My Five Favorite Motorcycle Thrills

In a previous thread HD to layoff 1,100 and close some facilities a comparison between the new XR1200 and a V-Max came up and it got me to thinking about my lifetime thrills in Motorcycles. So here are my 5. Feel free to add or comment...Russ


1. 0 to 100 on an H2 750 two stroke
2. Hitting full throttle from a 20 mile roll on a V-Max
3. Z1 900 from 50 mph to 130 mph
4. The sound of 4 or more Vintage Harley's riding together.
5. The sound of a Bonneville Rigid with open pipes.

Honorable Mention:
Sitting in the garage with a couple friends drinking cheap beer at night identifying the sounds of bikes in the distance.


kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&...w&catid=13&id=259583

sounds good to me!never got to hammer a v-max for 20 miles,but i did get beaten pretty unmercifully by one on a warmed over 1000 when they 1st hit the streets!:S :laugh: i did tie into a zl 1000(?)eliminator one time for a spirited 15-20 mile on and off drag race years ago though!:woohoo: did 160 and change on my hotrodded zx11 when i was younger.but theres still nothing that compares with the sound of a big bore air cooled kaw getting on the pipe running through the gears from 5 miles down the road coming your way!ah sweat music! :laugh:

Great idea! My five:

1) Riding my friend's Tiger Cub and realizing my Vespa 150 really was a POS!

2) Buying my Triumph 500 Speed Twin and realizing the Cub was SLOW!

3) Hitting 100mph on the Speed Twin (A52 between the M1 junction and the Toton roundabout - if you are interested). First, and last, time I did the ton on two wheels!

4) Being harassed by my wife to buy another bike after two years without one and getting a very dusty, but almost perfect KZ-650 for $400

5) Riding the KZ for the first time and finding the thrill from #1 all over again - also realizing that the Virago, and all other H-D clones are not for me - this bike is so easy to ride, and LOVES to go around corners!

My favorite motorcycle thrill was a few weeks after my old man bought himself a Kawasaki 90 G3, and I stole it one night and took that little blonde from church youth group for a ride. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm:laugh:

1-Young Kid/ Would be running around the pits in Cali watching my brother and uncle race Flat Track on there BSA'S KICKING A@#$$!

2- Teenager/ I first time i rode my brothers Bulltaco Race bike!! Man didnt realize that bike was that fast!!!

3-Older/ The first time i got to BLAST down the strip on my buddies big tire Kz 1000 with 1320 kit!!(almost pulled the bars out of my hands on the launch!)

4-Bought a 06 Bussa with many mods and a "195mph" BLAST down Hwy 69/75!!! CRAZY FAST!!!

5-Two weeks ago, Bought my first two KZ1000'S to build my first Drag Bike!!!!!

1.) riding my first z-1

2.)riding with three z-1s on a canyon road at full pace when i was 19

3.)drag racing my high school friend on his new gpz1100 outside town one nite...lost by a bike length...18 years old

4.) riding my friends r90s for 20 miles on highway one during a motogp weekend packed with bikes and dicing with modern bikes ...no one passed me...ok one guy on gsxr did

5.)riding my kz 900 home to monterey after buying it in aptos after a 20 year break of owning a bike..then riding it to last years moto g.p....

1] my first ride on my new to me at the time 1973 rd250 after i got my license
2] my very first pass down a drag stip on my 1978 kz1000
3] first time i ever ice raced a motor cycle xs 400 man that was fun.
4]when i won my very first drag race against the biggest field of bikes we had in years what a feeling nothing has topped it ever since also the year i won my first championship[same day]
5]my first trip to sturgis with big red and relizied that many other people liked the same bike that i had loved for so long also passing a string of around 150 bikes just out side of billings at over 120mph my old piece of scrap iron passing 3 million dollars worth of milwakees finest [priceless]

Hmmmm....lotsa memories to sift through.....done this before on here I think....

1. Assembling/riding home my very own first bike. 1965 Honda Benly 150. Badass black with valenced fenders and wide whitewalls. That sucker looked as big as an FLH through my rose tinted shades. Great little bike with the heart of a lion. Took everything I could throw at her and kept on running. Thank you, Mr. Honda.

2. Taking my 1970 Honda CB750K0 from the dealer's showroom to my place across town on a beautiful Saturday in the Spring of 1970. MMMM...MMMM....MMMM....the sound from those pipes....and the acceleration!!!! Somewhat faster than my previous ride....a 305 Dream. Yikes!!! The only "inanimate object" I have ever truly, truly lusted for in my entire life.

3. Taking my first ride on a 1974 Ducati 350 Diana Mark III Desmo. Wow....bikes CAN go around corners at crazy speeds. I learned to appreciate Italian handling at that point. Working at the Ducati dealer I learned to hate Magnetti Marelli electrics, though....

4. Taking a ride on a buddy's Bultaco Metralla 250. First ride on a proper handling street two stroke. Sonovabeach would that thing fly!!! And handle too !!! The beginning of my love affair with strokers.

5. Taking the first ride on my finally-assembled 1973 H2 basket case after 10 long years of tracking down bits, getting all the info I needed, etc etc. Familiar with Suzuki's strokers, I had never ridden one of these brutes back in the day. I had only a vague idea of what to expect. A brutal machine to ride by anyone's standards. The noise!!! The vibration!!! The gas mileage!!!...or lack thereof....Every one of you should ride one once....so you can appreciate how sophisticated the KZs are.

5A. Getting my 650C2 and learning the joys of a mid size 4 cylinder 4 stroke with decent handling. What a great bike.
She's put the excitement back in just ripping around, at least for me.

1. Getting on my first bike, an early 70s Kawasaki SS90.

2. Heading off on a Saturday morning from Dublin to Clare on a CB250 with a tent and a sleeping bag strapped to the carrier and the feeling of acomplishment after covering almost 400 miles over the weekend on a 250.

3. The first time I did 100+mph on a CB500/4

4. Coming around the bend on a narrow twisty Irish road and finding two farmers cars stopped. One facing my direction of travel and one facing me. Both guys chatting to each other with the car windows rolled down. Me knowing in an instant that I could just about make it through the gap and leaning flat on the tank to keep the front wheel on the ground as I floored it and watching the "Oh Shit" expression on one guys face as I went between them and dissapeared around the next bend. They never did get my plate # and no cop ever knocked on my door.

5. Getting back on a bike - my current ride - after being bikeless for 25 years and grinning from ear to ear on the 80km ride home

I've been riding for a few years, so my experiences aren't much in comparison to many of yours, but here it goes:

1. Moto GP Weekend in Indy 2008- Beautiful weather for the ride in, and a mix for the races, between the races, the company and getting more looks at our KZ's than the hundreds of 10-20k bikes in downtown on Saturday night. Rode an hour and a half in the pouring rain on the way home, wishing the whole time it wasn't sunday, so I could keep riding.

2. First Ride on Dad's R100- just after he found out about #3, not the repercussions I expected... I took the Basic rider course, and they suprisingly embraced my desire to ride. Although they didn't let me keep a bike in the garage for a year, until my KZ. I'm looking forward to riding with him again soon.

3. My first illicit street bike ride at 17- Despite taking off on motorcycle rides for most of my childhood, and the bikes that sat in our garage for the last 16 years, My parents absolutely forbade me from buying/riding a street bike. So, like any good 17 year old, I went in with some friends on an old Yamaha Maxim 650, which we kept in a friends Shed for over a year. Once we got spark out of her, she absolutely flew. (not as nice as my KZ)

4. Riding my KZ for the first time- After selling the maxim, my dad drove me across the state to buy one of two bikes a guy had for sale, A CB750 and a KZ750. When we got there, the CB was riding away with a new owner, so my decision was made. I got on the road to follow my dad home, he knew a way that would get us home without taking I-96 (where people drive like total idiots). We got lunch near lake MI, then he promptly lost me. With no phone or maps, and no stops, I slowly weaved my way across the state, it took just under 4 hours, and after that, I knew I would ride for the rest of my life.


5. My first day of riding in Southern Indiana, 45, 46, and 446 are the best roads I have ever ridden, exciting curves and hills, amazing scenery, altogether great experience.

Ok,in no particular order:
1. Riding my 75 Z1B across the US to LA, up the coast
to Vancouver and across Canada back home to SW
Ontario.Left in mid June and came back for school after
Labour Day in Sept.
2. First 9 second pass.
3. First 8 second pass.
4. My first 1973 Z1. about #6000 or so iirc.Stolen,boo hoo.
5. Standing on the starting line between Larry McBride &
Geoff Pollard as they leave with several thousand TF
horsepower between them. Larry won both times lol.

Close: Watching McBride go 5:749 at Valdosta or Elmer go
6:06 at Indy two weeks before his tragic death.

A new rider, but here are my five:

1)Buying my first bike for $800.00. 1978 KZ650 B2 She is far from showroom condition, but sometimes I just pop out to garage to admire her and dream of what is coming next.

2)Going for my first real ride after I received my learners permit with my buddy. He was on his brand new HD nighttrain and me on my neglected KZ650 (What a pair)

3)Buying my second bike in Vancouver (KZ100 ST) and riding back through the Canadian rockies. Sunshine the entire way home.

4)Taking my girlfriend for her first ride on the back of my bike. I felt ultra cool that day.

5)Pinning the KZ 650 at wide open throttle lying flat on the gas tank trying to push her for all she was worth. Made 100mph or 160 kmph. Then I realized that she liked crusing more.