Your Rider Resume

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Thanks for posting guys! keep them coming

[Hollywood416]

I have been riding on and off since I was 21(now 28). First learned to ride on a '91 Softtail Custom, then 600 Ninja a few years later put quite a few miles on GSXR 750 after that. Now on the FZ, all together a little shy of 10k miles. Also spend 2 years racing,building MX and GNCC quads and bikes.

[xj750_Pete]

I don't have much riding experience, but I will share with what what little I have.

I completed the MSF course in Spring of 2006. In July of that same year, I picked up my uncle's 1982 Yamaha XJ750 Maxim. It wasn't working when I recieved it so I brought it to a mechanic and paid him $200 to get it running. Turns out I could have done the same thing with a $6 can of carb cleaner and an old tooth brush. From the mechanic's garage I started it up and made my way to my first left turn in traffic on a motorcycle. The light tuns green and traffic is clear, I gas it, clutch out and stall. I started it up again and I see traffic coming, so in a panic I over-rev the bike and release the clutch in a not so smooth fashion, the Maxim stumbles away and picks up speed very quickly, I then go wide and skin the curb. I learned quickly that it is true of what they say in the MSF class; "Look at where you want to go and you will go there." Well I saw the curb and the old lady sitting at the bus stop bench approaching me very rapidly. Sure enough thats where I went. I will never forget the look on that lady's face. Miss, if you just so happen to be reading this, I am trully very sorry. After the incident, I went home and parked the motorcycle. I stared it down for awhile and wondered if I had made a very big mistake bringing this thing home.

In May of 2008 after almost 4,000 miles of commuting to school and goofing off in the mountains, I sold old Maxie to another beginning rider. I learned so much on that motorcycle and met some really cool people; I will never forget it. When the new owner pushed Maxie in his garage and closed it, the door seemed to close very very slowly and right before the garage door closed, out of nowhere the sun hit the chrome rear fender and a gleam of light blinded me for a second... At that moment I thought, "Yes Maxie, I will miss you too."

Saturday, May 31, 2008, after weeks of research I've decided to purchase a 2007 Red FZ6. I pulled out of the dealership and into my first left hand turn in traffic with a new motorcycle. Left arrow green, I rev it, clutch out and stall. Hmmm, I've seen this episode before... I restart, rev it even more, clutch out and the FZ6 stumbles away and picks up speed really quickly. Somewhere in the back of my mind I heard "Look where you want to go stupid." The FZ6 then leaned over very sharply and made it through the turn without hitting any curbs or scaring any old ladies. I brought it home, parked it and stared it down. My hands were hurting hurting and my back was killing me. I wondered if I had made the right decision.

Present time, and about 1,000 miles later, I am blasting down the freeway and I look down at the digital speedometer and see 120 MPH. I cannot help but grin as I look back and remembered blasting down that same freeway on the Maxim and looking down to see the mechanical speedometer pinned at 85. At that moment I knew I've made the right decision.

[bmccrary]

So it has taken long enough but here it is.

I received my first dirt bike on my 5th birthday. It was an 89’ Z-50. I started with some training wheels and following my father on his XR600. I learned to ride in my yard and then later began going to a few of the local riding parks and before too long I was running around without the training wheels. I went to Brown Mtn. a time or two with it and managed to drop it off in a hole in a creek just outside of camp. I flooded the motor and cried a lot. I was 7 at the time.

My next bike I think I received when I was 8 or so and it was PW 80. I had it for a little while but I gain a lot from this bike. It was my first two-stroke and it wasn’t too long after I got that I was jumping off the railroad ties that are used as landscaping in my back yard. Once again I took this bike to a few of the local riding parks as well but later sold it and got an 89’ CR 80.
I received this bike when my father and I started racing Hare Scrambles when I was 9 years old I believe. The bike was a handful and was a large jump from the Pw 80 and after about 8 months on the bike we sold it and got a hold of a nice XR100. That bike was the ticket. It was exactly what I needed to start racing and it got me to be much more aggressive and smoother as well.

I held on to this bike for a season at which point I needed to upgrade since I was continuing to bottom it out every time I did a small jump and I had out grown it as well.

Starting the Kawasaki Run:
I later got a hold of a KX 80 going into my last year of Jr. Mini. At this point I was ready for that 80cc two stroke. I spent all day with that bike cleaning it and going over it and made it my own. I ended up placing 3rd overall that year in points in Jr. Mini and due to my age I moved up to Sr. Mini the following year.

I can’t remember how many seasons of Sr. Mini I ran, I want to say 2 years. Then I moved up to a KX 125 and ran Light C for a year. (I had out grown the Mini’s. I was 5’ 10” at age 14.) I can’t remember how long I ran the 125, but I do remember that I rebuilt it twice. The first time my father and I did and the next weekend the C-clip that holds the wrist pin bearing in failed and broke off in the motor. It did some damage to the motor to say the least. At the time my father was working at Piedmont Honda-Kawasaki in Salisbury, NC and the mechanics went through that motor, top to bottom and built one heck of a 125! That motor was amazing! Like I said earlier, I cannot remember how long I ran that 125 but one summer my father came home with a 2001 KX 250. I was a bit unsure about it. I felt that it was going to be way too much bike for me. But after a weekends ride I came home and sold the 125. I still have the KX 250 now.

I raced a handful of races with the 250 but didn’t do too much with it because I was getting very involved with extra-curricular activities at school and such.

The bike was pulled apart the summer of 05’ after an afternoon ride one Saturday. The bike is still apart now. However it has new springs in the forks and has been re valved and the same was done to the rear as well. I have put all new bearings in all the suspension linkage as well as new wheel bearings. The frame has been repainted and the motor is awaiting a new top end with a high compression gasket kit. (Which I have had the parts for a while now.) I have new silver Excel wheels and spokes to lace up as well.
I raced for 6 years I believe it was and the last 3 years of that my mother and father were members of the association that ran the series. (NCHSA- North Carolina Hare Scrambles Association) Every Monday after a race I was not only cleaned up my bike and went through it but cleaned and re organized everything in the association trailer which included multiple EZ-ups and an ATV. My father was the VP and my mother was the secretary.

The last year I raced, my neighbor and I ran an endurance race. “The Iron Man.” It was held at Twin Tree’s and Cory and I had pulled out a 7 minute lead! Within the last couple I was on the back side of the property and the rubber guard the lines the swing arm came loose and the chain picked it up and ran it up between the counter shaft sprocket and the chain. I could not do anything with-out tools. So I started walking. Not too much later I ran into some guy, who I still do not know, but he knew me through the racing series and he loaned me his pit bike to ride out of the woods on. Long story short Cory and I lost the lead and barely missed wining on the last lap by a few seconds…

My father and I continued to do a lot of trail riding and really enjoyed that over the racing because it was a better father and son time. We traveled down to South Carolina on a regular basis to TNT Motorsports Park to ride the trails there and went down to Sumter, SC to ride a sand track down there once. We also visited the mountains a good bit to ride Brown Mtn. We had a nice loop set up there and found some of the old Enduro tracks and would get out there for a few hours while we were there. In addition to our usual riding areas we managed to get up to West Virginia three times to ride the Hatfield McCoy trail system. We went to Bear Wallow twice and Rock House once. Those places are by far the best off road riding I have ever done. Ah, the stories from those places!

I have been very involved in the Power sports industry for the past few years. My father started working at a bike shop part time when we started racing when I was 9. After about a year there he started full time as the parts manager at the shop. “Piedmont Honda and Kawasaki of Salisbury” He was there for several years and it had become my hang out on Saturdays and days off school. I messed around with the mechanics, helping out where I could. After the shop was bought out by Extreme he left there and went to a shop down in Albemarle, NC. That last for a year or so and then Dad needed to find somewhere else. The problem was that we had all fallen in love with Piedmont, it was the perfect shop. Everyone rode and loved the sport, and would do anything to spread that to other people. However this new shops are not like that. He then went to Adventure Power sports in Asheboro however a year after starting there, the shop sold and some new owners to which we now call Dumb and Dumber came in. After being in three locations in three years my father had enough. He is now at Forsyth Motorsports in Winston Salem, NC which so far seems to be a great deal.

A couple years ago I was lucky enough to be able to go with my father to Indianapolis for the Parts Unlimited Dealer Show. My eyes were opened at that point to a completely different side of the sport. That and I finally realized how many people my father knows and highly they speak of him. I cannot tell you how many times I was wandering around (while dad was talking to people) and when salesmen saw my tag and saw the shop name asked about my father, it was insane.

The street side of riding came in around my senior year of High School when my parents purchased a Kawasaki Nomad and began to go on some long rides. It was their way of dealing with me going off to college. (I was an only child)

I rode the Nomad from time to time. I took a couple Sunday rides on it with my girlfriend on the back as well. I have probably put a couple thousand miles on that bike myself, which is a drop in the bucket compared to what my parents put on it.

Last August I borrowed a bike from one of my father’s friends, a VTX 1300. My girlfriend rode on the back with me and my parents and I went up to deals gap for the weekend. We did the Cherahala Skyway and did a few other back roads as well while we were there. It was 800 mile trip and my girlfriend loved just about every minute of it. The gap was her favorite, she likes doing the twisties!

In October my parents felt that I needed some sort of stress reliever in my life and since I haven’t been able to do much riding they felt that a street bike would be perfect. I had ridden an FZ6 that the shop took on trade a little while back and it was still sitting at the shop when they decided to purchase it for me. I have put ~5500 miles on it since October and my grades have gone up since I got it.

I have been riding for 16 years now and bikes are all that I know. I do not play any sports, I just ride!

Since I could hold a wrench I have turning them on my own bikes. I admire those that have fallen and live to tell the story and ride again. I enjoy every mile that I have put on two wheels and I look forward to the thousands of miles I plan on putting on my bike/s in the future!


-bryan

[milo]

Bryan,
thanks for sharing your resumé. really you shared your life with us. to come up in the industry, wrench in hand; to have your dad(and mom) as a role model not only respected by you, but the community as a whole must be very enriching.

Cherohala. one of my fave places to ride, btw.

milo

[lilleman]

Here we go...

Got my permit at the age of 21 and have been riding since then. Although into motorbikes I got heavily involved in the 2-stroke scene i.e. old Lambretta and Vespa scooters.

Haven't had so many bikes as I tend to hold on to them for quite a while.
Vespa, 3 lambrettas, Honda ntv 650 and now my beloved FZ6. I ride as often as I can, no matter what weather, in the summer (to us in Sweden summer is +15 degrees) and winter. So I end up driving about 10000 kms/year. Had my share of crashes, but I see myself as an ok driver with a knowledge of my limits...

Started my career as a hobby mechanic wich evoled to a professional career. Right now I'm a workshop manager in a scooter and motorbike shop. We are certified dealers/workshop of Piaggio, Aprilia, Derbi and Kymco.

So what some do as a hobby I do for a living which can sometimes be a bastard, but got to say I love it most of the time.

-daniel

[Nooj]

I've been riding since I was 29, so a late starter really.

I've had one crash shortly after passing my test and broke my back (burst T-12), managed not to get round a corner somehow and ended up panic braking and leaving the road. I have been knocked off twice, once by a car on a roundabout and once by my mate riding into the side of me at a junction (the tit).

No points on my license (yet), not because I'm slow, but because I'm careful about what I do where and I keep my eyes open. Careful observation and forward planning are your friends!

I've had a few years where my bike has been my only transport and have ridden in all weathers, though I tend to take the car if it's ****ty weather now. I've probably done around 80,000-90,000 miles on the four bikes I've owned over the seven years I've been riding.

I've only done three trackdays so I am still a track novice. I've done quite a bit of advanced road training but not bothered with the test, I don't need a bit of paper to know I can ride safely, I just get on with it. I've also done a bit of drag racing, but only for 'run wot ya brung' fun, nothing serious.

I've followed and lead a number of rideouts with any number of other riders, from two friends to a group of about twenty. I've also been a marshal for the KillSpills rallies in the UK, helping twenty or so other marshalls and the Metropolitan Police guide over a thousand bikers into the centre of London and back out again.

I've been on two big rides across Europe with the Missus, once to the Algarve in Portugal and back and once to Italy for the San Marino MotoGP and back over the Alps in the snow. I've also been on a few smaller rides over to France with friends. I've ridden in seven different countries all together, so much easier with the Euro now being widely adopted across Europe, but the language barriers still makes for an interesting trip.

I'm OK with a set of spanners and do most of my own servicing and maintainance, but I'm happy to defur the bigger jobs like taking engines out to someone with more experience and time just to get it done and out of the way. It'd take me a week's worth of head scratching to get it out and the smae to get it back in and I'd get covered in filth, so I'd rather pay someone else to do it.

I know a fair bit about working on the old shape FZ6-S, but there's still a lot I don't know (which is why I'm on here). I've yet to even ride the S2, but it's on the to-do list.

[Nelly]

Originally Posted by Nooj

I've been riding since I was 29, so a late starter really.

I've had one crash shortly after passing my test and broke my back (burst T-12), managed not to get round a corner somehow and ended up panic braking and leaving the road. I have been knocked off twice, once by a car on a roundabout and once by my mate riding into the side of me at a junction (the tit).

No points on my license (yet), not because I'm slow, but because I'm careful about what I do where and I keep my eyes open. Careful observation and forward planning are your friends!

I've had a few years where my bike has been my only transport and have ridden in all weathers, though I tend to take the car if it's ****ty weather now. I've probably done around 80,000-90,000 miles on the four bikes I've owned over the seven years I've been riding.

I've only done three trackdays so I am still a track novice. I've done quite a bit of advanced road training but not bothered with the test, I don't need a bit of paper to know I can ride safely, I just get on with it. I've also done a bit of drag racing, but only for 'run wot ya brung' fun, nothing serious.

I've followed and lead a number of rideouts with any number of other riders, from two friends to a group of about twenty. I've also been a marshal for the KillSpills rallies in the UK, helping twenty or so other marshalls and the Metropolitan Police guide over a thousand bikers into the centre of London and back out again.

I've been on two big rides across Europe with the Missus, once to the Algarve in Portugal and back and once to Italy for the San Marino MotoGP and back over the Alps in the snow. I've also been on a few smaller rides over to France with friends. I've ridden in seven different countries all together, so much easier with the Euro now being widely adopted across Europe, but the language barriers still makes for an interesting trip.

I'm OK with a set of spanners and do most of my own servicing and maintainance, but I'm happy to defur the bigger jobs like taking engines out to someone with more experience and time just to get it done and out of the way. It'd take me a week's worth of head scratching to get it out and the smae to get it back in and I'd get covered in filth, so I'd rather pay someone else to do it.

I know a fair bit about working on the old shape FZ6-S, but there's still a lot I don't know (which is why I'm on here). I've yet to even ride the S2, but it's on the to-do list.

Thanks Nooj,

I may be buying you a few pints when my 8000 mile service comes up lol.

Nelly

[Lt_Red]

Hi I'm Red I'm 34.

I passed my DAS last May on the first attempt. I have ridden 2 bikes before this when I was 16. I cashed both. quickly.

Since I passed I have racked up about 14k miles, 3 on a knackered old bandit I bought off ebay that was leaking oil like a b@stard and eventually went BANG in a big way when the cam chain somethingorother broke.

I need a bike for work so I forked out for a stonking new FZ6. Turns out to be a great choice. I have hit 11k on her now since july last year (so thats a year then). Ive been riding though all weather all year, been really hot, really cold and everything in between and the fazer has not even blinked.

I have had 1.5 off's, but only minor. The first (.5) I was chatting to a new Hornet owner in a bike bay in richmond, happily kitted up and said "ride safe", then tried to ride off with the disc lock on. DOH. Did I feel a tit. Bike went over no damage, but oh so nearly koncked the entire bike bay over like dominoes. Gulp.

The second was in pissing rain on the A40, hit deisel and went down the road on me side. Thank god for frame slides and leathers. Bike was OK, dented pride.

I have done 2 Bikesafes, one with the MET and one with Surrey Police.

I'm captain slow, I dont rush I always ensure I have enough time so I dont need to. I'm good at observation and its saved me at least 4 times in central london from "ipod hero" pedestrians and loonatic drivers who cant see.

I ride around for living so my fazer is both my workhorse and my lover I rarely take her out at the weekends coz I ride for work, have no biker friends to ride with and I drink too much like englishmen tend to over the weekends But occasionally i do head down to brighton for a stick of rock or bognor regis for fish and chips cos the roads in west sussex are mindblowing.

I'm Ok witha spanner and some research but would not attempt anything to big (although I stuck on AM pipes and a cat eliminator today, and wired up a satnav so I cant be that bad).

Red

[amy]

I am 37, have been riding for a little over 3 years, average about 15000 miles per year. I have taken the motorcycle safety course, before I started to ride, and highly recommend it. I haven't posted a lot on this site yet, but I have read a lot of what the other riders have to say, and there is some wonderful information to be found in this forum.

Most important thing is, ride safe!