Grew up and cut my teeth on 2 stroke motorcycles both in the street and dirt. Have the broken bones, and all the pins and screws to prove it. Here are a few pictures off of my highlight reel.

 

I kept a pair of older 2 stroke dirt bikes.  A CR250R and a YZ250WR pictured below leaning against the tractor shed.

Older picture of a bunch of the Dirt bikes on the Ranch, when we were in our early 20's.

Me riding the IT490 in the sand dunes with paddle tire at Pismo Beach Ca.

A younger me, when I was still dumb and thought I was invincible.

Pictures like this that remind me of why I hurt all the time now that I'm older.

1984 Yamaha IT 490 2 stroke Enduro...Lots of fun.

My dual purpose Yamaha XT 600 that I sold, wearing a set of street tires. Every time I think about this bike, I remember how many times I had to push it home until I tracked down the faulty kickstand kill switch.

Working on the dirt bike in the house, when I was married.

My 1991 oil cooled, carburated Suzuki GSX1100R. Simple sweet street bike.

GSXR at work in the warehouse, wearing a solo seat, and a carbon fiber exhaust can.

In front of the garage in 2014 after a bike wash.

I still own the GSXR1100, despite folks constantly trying to buy it off me. (guess they use the engines for go kart racing or something) I won't ever get rid of it.

 

One 2 stroke motorcycle that I wish I still owned, my old 1979 RD400 Daytona Special.

My Yamaha RD400, next to my best friends XS400 back in 1984 or so.

My 1977 Harley Davidson Shovel head. I sold it  to a gentleman who shipped it off to Germany.

And hopefully here's to the next generation.

May they enjoy riding just as much as we did.

 

 

- Bullwolf

Well. The Andian sits dormant for now. Turns out I wound up owning two Honda Shadows. The black one is a 98 VT1100 AERO and the retro-styled one is a 99 A.C.E.  I'm gradually making the ACE look like an old UL or EL Harley. Because if the Andian has shown us anything, it's that I really dig that older style !!!!

Here's what it started out like:

Here's what they look like now:

 

And the 1100

Charger Fan said
Okay Bullwolf, you have officially owned more bikes than I have. I love the old RD400, I'm sure it was a blast to ride. What possessed you to sell it? I'm diggin' the GSXR too, and you're right, lots of those bikes have lost their engines to Kart racers & sand buggies and 4-wheelers. Looks like you had a Kerker (my favorite) on it earlier & are now using a Yoshi. Those are good too.

Other than an old '82 XT250 (currently in 100 pieces), I've never been into dirt bikes much. I prefer going fast on asphalt. More pics, you guys!

I've actually had a lot more motorcycles over the years. Those were just the ones I was fortunate enough to still have pictures of. I used to buy and sell used bikes a lot.

I don't know why I ever sold the Daytona Special, I plead temporary insanity on that one.

Have many fond memories of Kerker exhausts, I still have a few rolled up posters with the Kerker adds on them someplace for the V-max and the Kawasaki Z1R with the girl flying off the back.

I'd only ever bought one motorcycle, brand new from the dealer. It was an Kawasaki KLR600 during the ticket to ride event. I remember it cost me $1999. Try buying a new motorcycle for that today.

 

I didn't own or drive a car for ages,  instead I rode a motorcycle in all kinds of weather. I must have been a lot tougher or something back then too, because I sure won't do that anymore.

I tried the dual purpose street/dirt thing a lot. I have had the Honda XR250, XL350, XL600, Yamaha XT600 and the Kawasaki  KLR600. Of them them all, the KLR was the best street bike but heaviest of the bunch, and the Honda XL's had the best power range over all. I eventually gave up on the dual purpose bike thing and just went with a pure street bike or a dirt bike rather than a compromise in between.

My first (street legal) street bike was an 2 stroke Yamaha RD350, and I had 3 RD400's not including the Daytona Special. One was all cafe'd out and I painted it red and white like a Yamaha Marlboro race bike. Wish I had the foresight to have taken pictures of it now.

I actually ran the RD and a few of my other bikes at the drag strip a few times before it closed. I won't shame myself by telling you my poor times, but lots of fun was had all around.

I also had 2 Kawasaki 750 turbos, one completely stock, and another one all modded out one with a higher compression over bored engine, cams, aftermarket fuel injection, and a turbo charger with an adjustable waste gate. That modified one only ran on  Race Gas or Aviation gas, when I could get my hookup at the airport. It was the most insane motorcycle I have ever owned. Turbo boost wheelies in every gear. Friends who rode with me always commented on how good the Av gas smelled.

Here's a picture of the stock Kawasaki 750 Turbo, with a nice Corbin seat on it.

I had something of a love/hate relationship with my old iron Harley Davidson.

I don't think I have ever worked on another motorcycle half as much, or had one strand me in as many interesting ways as that old Shovel Head did. It reminded me of owning a VW beetle, and I performed some amazing road side fixes with that tiny tool kit rolled up in the leather bag on the front.

Some of the more memorable episodes were:

The shifter falling off somewhere along the coast highway at 55-65 MPH God only knows how far back.

The time I put a gallon of race gas or Av gas in the Harley, so I could get into town to fill it up... And the next couple of hours I spent on the side of the road with a swollen shut needle and seat on the carb trying to figure out why the engine wasn't getting fuel anymore.

Letting out the clutch in first gear, and shearing all the bolts off (flush too dammit!) on the rear sprocket. That one unfortunately required a truck, and a lot of time and patience with an easy out.

There's lots more. and they probably led up to why I sold the Harley, but man it taught me a lot. I cringe when I see how expensive the old iron engine Harley's are today.

 

I should have added these old pictures too.

Just a couple of kids having fun on the Farm. Figured the thread needed another Honda Trail 70 in it too.

Notice the total absence of anything resembling safety gear, that's just how things were in the 1970's.

There were no helmet laws then, and kids were just kids. Scraped up knees and elbows, rub some dirt on it and walk it off.

Guess I eventually learned that all those pads, chest protectors, helmets, goggles and that other stuff actually helped after falling off a few times. I won't mention how many times it took though, I was kind of hard headed back then.

 

- Bullwolf