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Post by veg on Nov 5, 2019 20:56:13 GMT 1
I grew up in a household where my dad rode bikes, he was a rocker in London 1958 to 1963 he always had bikes as we (me and 2 brothers) grew up I remember being taken to school on his t140, this all lead to my love of bikes. When I had a serious rtc at 17 nearly losing my leg he arrived at the scene and after making sure I was ok asked when I was getting back on a bike. I raced him all Over as I grew up, even flat out down the M45 on my cbr1000f he over took me on his zzr1100. Sadly my dad died a couple of days ago and I have been reliving our times together. Rip pops .
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Post by midlifecrisisrd on Nov 5, 2019 21:19:50 GMT 1
Really sorry to here your dad has passed mate. Never an easy time especially when you have such fond memories of him
Not much biking influence in my home I'm afraid
My brother dabbled for a while in his teens but was forbidden from them after his wife's brother was killed on his. He got back into them in later life for a while but it didn't last long
My dad was influenced by us for a while and bought a little bike to tinker with
For me it was bikes around the neighbourhood that caught my eye
Keep yet chin up fella
Steve
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Post by gazzatt2 on Nov 5, 2019 21:43:02 GMT 1
my biking inflects was my peers my condolences to you and your family
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Post by madmick on Nov 5, 2019 23:28:17 GMT 1
Sorry to hear of your loss, Tim. It’s a big loss when you and your dad both shared a passion for bikes. You must have great memories of being together.
M.M.
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Post by veg on Nov 5, 2019 23:34:22 GMT 1
Thanks chaps, it’s thanks to him I’m still riding and love my bikes.
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Post by JonW on Nov 6, 2019 0:04:37 GMT 1
Sorry to hear that Veg.
My biggest influence was my school friend Duncan, he helped me buy my first bike, rode it home for me as i was too you to be allowed to and then showed me how to work on it as well as us riding around the place as fast as we could on bikes for years. Happy days.
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Post by donkeychomp on Nov 6, 2019 0:23:44 GMT 1
I'm so sorry Tim. My dad passed away 2 months ago. Glad you have such happy memories of him and he gave you the joy that is biking. He must have been a hell of a guy.
Alex
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Post by hoist1 on Nov 6, 2019 0:52:42 GMT 1
Don’t think I had any influence, i later found that a number of uncles had bikes until cars were more affordable. Grew up in a small village never saw any books or papers, a mates dad still ran a combination well into the seventies. At age 10 was offered a ride on a tiger cub or similar, it didn’t get far before something packed up, something that would shape my biking future. Walking home from school, an older lad on a bsa bantam took a blind tight left that put his body overhanging the pavement towards me, the casual way he just lifted the bike and dropped it back down again had me wanting to get my own bike which I did at 12. The first thing I came across was an Italian made 2 stroke 100cc scooter, a mechanic uncle picked it up in his Land Rover which must have been a 90 bed as the bike ( on its side ) was barely in it and it was all I could do to hang on to it without it falling out. All he could do was laugh, he did get it running and rode it before handing it over. He also over the years did attempt to impart his wisdom as an old school engineer, he was a vintage car buff and would do the London to Brighton run, on one occasion an inner tube gave out and he filled the tyre with grass and used string to wrap around the tyre and between the spokes to get it there. I did get through quite a few bikes before my 16th birthday as they were either free or cheap, like 3 to 5 quid. They were mainly tidy enough to ride to a garage to get petrol, though I would wear a helmet to cover myself up a bit , though they weren’t a legal requirement then. A couple of mates got into it just after me and we had a network of fields and orchards to travel about with the minimum of crossing roads. We would sneak out on moonlit nights and ride the deserted lanes, sometimes with the lights off as visibility was almost better without them, not surprising really with 6 volts . Oh, and the petrol would keep and was 25 pence or something a gallon. The odd British bike did feature but they were mainly awful, probably not good examples to be fair but I bet the little hondas we had were treated no better by the previous owners but they never seemed to need anything doing except add petrol. From 16 I did the step at a time route up to modernish superbikes, a moped, a 125 , then the real beginning when I got an rd200. I kept that as long as anything and longer than most, there were a lot amongst mates and others at meets. The three of us had by now grown as a group and would be content on similar sized bikes, until someone gets a 400, I get a 550, someone gets a 750 and another a 1000. That’s it then, but of course it wasn’t once 1100 plus bikes appeared. They really were the days, quieter roads, no eBay, slow police vehicles, bikes everywhere and it didn’t seem to matter what you rode, no divisions like now with cruisers, adventure bikes etc. I could go on .
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Post by dusty350 on Nov 7, 2019 8:28:07 GMT 1
So sorry to hear about your Dad Veg Sounds like he was a top guy. You have lots of happy memories of him and a life lived to the full by the sounds of it My Dad had bikes, finishing up with a motorbike and sidecar combo that was transport for him and my mum and my sister when she was a baby !! Wasn't unusual back in the late 50's early 60's. He worked every hour to afford their first car, and that was the end of his biking days. My brother then had bikes, a Fs1e, Superdream, Kawasaki Scorpion, Cx500 that he couriered in London for 3 or 4 years, and the nicest was a Z650b1. I always wanted a bike but never felt influenced by him as such as we are not close, and he didn't share his interest with me. When I did save up enough - evening job doing office cleaning after school - for my Dt50m, I joined a group of mates 12 - 15 strong, Fizzy's, Ap50's, Mt5, Cb50, couple of Dt's etc. We used to hang around on bicycles pre 16, but now it was mopeds and 50's. That was the natural progression back then. A few kept biking but most got their first cars as soon as they were old enough - Escorts and old Cortinas, Chevettes and even a jacked up Vauxhall Victor ! Not many of my school friends kept bikes into their 20's, but I have always had one in some state of repair since I was 16, and don't imagine ever not having something to tinker with in the garage. Dusty
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Post by madmick on Nov 7, 2019 12:35:25 GMT 1
So sorry to hear about your Dad Veg Sounds like he was a top guy. You have lots of happy memories of him and a life lived to the full by the sounds of it My Dad had bikes, finishing up with a motorbike and sidecar combo that was transport for him and my mum and my sister when she was a baby !! Wasn't unusual back in the late 50's early 60's. He worked every hour to afford their first car, and that was the end of his biking days. My brother then had bikes, a Fs1e, Superdream, Kawasaki Scorpion, Cx500 that he couriered in London for 3 or 4 years, and the nicest was a Z650b1. I always wanted a bike but never felt influenced by him as such as we are not close, and he didn't share his interest with me. When I did save up enough - evening job doing office cleaning after school - for my Dt50m, I joined a group of mates 12 - 15 strong, Fizzy's, Ap50's, Mt5, Cb50, couple of Dt's etc. We used to hang around on bicycles pre 16, but now it was mopeds and 50's. That was the natural progression back then. A few kept biking but most got their first cars as soon as they were old enough - Escorts and old Cortinas, Chevettes and even a jacked up Vauxhall Victor ! Not many of my school friends kept bikes into their 20's, but I have always had one in some state of repair since I was 16, and don't imagine ever not having something to tinker with in the garage. Dusty Sounds like you’ve just written my life story dusty... I even had a friend with a jacked-up, “Viva” with a v8 fitted 🤦♂️ M.M.
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Post by headcoats on Nov 7, 2019 13:00:03 GMT 1
I would say the older blokes on the estate , they had Z1's and CBX1000's ! For LC's there were 2 mates who bought identical blue RD125LC's and fitted microns and you could hear them all the time around the estate My first bike was a yellow Fs1E which I bought for £15 and the bloke bought it to my house on it's side in the back of the Capri !
It didn't run and a bloke called Porter who had the CBX1000 fixed the points up with a fag paper and got it running
Never taxed it, mot'd or insured it !
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Post by cbm on Nov 7, 2019 13:15:44 GMT 1
Sounds like you’ve just written my life story dusty... I even had a friend with a jacked-up, “Viva” with a v8 fitted 🤦♂️ M.M. Firstly, sorry about you losing your Dad Veg, I lost both my parents within 8mths of each other, it sucks but it sounds as though you have some fantastic memories that'll never leave you !!! -------------------- We MM there's another coincidence because as a kid my first insight into the delights of wasting money on anything with wheels that could scare you was a V8 viva too. A very good friend of my Dad's built This One for drag racing back in the 60's and started taking me along with him, I've spunked every spare penny I've had on cars & bikes ever since. Can't say my Dad was ever an influence though as every car & bike I've had was according to him "a waste of f*ckin' fuel & money" bless him
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Post by cb250g5 on Nov 7, 2019 13:54:16 GMT 1
For me it was some slightly older kids, a field and an old mobylette. Aged about 11. Never looked back after my 1st go on it.
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Post by marrcel on Nov 11, 2019 18:54:42 GMT 1
Same here. At 11 i bought for a tenner a Solex on a step something like this picture.
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