Dang it! As soon as I hit send I remembered that the FZ6 was my second bike. Way back in 1982 I was a first term Airman at my first base, Langley AFB in Hampton, VA. I had no wheels and not a lot of money. There was a Honda V65 ad showing Pee Wee Gleason running 10.64 (I think), a first for production motorcycles. There was also a commercial. I got so excited I went to 2 Wheel World in Hampton and told the sales guy I wanted the first blue one he got. He tried to talk me out of it as I hadn't even ridden a mini bike in my life. I wasn't having it and had him put my name on the first one they got.
When it came in he took probably 90 minutes trying to talk me out of it. I told him I was getting it and shamed him into throwing in a Simpson Darth Vader helmet. (Silver with horizontal slots in front of my mouth, model 62?). Then he made me ride around the dealership a bunch of times before I could leave. I went around the back and took off!
When I got to the base all the guys came out from the dorm to look at the fastest production motorcycle in the world. I was so happy. My buddy Kent had a new GPz 550 and we probably put 150 miles on the bikes that day. The next day I was in the parking lot admiring my bike when two buddies can up to look at it. One of them said, "Hey! Do a burnout like Peewee on TV!" Well, I had, like almost 200 miles experience, why not? I backed the rear tire off the end of the sidewalk and proceeded to only half get on the throttle. That caused me to jump forward just enough for the rear tire to contact the edge of the sidewalk and leap forward which wrenched my left hand off the bar and caused my right hand to pour on the coals, in what was now basically a hard right turn. The bike went to the ground and spun on the left side of the gas tank 2-3 times while I jumped up and down trying not to get hit by it as it spun around. They started laughing and then helped me pick it up. I left the tank damaged the rest of the time I owned it to remind me not to be a dumb A$$.
Back then I LOVED the look of that bike. Now I think that rectangular headlight is about the ugliest thing I ever seen
Great story Gary! The start of my story is one that will sound very familiar, my mother, my father and my wallet wouldn't allow me to own a motorcycle initially in my early years. Then marriage and kids continued to proceed leaving these dreams inside the magazines I bought every month. I knew everything there was to know about motorcycles for decades, yet I hadn't thrown a leg over one until I reached the tender age of 45.
My partner and I got into a disagreement one weekend in March of 2017 (not over motorcycles by the way). She's a lovely lady, my advocate, and we are still together, 12 years strong. Anyway, I can't remember what it was about but it seemed pretty serious at the time. I was invited to go out with friends to take my mind off things, but decided to stay home.
Since I was "single" I had nothing on my agenda the following week, but had a lot on my mind. My friends (and their wives/girlfriends) were not going to continue taking no for an answer, so I needed something to do to get away from everyone including my own morass. After an earlier divorce and now what seemed like the end of a nice relationship, I remembered the lyrics to a favorite Prince song of mine; "You need another lover like you need a hole in your head, baby, baby.."
I lived very close to Gavilan College in Gilroy at the time and would always see the Motorcycle Safety Training taking place on the weekends. I signed up! It seemed like a better idea, a great idea, it was proactive and positive. It was an adventure. I bought my helmet the Wednesday I signed up. Aced the class. Headed to the DMV and took the written before the ink was dry on my certificate. I had my M1! I loved Cafe Racers so my 1st bike was a Yamaha XSR900. Wow, it was a lot of bike, but I managed her well and rode often.
My girlfriend and I made up a couple of weeks later and are still together, but alas I sold the XSR this summer. She was snatched up immediately, and I was very happy about that. My 1st bike treated me well, and I returned the love. I have 3 other motorcycles covering different disciplines now, but will always remember that bike fondly:-)
My first bike was a Yamaha FZ6. I think that's what it was called. It was perfectly competent, and completely boring. I ended up calling it the Toyota Camry of motorcycles. I didn't have my permit either so my dad rode it home for me. It had two light lenses in the mini fairing and only one of them lit up on low beam, so people were always telling me I had a burned out headlight. A lot... an irritatingly amount. To be honest it is a great bike but didn't really do anything for me at all, so I ended up replacing it with a Triumph Bonneville T100, black with red stripes. Now, if you want to hear about 2nd bikes...!
A CB750?! WHAT?!
Dang it! As soon as I hit send I remembered that the FZ6 was my second bike. Way back in 1982 I was a first term Airman at my first base, Langley AFB in Hampton, VA. I had no wheels and not a lot of money. There was a Honda V65 ad showing Pee Wee Gleason running 10.64 (I think), a first for production motorcycles. There was also a commercial. I got so excited I went to 2 Wheel World in Hampton and told the sales guy I wanted the first blue one he got. He tried to talk me out of it as I hadn't even ridden a mini bike in my life. I wasn't having it and had him put my name on the first one they got.
When it came in he took probably 90 minutes trying to talk me out of it. I told him I was getting it and shamed him into throwing in a Simpson Darth Vader helmet. (Silver with horizontal slots in front of my mouth, model 62?). Then he made me ride around the dealership a bunch of times before I could leave. I went around the back and took off!
When I got to the base all the guys came out from the dorm to look at the fastest production motorcycle in the world. I was so happy. My buddy Kent had a new GPz 550 and we probably put 150 miles on the bikes that day. The next day I was in the parking lot admiring my bike when two buddies can up to look at it. One of them said, "Hey! Do a burnout like Peewee on TV!" Well, I had, like almost 200 miles experience, why not? I backed the rear tire off the end of the sidewalk and proceeded to only half get on the throttle. That caused me to jump forward just enough for the rear tire to contact the edge of the sidewalk and leap forward which wrenched my left hand off the bar and caused my right hand to pour on the coals, in what was now basically a hard right turn. The bike went to the ground and spun on the left side of the gas tank 2-3 times while I jumped up and down trying not to get hit by it as it spun around. They started laughing and then helped me pick it up. I left the tank damaged the rest of the time I owned it to remind me not to be a dumb A$$.
Back then I LOVED the look of that bike. Now I think that rectangular headlight is about the ugliest thing I ever seen
Great story Gary! The start of my story is one that will sound very familiar, my mother, my father and my wallet wouldn't allow me to own a motorcycle initially in my early years. Then marriage and kids continued to proceed leaving these dreams inside the magazines I bought every month. I knew everything there was to know about motorcycles for decades, yet I hadn't thrown a leg over one until I reached the tender age of 45.
My partner and I got into a disagreement one weekend in March of 2017 (not over motorcycles by the way). She's a lovely lady, my advocate, and we are still together, 12 years strong. Anyway, I can't remember what it was about but it seemed pretty serious at the time. I was invited to go out with friends to take my mind off things, but decided to stay home.
Since I was "single" I had nothing on my agenda the following week, but had a lot on my mind. My friends (and their wives/girlfriends) were not going to continue taking no for an answer, so I needed something to do to get away from everyone including my own morass. After an earlier divorce and now what seemed like the end of a nice relationship, I remembered the lyrics to a favorite Prince song of mine; "You need another lover like you need a hole in your head, baby, baby.."
I lived very close to Gavilan College in Gilroy at the time and would always see the Motorcycle Safety Training taking place on the weekends. I signed up! It seemed like a better idea, a great idea, it was proactive and positive. It was an adventure. I bought my helmet the Wednesday I signed up. Aced the class. Headed to the DMV and took the written before the ink was dry on my certificate. I had my M1! I loved Cafe Racers so my 1st bike was a Yamaha XSR900. Wow, it was a lot of bike, but I managed her well and rode often.
My girlfriend and I made up a couple of weeks later and are still together, but alas I sold the XSR this summer. She was snatched up immediately, and I was very happy about that. My 1st bike treated me well, and I returned the love. I have 3 other motorcycles covering different disciplines now, but will always remember that bike fondly:-)
My first bike was a Yamaha FZ6. I think that's what it was called. It was perfectly competent, and completely boring. I ended up calling it the Toyota Camry of motorcycles. I didn't have my permit either so my dad rode it home for me. It had two light lenses in the mini fairing and only one of them lit up on low beam, so people were always telling me I had a burned out headlight. A lot... an irritatingly amount. To be honest it is a great bike but didn't really do anything for me at all, so I ended up replacing it with a Triumph Bonneville T100, black with red stripes. Now, if you want to hear about 2nd bikes...!