Who started riding after age 30

This is for anyone who started riding after age 30.

I'll phrase the first question in my Mom's exact words, "WTF were you thinking?" (5 years later her opinion hasn't changed)

2. What was your first bike?

3. How do you feel about starting so late?

4. What bikes have you progressed to / thru?

OK, as a total newbie, I'll bite...I'll be 33 in 2 weeks.

2. 2002 Honda XR650L, picking it up this week....
3. The idea is both incredibly exciting and a tad scary...
4. We'll see.....I'm coming from a 1992 FJ80 Land Cruiser, so it seems like the only thing similar is a BMW GS Adventure or KTM...I have my eye on both...

Can't wait to do Baja on the Bike!

-H-

Walked into Bob's BMW at 42 years old in 2001 and bought a brand new R1150GS. Haven't slowed down yet even after 200,000 miles since then.

I did the same thing, only I was 15 -- even then I knew it was better to beg for forgiveness than ask permission Bike was a '72 CB450. First two times I took it out I had no permit, and damned if I didn't get pulled over each time.

Spent all of May of 1997 traveling by myself in Italy having a fine old time.

Came back and signed up for:

Italian Lessons

MFS Motorcycle Lessons

End of July 1997 took delivery of a 600cc Yamaha Seca 2. Like the original poster, I had it delivered....

April 1998, rode down to Cabo San Lucas

July 1998, rode NYC and back; ended first year of ownership with 22,000 miles on the bike

On the web I still go as Redseca2 because anyone can go cross country on a BMW

Ditto here, except it was a '78 Kawasaki KE125. Bought it in the summer of '82 when mom was at work and she caved when she came home. Have to say that to this day I remember the simultaneous exhilaration and fear I experience when I first rode it.

The guy I bought it from brought it over in his truck, unloaded it then started it up for me. He showed me where the throttle, clutch, shifter and brakes were then proceeded to take my hard-earned bagboy money and handed me my new title.

Took about an hour and three or four falls to figure out how to ride the thing.

No one I know that rides "started" after 30. They all rode at least a cousin's friend's brother's Suwakondaha TrailPeeWeeZing50 something or other and I think it stuck with most of them.

TX

Started riding when I was 33. I am now 36.

2. What was your first bike?
Honda Shadow VLX (600 cc cruiser - )


3. How do you feel about starting so late?

Biggest regret is that it's too late to begin a career as a factory racer.

Although, if I had started earlier, I may not have lived to be 33.


4. What bikes have you progressed to / thru?
1995 Honda Shadow VLX 600 (taught me the joy of riding, also taught me that I am NOT a cruiser guy :ymca)

1998 Honda ST1100 (taught me that the best way to cross the country is on two wheels, also taught me that I do NOT like heavy bikes )
2002 Yamaha YZF600R (best street sportbike ever - period - still own it )

2002 Ducati Monster (okay, its my wife's bike, but I love to ride the piss out of it - still own it)

2000 BMW R1150GS (provides the ability to ride in all kinds of weather/situations - my daily commuter/tourer - still own it)

1976 Honda CB750 (been in my family since day 1, its old school, but I get a grin from ear to ear everytime I ride it! - still own it)

My mom bought my first 2 bikes. WTF was she thinking? Rode since 9 to highschrewl then quit for 20 years. So starting up again at 39 was kinda like starting over.

2. What was your first bike? A Yamaha DT80,DT175,IT250 then XT500, fast forward 20 years to a vstrom 1000.

3. How do you feel about re-starting so late? Pretty darn good. I should never have stopped riding.

4. What bikes have you progressed to / thru? Since re-starting a month ago, just one litre strom. But either an older KLR or GS is next.

It took me until I was 40 years old before I could muster the courage too buy a motorcycle without asking my father for permission! Or my now ex-wife for that matter.

That first bike was a 1982 Maxim 550 bought in 1995 for $1000. That bike taught me my first lesson of diminishing returns in motorcycle accessory and parts spending. Paid $1000, spent another $1000 or so to make it run right and to look presentable. Rode it for 12,000 miles in 3 years or so and sold it for $1,000.

In 1999 I bought a 1995 BMW R100 Mystic, the red head with big jugs that I had always lusted after. Riding that bike really was the beginning of my becoming an advid motorcyclist. I put 30K before trading it last year.

A couple of years later I stumbled onto and promptly bought a cherry 1985 R80 G/S as a divorce present to myself. That turned me toward the adventure side of the sport which mirrors my skiing passion. I have since put 15K on her and plan on bringing her to BYOB.

In 2003 I decided I needed a sport bike at the precise moment that I stumbled onto a smoking deal on a left over brand new 2000 Triumph Sprint RS for nearly 50% of original retail! I am taking that bad boy to BeaveRun Race Track for a Sport Bike Track Time Event this weekend. So far I have 7K on her but also unfortunately had my worst accident to date on her. But we are both all healed up now!

Last year I entered into a relationship with a wonderful woman who loves riding pillion, so I traded my Mystic for one of the last 1150 GS's when BMW was giving them away just as the 1200 was being introduced (I love a deal). With this bike I have discovered the joys of 2 up riding and has firmly cemented me as a GS kind of guy. That bike is amazing! 10K to date.

Uhh..What else did you want to know? I kind of got self aborbed there!

Rick

Double Ditto - Brought home a honda 305 in 1969 when I was 15 and just let the sheet hit the fan------

2. I rode some in college in the late 70s (a Honda 350 and a Moto Guzzi 1000), but I didn't own the bikes and merely borrowed them from friends.

1. I'm almost 48 and coming up on 20 years of marriage. For the last 15 years or so I'd been telling my wife that I'm gonna get a Harley before I reach 40. So shortly before my 40th birthday, I went to a local dealership and bought a new 1998 FLSTF. My wife had a freakin' fit, but got over it.

3. I wish I hadn't waited so long to get serious about riding after college. But I was in the military and moved around a lot and ended up on long deployments to foreign countries. Plus, I was in armored cavalry units and got to ride in tanks, helicopters, Bradleys and other armored vehicles and fire large caliber weapons.

Once I got out in '92, life became more stable and predictable (which equates to boring as far as I'm concerned), and I had to start riding again just to keep from pacing the floor at home.

4. The FLSTF got stolen in 1999. I replaced that with a 2000 FLTRI... which I wrecked in Hungry Horse Montana in 2001. Then I got a 1996 FLHR as an knockaround bike until I figured out what I really wanted. My wife bought me a 2004 FLTRI in January 2004 as a present, and just last weekend I brought home a 2002 KTM 640 Adventure.

So now we're a 3 bike family, and my wife is taking the MSF riders course later this summer and plans to get her license. Then I'll fix up the FLHR so it's comfortable for her, but she also wants to ride dirt with me, so we'll probably pick up a dirt bike for her as well.

Rich

Yup,

In August 2000 I traveled down to Oregon for a powered parachute get-together. On the way there I stopped for gas someplace in Washington and wound up talking to some bikers heading for Sturgis. That put the seed into my mind. When I got back home I did some internet type research, decided that I was going to get a bike... a dual sport bike. I successfully completed a rider training course, got my license and two days later rode home on a new KLR. I still ride that bike a lot but I've also added a 600r, V-max, and an old Magna (w/sidecar) to the stable.

PB

I took my licence may 30 2000. Five years have past soon and I'm on my fifth bike. I was 31 at the time.

-99 Suzuki UC125 Scooter Cheap, for commuting to work, good excuse to my wife. Had it for two months after I had my license then I tried a -00 Yamaha XV 1100 Dragstar (wildstar or roadstar in the states i think) and was sold. Traded my scooter and had it for one year.

Then I wanted a Xv1600 wildstar and really loved that bike. Cubic is king. Had that one for two years.

Life goes on and me and my wife got a dog and a cabin to spend weekends and holidays in and thought that when will I have time to ride my big black beauty. Traded it for a Yamaha TTR600 brand new. To ride gravelroads and such.

Didn't ride much last summer. I wanted a more dualsport typ of bike. Sold it last fall and was starting to look for a used Bmw F650 dakar and bought one in april this year. I really like the bike. It suites my needs.

Will I keep it? Not so sure. I tried a Ktm 950 a few weeks ago and I say wow!! I'm going to try the r12gs to and then will se what my next bike will be. Remember what I said? Cubic is king even on a dualsport. I have to win the lottery first.

I must say that I have a wonderful and understanding wife. Every time I change my bike and come up with excuses for my choise the only thing she says is " You are so crazy Martin!" and then she smiles at me.

This summer 3 of my friends and I are planning a trip up to northcape and maybe I'll post some pictures from that trip.

Btw. This is my first post and I'm from nothern Sweden. Been reading this forum for a while and It really inspires me. Thankyou all and ride safe out there.

I can remember the day like it was yesterday. I was 12 years old and the neighbor kid let me borrow his Yellow YZ 80. I was having a blast ripping down the street until another neighbor's dog darted in front of me and I promptly wrecked. Lots of road rash, but I was hooked. I would openly fantasize about motorcycles, but at the same time let my Mother and later my wife would forbid me from ever actually getting one.

Fast forward 23 years. I finally convinced the wife to let me get a XR 400, telling her that dirt bikes were safer. Rode that for two years and then got a KLR 650. Got rid of the wife and the KLR about the same time and took the MSF course to develop the street skills. As a divorce present I bought myself a Suzuki DL650 V-strom in March of 2005.

In retrospect, I think its a good thing that life conspired to keep me off the bike until my mid-thirties. I think I've matured enough now that I know my limits and stay well within them. Staying alive is more important than going fast now-a-days. Besides if I die, who's going to pay all that alimony?

Rode 350 miles through the rockies yesterday and can't wait to get back on.

Technically I got my first real bike at age 30. I got a DRZ400 last year for commuting and trails. I am getting ready to convert it to supermoto here very soon.


Got my first little motorcycle at age 8. Putted around and had a blast.


Rode a freakin' Honda Aero 50cc scooter all over the place when I turned 15 until I got a car at 18. I dont know what the hell I was thinking, almost no power, damn near invisible, in horrible traffic. That scooter taught me the rules of the road however, some old lady almost took me out by running a yield sign when I was riding my brand new DRZ home for the first time. I place utmost importance on my visibility. I just bought a white Icon jacket and a silver Arai XD helmet to keep me alive.



I love riding my DRZ around town. I know how it feels to be in shock about buying a bike. It hit me about 3 days after I bought this one. I was hosting a BBQ and proudly had my bike there and my friends were drooling over it. I went in the house for a bit, 4 beers and two tokes later I walked outside like it was a different reality... I was thinking "WTF are you thinking Jess?!?! That thing is insane, are you having some kind of early mid-life OMG I'm turning 30 crisis?!?!"

Maybe I am... but I love riding with a good sense of mortality and self preservation... I would not have wanted this in my early 20's now that I think about it... I was an idiot, good thing I was broke.

34 years old.

The guy who hired me in St. Louis said part of the deal was buying a bike along with him. Laughs all around, kidding, right?

Two months later he says "this is the day." :huh

He's my boss, gotta play nice. Go down to the Honda dealership. He buys a little 250 Ninja or some such shit. I buy a V45 (?) Magna. Accelerated faster than anything I've owned since. Fun. He rode mine back, I learned the basics in a parking lot. Froze leaving a traffic light soon after getting it, wouldn't lean into a turn, slowly scraped into the kerb and toppled over, kinda like the tricycle lady on Laugh In.



Got scared riding on 6-lane interstates, the bike was light and got blown around. Saw a K75 at the bike show a year later, fell in love with the big round headlight, and the bike was a lot heavier and more stable.

Rode that until I got to Atlanta, where the beltway demanded more get up and go. So I got the GS for the extra ponies, the handling, the looks and the do-all ability.

I actually had a bike for about a week in college, a 2-stroke. I knew nothing about bikes, including the need for oil in the gas. Had it transported it back to my place. Rode it maybe twice. It was a Yamaha of some kind. When I wrenched on the gas, it about threw me off and pulled my arms out of their sockets. Scared the shit out of me. I ruined that bike. Didn't know diddly about oil/gas, seized it up. But not before it threw me in the middle of downtown traffic.

Cool thread

I get lots of riders in my MSF courses start'n over the age of 30. They are a fun group who have a big edge on the way I started ride'n in my early teens with no training and think'n the throttle was just an on off switch

V-wife started riding at age 48. Got her permit. Learned basic control operation. Went out to ride some trails, broke her thumb (loss of throttle control over an obstruction, struck tree), out for the rest of the season. That was on a DR-200SE.

Got an even smaller bike, dualsported TTR-125L. Started riding again. Also took MSF course (on their Honda Rebel). Now licensed. Does local dirt roads and paved connectors (comfortable running bike 45mph max - similar to the way my EC200 2-stroke woods racer is geared!). For any further, she rides passenger on our DL-1000.

I had always wanted a dirt bike when I was a kid. But was never able to get one. Both of my brothers road street for years. I just never really got that interrested untill I saw some of the dual sport bikes. So in 2000 at age 33 I decided to get a bike. Got permit went to the dealer took test ride which was my first time ever on anything with two wheels and a engine. DRZ400s got loaded it the back of my nephews truck and home we went. Two days and 52 miles later,First crash went wide on a small curve hit ditch over the bars and broke my left knee .

Fastforward May 13 2005 friday, Dog ran out in front of me and gets stuck in the front wheel locking it,resulting me highsiding with the bike following. Brake levers and handle bar end do bad things to human flesh. :huh:eek1

I started riding two years ago...at age 42. After being diagnosed with borderline / pre diabetes I realized I probably wasn't going to live forever as previously planned. I had always wanted to ride so I thought I'd better get started. My only riding experience was on a 50 or 90cc minibike and a small dirtbike as a pre-teen, and on a rented scooter on a Greek Island in the 80's.

My first bike was a Honda Shadow VLX600 cruiser. Since then I've had a Buell XB9SL, a Ducati Monster 800, and a BMW F650GS. I currently have a Buell XB9SX, a Harley Dyna Superglide, and a BMW Dakar. I use my late start as an excuse / rationalization for having had so many bikes in a short time frame...

Then the wife started riding.... it's been a revolving door of bikes around here while we have been trying to sort out our preferences. We both feel time is defintely NOT on our side. I wish I had started sooner, but I'm glad I didn't start in my teens or 20's. I've never been a reckless person, but wisdom does occasionally accompany age.....