How/why Did You Learn to ride & get you're license?

[Anthony]

How/why Did You Learn to ride $ get you're license in detail?


My story: I loved riding my bicycle as a kid & when I was 14 I got it in my head that I wanted a moped, I asked my father who told me if I got certain grades he would get me one. Well I didn't want it bad enough because I didn't get the grades. Later teens I looked at pamplets, ect but never bought one. I always wanted to learn but simply didn't. I had several phases in my 20's & early 30's where I thought about it but still didn't pull the trigger. Then, much later in life I said "screw it". I'm going to finally do it!



#1 I got the "book" from the DMV, studied it like crazy and took sample tests online.

#2 I passed my written test first time out & held a "learners permit" yet had never ridden a bike.

#3 I bought my first bike KLR-650 & had it delivered.(still hadn't ridden a bike)

#4 I Taught myself on my street by watching Youtube videos(seriously).

#5 I hit the streets!

#6 A couple months later, I took the MSF course which earned me my endorsement.(motorcycle license)

#7 Around the same time as my endorsement, I bought an FZ6R(OH SNAP!)



1,000's of miles & several years later, I'm a bonafide motorcycle GUUURUUUU! :rockon:

 

[RoadTrip]

The 'Ninja' came out when I was in high school, man I thought that bike was cool, even had a poster of one in my college dorm. Well, it took 20yrs, but I finally got a sportbike - turns out riding is exactly as I imagined and hoped it would be.

 

[pgyammy]

Very similar story to Anthony's. I had a bit of a mid-life crisis at 40 and bought an FZ6R as my first bike haven never ridden before. I took an MSF course which allowed me to ride on my own with a few restrictions. A few months later I took the road test and passed. I now have 3 riding seasons under my belt.

 

[JonKerr]

I've spent most of my life on bicycles. BMX, mountain bikes, etc... About 4 years ago, a friend of mine, who's a big motocross guy and supermoto rider, bought a mountain bike. I took him out and made him puke lol. After we got back to the truck he said next weekend it's his turn. So he took me out to Amago raceway and taught me to ride his CRF450. Yes the first time I rode a motorcycle was a 450 dirt bike on a track day lol. I was hooked. Only stalled it once and never laid it down. My buddy told me if I could ride that beast I could ride anything.

So I started looking around and thinking about buying a dirt bike once I got my car paid off just a couple months from then. (I should add that living and east San Diego county, you're a minority if you don't have a dirt bike, quad, buggy, or some sort of desert or river toys. Plus we have probably 4 tracks within an hour drive and one 15 minutes from my house. Dirt bikes are kind of a way of life out here.) Shortly before I was ready to buy, my wife and I were driving up in the mountains and we were behind a sport bike. She actually says "wouldn't you use a bike like that a lot more than a dirt bike?" Yes indeed I would. plus it would be a lot easier on my f--ked up neck. The next day I signed up for an MSF class. I started looking for a bike and went to every dealer in town to sit on the various bikes. Found the FZ6R and fell in love. 3 weeks later I took the MSF class and a week after that I bought the bike.

This was the day I bought her.

We've come a long way in 3 and a half years.

 

[dart1963]

always wanted one... when I was in the military guy I worked with rode a Harley, taught the USAF rider course and tried to get me on one... wish I would have done it years ago....
fast forward almost twenty years... jspansel and I talked about it at work... he showed up one day on a rebel 250... I didn't like it, but it was cool he was riding...

fast forward a year later and he showed up on a brand new yellow fz6r.... sat on it and said, nice!

scheduled my msf two weeks later... go my license on Monday, got my bike a week later.

We road during lunch for practice... dropped her a week later in a weird u-turn... front end just dropped out from me... picked her up and just rode.... jspansel left the area and I found a group to ride with... learned a lot from them, went to the track and watched them (hope to get out there some day)... and pretty much commute and ride for the relaxation from everyday stress of life...

started camping last year and really love it... load up the bike with gear, disappear for a weekend, ride, chill, etc. hope someday to get my kids into it so we can get away together, don't want them to wait until they are in their late 30's to enjoy what I have for the past three years

 

[24KMACH]

My first motorcycle was a new 1960 Yamaha YD2. That's my Mom sitting on it. I taught myself. There was no motorcycle license then. I took my driving test in my folks 1954 Chevy. Yes, I have been riding for awhile.

 

[buzzbomb]

As a teenager I lost my license due to.... too many speeding tickets. *ahem* But I still needed wheels. In SC at the time, you could get a motorcycle license even if you lost your regular driver's license. So I bought a bike. A very used Honda CJ360T. I think I paid around $300 for it.

My parent's could hardly complain. They had my brother and I on the back of their Hondas when we were wee little'uns.

Kind of a no-brainer, right?

 

[buzzbomb]

My first motorcycle was a new 1960 Yamaha YD2. That's my Mom sitting on it. I taught myself. There was no motorcycle license then. I took my driving test in my folks 1954 Chevy. Yes, I have been riding for awhile.

I know what that access panel on the side is for: That's where the coal goes in to fire the steam engine!

 

[24KMACH]

I know what that access panel on the side is for: That's where the coal goes in to fire the steam engine!

No, that's where the can of oil goes that you have to have when you stop at a gas station. No auto lube on the 2 stroke YD2. You pour the oil in the tank then add about a gallon of gas and shake the hell out of the bike then fill the tank and shake it again. It was fun to see people looking at you like you lost your mind. :zombie:

 

[Anthony]

My first motorcycle was a new 1960 Yamaha YD2. That's my Mom sitting on it. I taught myself. There was no motorcycle license then. I took my driving test in my folks 1954 Chevy. Yes, I have been riding for awhile.

I bet that bike would be worth a small mint if you still had it today.

 

[24KMACH]

I bet that bike would be worth a small mint if you still had it today.

YES!
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFvF3XHGGt8]Yamaha YD2 - YouTube[/ame]