Jump to content
The MT-07 Forum

What was your first street bike?


bornagainbiker

Recommended Posts

  • Premium Member
Just now, rick said:

Summer of 1970 - a 1965 Honda CB72, aka 250 Hawk.

 

It was never as nice as this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Screen shot 2018-04-24 at 2.02.59 PM.png

that is awesome.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 81
  • Created
  • Last Reply

It had a kick starter that went forward. Maybe it made 20 hp and that's a good thing cause the suspension, tires and brakes were barely up to the task. And with a 360 degree crank (Pistons up and down together), man did it ever buzzzzz!

 

yep, don't make 'em like that no more. 

 

And that's a good thing. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member

1987 Kawasaki ZL1000- brought in 2006

** only if I knew how rare this bike was before it caught fire- I would have tried to restore/rebuild it and kept it 😭😭😭😭😭

2015 fz-07- Hordpower Edition...2015 fj-09- 120whp- Graves Exhaust w/Woolich Race Kit- tuned by 2WDW
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wintersdark

1982 Kawasaki 440ltd.  Not this one, but looked just like it.  

 

It was probably a terrible bike, but because it was my first my memories of it are awesome - for 16 year old me, it was screaming fast, handled like a dream, and was so damn cool.  Even in retrospect, I think it handled very well, but the fast part....  well... It was an 82 twin 440.   God knows, the CB900C I bought after this was nowhere near as agile.  

 

Must never ride one again, so I always remember it as an awesome bike :)

 

maxresdefault.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had the 400cc standard version not sold in USA, designated Z400G Custom. Usually, we think of Custom as a cruiser style, but back then it was a designation Kawasaki used on bikes upgraded with cast wheels, but otherwise standard style. Like the KZ650C Custom. My 400 was a brilliant bike. Slow, but superb handling.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My first street legal bike that actually ran enough to ride was my 1990 Yamaha Radian that I bought as a bobbed project bike. Fun little bike but still needed some work, sold it to a buddy after I picked up the MT. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My first bike was a 1972 Kawasaki 350 s2 triple. Evil handling, constantly fouling spark plugs, with a power band like a light switch. But boy did it sound good at full song. Sorta like an Evinrude outboard on steroids. I can't imagine what is was like to ride its big brothers, they were monsters for their time.

 

 

 

image.thumb.png.f262dfa003cc7b74c6dae21abfbd019b.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My first 100% street bike was an 83' Yamaha XZ550RJ or Vision. It was a big bore, short stroke v-twin (had good torque and speed, similar to our FZ-07) that according to one article I'd read, was faster than the inline-4, Kawi KZ550 of the day. It did pretty good on the track and it rode smooth like a BMW. It almost seemed to have it all, including too large a price tag, which (sadly) killed it's production after just two years. It was one sweet, sport touring bike. I really liked the 4.5 gal. tank and the comfort of the bike on the long trips from Texas to Ohio.

 

 

Yamaha XZ 550D.jpg

Beemer

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, rushdewalt said:

 I can't imagine what is was like to ride its big brothers, they were monsters for their time.

Faster, smokier and more evil, lol.

1 hour ago, rushdewalt said:

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Beemer said:

My first 100% street bike was an 83' Yamaha XZ550RJ or Vision. It was a big bore, short stroke v-twin (had good torque and speed, similar to our FZ-07) that according to one article I'd read, was faster than the inline-4, Kawi KZ550 of the day. It did pretty good on the track and it rode smooth like a BMW. It almost seemed to have it all, including too large a price tag, which (sadly) killed it's production after just two years. It was one sweet, sport touring bike. I really liked the 4.5 gal. tank and the comfort of the bike on the long trips from Texas to Ohio.

 

 

Yamaha XZ 550D.jpg

Wow, forgot all about the Vision. Was it that bike that had a fully enclosed chain? 

 

Motorcycle seats were actually comfortable back then and no one looked at seat heights either as they were never too high

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, rick said:

Wow, forgot all about the Vision. Was it that bike that had a fully enclosed chain? 

 

Motorcycle seats were actually comfortable back then and no one looked at seat heights either as they were never too high

It had shaft drive and agreed on the seats, most were wide and flat and cradled the glutes nicely. Here's a little something I think you'll find of interest I pulled off the web.

 

"The Yamaha Vision was originally conceived in the late 1970s when motorcycling was at its peak, and spent three years in development, being overseen by a small group of designers and enthusiasts rather than "committee think". Several high-profile external design houses contributed to the design of the XZ550 including GK Design Associates for design, and reputedly Cosworth for the engine and Porsche for the final drive. The initial models were designed to be a performance bike and GK's goal was "to make it into the most advanced super sport bike in terms of both styling and riding performance" To many enthusiasts, the XZ550 succeeded on both fronts, its comfort on long rides and veritable torque-monster engine matched by its distinctive deep V-Twin exhaust beat and endurance race performance. But '82 sales were poor and it was not until the bike was re-invented as a sport-touring bike in 1983 that sales picked up, although not enough to see the bike surviving. The bike was considered "the closest bike to a B.M.W. ever to come out of Japan" at the time, in reference to its touring credentials and reliability on long-distance runs, generally considered "the most European motorcycle from Japan in recent memory."

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_XZ_550

 

Beemer

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was the XV920 that had the fully enclosed chain - filled with gear oil, iirc.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_XV920R

 

Yamaha's 1st drive shafts were actually made by BMW for Yamaha. The XS750 triple of that era had a shaft unit that looked very much like the drive on my 76' R90.  It's possible your XZ550 did as well - regardless who designed it. .

 

That 750 was possibly the hardest motorcycle ever made to push about. It felt like the brakes were applied. Don't know that anyone ever could explain why.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rick, That bike was released here as the XV1000R. I had one and wished I could get one now to modernize. Incredibly good motor with a TERRIBLE suspension. But I know enough and there is stuff available now to fix it. You could put a 50c piece on it's side on the motor cases when it was idling and it woth stay upright ( Aussie 50c pieces at that time had multi flat edges). The suspension design was good but the springing/damping was atrocious. It would bottom out on everything, even at full preload ( this is the bike I discovered the preload blues effect). Been trying to get one for  a few years now to mod it..

 

Beemer,

The XZ 550 is pretty close to my ideal config for a motorcycle. If someone made a decent reliable modern design 500-600 Vtwin with a good handling light weight frame , it would be the only bike I would sell the 07 for. KTM frame and a new Yamaha motor perhaps? I could live without the shaft drive though. The SV650 could be it but the big heavy low HP/kg is just too dated.

To my mine the closest thing to a BMW to come out of Japan was the CX500. Handled VERY much like one, shaft drive, big BMW type seat. Interestingly, like a BMW, it also handled as well two-up as solo. Also had a remnant side twitch from the torque reaction as well, though because the clutch wasn't a gigantic flywheeled engine speed thing(like BMW's) it was just a hint. Did my first big tour of Australia on one.

Go forth and modify my son...go forth and modify...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Greg, for a change I don't think we could differ more on these bikes 😱

 

XV1000R (920R in USA, TR1 in most places) got flak for its suspension at the time, as did the Virago 750/920/1000 featuring the same design. Not ever having ridden one, that was what I expected. Which is why I was mightily and positively surprised by the rear shock of my 1982 XV750 Virago. Comfy and with enough travel to withstand bottoming on all but the worst roads. I replaced mine with one off an XT600 Tenere because I wanted to raise the rear and gain the 50% extra wheel travel it offered, but not for a lack of performance for general road work. The fork also works fine, and miles better than that of the current BMW R nineT Scrambler, with more compliance, control and especially resistance towards bottoming. I have modded mine slightly by using thinner, but much more fork oil (10W vs 15W) and an inch of extra preload. Air valves I have removed and blocked off the holes. The swingarm lacks support where it connects to the engine, and the forks are spindly, so pressing on around faster, bumpy corners will cause a mild weave.

 

I have fitted a newer 1100 engine, and at idle you cannot balance anything on the engine 😁 The whole bike is alive at idle, and that was to a lesser degree also the case with the old 750 engine. On my wooden floor, that will flex a little, and sitting on the centre stand, the bike is bouncing visibly. A little above idle, things smooth out, but I can always tell the thing is running.

 

The 1978 CX500 I owned back in 1982 was the worst handling big motorcycle I have ridden, period. The suspension was so soft that the bike was more or less sitting at its stop permanently when riding two-up (and we were much lighter then), and even solo it would pogo like crazy all the time. One time I wobbled right off the road around a 130 kph corner when the bike would weave so hard it bounced between grounding out and standing up. 

 

Another horrible trait was how it would stand up like lifted by a big crane if the front brake was touched mid-corner. Using the front brake with some effort mid-corner meant heading straight immediately at a tangent from the curve. Others have had this trait, but none nearly to this effect. The seat was a torture rack, despite its enormous size. The longest I ever managed in one go was 70 minutes, and then my eyes were watering from the pain in the butt. Shaft torque reactions were pronounced, but not as terrible as old BMW air-heads, thank gawd. The engine had much less torque reactions than any BMW boxer thanks to Honda turning the clutch in the opposite direction of the crank. As they did already with the GL1000 for 1975.

 

I will say that the CX did handle similarly to a BMW air-head. In my book that is not a compliment ;)

 

The XZ550 was a bike I was really keen on, though. Loved the looks and the sound and the shaft drive. Pity it was so technically troubled and that people didn't buy it so it only lasted a couple of years before Yamaha dropped it. Not unlike the TX750, another troubled beauty.

 

Not quite sure what you meant about the SV650, though? IIRC, when the SV first appeared it had the exact same wet weight as the 2014 MT07 and similar performance. Have they grown weaker and heavier with age? If so, I resemble that remark 😄

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For both my 76 and 82 airheads, I replaced the flat top yoke for an alloy one with pinch clamps and added chrome molly fork braces to both. To deal with that long 8" of dive on brakes, there was a set of short bottoming springs that went inside the sliders. SW Freon shocks were the thing in the 70s, but those went for a set of Koni shocks with 3 position damping. 

 

At triple digit speeds (mph) the '82 R100RS was like a weeble - it wobbled but never fell down, heh, heh. 

 

On the flip side, my Rs loaded up for camping trips (for 2) like a champ. Lots of room and handling at least didn't get worse.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Faffi,

My experience of the CX 500 was VERY different. Admittedly the first thing I did was change to passive gas S&W shocks and springs on the rear and fix the front ( stiffer springs and trickit) but that's what I pretty much always do ( KTM690 Duke didn't have to touch the suspension). Pretty much do less than one or two hundred Km on Jap shocks and stock forks before I change them. But I rode from Townsville to Bathurst to South Australia and back to Townsville 7000km. Never have a problem with the seat. I changed it later for a cafe racer type seat with reconstituted foam to get lower. I also changed the tyres before I even left the showroon. Dunlop K81 ( French). Then Metzlers. It was the second bike I had to lift the pegs on because they scraped so much ( first was my RD350). I always put SBS brake pads on as well, so the grabby front pads were well tamed. Another must do in those days.

Do you live in a cold country. I have heard that that quite a few of the Honda seats in those days, including the CX500 had a foam that went hard and non springy in the cold.  considering I lived in the tropics and rode down to SA in late "Spring" temperature wasn't really a problem most of the ride.

Yes I did mean the BMW Air heads.

The XV750 had twin shocks the XV1000R had a monoshock ( in the original Yamaha meaning). It was easy to fix the rear on the 750 but not the 1000. The vibration I suspect was a function of the motor being originally designed as a 1000 and the other two ( 750 and 1100) used the same crank. Gee I wonder why they weren't well balanced... The 750 could have been sold as a sex aid.

The SV650 is a decades old design and is VERY heavy. There is no reason for a 650 Vtwin motor to weigh that much.  The original advertised weight was a lie. It was way heavier than advertised. They can be made much lighter, but the limitation is the motor. They were the king of their racing calss for quite a while until the 650 Kwaka twins came along. It was designed before it's original proposed release date in the early 90's . I can't remember why it was delayed but wasn't released until 1999. Like the GS500 because it just keeps selling, they just keep coughing up pretty much the same bike. It is a good bike , just dated and could be a lot lighter. Think Aprillia RXV and SXV  motor for size...with Suzuki reliability...ie no titanium valves...

 

Go forth and modify my son...go forth and modify...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The seat on my R90 - the brown one in my avatar - had this nice stitching on a seam that wasn't exactly waterproof. That bike saw enough rain while riding that when it got below freezing, the foam would freeze solid as a rock. Sitting on a big ice cube - talk about having the life sucked out of yer ass on a cold morning commute to work. To say nothing of the pounding. 

 

i got smart at one point and started painting those stitched seams with a silicone waterproofing called CampDry. Man that stuff stunk, but it sure worked. 

 

To help start the thing in the winter, I sometimes resorted to pouring a bucket of hot water on the barrels. Of course, an unintended consequence of getting it started easier was that the ground around the bike turned into a skating rink. Doh!

 

Ahh, the good ol' days, lol. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, gregjet said:

Faffi,

 

Do you live in a cold country. I have heard that that quite a few of the Honda seats in those days, including the CX500 had a foam that went hard and non springy in the cold.  considering I lived in the tropics and rode down to SA in late "Spring" temperature wasn't really a problem most of the ride.

 

 

The XV750 had twin shocks the XV1000R had a monoshock ( in the original Yamaha meaning). It was easy to fix the rear on the 750 but not the 1000. The vibration I suspect was a function of the motor being originally designed as a 1000 and the other two ( 750 and 1100) used the same crank. Gee I wonder why they weren't well balanced... The 750 could have been sold as a sex aid.

 

 

Yes, hot here is 25C :D But for me, the CX seat was just a pain in the butt, and I only rode on it during the summer months. MOTORRAD was ecstatic about the seat comfort as were Cycle World, but Cycle said it was horrible. So either inconsistent quality, or different bum preferences.

 

The XV was actually designed as the shaft drive 750 first, but the chain drive 750 (for Japan) and 920 (for USA) and 1000 was rapidly included. I always thought it weird that they would use shaft on the cruisers, but chain on the sport-touring models - after all, Yamaha used shaft drive on a lot of their standards and sport-tourers back then; XS750, XS850, XS1100, XZ550, XJ650, XJ750 and XJ900 all had shafts. But recently I learned why they had chain drive versions; to compete in American Flat Track racing.

 

The XV1000 had the improved starter system from the onset in 1981, but the 750 didn't get it until 1984 (for some markets) and 1987 (for all markets). The 700 and 920s all had the crappy starter set-up.

 

The 750/920/1000 all had the same mono-shock chassis, though. It wasn't until 1984 that the twin-shock appeared. And the crank in the 1100 is much heavier, so I reckon they were balanced. However, I also reckon that the build quality varied with these as with just about any other machine of the era. So regardless of model and brand, you could have one engine glassy smooth, whereas the next would buzz like mad, despite them being identical.

 

_____

 

Back to the CX; you did the very sensible thing to your bike by upgrading the suspension! The stock fork springs had probably 15 cm of preload, they were so soft. And the rear shocks were also soft and, at least on my well used example, offered no damping. So the whole thing was a pogo-stock. Not sure if the handling was affected by the spindly 33 mm forks or not, but they did seem fragile on the 225 kg machine. I loved the size and design, though, and it would tower over larger bikes like the Z1000J and GPz1100. Unfortunately, I totaled mine after just 3 months.

 

I found the certified data on the original SV650, though; 189 kg with a full tank of gas. Quite a bit lighter than the ER-6 at 196 kg, same as the 189 kg GS500E. But it may have felt heavier to ride; like the CX I understand the SV was hampered by extremely soft suspension. Never ridden an SV myself. The second generation SV650 had its weight raised to 194 kg, BTW. All for naked versions.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting that the XV750 had the mono there, because it was one of the big differences here ( and there were a few), twin shocks, shaft drive, single disc leading axle fork,and I think the rear wheel was a 16( not sure on that one, but the 1000r was 18/18). I didn't keep the 1000r for long enough to have the starter problem ( if we had one here) as I couldn't stand the suspension and traded it. It think for a XJ550, which was a revelation.

You are right about the CX500 skinny forks ( though I sort of remember they were 35mm because I put a pair of Magura clipons on it and had to space them down from 37 or38 to 35 but might just be my old brain). They were a bit twisty but almost everything was then.

The ER-6 not only feels lighter stock than the SV, but can be made MUCH lighter for racing.  The SV holds line better in a curve though but becomes a handful once you have to chuck it around. It's not that it's heavier than it's peers, but that it should be much lighter. Sally ( my partner) had an SV when I met her and it was a lump. I had a Cagiva raptor , which used a SV650 motor as a base and the Cagiva was a LOT lighter than the SV ( and handled MUCH better. No surprise there really). They had even lightened the motor. The advertised weight for the early SV was untrue. It was one of the examples that the motorcycle press used in an article about the weight lieing that the factories were indulging in. That press reaction which went global was what resulted in the advertised weights now being much closer to the true weights. Funnily enough some of the smaller bikes were advertised as weighing MORE than they did ( honda CB250RS and the Yamaha RD250LC for example).

Go forth and modify my son...go forth and modify...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope you do not think I'm trying to put you on the spot, I'm just listing the things that in my experience is a little off. I often forget things over time as well, but when it comes to the XV series, my knowledge is recent; I own one that I am slowly transforming.

 

The XV750SE (Virago in USA) had a single rear shock, shaft final drive, a 3.00x16 rear rim and the same 1.85x19 front rim found on the XV1000R/TR1 and the 650/750 Secas plus more. The XV1000R had a 2.15x18 rear rim and enclosed chain final drive. Both had mono rear shocks. The XV1000R had a centre axle 37 mm fork with twin discs, the XV750SE had a leading axle 36 mm fork with a single disc and a stupid swinging brake caliper not unlike the old Honda CB350/500/550/750 fours and identical to the XS750/1100. Lousy. Surprisingly, the shaft drive 750SE was 15 kg lighter at 226 kg than the chain drive 1000R. Part of that came from a smaller 12 itre vs 19 litre fuel tank, some from a disc brake less, some from the simpler starter.

 

The later 700/750/1000/1100s with twin shocks also had leading axle forks, but now thicker at 38 mm, up two from earlier Viragos and one mm from the R-versions. The newer bikes had smaller 3.00x15 rear wheels and wider 2.15x19 front wheels. They also had twin discs with opposing piston brake calipers shared with the RZ350 YPVS and FJ600 IIRC. 

 

MOTORRAD weigh every single bike, they do not list the manufacturers claimed weight unless it's a ride report, where they state it's a claimed figure. The 189 kg they listed from their own scales corresponds well with the 184 kg listed by Cycle World that they weighed with half a tank of fuel.

 

The XJ550 was, from what I understand, a splendid motorcycle. It also had a smaller 18in front wheel to go with the 18in rear wheel. I reckon you had the same twin disc front brake that we got, not the single disc they got in USA? USA models also got a 1/4-fairing. The 550 (and its virtually identical 400cc sister) was the best looking and best handling of the Seca family. It is easy to understand why that appealed to you.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

First bike. 2002 shadow 750. Put 25k miles on it in the first year. I loved it then but I don't think it would do it for me today. 

 

 

FB_IMG_1526040200400.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Scattered said:

First bike. 2002 shadow 750. Put 25k miles on it in the first year. I loved it then but I don't think it would do it for me today. 

 

 

FB_IMG_1526040200400.jpg

That's a lot of miles for a bike in one year. Were you avoiding doing the dishes at home?

Beemer

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/17/2017 at 8:11 AM, bornagainbiker said:

My first street bike was a 1972 Yamaha DS7 250 that I rode the hell out of for several years, and I still remember how fun and zippy that little smoker was.  What was your first street bike?  Unfortunately I don't have a pic of my bike, but here is one I grabbed off the net.  It looks just like mine did back in the day.

 

1972-yamaha-rd-250-sm.thumb.jpg.ad6bac75c686ec0bc7bfdd13d7aeb6a2.jpg

I never thought I would ever see this agian.  I have mentioned my 72 R5/TR3 converted bike, well here is the dork myster kid (Note I was probably on some sort of phsycadelic in these pictures)  THis was when I first got the bike, it was bone stock except for the Dean Marrow Pipelines and the clubman bars.  I am not sure I think my first mod were Thomaselli Levers I cannot tell.  The bike ended up with the following with the Help of Bob Chaves BSA/Yamaha where I worked and I sure wish I had pictures of that

  1. Engine was spec'd to TR3, I did the port work and crank assembly balance
  2. Carbs 34 MM Mikuni
  3. Barnett Clutch and Springs
  4. Ceriani Front End
  5. Tommaselli Levers
  6. Tommaselli Clip-ons
  7. Dean Marrow Pipeline Pipes
  8. Akront alluminum rims
  9. TR3 Gas Tank and Seat
  10. ACK Products Rear Sets

WHat I had in the works was a total CDI ignition but never put in place.

 

 

R5.JPG

R52.JPG

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.” --Thomas Jefferson quoting Cesare Beccaria

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Had a neighbor who had an RD250 back in the 70s. That was a fun little bike and made loads of fun sounds above well 5k as entertainment

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.