Spike! Oh, but the stories you'll have for those grandkids!

Like getting pulled over for exhibition of excelleration and getting out of the car with 2 beers stuffed down your pants and 5 in the glove box, one's spewing out the sides cause only 4 would fit! "No sir I haven't had anything to drink!" Another time I hid one beer in the glove box and the guy I was with started fishing for his insurance papers. Guess where? About that time the cop tells me to get out (my beer was between the door and the seat). Yep, it fell as soon as I opened the door. Kicked it underneath. If either of these guys noticed, they never said a word. Man, I was sweating bullets! You go to jail for that nowadays! Times have changed!

AND Yes, I know that was completely STUPID but kinda makes me laugh looking back.


We used to run from the cops all the time. They didn't like us riding down alleys. Go figure!


Hey Rod, you should post some pics of that '71 sometime!

 

Your drinking days were very simular to mine. One day, I partied and drove around all night. When I woke up at 4:30 AM in my dad's flower garden (still don't know how I got there), I immediately noticed his flower bed was a mess. Over 3/4 of it was destroy. I pulled myself up (stiff 1/2 drunk), wiped off my clothes, then drove to work. I worked 5:00 AM in those days. When I got home after work 8 hours later, my dad was still kicking the living $#^%%$^ out of our dog. He yelled at me - "look what that #$%$ dog did to my flower bed". Our dog took a beating over my stupidity. To this day, my 72 year old dad still doesn't know what I did, and the abuse our family dog had to take over my wildness.

Today, we don't drink anymore. We buy a 6 pack in the spring and usually have 4 left over at the end of the year. Two were gone because we had visitors during the summer. Drinking and driving "our toys" wild is no longer fun. Doing wheelies down main street just isn't cool to me anymore. I guess we all change over time....

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Started riding about 10 on borrowed bikes. Learned to drive at the age of 7 on tractors and farm rigs, first thing I ever drove was a 1944 International Havester with the tricycle front, talk about dangerous!!!

Ended up with broken arms one at 10 from getting thrown from a horse, one at twelve from riding bulls(steers) in pee wee rodeos but never got hurt from quads!!
Went down on a street bike when I was 22 pretty hard, 70 MPH skid on my face taught me the importance of always wearing a helmet!!

Chris

 

The day my son got his 90 and I haven't stopped riding it since...I'm stilll trying to figure out why he keeps chasing me[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

LOL

 

The first bikes I had was one of those mini bikes also. no suspension. hardly any brakes at all. I was only 5 at the time. I use to ride it on the farm. I was lucky to have a huge place to ride. All the boys always came to my house to ride. The second bike I had was a QA 50 by honda. It was brand new.I was the talk of the mountain with that thing it had gears and shocks, and real BRAKES. I was 7 at the time. One of the worst wrecks of my life on that thing. I was flying down a gravel road when this huge Collie dog came running out barking at me. I hit it right in the side I went flying like an eagle landing on my knees and hands. I'm 41 now and still have the gravel in my knees and scares to prove it. At 9 or so Dad got me a Honda xr 80. Brand new tore the heck out of that bike in no time. It wasn't made for the jumps we tried to do. At 11 or so I got a Honda 100 had it for a few years . Then I got a Yamaha mx 175 I believe it was. I was around 13 then. Blew that thing up more times I lost count. Dad said it was time for a new bike. We took a drive to the Yamaha dealer. That 's when I first fell in love. There was the new Yamaha YZ 125. I was 15. I jumped on it and told dad this is the one. The salesman said son this bike has 2 gears wide open and sitting like it was right there. Well with a little sweet talking I was once again the envy of the mountain,because that sucker was in the back of my dads truck. Yes I could talk my dad into anything. Now this bike kick my butt more times then both my mom and dad had in my lifetime in just a few months. But I got to be real good on it. I remember my buddy had the Honda Elsinore cr 125 by Honda. We would rush home after school and jump on our bikes race to each others house. 1 time were were racing towards each other after school like we always do. I was in 4 gear pinned down this old logging road which lead into a sharp turn. Well Robbie was heading the same way towards me also. He was on his cr 125. we hit head on at a very high rate of speed. It about killed us both but we laughed it off. But the bikes didn't. The bikes were a mess. I could go on for hours on how many bikes and quads I have had. Yes I was spoiled. If I wanted it I got It. I have broke a few bones and have had more stiches then grandma's quilt. I suppose that's why my 6 yr old has 2 bikes and 2 quads. He has a Polini race bike a Husqvarna 50 and a Arctic Cat 50 quad and a Suzuki lt-80. And as along as I'm alive he will have the best I can afford for him and he will always race. Because I will never forget my youthful days of growing up with bikes and quads.

_________________________-
"Don't ride faster than your Angel can fly"
"Keep it pinned to win"
__________________________


#838 01- Polini x3 works_Michaels
#838 01 Husqvarna cr 50 jr-Michaels
#838 04 Arctic Cat 50-Michaels Kpii TXL Exhust, Malossi reeds, Malossi cdi,Malossi clutch kit, ProDesign tether, Rebel Gears, Acerbis hand guards, Douglas Alum wheels, Carlisle Snow Hog tires,Modded air box and Twin Air filter, removal of oil injecter, milled head.
03 Suzuki lt-80-Michaels and some other toys of my own

The money I have invested in his bikes and quads seems like a $$$$$$$$$$$$ bucks.
The money I spend on race fees and maintenance on them seems like a $$$$$$$$bucks.
The smile on his little face after he smokes the whole field in a race PRICELESS!

 

That's what this is all about for me! Building memories for me and my kids! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Hey Terd,

I like your "...I'm stilll trying to figure out why he keeps chasing me..." comment. The next time we're out, I think I'll put my AC keys in my pocket, hop on my son's quad and zip down the road. Watching him chase me sounds really cool!!! Payback for the amount of times I had to chase (and yell) at him when he took off on me - while he was learning to ride his peddle bike. Yes, your implied "pay back" idea sounds really cool.... I knew I'd find a way to pay him back some day!!!! Just kidding.

Hope this helps others too....

.

 

Well, being the old dog on this porch... I have to admit that I was a kid before the mini bike craze..so I was already grown when the ATV's started out. I had a go cart when I was 11, a quarter midget at 12... and my first mini bike when I was 14. I had a HODAKA Ace 100 on a minimal suspension minibike frame. A real ball buster... talk about way over powered... I got my first motorcycle at 15... a Honda SL100, which I rode year round... in Northern Illinois it gets real cold and snow and ice are everywhere in the winter. I still rode it until crashing on Ice one morning and decided I needed a car. I still rode the thing until I went hog *** wild and bought my first Maico... a gorilla 501... now that was a serious dirt bike.... Soon after I got my hands on the first Honda 250 Elsinore in the Midwest... it seems some guy with a lot of money to burn bought it, along with a 125 for his wife... the first time they go riding, the wife crashes, he runs her over... and she tells him to sell them both... so I was standing at the Honda dealer lestening to the guy tell me it would be months before I could get mine, when the dude walks in and wants to strade them both for a street bike. The dealer would only give him $750 for it... Remember now it was only a day old. I told the guy I'd give him $800, and I left with a new bike that had about 30 minutes of run time on the motor tops... Saved $400 bucks and a long wait.
Somewhere in there I bought my own snowmobile when I was 12. Bought it with my lawn mowing money for $1200 cash. The dealer thought I had stolen the cash somewhere and made my dad come down and Ok the deal.
I missed out on the Ruppsters, and the Pilots.. and the initial 3 wheelers, and not until my older son was 16 did I purchase my first ATV... a Yamaha Warrior that I still ride today one in a while, although that is usually the machine I give friends to ride when they don't have a machine of their own. I have a Blaster, and raptor 660, as well as a new Rubicon that I just adore, and the 8 year old has a raptor 80. I have my eyes on a new Rhino... and just as soon as I have the Rubicon all paid for and a garage built, I plan to get one.
To answer your question about injuries... Well, let's see... a lot of scapes and bruises along the way, and I had my jaw wired shut for almost a year after breaking it by taking out a hundred feet of snow fence with my face. I also have a distinct limp and live with pain daily from trying to load a dirt bike into the back of a pickup by myself. I was pushing it up and when I went to step up into teh bed, the knee/ACL exploded. After a year in rehab and having major ACL re-construction done, I can say with authority... Take care of your knees. I advise anyone that rides a dirt bike to consider purchasing knee braces. Not the cheap kind you get at the local Pharmacy, but the custome fit sports types with knee cap protection. Your knees will thank you for it once you reach that magic age of 40. When you are over 50, you will need to go to plastic joints if you abuse them when you are young. Not to mention the costs and down time involved...
In some ways I envy you young guys now, as the machines of today represent some pretty neat technological advancements... We would have killed for 7 inches of travel in suspension...nowdays the MXr has 14 or more... BUt in other ways, I am glad I lived though it all, because like everyone says, those were the good old days my friends... I wouldn't have missed them for the world...My only regret is that my dad didn't have time to enjoy the simple things like a ride in the woods with me when I was young. I made a promise to myself that I would not repeat the same mistake with my three kids...and all ride when they get the chance... I mean how else could you beat a family outing like that?

 

Dude, I agree with you on the 340 TNT being the kick *** machine of it's time... I had one myself.. bought it cash at 12 years old in 67. It snowed the next day like it was a miracle...after a winter of no snow in Northern Illinois.... How weird is that? I was sponsored by Carey's honda/Yamaha/Ski-doo for a while and raced on the flat tracks in Wisconsin... I quit racing when I was about two feet from where a guy was standing when a machine got loose from the rider and it decapitated the guy along with 6 others in the grand stands... didn't have the stomach for it any longer. Had a friend on an Arctic cat nearly rip his head off with barbed wire hidden in the snow. I got a lot of hop up parts from the factory and used to blow the locals away in the cornfield gran prix that would happen all night bar hopping... With work and high school, I didn't sleep from the first snow fall until spring thaw ruined our fun... Ah yes those were the days......It would kill me now...

 

I read the above posts several times and noticed a lot of broken bones and a head decapitated description. In my old days, I was an extreme wild rider. We used to do some things that sent many kids running home to their parents. Running home NOT because they tried and failed, but because the gang I rode in (actually lead for 4 years) thought we were all nuts. Crazy to the point they didn't want to hang around with us. During my rumble days of over 10 years, no one in our gang of 12 got seriously hurt on their bikes. A few bumps and bangs but none had broken bones, stitches from our bikes or other major long term scares. Of the core folks who were in my gang, 3 of them drank their brains out (their heads are still mush today), 3 committed suicide, 5 still float from job to job (and still can't find themselves), one is in jail for killing 6 kids and raping a women. I was the only one who finished high school, went onto college and "found balance" in my life. For us, bikes were NEVER a "health & safety" problem in life. It was the drinking, drugs, wild behaviors and being chased by cops that was the problem later on in life. And some people think that minis are more dangerious then "other" things in life. Something that came to mind when I was reading the previous postings...

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