[Author Index] [Date Index] [Thread Index]
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]

RE: [ST] Previous bikes




Well, at the risk of being vilified, I will try and post something "on-topic" as I guess ride reports don't qualify in some folks minds :--)


Started riding in 1969, got my street license on my 14th birthday. Have owned one of more bikes ever since. Somewhere around 400,000 miles to date, didn't really keep close track of mileage.

1969 Honda CL-90
First bike. Dad won a sales contest and 1st place was a Honda motorcycle. Problem was, it was a Step-thru 50. Told Pop's "I ain't ridin a girls bike" (no offense Rupert <g>). So we trekked over to Ft. Smith AR, where my Dad's High School buddy owned the Honda dealership. That was LeRoy Winters (y'all may have heard of him, ISDT champion) and we made a deal on the CL-90.


1970 Bridgestone 100-TMX
The nice thing about having divorced parents is the competition. Mom's boyfriend bought this bike for me. I now had a bike at each house. The TMX was the real deal. Tubular frame, 100cc 2-stroke. It was a screamer, trails bike. I had the fastest "under 16 legal bike" at my school. The Yamaha Twin Jet 100's would give me a run for my money, but the riders weren't quite as crazy as I.


1970 Bridgestone 200 GT
The arms race continued. Dad bought the 200 ostensibly "for himself". I rode it a lot. The only bikes around that could outrun that beast were owned by high-school guys. It would power wheelie in second gear. I got a lot of practice wheeliing that bike. It would turn out that practice came in very useful, because...............


1970 Kawasaki Mach III (H-1)
This was my next bike, and the first bike I bought with my own money. 700 bucks used from a pharmacist friend of my Dad's. Seemed the bike "scared" the old fart. Didn't scare me. Well at least not till I found out just how scary it could really be. I rode that bike all thru high-school. I never lost a drag race, against a car or another bike. I even out ran H-2's on that bike. I have so many stories of craziness on that bike that I could write a book. Maybe I will someday. I was finally out run however. The mighty Z-1 hit the streets in, what? 1972? I finally ran up against on in late '73. Entering the freeway, I saw a bike headlight coming up from behind. Fresh meat, I thought. Imagine my surprise when this green meanie beast, with supertrapps pulled up beside me and proceeded to wax my ass. A sad day. But the H-1 was still a better wheelie machine :-)


1975 Yamaha DT-175
Married, and trying to settle down, I bought a dirt bike. That thing was a real blast, and not that slow on the street. The TMX was a dirt bike too, but this was a whole 'nother level. I learned a lot about dirt riding on that thing. I also fell down a lot, and ended up getting hurt more often on it than any of my street bikes. It was my plan. My plan to get a Harley. Wifey jumped at the chance to get me out of the dirt, and out of bandages :--)


1979 Harley XLCH 1000 Sportster
What a hoot. I loved that bike, even with all it's shortcomings. It was loud, black, reasonably fast for it's day and I could really throw it around in the twisties. Nobody told me it was an ill-handling beast, so I didn't know any better. Also, no one told me it wasn't a touring bike, so me and my buddy Walker (on his Yamaha 750 Triple) rode all over Oklahoma/Arkansas/Missouri on weekend and weeklong trips. He went and bought a Goldwing, so it was time for me to upgrade as well.


1982 Harley FXRS 80cu Shovelhead
This was the big dog. The bad daddy. Black and mean. It also had the most modern frame ever produced by the Motor Company. This was the first bike produced by H-D after they bought themselves back from AMF. It was smooth (rubber mounted motor) sorta fast, and handled like a sport bike. I remember many a GPz and GS rider being quite surprised that I was still right with them in the twisty bits. It was also a supremely comfortable LD mount. I rode it to Colorado and out the the Blue Ridge Mtns. In between were countless trips in my regular stomping grounds (MO/ARK/OK/TX). Never let me down. I kept that bike for 17 years. One of my best friends still owns it. I hope to have it back someday (maybe this year). He is bound by blood not to sell it to anyone else.


1998 Triumph Trophy 1200
Yep when the bug bit, it bit hard. Long story on how I ended up with that Platinum beauty. Kismet. But it was a beast, fast, very very fast. I probably would still be riding it, except a friend wanted it and we were scheduled to ride to the BRP in 2000, so I sold it to him and bought my first Sprint-ST.


2000 Sprint-ST (Black)
I have a thing for black bikes. The ST was an awesome bike, I fell in love at first sit. I swear, Bloor and company had my exact measurements when they designed it. I put 36 thousand miles on that bike in two years. Then the smiley bag attack. Bike totaled. I was a bit shook up by the whole thing and actually considered not riding anymore. I took the insurance money and paid off a bunch of bills, not considering buying another bike.


2000 Sprint-ST (Red)
That lasted about 6 months. Then a very evil friend of mine forwarded a bike for sale in my area, at a price and mileage that I just could not pass up. The Redhead has been mine ever since and is actually a much better built bike than the black bike could have ever hoped to be. Two years and 25 thousand miles later not a single problem. Well except for a certain throttle cable issue. I'll write about that later.


1996 Suzuki DR-350s
My most recent purchase. Haven't had a chance to really put her thru the paces yet. But I expect to run a good portion of the Trans-America Trail this fall. At least from Tennessee to Oklahoma. Never thought I would own a Zook, but so far this bike is bullet proof.


There, that's a bit more than a bike list, but it was fun thinking back on all those machines. Loved every one of them. Wish I still owned all of them.



eL Donut
jinete en la tormenta

STeve Duncan
'00-Sprint-ST
'96-DR350S


_______________________________________________ Triumph Sprint ST/RS mailing list Send list posts to ST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Change your list options at www.TriumphNet.com