1, First bike at 13 was a Mobylette 49cc, bought as a non-runner from a mate at school, took all the red hermatite out of the carb and lapped the head to the barrel again and it started first time, rode it on disused land for 3yrs. I thought I was Barry Sheene.
2, Next was my first road bike at 16, a Purple FS1E, bought as a tatty wreck, fixed it up over the months before my burp day, and wrote it off in a smidsy after 1 month only.
3, Next was another Ped, this time a Candy Gold FS1E SS, fast as fook and made me the riding God of the Local Ped boys.
4, Traded the Yam for a red Suzuki TS185, and went everywhere on it, learnt to wheelie and fell off a few times off road, loved that bike.
5, Eventually sold the TS and had a break for a couple of years, but being flush after working offshore I bought a blue GS750 Suzuki, another Hogwarts MoT case, as I replaced spoked wheels, swing arm bearings and cct, but kept it for years, first bike I ever broke the ton on.
6, After selling the GS to buy my first house money was tight, so didn't get another bike until I was divorced 5yrs later, but bought a white/red Jelly mould CBR1000F, another bike that was insanely fast to me at the time, and popped my 150 cherry at 10pm on the M25 on the way home from from a bloody cold Bike show at the NEC in the early 90's.
7, Flogged the Honda and bought a red T595, brilliant bike at the time, did my first Trackday on that bike over 10yrs ago and it was the bike that got #1 Son hooked on bikes as a pillion, that bike also got me busted for speeding in 3 figures, and was the reason I joined my first bike forum (T595.net as was).
8, I bought a black CG125 in boxes (my first Ebay purchase), with the idea of fixing it up for #1 Sons 17th birthday, that didn't happen of course and it stayed half built for 8yrs in the corner of the garage, I believe it was sheltered housing for distressed spiders. I eventually sold it to a 675.cc member that wanted to practice spannering. His own bike blew up a month later...
9, I traded the T595 in for a Graphite Daytona 675 (on a waiting list anyway) as soon as I sat on it at the NEC, loved everything about it immediately, still in love with them now. Took it to the track and it took to it like a duck to water, however a fastish crash meant road use only after it was fixed. I sold that bike last year, and the lad that bought it had it for a few months and introduced it to a Derbyshire dry stone wall at speed, he's nearly finished fixing it I understand.
10, I was looking for a winter hack, and saw a Tiger 900, put a silly bid on it and won it, it's seen nearly every winter through, has been the fall back bike if either my 675 was unavailable or Sons bike was broken, I've still got although it caused me a headache earlier this year when it got the hump and wouldn't start when needed - fixed now.
11, After enjoying a couple of trackdays on the 675, I crashed it. That meant a proper track bike, so I ended up with an ex-Bemsee Gixer6 K2, I learnt how to ride on track properly (well as good as I get anyway) on that bike, it wasn't pretty, but it was fast, and remains to this day the only bike I have ever sold for more than I paid for it.
12, Having had a 675 on track, nothing else would do, so when the chance of a written off nearly new 08 came along I took it immediately, I rebuilt it as a track bike, and have been using it since late 2009 and enjoying every second of it - apart from the odd crash of course, I've still got it and hope to be back on it as soon as I'm fit to be on track again.
