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How Old/How Long Riding?

9K views 66 replies 48 participants last post by  redhawk4 
#1 ·
Hi T-Bird owners... I saw this question on the Speedmaster thread and it got me curious about those of us riding T-Birds... I'll start: I'm 66, been riding for 32 years total.

I rode from the age of 18-28, then got my first Triumph (T-Bird 900 triple) at 45 years young and have been riding since. Bought my T-bird LT in '14.
 
#2 ·
49 here. Riding since I was 13. Stopped when I was 22 because I had two near misses in the same day.

Started back up at 43 with a Sprint , Sprint GT, Trophy SE, BMW 1100R, Kawasaki Versys, Sportster 883L, Sportster XR1200, another Versys and ultimately my Commander.

I miss my Sprint GT, but will never give up this Commander.
 
#3 ·
Started at 18, now almost 69, (yikes! How did THAT happen???)
Stopped riding around 43 or so, had been on a Yamaha 650 at that time.
Started riding again about 12 yrs later on a Vulcan cruiser followed by a T-100 followed by my current LT (which I love).
 
#5 ·
58 and riding since 15. License at 16 (learners). A hiatus as wife/kids came along but back into it now. Only 4 bikes actually owned:

Kawasaki KE175
Yamaha XT500
Yamaha Virago (wifes technically)
Kawasaki Vulcan 900
Thunderbird LT.

Rode many other bikes however.
 
#6 · (Edited)
64, been riding since 1957. I can remember riding a home made mini bike that day Sputnik showed up in the sky.

I can remember my mom following me around that little dirt track like a worried hen. I only knew one throttle setting, full open smiling ear to ear. Falling off was fun, just jump back on and give it full throttle.

Mom always packed band aids and iodine in her purse.
 
#7 ·
61. I rode from 16-31 years old. I gave it up while my daughter grew up, and started again 20 years later.
Early years:
Honda 175, Honda CB350, Yamaha 750, Suzuki 750 (water buffalo) Suzuki GS750
Later years:
Triumph America, Tbird 1600, Legend TT, Tiger 1050.
Still have the T-Bird & Tiger.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Started riding around 11 or 12 on a Honda SL70; this would have been in the late '70s. Moved up to a progression of on- and off-road use bikes: Honda XL125, Honda XL250, and XL500. At 18 or 19, I moved onto street bikes with first a Yamaha Virago, then a Honda Magna V30...then had a hiatus of about ten years while my kids were young. Got back into riding in '10 with a '08 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom, but got restless its high rev'ing buzz at anything approaching highways speeds and bought my '12 TBird brand-new in 2012.

Here I am on that aforementioned SL70:

 
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#38 · (Edited)
Started riding around 11 or 12 on a Honda SL70; this would have been in the late '70s....
My first bike was also a Honda SL70 (got it new June 23rd, 1973, best day of my life, but don't tell my wife I said that, although I had Briggs & Stratton-powered mini-bikes before that. Loved that SL over my friends' Honda Trail 70's and Suzuki Trailhoppers because it "looked" like a full-sized bike. I'm 56 now, also owned a Suzuki 250 Savage and Kawasaki KZ 400. Got off the bikes for about 30 years (I have no idea why), and now have a 2013 Thunderbird Storm. Glad to be back...
 
#9 ·
47.

Rode as a kid on an Indian 50, got a bigger Kawi F6, but never went beyond those until around the winter / spring of '12/'13, when I picked up my brother's '93 Shadow 1100 - he wanted a 100th Anniversary HD Heritage Softail, and I jumped at the chance to get back on 2 wheels. Bought the Mrs. a Suzuki S40 Boulevard that summer. A guy took me out on the shadow when he ran a light, and totaled the Shadow as I was coming back from visiting the wife in the hospital, when she spent a couple weeks in ICU with a bad lung infection. Since she was out of commission for the riding year, and my bike was out permanently, I finished out the year on the S40 (which, as fun as it was, was ridiculously small for me, and reminded me as a kid watching my dad ride my 50cc Indian in the 70's). I picked up the '12 Thunderbird in Feb '14, her '13 America in Nov '14. She's thrilled with hers, I'm going to likely paint match a HD King Tourpak style top box for my Bird, and we'll see what '18 brings for my bike.
 
#10 ·
I'm 46.. started on a Honda CT70 when I was about 12 years old. Had several dirt bikes and ATVs growing up. Got my license and first street bike when I was about 20 years old. My first Triumph was a '96 Adventurer. I bought it used in 2003. I liked that bike.. but it just never felt like the right fit so I sold it after 2 seasons. Had a few other bikes.. and bought a new Speedmaster in 2011. I ended up trading to a Tbird in 2012. Love my bird. Last winter I poured a bunch of $ into performance upgrades including: big bore kit, BC Airbox Kit, PC5, and a Dyno tune. I already had the Hog Slayers. It's better then ever now.

Cheers...
 
#11 ·
Good thread, like several previous posters I rode from 13 to 25 then babies started coming and much as I struggled to admit it being a dad and raising a family was more fun? involving than riding so I took 20 years off and have been back since summer 06. I'm 57 and my bikes went
2006-06, xl1200c 9mos
2007-2011, 04 95 C.I. fxdli H.T.C.C . build (nice bike til it grenaded)
2011-2013, 2011 T-Bird Storm, Sweet ride
2013-2015, 06 Rocket, the BEAST
2014-2015, 2013 S3.
2015 traded R3 for 2012 k1600gtl
2-16 traded S3 for 2015 1290 Super Duke. the 2 in the stable now, hopefully Triumph releases a bike to lure me back, or wife quits riding and I can trade the K bike back for another R3r or Storm.
 
#12 ·
I'm 67, been riding for 50 years. Started with a Yamaha Twin Jet 100, followed by

Honda 250 Elsinore
Yamaha 650 Heritage Classic
Honda 650 Nighthawk
Honda Magna 750
BMW K75
2001 Triumph Bonneville 790 (still have it)
2004 Yamaha FJR1300
2008 Triumph Sprint 900
2010 Triumph Thunderbird 1600
2016 Triumph Bonneville T-120 (still have it)
 
#14 ·
Thank you for those who have posted thus far! I've really enjoyed reading the stories of how long you've been riding and what kinds of rides you've all had. Looking through the list so far, one thing that comes out loud and strong is that most of us T-Bird owners have been long term, very experienced riders.. and have ridden many different brands... and that we really love the T-Bird!

Up to this point in the thread, we've had 3 T-Bird owners in their 40s, 4 in their 50s, and 5 in their 60's, of which I'm one. Since I had a mini bike at the age of 13, I'll have to up my riding time by five years;)... so I can say I've been riding more than half my life, and that's less than lots of folks here.

Keep on posting, and thanks for sharing your stories. DBrian
 
#15 ·
Joey1970 I don't want to sound whipped but you get so busy raising kids these days that one day 5 years have gone bye and you realize you haven't even thought about a bike, but don't worry we, or guys like us will be here when you're job's done and you have time again.
 
#16 ·
Ha. Steve.. I hear ya! My wife had a 7 year old daughter when I met her.. and she's now 13. She's never met her biological father.. so I guess you could say I'm already a dad. I just hope it doesn't get to the point where I sell the bike and give it up completely. Since my bird is all paid for.. and running like a top.. I'll likely have it around for any chance at a ride.
 
#17 ·
65. Owned a Honda Benley 150 when I could first get a license. I was out of my head with jealousy a few years earlier when my best friend bought a Honda 50 Cub when they first came out.

Next bike was a Honda 175, which was a far better engineered bike and with 5 speed. Had that a couple of years then bought a BSA Lightning 650 new for $1475 Canadian, I think in 1968. Strange getting used to at first because the brake and gearshift were on the opposite sides compared to the Hondas. Doing my first panic stops I had to pull in the clutch and push down with both feet. At the time I bought the BSA I also had the choice of a Triumph Bonneville but like the ergos of the BSA better. I probably made the wrong choice. A year or so later I bought my first car and my bike started to sit so I sold it.

Life went on, and 40 years later living in California, I noticed a Triumph dealership not far from my house so I stopped in and talked to a sales guy. And BSed for a while and kicked a bunch of tires. Sitting outside they had a few used and consignment bikes and there was a red 2011 Speedmaster that had been owned by a lady who got pregnant and it had sat for 2 -3 years in a garage and only had 2500 miles on it. I went home, thought about it and the next day I owned a motorcycle again. Unbelievable.

I had to do the whole license thing and decided on the weekend course, and a week or so later I was legal. My riding skills were extremely diminished and I was also not the daredevil that I had been in my teens, but luckily the Speedmaster was a forgiving bike and I began to get a lot more confidence.

Then one day a year or so later I saw a Craigslist ad for a Thunderbird at a dealer not too far away, and my wife, who had enjoyed the passenger experience, suggested we go look. It was a 2012 Red Marble Haze, a 3 year old bike with 1500 miles on it. When I started it and heard the rumble, I was in love. I rode it home.

Took me 9 months to sell the Speedmaster, and although it was a great bike, it seemed too light and small compared to the Thunderbird.

I really love this bike. I only ride a couple of times a week through the back roads of Wine Country and have enjoyed every second of it.
 
#18 ·
For my wife and I (and I suspect a number of other couples), it wasn't just the time/scheduling/effort factor in raising kids that kept me off a bike for a decade'ish, but the practical consideration of putting a wage-earning parent at risk of early fatality and the financial impact that has on a family. We all balance our love of riding with the inherent risk of injury or death, but when you're a parent and a breadwinner of young children you have, I believe, a responsibility to the child that supercedes everything else.

It's the same reason my wife, though she used to love to ride, does not ride with me any longer...to have both parents on the same bike leaves open too much devestating risk. When the kids are out of college and on their own, then my bride and I will ride again.

All that said, I got back into riding when mine were ten years old because I missed it too much, so I can't pretend like I was a moral bastion of responsibility...but I had taken that decade to ensure that our finances were well in order, that 529 college funds were well funded, that generous life insurance policies were bought, and so on, so that if anything ever did to me, the financial impact to my children would be minimal.

Anyway, Joey -- some food for thought for you. And, hey, congratulations on the upcoming arrival! :)
 
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#19 ·
62. Started when I was early 20's. Firs bike was a Kawasaki 400 but after a month, bought a new Kawasaki 900 when it was the fastest bike available. Had been riding Yamaha V-Maxes before I got tired of working on them and bought a T-Bird. 20000 miles in 2 years. Never been hurt in a bike accident. Once dropped one at low speed and fell in some mud but other than that, a couple of drops in the garage and on the trailer. LOL.
 
#24 · (Edited)
At about age 7 I had a Rupp w/5 hp tecumseh. My neighbors dad was a small engine teacher at a high school and his son had same bike......came in handy when dad got sick of fixing it. I learned a lot keeping that thing running. Grew out of it and got into cars and boats and snowmobiles. When I was about 20 a friend (1988 or so) had a Ninja 650....what a blast, traded in a snowmobile for a 84? Kawasaki 750 LTD shaft drive. Rode that for a few years then a change of jobs, (bought a marina)and marriage, I just stopped riding and it sat in a barn at the marina, carbs got gummed up. May even still be sitting there rusting away. Fast forward a bunch of years...2012 I think, I bought a 2000 HD sportster with 3000 miles...rode that for a while and in the process I converted it from an 883 to a 1250. Really liked it, forward controls, spoked wheels, etc. Although it did have weird geometry with a high center of gravity and larger front tire. It was ok though. Through the years when the new Bonnies, and Thruxton came out I stopped and looked a few times, even took my checkbook on one trip, that red Thruxton was just not right, could not put my finger on it and I passed. In the fall/winter of 2015.The 1200 Thruxton were rumored and a few pictures out but not much else, I drove up to the Milwaukee dealer on a crappy January Saturday just to see if they had any info. Nope. Salesman said all of the first batch of 120's were spoken for as well as the Thruxton R's, except for one 1200 Classic in white. Like a zombie I instantly pulled out my debit card and left a $500.00 deposit. I spent the next four months trying to talk myself out of it. It showed up the first week of May, the week of my 50th birthday. Happy Birthday to me! I so love my Thruxton.
 
#26 · (Edited)
I'm 54, been riding since I was 9 - off road - 16 on road. First bike had a Briggs and Stratton pull start motor in it, then various dirt bikes (long forgotten)

First road bike was a green 1973 Honda CB 350 (you never forget your first :smile2: ), then a Suzuki 500cc 2 stroke Titan. Then I loose count but have had Honda XL175, Kawasaki KZ550 & KZ1000, Suzuki DR 600, early 80's Yamaha RD 350, Kawasaki GPZ 750, 1976 Harley Davidson FXE (rode it for a decade or so), Honda CB750 rigid frame chopper with a really long springer front end, late 60's Triumph 650, mid 40's Arial Red Hunter 500, 2007 Triumph Bonneville T100 and currently 2014 Triumph Thunderbird Commander.

OK I feel old now.:grin2:

Forgot: 50s Royal Enfield 500 bullet, Yamaha RD 400 probably a couple more...
 
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