Reasons for Choosing Motorbike

kerry4sam

What was your decision to learn to ride & purchase a motorbike?

Just curious.

I just v-recently passed my theory test for the bike, but just done the theory test to see if I could pass it. No actual inner drive for a bike at the time.

Looking forward to the Initial Basic Training as tbh I am in no way knowledgeable right now to go near one.

I am essentially trying to learn something new and practising and developing a new skill.

Won't be commencing my IBT for some months for a few reasons & know my cert is valid for 2-years before I have to apply for provisional (that I don't want to apply for and not make use of).

What were your reasons for choosing the Motorbike?

Thanks,
kerry4sam

Wonda-Boy

Always loved bikes from a very early age, my brother had a small scooter when I was young and I think I got a bigger buzz going on that. First real taste of a big bike was the old kawasaki ZZR 400 (the one with the hoover pipes on the tank) my mate got and taught he was the cheese. Got a rip on that and it was like a concorde to me. When I really wanted the bike I had not got the funds to get one.....one thing lead to another and life moved on and the chance passed me by to get a bike when I had to get a cage for work and the ladies........

Fast forward 17 yrs and I was sitting in work and the topic of things on the bucket list came up and I wanted to tour America and Europe and I taught why wait....IBT was just introduced and I went for it. Bought an FZ6 and never looked back (becoz you would crash)

Only on bikes 3 yrs this summer and TBH I love bikes more now for the people I have met then the bikes themselves if you get me. I like to go for a blip on my own but biking is so much better when you have lads you really like around you sharing the giggles.

Passed my test exactly 6mths after getting the bike 1st time with no marks, did the Grade 2 advanced training and passed. Also did the Garda Bike safe and passed that in my first year on the bike. And now I am heading to Germany this summer so another mile stone reached.

Idleater

Only motorbikers know why dogs love to lean out of car windows.

:cool:

arybvtcw0eolkf

I kinda fell into biking by way of work.

I joined the army in 1985, after recruit training (1986) I was sent on a Dispatch Riders course.. The course was two months long covering everything from riding on the roads, to off road around Donnelly's Hollow in The Curragh to various types of tactical riding.

The bikes we used were Yamaha XS400 and XS500.

When I passed that I was more or less a glorified courier, out having the craic in Dublin city with the other couriers.

Very shortly afterwards I bought my first bike, a Yamaha DT175 and there followed a succession of DT's & RD's.. I'd approached drinking age too so started hanging around The Strawberry Hall, Barnstormers etc.. And really I've been a biker since.

It comes with a price too, over the years I've broken myself up pretty badly, in 1992 I was involved in a hit & run (riding an RD350YPVS) and had my GF at the time on the back, she broke her neck (C2 & C3) but survived.

I've lost many good friends to riding accidents too, unfortunately if I tried to remember them all I fear I'd forget one or two.

I love biking, I love the comradery & respect for each other. I love getting a biker nod, I love getting down and dirty with the spanners.. I love the craic in the clubhouse (if you involve yourself in a club) or rallys.

I'm 48 now and have been biking my entire adult life and still get a buzz out of it, without fail every ride is a buzz.

ratracer

Hi K4S,

From catching your cycling threads I would say that if you think of the enjoyment you get while out on the bicycle, imagine if you could do the same for longer, faster, increased distances. Motorbike touring is a great way to see Ireland, hell even the world if that takes your fancy.

Biking is not cheap to get into, but after the initial cost of doing the IBT, test, getting gear and a bike it's not too expensive. I've been riding a bike for 12 years or so now, it's my main transport to work. I don't get to do much touring at the moment, but I know I will again in another few years.

I don't know many people who regret getting a bike, but I know lots who regret NOT getting one!!

serious3

Had no choice! We went around in a sidecar till I was about 8yrs old, dad raced sidecars and bikes over the years,all my formative years were spent at various uk race circuits or in the workshop with my dad. Kinda inevitable really

Greenmachine

Ellison Wailing Stomach wrote: »

I kinda fell into biking by way of work.

I joined the army in 1985, after recruit training (1986) I was sent on a Dispatch Riders course.. The course was two months long covering everything from riding on the roads, to off road around Donnelly's Hollow in The Curragh to various types of tactical riding.

The bikes we used were Yamaha XS400 and XS500.

When I passed that I was more or less a glorified courier, out having the craic in Dublin city with the other couriers.

Very shortly afterwards I bought my first bike, a Yamaha DT175 and there followed a succession of DT's & RD's.. I'd approached drinking age too so started hanging around The Strawberry Hall, Barnstormers etc.. And really I've been a biker since.

It comes with a price too, over the years I've broken myself up pretty badly, in 1992 I was involved in a hit & run (riding an RD350YPVS) and had my GF at the time on the back, she broke her neck (C2 & C3) but survived.

I've lost many good friends to riding accidents too, unfortunately if I tried to remember them all I fear I'd forget one or two.

I love biking, I love the comradery & respect for each other. I love getting a biker nod, I love getting down and dirty with the spanners.. I love the craic in the clubhouse (if you involve yourself in a club) or rallys.

I'm 48 now and have been biking my entire adult life and still get a buzz out of it, without fail every ride is a buzz.

A lot of my friends already had scooter or bikes.
For years I was tempted to get an RD350YPVS. I feel in love with 2 strokes after owning a tzr125. The newer ones had the rectangular headlight like my tzr but were apparently not as good as the old school ones. After that I ended up a Honda Transalp 400 of all things. Completely different affair than the tzr. Had a lower top end speed but more grunt. Before those I had a little 50cc suzuki scooter which I changed after about 2-3 months for a spanking new Gilera runner 180SP.

the cats pajamas

bikes are cool and when my company moved to town it was the perfect excuse.
But I had a dna50 when i was 16 and a Suzuki marauder when i was 18.
So i have always liked them.

CJhaughey

Always loved bikes, When I was in my early teens I started out dirtbiking with a Honda XL250S 23" front wheel.
Progressed to a Yamaha IT175J and have always had dirtbikes.
Even to this day, I still have one and of course my trusty Dominator.
I can't really remember not having a bike of some sort.
I like working on them as well, the technology in bikes is usually a few steps ahead of cars as well.
TBH modern stuff doesn't appeal to me as much as older machinery, but thats probably a function of age as much as anything.:D

szatan84

I was kind of forced to get a bike. I didn't have a driving license and I needed something for travel. And because in Ireland you have to have a second driver in a car to drive on a learner permit the only viable solution was to get a bike learner permit. Havent looked back since and I cringe at the thought of getting a car now. Even when I sit in one it feels weird in corners now.

jimgoose

I think it's more like motorbikes chose me really. I developed an interest in them in my early teens (this would be the mid-Eighties) and at sixteen or so had the usual Honda 50s, various crapheap 100s/125s, etc. and it took off from there. At that time it was a cheap way for a youngfella to get into motorised transport - still is, relatively speaking I think - and so that would have had something to do with it as well.

I drove nothing else for about twelve years, but nowadays they're toys, but very important toys. Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats warming up a sportsbike on a crisp, bright weekend morning, looking forward to giving it some boolah on the twisties down around West Cork. :cool:

Suasdaguna1

I rode bikes from 16 to 22yrs when cages became my mode of transport ....handy when dating:)) i had honda 50s/70s, suzuki scooters and a cg125. ...then had a big smash in ibiza when i came off a hired bike and left it at that.
1/4 of a century later i went back biking for many reasons. Did the ibt and the A test. Spotted a peach of an r1200 gs on done deal and havent looked back.....im back in the saddle two years now. I find the bike great for traffic etc but most of all i find solace on the bike. I love to head off over the wicklow mountains and take in the views. I have seen more of ireland and know more of ireland in the last two years. I joined a club but its not my thing re best buddies stuff but have gone on numerous rides with them to places i never knew existed. Its just immense to get out in the open air and to be able to smell the open country side. Likewise biking is an art and you have to keep working on it.....sloppiness, bad road craft, indiscipline.....well we all know where this is going. So theres lots of challenges......for me im a better cage driver now. I have so much respect for bikers that use their machines as full time chariots. I am lucky and need a cage re work. Funny on my days off the cage hasnt moved......says it all.

Cuddlesworth

My daily commute was averaging around 2 and a 1/2 hours a day. I was pretty sick of it, so did my research. Couldn't park a car, distance was too great for a bicycle. So I bought a motorbike. My job moved away from town but I still kept the bike. Its easy to repair, easy on the gas and fun to drive. During winter though it mostly sits up and I use the car. It is a interesting car to drive though.

jameshayes

It's by far the best method of keeping away erectile disfunction

Trebob

Think I was about 5 when I noticed bikes a lad pulled up on a new at the time gpx750. Was hooked from there. Did have a good while off them and missed ever second. No traffic,cheap tax,inexpensive to fill up. What's not to like other than the rain.

Cienciano

When I was a kid my da always had bikes, brother too, uncles, pretty much everyone that called to the house had bikes, the garage always had someone bike in it being fixed. So pretty muched brainwashed into it. Da worked in the industry for most of his life and I got one for very cheap (free) when I was about 21/22. That was a 125 maurader and I've being upgrading ever since. Been driving them every day since, but finally have a car in the last year, so not on the bike as much. Turned into a fair weather biker.

Zascar

kerry4sam wrote: »

What was your decision to learn to ride & purchase a motorbike?

Cut my commute down from about 45-60 minutes - to 15-20 mins.

However the main reason I got one is that I was old enough to afford it, and old enough that my parents could no longer tell me not to!

zubair

Always wanted one... So I got one.

I actually bought my bike for weekend spins and now I commute 365 on it, best form of transport you'll ever use.

BrokenArrows

Always wanted a bike so when i moved to the UK I lived beside work so I couldn't justify a car, so I got a bike for fun!

The I moved again but kept the bike. I commute 30 miles a day and am out every weekend.

minidazzler

The old man had bikes for travelling Cork to Dublin to Cork while he worked when I was a kid. He finally got a transfer to Cork and his brother borrowed the bike....


I was chatting to a buddy one day and said I'd love a bike, he said the same..... he got his licence I got mine, he got his bike, I got mine, we booked IBT together, he had to bail because of work and him not being able to add.... so I did it, then he did it. so we both starting riding.... competing as such.... him on a 125 marauder, me on a 125 varadero..... My bike was better.... then I turned 24 so upgraded to unrestriced licence and accidentally bought a Fazer 600..... literally put new tyres on the varadero Thursday and buying a new bike friday....

I'm pretty hooked. It's something I enjoy am good at and it makes a super cool noise like Mrmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.............

neamhspleachi

3rd generation biker, granda & da were both bikers, granda with his leather jerkin from WWII, da with his quiff & Lewis leathers in the late 50's, early 60's

I'm just following family tradition & my 17 year old son just got his first bike, so he's the next generation

arybvtcw0eolkf

minidazzler wrote: »

I was chatting to a buddy one day and said I'd love a bike, he said the same..... he got his licence I got mine, he got his bike, I got mine, we booked IBT together, he had to bail because of work and him not being able to add.... so I did it, then he did it. so we both starting riding....

Lovely story bro

Skill Magill

Zascar wrote: »

Cut my commute down from about 45-60 minutes - to 15-20 mins

Must be doin it wrong, should have it down to sub 10 mins at this stage!

Canis Lupus

Zascar wrote: »

Cut my commute down from about 45-60 minutes - to 15-20 mins.

However the main reason I got one is that I was old enough to afford it, and old enough that my parents could no longer tell me not to!

Pffft... I had to come here to Australia before I was sure my mother wouldn't come and take it off me.

I've spent a lot of my life on two wheels, just not the motorised version. Australia, particularly QLD is perfect for motorbikes. Sunny most of the year and some amazing landscape to drive through.

Almost up on my 1 year restricted gs500... trying to decide now between a TDM or vstrom although my GF seems to think I should be saving for a house...... Being a grown up is such a double edged sword....

blade1

Where I'm from(a small parish) it was just the done thing when you turned 16.
My 3 older brothers got there first bikes at 16, their mates got bikes at 16.
I had my first bike at 16, all my friends got their bikes at 16.

Everyone's first bike would have been a honda 50 or if you were the Dogs Bollox, a honda 70..:pac:

If I remember rightly, I think the cost for me starting out in 1988 was,
Bike £550
Insurance £180
Licence £5
Tax £20 (I think)
Wax Jacket, about £40
New Helmet £45
Gloves, about £20

Hotblack Desiato

1995 and I was in my first job a few months and totally fed up with Dublin Bus. Brother in law had been a courier and talked me into getting a bike, 1986 Suzuki GP100U £500, TPO insurance was £1000 :eek: had a (fashion not biking) BLJ already so that did me for a while, got a cheap lid, end of line sale gloves and Derri Boots in Mountjoy Motorcycles, and £10 waterproof overtrousers in Army Bargains and I was 'sorted' or so I thought

Next summer I turned 25 so could get any size bike, got a GS500E and 2 months later took the test and passed, next summer went on a tour to France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany.

The next spring I bought the bike I wanted all along, a CBR600 and did 15-20,000 miles a year on it over the next few years, rallies all over the country and touring Europe

The last few years since kids arrived it's been pretty much commuting only, down to time available as well as funds, you'd easily blow €50 on fuel alone on a day out these days

But, rain or shine, riding the bike is the highlight of every day and makes wage slavery bearable

Tigger

cos cars don't wheelie by accident coming out of a corner on a hot day.

zubair

ninja900 wrote: »

But, rain or shine, riding the bike is the highlight of every day and makes wage slavery bearable

On the way home from work last week I was chatting with a biker at a red light and he said the same thing, I had to agree with him, it was the highlight of the day for both of us.

spiggotpaddy

zubair wrote: »

On the way home from work last week I was chatting with a biker at a red light and he said the same thing, I had to agree with him, it was the highlight of the day for both of us.

Did you bally-up or go bare-back?

blu3r0ri0n

Always been in to bikes, since I was a toddler! Saved up money to buy a road bike and insure it when I was sixteen, change in circumstances meant that the cash had to be used for something else that took priority! Haven't been able to afford one till I got married and my mrs. insisted that I get on with it or it wont happen, at 28 I finally got my first bike and haven't looked back since. Don't have a car license, don't really want one but with the kids now I'm going to have to get one to help out the mrs.



Above picture was the moment when I decided that one day I would break my wife’s heart, keep her up all night worrying as well as make my mother age ten years in one day because I bought a motorcycle!

I do remember that day pretty clearly actually, however my mum had the better seat to the whole event. She thinks it was taken around 1985-1986 when I was 3 or 4 years old. She tells me that I was always a very quiet and shy child, I behaved and listened to both her and my dad, never gave them hassle... until that day. :pac:

This is what she told me...

One minute I was holding their hands and the next thing I was jumping on to a carousel that was already in motion, before they could get to me I was on the motorcycle! This is where the trouble started, I would not get off it for all the chocolate or toys in the world and if anyone even looked like they were about to take me off I would scream and kick and bite while tears are rolling down my face, never letting go of the handlebars. I was their first child, they were young parents with no experience and the fact that I had never ever caused any trouble for them made it even harder, they really did not know how to deal with it.

The place was packed and both mum and dad were so embarrassed that they decided to leave me on it. Apparently the picture above was taken about 10 minutes before I fell asleep on the bike and about 2 and a half hours after I got on it! Needless say it was a long time before they brought me near those kind of places.

Frigga_92

27 in 7 days and I still don't know how to drive anything other than a motorbike. I just love bikes, everything about them.

the cats pajamas

like zazcar i can now do clane to city center in the height of traffic in 40 mins instead of 1h40mins.
It makes it a lot shorter day.

But you know when you get home and you finally have a relaxed sigh that says "works done" and finally start to relax?
I have that in the car park before my commute home begins.

nc19

Ive been riding bikes since i was 18(1998). A lad in my first job got me into them. I bought my first bike a Honda NSR 80cc brand new and drove it home having never riden before longer than 20meters! At that age i rode everywhere in any weather for no reason other than to just be out on the bike. Ive had 14 bikes since then of varying styles and sizes and only had 1 serious crash. I will have a bike til i die even if i cant ride.
Bikes are in the blood. Its just a shame our weather is so bad all the time

Pedro K

Put simply, I've always loved bikes. A former work colleague of mine is a biker and knew I was into them. He brought me along to a rally and I lived the whole scene.

I bought my first bike at 21. He came out and taught me how to ride the thing and the rest as they say is history. I will be four years on bikes in October.

We no longer work together, but are great friends and club members.

Edit: little story to tell.

My late father was diagnosed with cancer the day I went out and put the deposit on my first bike. He rode bikes when he was a kid. When I told him about the bike we argued. We argued like hell. Had to be physically separated. My mam cried. We were best friends. Used to go for pints and play guitar in out local every single Wednesday.

We didn't talk for days. Not a word. Didn't even look at each other.

The bike arrived at the house a few days later. My dad came in from work for his lunch and before he left he says his first words to me in about three or four days, 'well, are you gonna give me a shot before I go back to work or what?'

Of course I obliged, he hopped on the bike and took off down the road, and we were friends again.

lostboy75

it took me years to get a bike, always really wanted one, but moved to Dublin (city centre) and only had on street parking, and no commute to speak of, so never got around to getting one, or a car either.
move on 10 years i moved to Athlone, then to Galway, and a car was needed, so that came first, then i followed up a few years later with "the bike"
I am only a weekend spinner on it, to be honest. my commute in the car is about 10 mintues, it would take me longer to get kitted out, unlock the bike, ride it, change back when i got to work etc. so weekend spins for me.

Lost

Taylor365

I'm planning to get a bike for the shorter commute and cheaper Tax and MPG.

Also for the

AgileMyth

Grew up on them. Dad was on bikes since his college days. When my brothers and I came along he stuck a sidecar on his old r90 and we spent our youth in that. Toured the uk in that, when we outgrew it he got a bigger sidecar and we did it all over again.

Got a minimoto when i was about 7, followed by an offroad bike two years later.

50cc moped when i was 16 which was traded for a 125 as soon as I could. Several more swaps til I got my 1150GS last year. An old mans bike at 22, I blame the father for that too!


Must say I'm delighted he got us into them. I'm in south east Asia at the moment and bikes are the only way of getting about. Climbing off road tracks up mountains on mopeds has led me to some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen, I've needed every bit of experience to get up them though!

Vikings

Mainly a financial decision for me, with some input from the "i'd always like to get a bike someday" mindset.

After going through 11 different cars in 6/7 years and never being able to settle or be happy with what I had, I decided two wheels would do it for me and played the money saving card to the at the time wife to be.

I got on to LookBehindYou after many recommendations and never looked back. First bike (XJ600) developed a brake problem and threw me over the handlebars nearly a year in to riding. A week after the wedding thankfully.

Picked up a lovely clean fazer 600 and have been using it daily since. Went from paying €600 tax a year and €60 petrol a week to €90 tax a year and €40 petrol a month! It's a no brainer. Even with maintenance costs and replacing worn gear it works out cheaper than the car.

And way more fun.

Muahahaha

I kinda got forced into bikes in a way. I used to live just three miles out of where I needed to be in the city but every morning on my way to work bus after bus would go by my stop as they were all too full and the driver wouldn't pick anyone up. I'd been late for work a few times because of this so then took to walking. A good few soakings later and I decided to get a moped. It was the best decision I ever made, for the first time in ages I had certainty about making work on time and just that general sense of independence. Ten years on and I've since graduated to a larger bike.

What was funny for me I suppose is a lot of bikers got into it because they were exposed to bikes through brothers, fathers, cousins, etc at a young age. I didn't have any of that and didn't get the moped till I was 25. The bizarre thing I know now that I didn't know back tHen was that my father, who passed away when I was less than a year old, owned and rode bikes when my mother met him and for several years after till he had his first kids. My mother never told me he rode a bike as she "didn't want to encourage me" but there about a year ago she presented me with a photograph of him on his bike. It's almost like he had passed a biker gene onto me and from then on in I was destined to end up on bikes one way or the other

Funnier again is that she told me soon after they first started seeing each other he crashed the bike and spent the next few weeks hiding the damage from his parents till he had enough money to get it fixed. Funnily enough that's exactly what I did after my own first tipple, she still doesn't know about it to this day, like father, like son