why are you a biker?

[izzi81]

Now this could have been a poll, but I think it works better if people waffle

I was wondering why you all became bikers. It takes a certain perseverance to go from 'bikes are cool' to spending the money on lessons, gear and a bike!

For myself, I've always watched F1 racing. But that didn't automatically lead to driving a car because, as far as money goes, you can't get that great a car for not much money. I've also always tended to not 'go with the crowd' so the idea of driving a boring box about like everyone else didn't inspire me... One family holiday we went up to Skye and there were bikers everywhere. I kept thinking, hmm, now that looks fun! And more like F1 with the helmet, gear etc. I still didn't fancy learning to drive and liked the idea of having my own transport so eventually got lessons, and despite my mum telling me she'd eat her hat if I got a motorbike I did.
And now, only 6 years later I have my dream.. a 600 motorbike and leathers yay

So what about the rest of you?
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"The problem with the French is they have no word for 'entrepreneur' " George W Bush
Age doesn't matter unless you're a cheese
https://www.bikepics.com/members/izzi81

[sv_cath]

I used to go to speedway, then started seeing a guy with an RD125LC which I loved going on the back of. He then got a Powervalve and I inherited the 125 as I felt that I wanted to learn coz going pillion was getting boring.
That was 13 years ago and the rest, as they say, is history!

[Ninja]

Speed, freedom, excitement and connectedness with my environment while travelling!
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James
4 wheels transport the Body ... 2 wheels transport the SOUL

[Mr C]

one of my mates big brother (Mr Lucky actually) had a 250N Superdream, then a GSX400F.

these seemed like the dogs bollocks at the time and we used to love blagging pillion rides on them

(apart from Lucky of course who use to just steal the keys and help himself - aged 14)

then again, one of my other mates had a Vespa 100
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187.3bhp = 201mph

[Bendy]

By necessity, initially.

I learned to drive when I was 17 (I lived on Skye at the time!) cos I needed to get about. You might have seen lots of bikes there in the summer but trust me, the rest of the year you want a roof!

Anyway, when I moved to London for a job, I sold my car cos I couldn't really afford to insure it down here, and wasn't using it much anyway - too impractical. The tube did my head in, so I bought a scooter as a cheap and quick way of getting to work and not having to pay to park.

Couple of years on, the bike idea started in my head, but I was convinced I couldn't afford it. Then some little shits ripped my scooter to bits and I concluded that I could fix it, I could buy a new scooter or just go do my DAS and buy a motorbike. I did the latter, and it was possibly the best decision I've ever made.

[dandit]

Good question but I can't answer I just love bikes, the thrill of adreniline pumping through my veins, the freedom of been on two wheels, I dont know what it is but I like it i don't feel safe in a car either I think I'm going to stay on bikes till the day I die
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WHAT DO YOU MEAN 100 MPH THATS IMPOSSIBLE I STILL HAD 3 GEARS TO GO OFFICER. Currently riding a naked cbr 600 and driving a 52 plate 2litre tdci mondeo

[KevTM]

[JonB]

Ask me this 4 months ago and I wouldn't want one, I was 15 and couldn't wait to get a car at 17.

My mums mate was selling her moped for £490 and so I thought maybe I could get one. As soon as I passed my CBT, I jumped on the bike for the first time, I loved it, even though it doesn't go much faster than 45MPH I still love it and now I see cars as boring.

I just can't wait to get a GS500F When I pass my Category A test next year!!!
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Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[ProXimaCore]

I'm always looking for new fun things to try. Pretty much the same as how you put it Izzi. I'm a bit of a thrill seeker too so it looked lots of fun. I can't actually remember the moment when I decided that I wanted one though. Had my car license for about 6 months when I bought my NSR. The car was just boring me and I think it was more of a joint decision with me and my mate that we'd both buy a bike together and we could go for rideouts. Of course he ended up chickening out and buying a car instead while becoming a fully fledged boy racer.
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Honda NSR125R -> Suzuki GSXR400R GK76a -> Kawasaki ZX636 B1H -> Honda CBR400RR NC29 -> Nothing

[tgabber]

Hmm, originally I'd say I was driven by fear. The idea of riding a motorbike scared the sh*t out of me.

But I don't like being afraid of things, so set about learning and now I love it.

Practicality also comes into it in London. It is by far and away the quickest and most cost effective way to get around, although the changing in and out of leathers can be a bind. I often go into meetings in my leathers if I can get away with it.
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"It's all about dislocating expectation"
Kawasaki KMX125 -> Aprilia RS125 -> Kawasaki ZZR600

[dainesefreak]

I used to be into mountain biking big time and cycled everywhere. I cycled to work, to my girlfriends house, to visit anyone, weekends off road, etc.

After a good few years of living off my bike and cycling through all weathers I came to another winter and thought, "hmm, I really like riding but I'd like to get there quicker". Bike with an engine!

As the mountain bike was fairly expensive I sold it for a decent deposit on my first little Aprilia thinking, "When I'm sorted I'll buy another mountain bike". It took me about 8 years till I bought another though, just couldn't find enough time to give up the engine.

[atom]

Thrill, knowing what speed and direction your going in, because you can feel it. I love leaning when cornering, would love to get my knee down. Quite apart from the fact bikes are beautiful. Its like drawing a line in the landscape.
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The Internet: Ceefax for the 21st Century

[badlydamaged]

With me it was like what Somerset Scratcher said, Iv'e loved cars from an early age and didn't think of bikes as worth bothering with.
It started when I had a blast on a field bike at 15, and I figured I wanted a moped. Found I enjoyed it, and soon my social life revolved around riding with mates to places as much as anything else. From then on it was natrual progression.
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My bike: 1988 Kawasaki KH100 Status: Polluting Devon with two stroke smog and noise pollution!
"Its not your engine size that matters!, It's what you do with it that counts"
Add me to MSN if you want! badlydamaged@hotmail.com.

[McJamweasel]

One of my mates at college had a bike and at the same time I got with a girl who's dad is a big biker. The two of the managed to convert me pretty quickly.
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BCF: Be yourself, just don't be an arse.

[karen_moomin]

I have a friend who is well into bikes and has been for as long as I've known him (about 8 years). I wouldn't say that he forced them on to me, as I was always interested to listen...but he was always pressurising me to have a go on the back of his. I never took him up on this offer because he has a tendency to lets say, show off, when he has passengers.

Then when I met Mcjam his attitude was different - the last thing I needed was to be scared and never want another go. So he took me on a little ride and before I knew it I wanted my own bike.

[Annabella]

[Slavo]

[dainesefreak]

[sv_cath]

LC boys - gotta love 'em!

[iCraig]

For me it was when I was 16, i got a Job in City Centre Manchester, and living nearly 20 miles outside of the city, buses used to take up to 2 hours to get there, so I said to my self enough was enough and though about getting a moped, so I did my CBT and bought a dodgy old Suzuki FR50 Moped, to start with I hated the little fecking thing, then I p/xed it for a brand new MBK Stunt, which kinda got me into liking 2 wheels, and I wanted to get my full moped licence so I could give my mates lifts and the instructor at the motorcycle training place suggested why don't I do the full A2 Licence and from then on I hankered after a bike, I then turned 17 in the June of 2001 passed my test in late July and bought an ER-5 and haven't looked back.

[G]

[Claud 14.7 to 1]

[MarJay]

I wanted a bike since I was really ikkle walked into that one didn't I??.

I just thought that they were cooler than cars. I kept asking my dad about the bikes he used to have, and I kept saying things like "Motorbikes are faster!" My dad always corrected me by saying : "They aren't faster than cars, but they are much more fun!"

When I was 17 I desperately wanted a bike, but my mum was really against the idea. She kept saying stuff like "Not while you're under my roof!". In the end I relented and got a car.

When I went to university, I realised that I could not afford a car, and that I was no longer living under my parents roof, so I bought an NS125R. My Dad eventually convinced my mum because he believed that if they forbade me from getting a bike, then I would get one anyway, and it would be an old nail. My dad even helped to look for a bike for me and in the end he found the NS for sale from one of his customers.

The rest is history!
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Keith]

My dads mate gave me an old 50cc bike when i was 7. They used to race for fun and the bike had been at the back of the garage for a fair few years. My dad got the bike working and i've been on them ever since.
Personally, i hate cars, but i'm being made to pass my test, which i suppose will come in handy at some point.

I've always been into motocross and had several bikes myself but i've come to prefer road racing.. mainly because of the speed
I wont be leaving bikes anytime soon, well i hope not

Ninja's point sums it all up really.
Speed, freedom, excitement and connectedness with my environment while travelling!
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Aprilia RSV Mille R Edwards Replica - Aprilia RS250 - Suzuki GSXR600 Supersport Race Bike

[mr.z]

Chicks dig motorbikes allthough the abundence of hair, oversized belly and cabbagey smell they don't seem to go for so much...

Iv'e wanted one ever since going on the back of my dads cb175 (pwarrr) at 11 or something, i'd threatened to get one for years much the the annoyence of both parents (my dad had a bike for 30odd years, my mum had a bike for a few years too, but thats not the point...)
They realiised how serious i was when i turned up with my first bike the thundering beast that is a cg125! grrrrr!

I had originaly had get one because its a long and bloody dangerous bike ride to uni, with lots of hills... but 11bhp was not enough for long..

Now i have one because... dispite my bike being 20 years old, it not unknown for them to push 120mph+, should i want to i can beat most modern cars off the line at lights (most notable was a porsche! he didn't look happy ), it is amazeingly comfy for hours at a time, carries me and my girlfriend anywhere we feel like going with no fuss and absoloutely relyable... for the £900 i payed i don't think i could ask more of it
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