self taught on Yamahas, hondas, NYPD MOTORCYCLE SCHOOL in 95, now a HD rider is MSF as a refresher

 

For me it all started out on a Honda 50cc at the ripe old age of 8. We had some hills in back of the house and I guess my addiction just escalated from there, First Street bike was in high school, It was a metric I have to admit but at the time it was all I could afford.

 

I started out with mini bikes, learning high speed cornering during cop chases through alleys. I later migrated to dirt bikes and a couple years later I moved to street bikes.

 

It's a special order item from the SE catalog. She's the quick-detachable solo rider backrest, with the heated option.

 

The hard way 40+ years ago

 

1964 on a Honda 50. Then a 305 Scrambler followed by a BSA 441 victor followed by a Triumph Bonneville. Then marriage, kids, college now back in the saddle.

 

I took the MSF Basic course then got my license. Got a bike about a year after that. Took the advanced MSF course about a year after that. Got my Harley about a year after that.

 

Amen to that.

 

Self taught - years and years of Dirtbikes as a kid, trail riding and motocross and lot's of seat time in BMX. First bikes that were "street legal" were enduros in the teenage years. Practiced a lot and leveraged all the years of dirtbike riding to survive riding in NYC and the NY Metro area during that time as well.

From there, when I finally wanted a pure street bike, went with a sportster first with mid controls and highway pegs, never liked forward controls, did the same setup for the FXR, and finally went to flooboards and the 'ole tractor break pedal on the Glide.

Just like anyone that is self taught, I'm sure I have some bad habits, but all in all, dirtbike riding , wheelies, jumps, track time, hitting berms, miles and miles of trail time and years of riding in heavy NY/ NJ traffic have been a good training ground.

 

My Grandmother gave me a Velo Solex motorized bicycle for Christmas in 1957 when I was 7 and after many wrecks I got the hang of it. Been riding ever since