What’s your story?

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dan filipi

Well-known member
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Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
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Location
Van Nuys Ca.
My Bike Models
1983 Interstate
2018 KLR 650
2018 BMW S1000 RR
My Bike Logs forum link
https://classicgoldwings.com/forums/dan-filipi.122/
Tell us a story!

Tell us your motorcycle story(s). I have a few.

Try to keep each one a short story.
I’ll start with this one.

We grew up with motorcycles around us. They were always someone else’s discard, but we had fun.
The very first one was a mini bike. You know the type, Briggs and Stratton engine with a centrifugal clutch...... clank..clank..clank. We rode the wheels off that thing around the Valley streets, until one day the clutch just wouldn’t pull anymore no matter how we “rigged” it. No money for a new one so it was then OUR discard.
 
Hello everyone,
Just would like to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Most do not know that I have suffered a great from the hurricane that came through Florida. I lost my place and had to move due to water, structure and mold damage. So now I'm in a new place Just bought my first home and now have a two car garage where my bikes have a place closer to the tool box. So to all I've missed hello.. I'm going to pickup where I left off on rebuilding my 78 I did get the case back together but still need to do the valves seats and get that all finished. But for now I will continue to get it going. I will get up on my reading all the posts that were posted I've missed a lot with working so many longs days. That I havent had time to read or post anything. So I hope you all have a great rest of your Sunday.
 
[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=199393#p199393:2ns5frm1 said:
dan filipi » Sun Jan 14, 2018 9:29 am[/url]":2ns5frm1]
Tell us a story!

Tell us your motorcycle story(s). I have a few.

Try to keep each one a short story.
I’ll start with this one.

We grew up with motorcycles around us. They were always someone else’s discard, but we had fun.
The very first one was a mini bike. You know the type, Briggs and Stratton engine with a centrifugal clutch...... clank..clank..clank. We rode the wheels off that thing around the Valley streets, until one day the clutch just wouldn’t pull anymore no matter how we “rigged” it. No money for a new one so it was then OUR discard.
my story is real short, I ask my dad for a Honda miinitrail and he got it for me. we ended up at Anderson Honda where he made the purchase
 
Mine first was a cushman motor stuff into a 50era Harley frame I’m sure was made in Europe ..the trashed motor I think was a 125cc two strike ...the frame also had a springer front end on it that was stock on the bike ...I put the cushman motor in it and actually rope it in ...an also wedged it in pieces of wood...it had a centificle clutch and one gear ...it’s really amazing how long it stayed together before I’d have to redo everything ...I’m thinking it would do about 30mph ..not really sure no way to tell ...it had a front brake ..I wreck it many times ...sometimes the motor would come completely out of it lol....glad to see your post craftsman been awhile
 
No history of motorcycling in my family. I wanted a car when I turned 18 but couldn't afford the insurance. Found out that insurance on a motorcycle was CHEAP. There was a Kawasaki dealer about 1/2 mile from the DMV. I bought a NOS '76 KZ400 on my 18th birthday in July '77. Mom dropped me off at DMV, got my learner's permit, walked up to the dealership, and learned to ride on my way home. My parents should be brought up on charges, I would never allow my kids to do that! That was my sole transport for 1 1/2 years. I got caught at a friend's house late one Saturday winter evening and had to ride across town thru 3" of snow. I left 3 tracks; the wheel in the middle and my feet skiing on both sides. :doh:
 
My story starts around 1976 or so. I was a very clumsy child so dad talked mom into getting me a motorcycle to help teach me balance. My 1st bike was a early 70s Yamaha 60 mini enduro, it was an awesome little bike, and dad then "had to" get himself a bike to ride, after all "the boy can't ride alone."

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
 
My story started in 1980 when I passed my test on my first Honda C70 step through. Bought from a scout leader for 70.00.
My father rode a vespa 200 gs in the 1950's. My aunt rode a Honda Super Dream 400 which I rode pillion on in the mid 1970's.
Had my first crash on the C70 when I was watching some girl and rode straight into the back of a car. My dad called it a coo or crash.
It could only get better.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 
Since we're starting early and keeping it brief, I'll just mention my first bike briefly. It served double duty.. I got it when I was 15 and rode lots of the back dirt roads of rural Catawba County North Carolina. Although I got a car when I turned 16, I still had the bike and registered it just for fun. It didn't take long for me to lust for more "cycle power" for the street. But, that's another story.

...so, what was the bike? Hodaka B+ Don't have a photo, but here's what they all looked like:
Hodaka B+.jpg
 
I 'didn't ride' about 9 yrs old. Qne of the neighbors got a Briggs & Stratton mini-bike and of course that led to the first time, kids always played with other kids back then!
 
I used to do Home Healthcare on my Yamaha XS850. One day I come out of the building where the Office was and found my bike standing vertically upside down with the rear wheel 6 feet in the air propped against the light pole in front of the spot I had parked in(one of many I used often). :headscratch: It only happened the one time.

~O~
 
[url=https://forum.classicgoldwings.com/viewtopic.php?p=199415#p199415:271h960r said:
Omega Man » Sun Jan 14, 2018 5:52 pm[/url]":271h960r]
I used to do Home Healthcare on my Yamaha XS850. One day I come out of the building where the Office was and found my bike standing vertically upside down with the rear wheel 6 feet in the air propped against the light pole in front of the spot I had parked in(one of many I used often). :headscratch: It only happened the one time.

~O~

Sheesh. I gotta throw a BS flag on that play!
 
I always wanted a minibike, my dad forbid me to have any motorcycle while I lived in his house. Then why would he sign me up for motorcycle driver ed when I was a senior in high school!? First bike was following summer. When I worked on the summer maint crew and didn't come home between semesters at school 30 years later I got my second bike...I 've been makin up for lost time as fast as I can!
 
Great stories so far!

I’ll back up a bit in my timeline.

My moms parents had a Harley. They used to ride quite often according to Mom.
Grandparents and Mom have long since passed, in fact the first I’d ever seen grandparents Harley was when Mom died in Minnesota and all the kids went back there for the funeral. It was then that I learned my uncles had Harley’s also, and I learned that my aunts and uncles are pretty good people despite what Dad used to say about them.
Sort of makes sense now my interest in motorcycles.
 
Story number 2, my dad and I used to ride in the woods near some power lines. One day while riding, my dad decides to go up one particular rutty trail (4 wheel drives also used this area) and he's riding the hump between two deep ruts. He starts to slip off the top and puts his foot down to keep his balance. A seedling tree slips up his pant leg and causes him to fall off his bike. I, meanwhile, had started up the trail behind him at a small distance and when he fell down I was too close to stop. I had a decision to make in an instance, do I run over dad's bike, or his leg??? I chose to run over his leg, when I stopped he asked me why I ran over his leg....my answer? "You'll heal, we'd have to fix the bike." He laughed, he couldn't deny my logic...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
 
Weir's Beach, Laconia, New Hampshire, circa Summer of 1979 (it was not Gypsy Tour/Bike Week):

In the wee hours of the morning (well after midnight), a group of us had ridden our motorcycles out onto the pier and were, well, partying. As luck would have it, Laconia's finest showed up. As they were approaching, "a thing" was pitched into the water. They were pretty cool and just asked us to disperse. I was riding my '77 CB750K at the time. The pier dropped off about 5 or 6 inches onto sand at the end. As I was motoring off, I thought I'd be cool and goose the gas. Maybe I thought I was going to wheely off the end of the pier or something. Well, one of the cops was standing there and as I launched off the end and hit the sand, I lost control and was headed directly for him. I ended up dumping the bike in the sand as he leaped quickly back out of the way. If that wasn't bad enough, I got the bike back up and it was VERY stubborn to get started back up. I fully expected to be cuffed and stuffed, but they really were cool. I finally got the bike going and we all hightailed it out of there.

...oh yeah, the next day, we did some diving off the end of the pier to retrieve the "thing" that was pitched.
 
I was 12 and got a summer job at a "Dude Ranch" We had to bring in 50 head of horses each day from the pasture to the feeding corral, The owners son had a Yamaha 250 Enduro we used to herd, I begged my Mom, She gave in and my first bike was a late '60's Suzuki TS 100, I took the headlight, turn signals off, left the speedo and tach on though, I had that bike until I was nineteen and sold it to my cousin for what we paid for it and was still running

(not the bike but similar year and model)
 

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I have a lot of stories. This one is from my time in Florida. I was riding my brand new '85 Kawi ZL900 Eliminator from my cottage in Ocklawaha to Ocala to meet a friend. I was late. I got behind a late model Ford sedan with NC plates. We both got behind an even slower car. Just as I went out to pass, so did he. But, the back end of that Ford squatted and he TOOK OFF. I rolled on the throttle and struggled to pass him. I looked in my rear view and he wasrightonmytail. I hammered the throttle and looked again. He wasn't very far back, but this time the cherries and berries (red/blue lights) in the grill were blazing. Schidt.

Pulled over and he comes up and says, "Son, if I was a traffic unit, you'd be getting a few citations." I mentioned that he was doing pretty good himself. He actually smiled. Turned out he was a DEA agent and the Ford had a 460 that was pretty "special". His word. No joke, that thing was special.

He let me fly.
 
Right here in Arizona a few years ago.

Riding my VMax, I rolled up to a stoplight in Scottsdale next to a bright red Ferrari convertible. Middle-aged fellow with a trophy blonde and she was giving him living hell. I felt bad for the guy. He was checking out the bike and I his car while we waited for green. Finally, he says, "Wanna trade?" I say, "Does she come with it?" He says, "Yes!" The light went green, I say, "No thanks" and blasted off on the Max.
 
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