At age 12, the first "bike" I bought was a Rupp mini-bike with a 5-hp Techumseh motor. The whole thing was in a box, it was literally a basket case. I got it for $13. That'll teach my parents to give me an allowance.
I got it all put together, and it just... wouldn't.... run. I got my enginerd Dad involved (I'd done the whole rebuild by myself up to that point) and he taught me about the Otto Cycle -- intake, compression, ignition, exhaust. More memorably, suck, squeeze, bang, blow. Long story short, the jackass that sold it to me had mixed up a "counter-clockwise" running cam with the "clockwise" motor, so it was opening the intake when it should have been opening the exhaust, and vice-versa. $36 in parts later, I was terrorizing the 'hood.
Next bike was a real turd: an Arctic Cat mini-bike. 2-smoke motor, automatic trans, about as fast a motorized handicap scooter.
My first "full size" bike was a '73 Yamaha DT 125 2-stroke dual-purpose bike. Another turd, heavy like a battleship, reliable like an unreliable thing. The wiring harness regularly caught fire.
'75 Honda XL 125 - this is the bike that initiated my love of thumpers. I tried to convert it back into a street bike, but don't remember why I didn't ride it as such, probably too slow for the street. This was my last dirt bike for a while.
First street bike, '73 Honda CB750. Too DAMN fast for a first bike, so I put a Kerker pipe, jet kit & individual filters on it, and did the suspension. Whoohoo, sweet red Marzochi shocks! Rolling burnouts, wheelies, speeding tickets, again and again and again. Nearly lost my license on that bike. Crashed it 3 or 4 times, nothing too harsh.
'78 Kawasaki KZ 750 TWIN -- yes, vertical parallel twin. This is the bike that Kawasaki would like to forget they ever made. Evil handling, heavy, no brakes to speak of. Got it for nearly free, fixed it up, sold it at a profit.
'80 Suzuki GS1000S - what can I say? If fast is good, faster, smoother, more comfortable, better handling is better. I put 65,000 miles on that bike before it was stolen. One of the best all-around bikes I've owned. Nearly killed myself crashing it up in Columbia MD - 4 days in the hospital. Took months to rebuild the bike.
'83 Suzuki Katana 1100 - my favorite bike of all, or at least the fondest memories. I still think it's beautiful! Bought it new-in-the-crate in '89, spent hours lovingly waxing and polishing it. Again, faster being better, I treated it to exhaust, cams, jet kit, Falicon clutch basket, Barnett clutch pack, and suspension. Put 35,000 on it before the clutch shaft thread stripped and totaled the trans. Just sold the rusting hulk last year, but I'd kept the bodywork inside, so that was all mint.
A '70 Yamaha DT 250, a precursor model to the RD 250. I found it in the trash -- literally. I got it running for next to no money. Ran the piss out of it, forgot to put oil in the injector tank one time & blew it up. Gave it away. It was a strange companion to the Katana.
'94 Honda VFR 750, no love affair there, just never clicked with it. Stolen.
'97 Yamaha FZR 1000. Whoohoo. Modern bike, modern handling, FAST. Loved it! I rode it cross-country. I don't remember how many miles I put on it, but roadracing crashes & the resulting plates & screws made the riding posture uncomfortable.
I had FIVE '88-'91 Honda Hawk NT 650 GT race bikes. It was a love affair, it wasn't rational. 65hp, suspension, weighed 285 lbs, and sounded like an insane hell hound barking through a reverse cone megaphone. It was stolen and recovered, all hacked to bits. I just sold 3 chassis, 4 motors, 8 wheels, and 10 boxes of parts to my old racing partner. It was a fucking sad day to see it go.
http://alanzina.zenfolio.com/p915234467/
I had an FZ600 basket case, and a strange early '70s Suzuki 3-cylinder 250cc 2-stroke. They were thrown into a deal when I bought a race bike up in Connecticut, traded both to different people.
Pitbike: Honda ZB 50 -- sitting in my basement, free if anyone wants it. The case was cracked by the previous owner, I welded it, but never put it back together. Motor needs a thorough cleaning!
'83 Honda Ascot 500 thumper. Got it as a basket case in trade for some racing fairings. I built it for a now-ex girlfriend, but didn't get it running before we broke up. Low priority project, but cool.
Derbi GPR 50 - What a hoot. 75cc kit, 63 mph felt like flying.
'89 Honda CR250 - package deal with the Derbi. I had it for 3 months, rode it twice, it got stolen. Fuckers burned a hole in my deck torching off the chain.
'94 Honda XR650L - the Hot Rod XR. Built just beyond an inch of it's life. It made a very unreliable 56hp according to the Battley dyno. Broke a buncha shit in the top end, awaiting a rebuild. Awesome bike, it would go sideways at 60 on a dirt road. Heavy pig, tho.
'99 Kawasaki ZRX 1100. Another great bike, long story. Still have it, it's all been stripped, powder coated, the front suspension is off an '02 R1, the motor is a 1200 w/ cams. Should be nice when I get it painted & reassembled.
'05 Suzuki DRZ 400 SM. Currently the only bike I own that runs. First one was stolen. Finally got smart and bought a shipping container to keep my shit in. Fucking Wheaton.
and other irrelevant chit-chat 
). This was such a great little bike. I rode it more than she ever did. Once we got it, I would use it for street riding and leave the 748 in race trim. I used it to stalk bigger sport bikes and embarrass the hell out of them. Its upright and comfortable riding position really changed my view on street riding. Current owner; wife of DAMN forum memeber Superchicken!
The brain chemistry got a tad altered ...
