 R6, and boy it was sexy looking :boobies ! I stood there admiring the look of the bike for about ten minutes when I hear, "Wanna take a ride?" I told Tommy I've never ridden a bike before, and he assured me that I would not be riding it myself, but on the back. Having the pre-squid status that I did, I happily said, "Let's go!" and we were off with me on the back with absolutely NO gear. Thankfully we made it back alive and OK, other than my perfect hair which was now in a permanent state of "going fast"! After such an exhilerating new experience my new car seemed like an old g/f, something that was OK to look at, but just wasn't what it was when I first experienced it. A few days pass, and all I can think about is how much fun it was on that bike. The feeling of being so free, unobscured, and also not being totally encaged in safety. My mind raced every chance it could on the new experience. I decided I had to have my own. A few weeks go by and I decide I will sell my new Z28 and get a R6. It takes just a few more, and on April 9, 2000 I owned my first bike...a blue 2000 R6 :rock! My frist day with the bike, I promised my dad I would not take it out riding without him. He wanted to make sure I understood most of the basics that came to mind before going out on my own, and I was totally OK with waiting. So my dad goes to work, and I sit in the gaurage just admiring the new love of my life. My patience shortens to next to nothing so I go grab the key and start her up. I spend just a few minutes practicing getting the bike rolling in 1st gear. My next step is to just take it down my street and practice some turning. After I felt comfortable with this I couldn't wait any longer. I ran inside and told my mom I was going to ride down the mountain to the gas station and back up. She called my dad, asked if she could follow me down and he agreed. My heart pounded as I mounted the bike, started her up, put her in 1st, and left the driveway. I rode down the mountain with the biggest permagrin anyone could possible have! Leaning the bike for the first time through some twisties, catching glimpses of the assfault wizzing by beneath my feet, and the air rushing all over. A euforic feeling overwelmed me, and I knew I was hooked on the best drug anyone could get their hands on! The trip was all of 15 minutes, but it was the best and most memerable I've had to this day! I haven't seen Tommy in quite a few years. If he only knew how much that day changed my life...thanks bro! Mike

My first bike was a 1996 zx-6r. It was a great bike for learning to ride. The only problem was the bad plastics with broken fairing stay. I replaced the fairing stay and made it to the second convention the official first one. I meet some of my best friends and the guys i ride with. These guys are the best i have ever meet adn they even accepted me even though they were on there brand new bikes and they had no probelm taking me out riding on the gap and the cherohla. i cant find pics on this computer but i will try and start the other one and add them at a later date. then the bike meet the final end when i looped it at 90+mph. but it was one of the best bikes to learn on becuase it didnt matter that i didnt have all teh power everyone else had because it made me learn to ride

My first bike was a 1983 Honda Z50. I was 11 years old. My father who put me on the back of his Honda 750 four when i was 5, and thats when the bug bite me, took me to look at the Honda Z. i was so excited to sit on it. So he made a deal with the guy to hold it and the next weekend we picked it up. So the whole week i walked around the neighborhood with my silver motorcycle helmet on pretending to be riding my bike. My friends couldn't wait to see it since nobody had a motorcycle. So my father brings it home and the first thing i do is go down to my friends house to show them the bike. I was smiling so much it hurt. I shut her off and they came out. Everybody loved it. My friend sat on it and was jumping up and down on it pretending to be riding it. In the meantime my father walked down to see where i was because i didn't come right back. Worried i guess. I didn't see him. So i tell my friend to start it up. He kicked it over. He's never been a motorcycle before. Remember i'm 11. He's revving it up and laughing and i'm smiling saying thats my bike. What happened next seemed like it took forever to unfold. As i'm basking in the exhaust fumes of the Z50 i see my friend look down at the gear shifter and he says what does this do. So before i can say No Don't, he has the gas pegged and slammed the shifter down. The bike jumped right up underneath him and he is still holding onto the handlebars with the gas pegged. So here he goes down the parking lot next to his house and i'm yelling let off the gas, let off the gas. That didn't work. He's running behind the thing while still holding onto the bars. Now here comes the neighbors stucco house. I almost pooped myself when he hit the house. What an empty feeling in my stomach. Smash! The bike hits the side of the house and crashes to the ground. He falls to the side after hitting the house. The bike dies. My father runs over and picks the bike up and oil was everywhere. Broke the side of the engine case and shifter right off. So my 1/2 block ride was all i could ride her. Me and my father pushed it up into the garage and i felt like my dog just died. He was yelling at me and then he finally said those famous words. Wait till i tell your mother. Damn i said in my mind. Well after the soreness wore off from the parents and the one month i was grounded, and my father had to kick out the extra cash to get the bike fixed so i could have her back, i finally got to take her up into the woods. Well long story short, don't let your friends ride your bike, and i will never forget the day i got my first motorcycle. Here is a picture of the bike after i had it for awhile. The best days of my childhood was with that Honda underneath me like my R1 is today. Still got that smile when i ride down the rode. Hope this story is good enough. Thank you guys for getting the forum up and running so we can share our love of motorcycles. George.

Not sure if this counts as a bike but?.I was a sophomore in High School and I got a Honda Spree for Easter. I used to ride this thing to school and then to work. Well one day during one of my routes to work I ran into Dinette and Hillary two foxy babes on the pom-pom squad. They flagged me down and we began to chat for a bit then they asked if I could give them a ride to there house on my scooter. I scratched my head not sure if the scooter could get all three of to where we needed to go but I knew one thing I was not going to say no either. I had one in back of me one in front of me and there I was stuck in the center with a nice pair of :boobies on my back and a nice :butt in front of me. I wanted to stay there and enjoy the moment knowing that there was a good chance my scooter was not able to get up enough speed to handle the load. But on the other hand just in case it did I wanted to hurry up and get there to see what else was going to happen. Well the little 1986 50cc maybe 49 but who is counting HONDA SPREE was at W.O.T and she was not moving, so I started peddling her like Fred Flinstone car she was moving but very unstable I was not getting enough speed for it to plane out. I had to stop and let them off they walked away giggling and that was the end of my threesome. I made it to work on time a mama and pop grocery store. But to this day I often what would of happen if the little scooter had enough testicular fortitude to handle the load. Would it of been a High school threesome or a neighborhood fatality. The last time I was home on leave I did see Hilary however I was with my babies mama so I did not say high. I wish I did....However I was not sure how to tell the story to the mother of my kids so I let her go.

My first bike was a 1987 FZ700 and I thought I was the shit. I got it when I was in the navy and kept it for 14 years. You have to have gone through a riding course to bring your bikes on the base so for the first year I parked it off base because I didn't have time to do the course. I kept it covered up so it wouldn't get stolen. One day a buddy of mine and I were coming back to the base and we see a bunch of protesters (Arab cab drivers) outside the base yelling that they had closed the base to the public and we were robbing them of their money, blah, blah, blah. When they see us walking up they start in on us because we were obviously military (its the haircut, any current or former service member knows what I mean). It started with yelling and cutting us off, then throwing garbage at us. My friend starts yelling back and calls them sand n*ggers (yeah, he's a racist) any way these 10-15 guys proceed to beat the shit out of us. I covered my head and ducked down in the fetal position. I took a ton of kicks to the ribs. So bad in fact I was pissing blood the next few days. The gate guard did NOTHING. After they left I asked him why he did nothing and he said "I'd have to file paperwork if I did". :rant2 days later they were back so my friends and I went to the hardware store and got a gallon of zip strip and some balloons and drove by their cabs and pelted them with the balloons. I think we managed to hit everyone at least once. Not satisfied with that I went back around, got a pound of bacon and tossed that too. They called the cops. They put me in handcuff and turned me over to the same gate guard. He turned me into my ships MAA. I was written up and went before the old man. When I told him my story he was shocked!! He let me go with NO punishment at all and had it stripped from my record, talked to the base commander and had the security guard company let go and a new company hired. :bow Gotta love a ships captain with that kind of backbone. He's the same guy who, when the tug company told him he couldn't dock our carrier until after noon (it was 8am) he turned the ship sideways in the channel so no one else could leave until they pulled us in.:crash

When I had just turned 18 my friend had already gone through a MSF course and had bought his first bike which was a 1980's 750 honda that bearly ran. I really wanted to get started riding and was trying to find a MSF course I could get in. One day I stopped in my buddys work and he recieved a phone call and it was one of his friends asking him if he was interested in a kawasaki ninja, he said no and hung up the phone. I asked him who that was and what did he say and he told me all the details. It was a 2000 Red Kawasaki Ninja 250 and it was selling for $1400. I had zero money and one goal...to buy that ninja no matter what I had to do. I set up a time to see the bike (on the coldest day of the winter), started it up, sat on it...I had to have it! I went inside and was trying to negotiate on the bike with money I didnt even have at that time. We finally came to an agreement on price at $1350 and I began to save. He was also selling his 1985 vette and told me if I found a buyer he would sell me the bike for $1250. My friend who was looking for a car at the time went to check it out and he ended up buying it. At that time (two weeks after I looked at it) i had all the money saved up minus the 100 credit I got for finding a buyer for his corvette and went and bought it! All my bills were put on hold and I had zero dollars to my name. My friend rode it home for me and I went to a big parking lot to practice riding. It was such a great feeling and I was hooked. I had to wait to register the bike because i couldnt afford it but I got my permit right away. I rode it all the time. I finally went to take my license test. That morning i just installed K&N pods to the intake. I arrived at the dmv and it just so happened that the choke cable was stuck on the gas tank when i put everything back together. The instructor looked at me like i was crazy because my bike was idleing at 8k rpms and I finally convinced him to let me ride and take the test with feathering the clutch the entire time:scared . I passed with only 1 point off and I was finally legal. I rode the bike for a while and i got a great offer of $1500 for it so I sold it. later on i bought a yzf600r. I wish i still had that bike though. it ran great! even in the winter. My brother got hooked as well and we went and got him a ninja 250 just like mine, I also later on found a 94 ninja for $550 for my girlfriend and i fixed it up for her to ride. Even though my parents were against it they eventually came around and accepted the fact that i wanted to ride. It makes me feel good because of the fact that I put my mind to something and I accomplished it and 3 motorcycles later...here I am. The kawasaki ninja ex250 is a great bike and I would highly recommend it to anybody that wants to learn to ride! Heres a picture of the beauty the first day i got it. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l211/brnrber/ex250.jpg This is my girlfriends ninja 250 that i fixed up for her. (before) http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l211/brnrber/ninjette.jpg (after) http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l211/brnrber/Picture008.jpg

Well my first street riding experience was intresting. I rode a friends Honda CBX 500 "a V twin with shaft drive" home from the bar with him on the back because he was too wasted to ride. "I hadn't been drinking I wasn't old enough to be in the bar" It was about 3 miles and I stoped twice for him to throw up. I thought that was the coolest bike ever. But that isn't really what I wanted to write about. The Year was 1990. I was packing up a container up with a friend who was moving. He had a 1985 Yamaha V-max under the house. We pushed it into the crate and began packing household stuff around it and he said "you want it ?" I said "what ?" he said "four grand and it's yours" I knew nothing about bikes only that back in 1985 when the V-Max came out the drunk friend with the CBX 500 had a poster on the wall with a V-Max doing a nice burn out with a big pile of rubber behind and I thought it was the coolest thing ever " I was still riding BMX bikes at this time" he said "You cant have one you will die" Anyway I said no thanks to the offer and continued packing the container. About 1/2 hour later I said "now for $1500 no problem" now I was just being a smart ass and was floored when he said "all right pull it out it's yours" of course 2ond gear was broken and it cost another $1500 to repair but it was mine. He had already put a Hindle 4-1 pipe with all dale Walkers other sugested Mods so the thing was a real stump puller. I rode it around the neighbor hood at night in first gear for about a month before I got it fixed. I would be shaking every time I got off the thing. Eventually I got into drag racing and sent many people home in there expensive 10.90 dragsters What fun that was. I rode away from my weding on it "I herd later that my mom was so freeked out by it that she got sick" Quite a first bike. I eventually got the sport bike bug and sold it to buy a 1997 YZF 1000. I wish I could have had both. I don't think digital cameras were around then so I did find some old photos and scaned them in so sorry for the low quallity. If I do manage to win one of these new jackets I will give my genuene Yamaha textile jacket to 1 lucky fourm member. It's not quite warm enough for thoes cool damp mornings up here in Waimea.

I enrolled in a riding course when my friend asked if I wanted to join him. I was just fresh out of a long term relationship and that was part of the reason I didn't get my license earlier. After we got our license, we both test rode some bikes and I knew was addicted for life. My first bike was a new 95 ZX6R and I kept her after I saw and bought the 02 R1. I just sold the ninja 2 years ago. My friend gave up riding not long after meeting his future wife. Needless to say, when I met my future wife, I mentioned that I would never give up riding. She said that she would never expect me to do that. I knew she was the one for me. As for riding, I am a lifer.

My first bike was an 83 Honda Shadow 500. I bought it from a co-workers husband for 200 bucks. It was supposed to be $400, but when I got there the carb was leaking so bad he offered it for two. So after assuring them that I knew how to ride, they handed me a fire extinguisher to bungy cord to the seat (just in case) and off I went. Of course I had lied and had never ridden a bike before and luckily they had turned their backs momentarily when I left and missed seeing me run the turn really wide leaving the driveway. Everyone knows that tricky little moment when your speed is just right through a slow 90 turn, just when counter-steering kicks in, I wasn't expecting that, and ran right into the yard across the street, turned around to look, but no one had seen. Then next turn leaving the development I took much more cautiously and tooled around for about 15 min, then stopped to call my friend who had been riding for a couple of years. You might think that he had some good advice to give me but instead he told me to ride out to his house so he could check it out. Obviously the better idea would have been for him to come to me, especially since he lived about 40 miles away, over a few rivers, through some woods and 30 miles of the Pennsylvania State Turnpike. So here I am doing 70 mph on the turnpike and I still haven't figured out this whole turning thing. "Look far ahead and start leaning far in advance," was my method. The gravel truck 200 yards in front of me was complicating the situation as well so i figured the best thing to do would be to pass this miniature missile launcher ASAP. So at about 85 MPH I encountered a new complication, the wind sail of my chest on a cruiser at 85 MPH on the Tunrpike compounded by the slip stream of the truck naturally made me grip the hell out of the bars which just made it exponentially worse. Just as I was next to the truck finally, anxiously awaiting getting past him and back into the slow lane so that the other 18-Wheeler tailgating me could pass, it just so turns out that i started running out of gas. I started losing power and my first thought was that I was on fire, because of the whole carb leaking problem. At that exact moment with no power, slowing from 85 another big truck in the oncoming lane flies by and the wind blows me everywhere, I still think that I'm on fire and I start panicking, but manage to get behind the gravel truck and pull to the shoulder. I see that the bike is not on fire. I smoke that holy s@#t cigarette and try to restart the bike. I figured out on my own what had happened turn it to reserve and keep going. Oh I guess I should mention that it was now about 9:30 so it was also dark out. The rest of the ride on the Turnpike went ok except for my prayers to get it over with, watching each mile marker and counting them down, and one more little fire scare. I must have never hit top gear the first time because I clicked up at about 75 and a "warning" light came on. I thought I was on fire again but it was just overdrive. So I meet my friend and we were riding for about 10 minutes when we came to a stop light and he tells me to do a wheelie. "Just twist the throttle and pop the clutch, it's real easy" he says. So here I am, anyone who knows the area will understand, Rt 19 in Cranberry, PA. There are four lanes going each direction, with six lanes crossing. Traffic everywhere and I do it right in the middle of this huge intersection. I Stood it straight up. My natural reaction was to throw my feet off the pegs, and let go, but I held on, dragging my feet behind me for what seemed like forever until the bike slammed the front back down, and bounced my chest and head off the tank for all to see. The worst part was that my friend went first, missed it all and didn't believe me. It was 7 years before I ever tried a wheelie again.

First bike was a 1991 Suzuki Katana 600...great starter bike! :) Cost me $3000 slightly used, then someone backed into it and knocked it over...new fairings for free!!! Engine ran great, it looked good, and let me learn how to ride safely. Wouldn't change a thing if I had it all over to do again...wish I still had that bike sometimes. Unfortunately for some reason, I can't post my pics. Red bike...looked just like all the other Katanas!! haha!!

My first bike was a Yamaha Maxim 450 that I bought for $600 when I was 18. Drove that thing for just about a year - it was one cylinder of blazing fury! Although to be honest, was a good starter bike - didn't care if I dropped it and really didn't have enough power to get in any kind of real trouble. http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/squish409/n582156415_89493_4504.jpg The next year I bought my '89 GSXR 750 - loved it. http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/squish409/n582156415_89491_3928.jpg Then, the only true regret I have in life, I sold my bike without having another one beside it...I thought I would pick one up the next season, what could go wrong with that plan? Well, my bike money turned into couches and curtains after getting married! Took me another couple of years until I picked up a bike that had been dumped and rebuilt it. http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/squish409/n582156415_84976_6452.jpg http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/squish409/n582156415_84977_6712.jpg Finally came back to the light and picked up my 02 R1 - have never thought about owning anything but a yamaha from this point forwards. http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/squish409/n582156415_233097_2553.jpg I had a chance to do the FAST racing school out of Shannonville, and have been a track addict ever since. http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/squish409/n582156415_373212_3402.jpg http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/squish409/n582156415_373211_2566.jpg And it is ALL about performance. When I'm not riding, I'm cruising in my other sled: http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/squish409/n582156415_401422_7588.jpg WINNER: Squish409 Week 2, Please send all of your contact details, size and first and second color choice in a PM to SpidermanSS.

Growing up my parents always told me "You're not getting a bike or a tattoo while you live under our roof!". Needless to say when i moved out at 18, I quickly purchased my first bike. A 96 Honda F3. It didnt matter to me that i didnt know how to ride. I had the seller take it to my efficiency and it sat for 2 weeks until i took the MSF course. Shortly after came my first Tat. Now, 11 years later, I have many tats and have gone through many bikes with no wrecks thankfully. I have lost some great friends along the way, but that is part of the game of life. http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/258/bike1ab3.jpg (http://imageshack.us) http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/8105/bike2dw6.jpg (http://imageshack.us) http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/8013/afterul1.jpg (http://imageshack.us) http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/3822/2003600rr004eu9.jpg (http://imageshack.us) http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/3615/bath006us7.jpg (http://imageshack.us) http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/6531/fiddy022jo2.jpg (http://imageshack.us) most current http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/2559/blah008ub0.jpg (http://imageshack.us) WINNER: motopsyko32 Week 1, Please send all of your contact details, size and first and second color choice in a PM to SpidermanSS. Remember EVERYONE else the contest is still going another week so KEEP signing up it's not over!

Well as much as I would like to tell my story, I have an amazing jacket and an awesome set of gear, but the one person in my life that needs it more is my gf. I posted this for her because she needs it way more than myself and it was my fault that she got involved in the bike community in the first place. When we started dating approximately 3 years ago, Melanie wasn't a huge fan of bikes but did vow to never go on one including my 04 R1 that I had at the time. Eventually her curiosity got the best of her and after two years, on a cold .... utterly cold November day (5'C), she wanted to get on for a little spin around the block. Borrowing my old helmet and gloves we set out for what I thought would be a short trip around the block ....... 7 hours later and frost bite, we pulled in to park and all I hear from the back of me is can we go out for a little more :no. After a few rides her love for the back of the bike faded and she was well on her way to owning her first bike. Finally in May of this year she took the motorcycle safety course and easily passed. Her first bike was and is still currently her ex500. we had got her some great gear but that was roughed up after her first crash on a trip through the cabot trail two months ago. If I won this jacket it would be a huge surprise and she could replace her current jacket that sustained some rash from that trip. I would love to surprise her with a new jacket and give her some new gear. Thanks for the opportunity and attached are some pictures. The first one is two days after she got her bike, with mine next to it, and the second picture is her on her first track day !!!!!! :jump scared as hell but she still had a blast and managed to do some serious damage to those chicken strips, I was proud of her !!!

So, my entire life, my grandfather has always owned at least one bike, and in most cases 2 bikes. He currently owns two, both late 90's models, a Shadow and Goldwing (he's always been a Honda fan.). So when I turned 14 he took me out on his 1200 Goldwing, we ran all over the place, and up to the Honda shop. We were looking at all the bikes, but I was glued to the sportbikes. From that point on, I knew I wanted a sportbike. I rode friends dirt bikes now and then for the next couple years. Then around when I turned 19, my friend bought a 1990 CBR 600 which he let me take out for a ride around the neighborhood, I fell in love. About 6 months later, I had finally talked my parents into letting me getting a "sportbike" So, since I was a poor college student, they would need to co-sign for me, and went bike shopping with me. We went around to several stealerships looking and for the price range I was looking in (3K-4K) they were all banged up, scratched, something broken, etc. So I started looking in the paper, and found a 1993 Suzuki Katana 600. My mother took me up to pay for and pickup the bike, the seller opened the garage door to reveal a perfect shape Katana, my mom looked at me and THAT is what you are buying?! :sneaky So, I rode this bike 45 minutes home, put gas in it, and after pulling out of the gas station I made a right in a major intersection on the way to my (at the time) girlfriends house, hit some gravel and layed it down in the intersection, it slid across the road breaking the mirror, windshield, and scratching the right faring terrible. So, needless to say, I didn't take a broken bike to my girlfriend's. I took it home and got ready for work (I was waitering at a local fine dining restaurant). When I went down, I was wearing Jeans, Jacket, Helmet, but no gloves, so from the impact of the pavement, I had two huge blisters on my hands. So at work, it was real interesting carrying trays on my now blistered hands. I'll completely admit, I was a squid back then. http://www.zoominternet.net/%7Ekatana62678/bike/burnout.jpghttp://www.zoominternet.net/%7Ekatana62678/burnout.jpg Anyway, later, I ended up fixing up the bike, fitting a V&H Katana 750 pipe, rear sprocket, the whole time wanting an R1. http://www.zoominternet.net/%7Ekatana62678/katanaexhaustsidelarge.jpghttp://www.zoominternet.net/%7Ekatana62678/bike/katanaexhaustsidelarge.jpg http://www.zoominternet.net/%7Ekatana62678/katanaleftsidelarge.jpghttp://www.zoominternet.net/%7Ekatana62678/bike/katanaleftsidelarge.jpg and of course, ya have to LOVE the single box light http://www.zoominternet.net/%7Ekatana62678/katanafrontlarge.jpghttp://www.zoominternet.net/%7Ekatana62678/bike/katanafrontlarge.jpg Finally, I drug my wife to a Cycle show in 2004 when the "new" R1s were released and HAD to have one. She began to talk children (which we will have one sometime around Dec. 15th, next month!!:scared) so I made it clear, I had to have a new bike before kids :sneaky In March of 05 I put the Katana up for sale, paid $3400 for the bike with 8900 miles on it, and sold it for $2700 with 24000 miles on it. In fact HERE (http://www.r1-forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116032) is the thread where I caught a bunch of crap trying to sell my beloved "Kan-a-Tuna":sing: Now I ride my baby an 04 Shift Red R1, of course with gear all the time, if I think it's too hot for gear, I don't ride. PERIOD. Here (http://www.r1-forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122458) is the thread where I bought my baby from a R1-Forum.com member. http://www.zoominternet.net/%7Ekatana62678/bike/b107779392.jpg http://www.zoominternet.net/%7Ekatana62678/b107779392.jpg

When it comes to my life being on two wheels, I got a later start than most. Even though I grew up with a father who owned and rode motorcycles he would not let me have one of my own. So when I turned 18 a friend of mine offered to teach me how to ride his old dirtbike. From the fist unexpected wheelie that dug a nice trench in his parents front yard, i was hooked. I bought his dirt bike 1 month later and starting terroizing the local dirt fields and woods. One month later I sold the bike to another friend and was bikeless for the first time. Later in the summer my mother friend offered to let me ride his 86 ninja 600. I took his offer grabbed his spare helmet and i was off like the squid i was, i learned real fast that even though i could do 100mph it was the learning to stop and turn that was important. I rode his bike a few times getting better each time until i could no longer just borrow a bike, I needed to get my own. In May 2001 I picked up a cycle world mag that happened to have a buyers guide in it. I looked through all the bikes and decided that a 600 would be best for me but i wanted a twin not a inline 4. So my choices where the Honda shadow 750 , suzuki sv600 and the Ducati monster 600 that was just released to the states that yr in limited production. I started calling dealerships right away and the honda and suzuki dealerships were both sold out of the bikes i wanted. So I called the only Ducati Dealership in the state and even though i figured my chance were limited about finding a 600. They had just got a 600 monster delievered that day. So i asked my parents to call them and give them there info so they could co-sign on the loan for me. I got a phone call the following day saying i was approved and i could pick up the bike at 3pm that afternoon, thats when I procedded to ask what color the bike was. Yes i bought a bike sight unseen and without knowing the color. The color turned out to be the dark edition which was a flat black with a silver and gold sparkle flake, the frame was also painted and it came with a carbon fiber rear fender. I picked the bike up on friday and the salesman said see you in a month for your 600 mile checkup, i returned the bike that following monday for it 600 mile check up. I proceded to ride the monster through the summer until late july when i let a friend ride the bike and he lowsided in a parking lot. Insurances covered fixing the bike but not without fighting them first. Then getting the parts was another long drawn out battle but after waiting 3 months from the time it was wrecked i was able to take it home. While it was wrecked i added a set a carbon fiber tergamni exhaust to the bike, thanks to my friend that wrecked my bikes wallet. I got the bike back in early november and from november to may the following yr i managed to put on 6000miles. It was time for a tune up but i was also needing a new cager that was more reliable than what i had. So i unfortunatly traded the ducati in and was once again bikeless. Fast forward till may 07 and i finally had saved enough money to buy a new/used bike. So after looking i fell in love with a 98 R1/r7 replica race bike that was streetable. Well after about 200 miles the motor goes south on me, after taking it to a few mechanics they both concluded it needed either replaced or rebuilt. So we forward a few months forward to about late Oct 28-29th.I decided to post in a local sport bike forum if anyone had a 98-01 motor for sale locally and i also listed what happened to my motor. Well this guy starts posting up about to fix and what i should fix on the motor to get it back to 100%. Well he started mentioning a few things to do to the bike and everything he mentioned was allready done. So i started putting things together and realized that i heard his name before. Well after 1 private message and a phone call it turned out to be his old race bike and he was wanting to know if i would sell it back to him. I gladly said yes because 1.. i could not rebuild the motor back to 100% after i found out what was in it and 2.. i really didn't want to start hacking at the bike to make it more streetable when someone spent so much time and care into making her the way she was. So as of this sunday the bike will be going back to the person that put so much time and effort into building her and taking care of her only to give her to a lawyer for payment which is who i purchased the bike. But this time i'm not bikeless i will have another bike in the garage come sunday night. I have included a pic of a ducati monster 600 and i included a pic of the r1/r7 replica. I unfortunalty have no pics of my ducati due to loosing my pics in a computer crash but the r1/r7 pic is the actual bike.

My first bike was an '01 R6(pic). The only memorable experience I can remember on that bike is the time my buddies and I went riding when it was snowing. A year after I got my bike, my cousin went and got himself a Gsxr600. This was in 2002. The riding season was over and he still wanted to go out riding. One day, convinced me and my other cousin to go out riding. It was cold and snowing in southeastern VA and NC that day. There was just the three of us riding that day. We went on our usual journey from VA to NC., just a 45 mile ride to the ferry in Currituck, NC. My hands were numb and my nose was running soon after we left my house. On the way there, the road has a body of water on both sides of it. It was frozen as far as the eyes could see. When we got our destination, the ferry the station was closed and the sound was also frozen as far as the eyes could see, doh! It was amazing, that was a very large body of water that was frozen. So, after we warmed up our hands with the engine heat, we headed back home. Looking back, with snow on the ground and lakes frozen, it was amazing we made it there and back without any incident. Till this day, I still don't know how he convinced me and my other cousin to go out riding that day, but he did.

As a girl growing up, I dreamed and imagined myself riding a sport bike. So at 31, I decided I was not getting any younger and did not want to be an old lady wishing I would have lived out my dreams. My husband had owned a 1986 450 Honda Rebel for about five years and I talked him into buying a 2002 Liquid Silver R1. He did not want me to ride myself but rather behind him. I got my motorcycle permit, came home and told my husband I was ready to ride. He put me on the old Rebel and off we went. I was so nervous?did I mention I had never rode a motorcycle before.... The rebel was easy to ride outside of it quitting every time we slowed down, the carbs needed cleaned very bad. After a short ride on the highway, I told my husband I wanted to ride the R1. He said that he would let me in a parking lot near our home since I had not wrecked the Rebel. After instructions, like don?t get on the throttle, be easy and don?t change gears? I took off and fell in love?. I had to have an R1! I went straight home and bought my brother?s 2000 Blue R1 and had him deliver it. My husband and I suited for our first R1 ride. He had reminded me to put the bike in neutral because the hill was very steep. I looked down to put the bike in neutral, going too slow and trying to stop I turned over leaving the driveway. REAL NASTY mark on leg! REALLY HEAVY bike! Not one to quit, I had my husband ride me to a parking lot and I rode it. I did not feel as comfortable on the 00 (it has carbs) so my husband traded me. The fuel injected 02 is sooo much smoother. While taking my riding test, I turned the 02 over too, while going slow through the cones. The instructor was surprised that I got back on the bike and rode home. When most people would just quit and sell their bike, I got back on. I took the MSF course and now I have my license and LOVE to ride every chance I get. I am known as the teacher who rides the CROTCH ROCKET! Please check out my story in pictures (its the slam) at the following http://gallery.mac.com/carolhall116#100000 you will need quicktime 7 available here http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/

My first bike... wasn't this 1983 GS100E. It was a 1979 GS750 that I bought from a "friend" that ran almost long enough to get to the Suzuki dealer in Ventura to trade in on the new 1100. Yeah, I took it in the shorts on the deal but that year the 1100 won "Superbike of the year" and bragging rights are worth something, right? And yes, this 500 lb+, 110 HP boat anchor was considered cutting edge at the time. The attached photo was taken by me and shows the roads on the hills above Ojai (I think it was the closest town. I haven't been there since 1985) where I cut my teeth on what I consider some of the best rides I've ever had. Although over the years I've had seven other bikes leading up to my R1 (best by far!) the experiences I had with the first are what will keep me riding forever.

My first bike was a 1977 Honda CB550 that I bought from my chemistry teacher in 1997 when I was only 14. Dad had been riding as long as I can remember so I thought it was time to join him. After babysitting my Alzheimer's stricken great-grandmother for a couple of months, I had $335 of the $350 that I needed to buy the bike. My chemistry teacher came by the house one day and said he was moving to Lubbock over the weekend and needed to know if he needed to go ahead and load up his bike. I showed him what I had and told him I could get him the rest by the next weekend. He agreed to drop the price $15 bucks so I could get it. I remember Dad sitting outside on the tailgate of his pick-up watching me learn the clutch and throttle to make this machine go. After laying the bike down more than a few times (most of them to keep from hitting the pick-up parked on the side of the road) I finally had the hang of it. I told Dad that I wanted to ride it to school the next morning, but he thought it would be better if I waited until I had my license. I spent the next summer driving a tractor and working my uncle's fields to make enough money to fix my bike up the way I wanted it. I started by removing the "highway pegs" that were essentially just a bicycle's handlebars welded to the front of the frame. Dad ordered most of my parts from Dennis Kirk and a couple from a bike shop in Abilene. After spending somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,200 bucks on a $300 dollar motorcycle, I finally had it just where I wanted it. I replaced the chain, sprocket, fuse box, clutch cable, push and pull throttle cables, air filter, side covers, mirrors and added a windscreen to it. I took the tank and the side covers to a painter that Dad knew and had him spray them back to the way they looked back in '77, except for the gold stripe and the Honda emblems on the tank. Dad and I took that bike to several bike events around Texas, to include: Iowa Park Harley Davidson's annual April Fool's Run, Hico's annual TMRA rally, and a couple of Caprock Runs in Lubbock. When I was 16, we were heading out to Lubbock and Dad found a leak on his Goldwing. He asked me if I would mind riding my CB550 and letting him ride the '93 Kawasaki Vulcan I bought about six months earlier. I agreed and it turned out to be one of the smartest decisions I had made to date. I ended up winning best in show for the 650cc and under Non-dresser with my CB550, the 650cc-900cc Non-dresser for my Vulcan as well as youngest driver at the rally. When I was 18 and about to graduate high school and ship off to Marine Corps boot camp, I sold my CB550 to one of my co-workers who needed a good starter bike. Within a week he had laid it down a few times and was talking about restoring her. I was never so proud of anything I had ever had before that bike. And to tell you the truth, I still look back on the rides I made on her and the fun Dad and I had working on her, and I don't think I've owned anything since then that has given me that kind of satisfaction. Everyone enjoy and keep it rubber side down!

My first ride was a 1992 Katana 750 :cool: I bought it un-expectidly from my sister's boyfriend........I had always wanted bike but was always told "no" growing up.......and that i could do whatever I wanted when I moved out. So at 7, I wanted to move out :crash :lol SO he rode the bike over all the time and all I did was drool over it. I was 17 at the time (squid status +5) and talked to him secretly about buying it without no one knowing. I had the majority of the money saved up......and I got ballsy one day and asked him for a test ride. He said the usual "not till it's paid for" but I finally convinvced him for what seemed like forever and he let me ride it up and down the street, with his gear on. I thought I was HOT stuff. :fact So here I am tooling it up and down a street about a mile long and I am going down the street at about 25 mph and what do you know.......mom is coming up the driveway as I am going down.......... I panicked cause I didn't want her to see me riding it at all so I grabbed some front brake, thinking I was going to hurry and turn around and get back home before she realized it was me. Well I grabbed so much front brake, the rear wheel came off the ground.......I just learned the control's 30 min ago, So I wasn't all there in my panicked state so while it was in the air (Dan Kyle would have been PROUD) somehow I revved it up and when the rear tire came back in contact with the ground.....it shot out from under me into a field quicker than I could blink an eye.........I think if I would have stayed on I could have saved it....or at least went into the field with it :) But she rolled for a bit and then gently laid down on her side scratching a few nice shiny peices. Needless to say, I was on the biggest payment plan possible for about 4 months. Not too bad Then I sold it to get another bike that I hid from my parents at a friends. FF 11 months and here I am in the hospital because I crashed my new(er) bike and was hiding it from my parent's........Nurse had to call my dad :( He answered the phone and I could hear him "No maa'm, you've got the wrong number, my son sold his motorcycle almost a year ago, he couldn't have crashed, he doesn't have one" :crash Needless to say there was no more "hiding bikes" at friends houses.........I WILL NEVER forget that talk in the hospital.

WINNER: motopsyko32 Week 1, Please send all of your contact details, size and first and second color choice in a PM to SpidermanSS. Remember EVERYONE else the contest is still going another week so KEEP signing up it's not over!

that's me on my uncle's BMW R100 i think. and it's way back in 1989 i think. so i was 3 year's old. http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/iggyspeed/VALENTINOROSSI.jpg and here's my first crotch rocket. it's a 1995 yamaha JOG 75cc http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/iggyspeed/DS%20amp/a715.jpg http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/iggyspeed/DS%20amp/4bf2.jpg http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/iggyspeed/DS%20amp/91c3.jpg http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/iggyspeed/DS%20amp/5445.jpg http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/iggyspeed/DS%20amp/7d0b.jpg http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/iggyspeed/DS%20amp/bd3b.jpg

Great thread. I love that little blue 75cc yamaha scooter! Thats badness! I vote for him. Some of you members started riding way late, and then go on to tell every bike that you have ever owned and own now. Why? Here is my first bike story: My first bike was a 50cc dirt bike, I think it was a suzuki since it was yellow ( I was barely 6 years old) My dad put me on it and started explaining how to operate it. Kill switch, throtle, brakes, etc. I had been riding on his gas tank holding on to his handlebars for as long as I can remember, so I didnt listen. I was so exited all the info went in one ear and out the other. I took off confident and opened the throtle all the way, where it stuck, I still dont know if I was scared shitless and froze or if the throttle stuck. I went full speed right into a barbed wire fence, right in front of everyone. I was bleeding up and down my chest and stomach and went inside to get patched up. I wasnt hurt too bad and my dad thought if I didnt get back on I might never again (ya right). Lucky for my bike it only had a bent rear brake lever so I was back on it getting the rundown of the controls again. I did fine my second time, and have been riding ever since. 20 years now.

First riding experience was on a friends honda 50 back in elementary school. No clutch, but it was love at first site. I just didn't think it would take twenty years of heartache to get get my first bike. Of course parents wouldn't let me have a bike, and being a poor college student I coudn't afford one. So I had to be jealous for years as the bikes went screaming by on the freeway, or outside the house, or just that faint screaming bike you can hear in the distance that brings a smile to your face. My goodness it took a long time to get this bike. Still had to convice the wife, but lukily she's understanding. Although she did make sure I took the safety couse. That made it easier to drive the bike of the lot, but what a feeling. Would write more, but I'm going for a ride. See you out there.:fork :)

WINNER: Squish409 Week 2, Please send all of your contact details, size and first and second color choice in a PM to SpidermanSS.

Thanks everyone for participating, the contests are now over. The stories and entries were AWESOME! If you have posted any of this stuff on the site before please do! It's what makes the forums so GREAT! Nothing has shipped yet but all of the winning orders will get put into our computer system early next week and things ready to ship :) Happy Holdays from everyone here! R1-forum.com / R6-forum.com

The very first motorcycle i had was a Suzuki 750 Hybrid Bike. I used to jump field terraces with it. I can remember a buddy and I would tear the fields up with that thing. Unfortunately i don't have any pictures of it. The most memorable ride i have ever taken was when i was riding my 05 YZF-R1 (Red and black) from Jacksonville NC to Raleigh NC to catch a flight to my dad's house. It was the dead of winter and cold as a witches tit in a brass bra in antartica, doused in ice, with the A/C on. :dundun: I actually got hypothermia while riding and was so out of it i woke up inside a police car. :dundun: The bike was parked on the side of interstate 40 and it was about 11pm at night. Needless to say i missed my plane but i did get there safe and without a scratch on my bike. Sometimes i wonder how i ever stopped, while in shock, without wiping out. I can honestly say i have the big guy upstairs watching over me. Oh and by the way....reason i was in a police car was he caught me speeding at 95 mph in a 70 mph zone, and he was being nice. :) After he realized i wasn't in my right mind, he let me sit in his car for a good 30 to 45 mins to warm up....and i still got my ticket. Now days i just ride local with friends, and i never get that cold ever again...although i have built up a tolerance for the cold. I'm gonna put my new charcoal grey 07 YZF-R1 on the track as soon as i can and see what she'll do. Off the track i have had it to 150 mph on a back road and that will probably be faster than i care to go on any given day. It reminded me of playing video games when the periphrial vision around the edges blur....that REALLY happens no joke. I didn't believe it until i seen it with my own eyes. Unless you are really crazy and a really experienced rider, i wouldn't suggest trying it. "kids...don't try this at home or anywhere else for that matter." Even then...better have a Will made, insurance, and pray for hours before attempting anything that wild. :no Be safe out there everyone and know.... if you have a fear of death, please don't do what i have done. I'm gonna go practice my wheelies now...*grins*:sneaky