Pictures of your previous motorcycles...
- Thread starter Unruly Rider
- Start date
S2Davies
Active member
Spectacular pair of bike, stunning.
EllenGtrGrl
Active member
Cool motorcycles in the photos! Back in 2006, I was seriously interested in getting a Buell (I wanted a Cyclone), but once they became an orphan motorcycle brand, I backed off. I actually interviewed for a Quality Engineer's job at Buell back in 2002 (they were located about 38 miles from where I live [nowadays], in East Troy, WI [I go through East Troy occasionally, when I'm out and about motorcycle riding]), and no, I did not get the job. I remember seeing Kawasaki triples pretty often in the ;ate 70s and early 80s, when I was a teenager. They were prety common back in the day. A week ago from last week Saturday, I saw one for the first time in well over 20 years, parked at the Indian dealership, I bought my FTR1200 from.
Motorcycles I've had? Well, I've had several. My first one was a 1978 Kawasaki KE250, that I got permission to buy, when I was 16 , in 1979 (I got pestered by a boyfriend to try riding his motorcycle, and I had so much fun, I wanted one - you should have seen the riot act my dad read me, about how I was "going to behave responsibly or else!", when I bought the motorcycle). My next motorcycle was a 1982 Honda XL250R. I had that motorcycle from 1982-1989 (I really wanted a Honda 450 Nighthawk, or Suzuki GS-550T, but being a college student who was living at home during her first 2 years of college, I had to live by dad's rules, and dad basically said "not under my roof - all you're going to do is race those bikes!!" ugh!!!). In 1989, my XL250R needed repairs that cost more than it was worth (the exhaust was rusted out, and the only one available was a stock exhaust, that cost a bundle), so I sold it to a coworker, who welded on a leftover exhaust from BSA, and used the XL250R as a beater bike, around his farm. I don't have photos of either my KE250, or my XL250R.
Life intervened, and I didn't start riding again until 2013. At that time, I bought a 2004 BMW R1150R
My old 2004 BMW R1150R
The R1150R had 40,000 miles on it. The shocks and the tires only had a year or two left in them, and it was a bit of a big, clunky moose, so I traded it for a 2014 Triumph Thruxton 900, which was a fun motorcycle to ride, but had excessive vibration in the handlebars (my hands ended up numb, if I rode more than 25 miles). Still I had some fun times on that cycle (I'll always remember the "adventure" I had, where I went for a ride on backroads on July 4, 2015, got my directions mixed up, and almost wound up down in Illinois!).
My old 2014 Triumph Thruxton
I replaced the Thruxton in 2016, with a 2015 BMW F800R. I never took a photo of it. It was a nice bike, but I wanted something with a little more horsepower and low end grunt. so I replaced it with my previous motorcycle in 2017 - a 2016 BMW R1200R.
2016 BMW R1200R (my previous motorcycle)
Motorcycles I've had? Well, I've had several. My first one was a 1978 Kawasaki KE250, that I got permission to buy, when I was 16 , in 1979 (I got pestered by a boyfriend to try riding his motorcycle, and I had so much fun, I wanted one - you should have seen the riot act my dad read me, about how I was "going to behave responsibly or else!", when I bought the motorcycle). My next motorcycle was a 1982 Honda XL250R. I had that motorcycle from 1982-1989 (I really wanted a Honda 450 Nighthawk, or Suzuki GS-550T, but being a college student who was living at home during her first 2 years of college, I had to live by dad's rules, and dad basically said "not under my roof - all you're going to do is race those bikes!!" ugh!!!). In 1989, my XL250R needed repairs that cost more than it was worth (the exhaust was rusted out, and the only one available was a stock exhaust, that cost a bundle), so I sold it to a coworker, who welded on a leftover exhaust from BSA, and used the XL250R as a beater bike, around his farm. I don't have photos of either my KE250, or my XL250R.
Life intervened, and I didn't start riding again until 2013. At that time, I bought a 2004 BMW R1150R
My old 2004 BMW R1150R
The R1150R had 40,000 miles on it. The shocks and the tires only had a year or two left in them, and it was a bit of a big, clunky moose, so I traded it for a 2014 Triumph Thruxton 900, which was a fun motorcycle to ride, but had excessive vibration in the handlebars (my hands ended up numb, if I rode more than 25 miles). Still I had some fun times on that cycle (I'll always remember the "adventure" I had, where I went for a ride on backroads on July 4, 2015, got my directions mixed up, and almost wound up down in Illinois!).
My old 2014 Triumph Thruxton
I replaced the Thruxton in 2016, with a 2015 BMW F800R. I never took a photo of it. It was a nice bike, but I wanted something with a little more horsepower and low end grunt. so I replaced it with my previous motorcycle in 2017 - a 2016 BMW R1200R.
2016 BMW R1200R (my previous motorcycle)
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EllenGtrGrl
Active member
Which one, the R1150R or the R1200R? Both were cool, but I preferred the R1200R. The only reason I got rid of it, was due to the fact that the local BMW dealer shut down late last year, and as a result, I would have had to travel 60 miles to get major servicing done (which with the amount of riding I was doing, was coming up in 2021 [valve adjustment]), at the nearest BMW dealership. Nobody local was willing to do more than an oil change on my old R1200R. Throw in the usual "we'll have the (major) work done in 2 or 3 days", after it would have been dropped off for the servicing, and it would have been impractical for me to say the least. So, I got rid of my R1200R, and bought an FTR1200. Thankfully, the Indian dealer is less than 10 miles away, and I got a nice bike to boot (I had a blast riding it after work today).
EllenGtrGrl
Active member
Oh it was a blast. It was basically a naked sportbike. 125 hp, 3 different ride modes, and electronic suspension adjustment. I looked forward to my commute home from work on that bike, because I did some serious back roads burning on it (if the weather was great, I'd tack on another 35-40 miles to my commute home). I will guiltily admit that there were a few times, where I had it up to triple digit speeds. It was also quite the corner carver. I may live in Harleyland (due to Harley being only 10 miles up the road - most motorcycles on the road around here are Harleys [I'm sure that as is typical during my commute, I'll encounter more than a few Harleys, with their big, ugly, 60s-era bat wing fairings, while riding my FTR1200 tomrrow]), but I used to eat Harleys on that motorcycle.
It was a great bike. It's too bad that the local BMW motorcycle dealership went bust. I e-mailed BMW Motorrad in early February, to ask if the had any plans for having another dealership in the Milwaukee area, and all I got for a response was, "gee, that's too bad, BMW wants riders to have an enjoyable experience on its motorcycles." In other words, I received a non-answer. As of this time, there is no new BMW motorcycle dealership in the Milwaukee metro area (ditto for Triumph, which the now defunct dealership also sold). It could take years before another BMW motorcycle dealership is in the area, so I decided to cut my losses.
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mark.lb
Well-known member
I still have my first serious road bike - 1977 Yamaha XS750 2-D. Purchased it when I was 18 years old for $2023 out the door. Sold my Honda 350 Scrambler I got when I was 16 years old to help pay for the Yamaha. (I wish I still had a picture of that bike but just too long ago.) The Yamaha has 31600 mile on it now. I just had the carburetors rebuilt, new main jets and balanced. It runs like new. Every time I ride it is like getting to take your favorite high school girlfriend out on another date with no push back from the wife!
(Hang on though....when all 50 ponies kick in at the same time on the Yamaha it can be quit a ride!)
(Hang on though....when all 50 ponies kick in at the same time on the Yamaha it can be quit a ride!)
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Max Kool
Well-known member
Random shots from random bikes I used to have....
BMW G650X Challenge rally animal.
Indestructable aircooled pig DR650
Africa Twin 750, next to my buddy's way too cool Cagiva 900ie Elephant
My first new bike (moped), 38 years ago.
More recently (sold last year), Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled
BMW G650X Challenge rally animal.
Indestructable aircooled pig DR650
Africa Twin 750, next to my buddy's way too cool Cagiva 900ie Elephant
My first new bike (moped), 38 years ago.
More recently (sold last year), Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled
EllenGtrGrl
Active member
I remember the MB5! Honda actually had a commercial on TV back in the day, with them demonstrating that the MB5 wasn't a toy.
Cycle World magazine, or Cycle magazine actually had a feature story in 1982, where they took an MB5 on a several hundred mile trip. I remember that the best they could do speed-wise was a little over 60 mph at the 10,500 rpm redline - if there was NO HEADWIND!, and the rider was flat on the tank, which is not bad for an air cooled 50cc 2 stroke single!
You mentioned that yours was registered as a moped. I assume you had yours in the US (since outside of the US it was called the MB50)? If so, I'm surprised that there were states in the US that considered it a moped. In Wisconsin, the MB5 had to be licensed as a motorcycle (ditto for the Yamahz YSR50).
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EllenGtrGrl
Active member
I've read how you young 'uns in Europe would get around the learner restrictions, by swapping out for cylinder heads with larger bores, or larger ports in the cylinder.
Actually now that I think about it, I think the best Cycle Magazine or Cycle World could get for speed was probably more like 50 or 55 mph (80 kmh or 88 kmh), and they pretty much had to keep the throttle pegged with the engine screaming most of the time, to make realistic time during the semi-long journey that made up the magazine article.The closest we came to learner restrictions in Wisconsin motorcycle-wise, was during the late 70s till the mid 80s (I started riding at age 16 in 1979). Back then, if you took your riding test on a motorcycle of 500cc or less (I took mine on a Kawasaki KE250 dual sport), you were restricted to motorcycles of a displacement of 501cc or less (it was even explicitly stated on my drivers license that I only had an endorsement/legal authorization to ride motorcycles of 501cc or less). If you wanted to transition to riding larger displacement motorcycles, you had to get a learner's permit (complete with riding restrictions), get used to riding the larger displacement motorcycle you had bought, and retake the riding test. In 1982 or 83, a friend of mine (we were classmates in high school, and our first two years of university education) who used to be one of my riding buddies, had to go the re-test route, when he bought a Honda CB900 Custom. When he went to take his riding test (which included as a part of it, going through an obstacle course that was set up with cones), he asked the examiner if it would be OK for him to stand on the pegs, when he did the obstacle course portion of the riding test. According to John (my friend), the examiner gave him a funnly look, but said "sure, if you want to." Well, John went through the obstacle course riding like a trials rider, and using a lot of body english. He did not have to stop, or put his foot (or feet) down to maintain his balance (either of which marked you as having failed the riding test), and as a result, passed the riding test on his first attempt, which impressed the examiner, since most riders taking the riding test on larger displacement motorcycles failed the obstacle course at least once or twice, before they were able to get through it successfully.
The funny thing is, 3 years later (in 1985), the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles eliminated the displacement restriction, and went back the way it was pre-1976, or 1977 - in other words, once you passed your motorcycle license riding test, you had no restrictions on what you could ride (even if you passed the riding test on a 50cc motorcycle). Go figure!
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Max Kool
Well-known member
It was an industry! There we shops that solely sold tuning parts for mopeds. Cylinders, heads, exhausts, carburetors etc. The common mode for most was big bore, from 50 to 70cc. Or better yet, get an 80cc moped from Germany, and bore it to 125cc.
There was no license needed for a moped, just be 16, get insurance and ride away. Wild wild west. Those days are gone now, my son recently got his license, and he had to a paper test, and a riding test...
